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zanzibar vs few more days on safari
Can anyone give me some information on time spent in zanzibar on end of tanzania safari. Trying to decide if we make only ONE trip to africa for safari if this is way we should end our trip? Will these six days of safari be sufficient and then have some down time on indian ocean. Can you give me idea of how the day boat swim snorkel trip is spent?
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We just returned from "Botswana, South Africa, and Zambia" two weeks ago. It seems like yesterday because we have been trying to recover from the flights home. Stupendous! We had down played our expectations after doing "The Classic Safari" two years ago which we thought would be unbeatable. We enjoyed B,SA, and Z just as much if not more. They took out the walk with the lions experience do to vavious reasons which may include liability isssues, but we went in a day early, so we booked a walk with the lions experience with Bushtracks. They actually run the activities desk at the Royal Livingstone, so it is an easy deal. Highly recommended.
https://botswanazambiasouthafrica2016.shutterfly.com
I think the above link will take you to my album with our 'lions' experience near the beginning.
The link works ... Just click the date, and then click "all" and you should get it.
Walking with Lions
before anyone thinks about doing this as an extra activity since it has now been taken out of the Tauck tour, they should be made aware of the extreme controversy surrounding the Lion experience. It is all over the Internet and was featured on CBS 60 Minutes some time ago which is why I am absolutely positive, it was taken off the Tauck tour. If anyone knows about the 'other' safari experience--- paying to shoot and kill animals for big bucks, there is some suspicion that this is where the lions end up once they become too big to be around tourists.
But please, how was the Rhino experience?
I am pretty sure I did maybe a couple of reviews of my tour, we were there around the middle of July 2014, so my post would be fairly soon after that. One was practical stuff, like what there was in the hotels, camps, like outlets. Then I think there was one about the tour. I would highly recommend going several days early and visiting the park about a half hour drive away from the hotel, forgive me, can't remember the name, I was rehearsing for a show last night and got to bed very late. It's in my review.
Another tip, if going on a balloon ride is high priority for you, the rides in Tanxzania are hardly ever cancelled due to unsuitable wind conditions, whereas on the Kenya and Tanzania tour, they are fairly often cancelled, that happened to us two days running, got up at some ungodly hour and both cancelled. You do get money back, but the extra sleep would have been nicer! How do I know theTanzania ride is a safer bet? I asked our very hsmdsome British balloon pilot!
I just looked at your great pics. I thought I had your email address from when we exchanged sea stories about Navy flying (Skywarriors (whales), Prowlers, etc.), but couldn't find it, so I'll do a little hijack.
So, you did Z,SA,B in mid-May- it looks like some pretty chilly mornings and evenings. Were temps fine during the main part of the day? How were the temps in Capetown? Did you consider going at a different time of year.
Your pics and Tauck itinerary show a lot of time was spent in boats. Also, you spent more time out of the safari vehicles than on a K&T - comments?
Less animal encounters than K&T? But, just as rewarding or more so?
How did you like flying Business/1c(?) in the BA A380-800?
If you have my address just send a reply by email. Thanks.
Addressing two posts here. The walking with the lions? Bush Tracks is in partnership with a conservation group that has the objective of breeding lion cubs and releasing them to the wild. I know nothing of the outfit that had been used but went out of business. I would not recommend believing everything you see on sixty minutes. Several countries in Africa allow rich folks to shoot an animal that is about to die anyway, and use the proceeds appropriately ... or not. None of them that I know of allow someone to shoot the 22 month old lions that we walked with.
Alan, the weather question. Perfect. I timed our trip to have the Zambisi River at maximum flood for the Victoria Falls experience, and to see the Okavango 'wet'. That is why you see the boats. In the dry season the place is a desert, not the garden of Eden, and you tour in Safari vehicles. It was cool at night, but very nice in the daytime. Cool mornings which is why you see everyone bundled up at that time. If I ever do that trip again it will be exactly at that time of year. The only thing I think we missed with our tiiming was great white sharks n South Africa.
Well I could not figure out a link, but here is the latest on Walking with Lions and I guess why Tauck does not do this any more. http://www.zambiatourism.com/activities/adventure/lion-walks. It makes sense, knowing about tje behaviors of lions more and more that releasing a lion 'back into the wild' would be problematic if not suicidal. A lion habituated to humans--- er, not a good idea. Putting a lion in another Pride's territory, er no. And so on and so on. Looks as if selling to be hunted is the way it probably goes.
We never got to do the Seal Island boat trip at all, rough weather, it was rainy in CapeTown while we were there. Apparently, The Great Whites have not been seen for months.