Best time for tour and back problems

Sandman wrote:

Still looking for more input for the time to book 2017 tour. Also, would appreciate feedback from past KT tour guests about doing this Safari with prior back surgery? Is the rides on tour too rough for a questionable back??

Time? There is never a bad time.

Only your doctor can answer about your back surgery. A back problem can be very tricky.

You will spend most of your time away from the hotels and camps riding in a Toyota Landcruiser safari vehicle over unimproved roads. In the Serengeti and Masai Mara especially, actually bumping and jostling along on parallel ruts made by previous vehicles in the hard dirt- the roads wind through the high grass and are marred by rocks, bumps, ruts, puddles, and sometimes ravines. The drivers try to be careful, and their speed is often limited to 5 - 10 mph, but even so . . . . Even the "semi-improved" roads such as the one you'll travel from Oldupai Gorge to the Serengeti is nothing more than a scraped dirt and gravel road which, if it hasn't been scraped recently, can often have a washboard surface and, believe it or not, man-made speed bumps every so often! The seats are firm, with little cushioning, and I don't believe there are any seatbelts, but if there were, they wouldn't help with your back.

You can just imagine what it was like when we traversed this little ravine- shaken not stirred! Yeehaw!



This puddle was deeper than it looks. After shifting to 4-wheel drive we still needed a tow to get out!

Agree with all previous posters about it being a " rough ride." My head hit the roof numerous times...
About your time of year question...we went in mid-October...no great planning as that was what was available when our Egyptian tour was cancelled. October is the end of the dry season, and we got all of those quintessential sunset photos with trees and animals contrasted against the setting sun. Spectacular! There was not a dearth of animals to see, so we were pleased with going at this time. I would like to go again to see the contrast of the Great Migration.

The road from Arusha to Lake Manyara, was actually quite good, but just a mile or so farther we had a terrible, bone jarring ride up a short road/long driveway to the Lake Manyara Serena for lunch. It was similar to the ride from Kilimanjaro Airport- nice drive until we turned off the recently-paved main road, and bumped and bounced through the local market and a couple 100 yds more to the Lake Duluti Serena Hotel! The road from Arusha to the Kenyan border wasn't bad either. In fact, I was surprised. But then I was crestfallen after probably less than a mile into Kenya when I asked, "How long does this paved road last?" and was told, "It ends right just around the bend." And it did- just two minutes further! The rest of the way to Amboseli was on a bumpy scraped dirt and gravel road! Again, similar to the trip from the Mount Kenya Safari club to Ol Pajeta animal preserve.

By far the worst "roads" were the trails on game drives in the Serengeti and Masai Mara. You don't want to attempt those with a bad back or a full bladder! : )