Safaris - East Africa vs South Africa?

Hello
My husband and I are planning a long awaited 3 week trip to Africa in
October. We are now researching destination options. May we have your
opinions? We are looking for a plentiful and wide variety of animals to
view. We would like comfortable, clean accommodations with a friendly and
knowledgeable guide who speaks English. We do not need to have ultra
luxurious accommodations. The location and the abundance of animals is
priority to us. We had first been looking at the private game lodges in
MalaMala and Botswana, but were given advice that Kenya may be a better
choice. Also, how much should we budget per day for nice accommodations?
Your advice is appreciated.
Aloha, Linda and John

> "Linda Spadaro" <lindas@hawaii.> wrote:
>
> >My husband and I are planning a long awaited 3 week trip to Africa in
> >October. We are now researching destination options. May we have your
> >opinions? We are looking for a plentiful and wide variety of animals to
> >view. We would like comfortable, clean accommodations with a friendly and
> >knowledgeable guide who speaks English. We do not need to have ultra
> >luxurious accommodations. The location and the abundance of animals is
> >priority to us. We had first been looking at the private game lodges in
> >MalaMala and Botswana, but were given advice that Kenya may be a better
> >choice. Also, how much should we budget per day for nice accommodations?
>
> Linda and John,
>

You might like to consider Zambia - its cheaper than Botswana. October is
the height of the 'dry season' and it will be VERY hot, which may be a
drawback, but of course it means the animals congregate at what water there
is.
You could also visit Victoria Falls - definitely worth seeing even if the
water levels are down.
I posted a report of my recent trip on this newsgroup.
You dont on the whole get the huge herds of grazing animals that you do in
East Africa, but we saw sizeable herds of buffalo and elephant.
The guides are EXCELLENT and English is widely spoken.
We got within a few feet of lion and leopard.
The Bradt guide to Zambia looks good (although a couple of years out of
date - Old Mondoro, the camp we stayed at in the Lower Zambezi, is not in
it, for example).

--
Rita Daggett

Thanks to all of you who responded to my question - East Africa or So.
Africa for October vacation. We are still researching and will let you know
what the decision is and if we have more specific questions. Each
destination offers so much - we just have to find out what suits our
objectives! Aloha, Linda

Linda Spadaro <lindas@hawaii.> wrote in message
news:wZHVa.13579$j%4.657341@twister.socal... .
> Hello
> My husband and I are planning a long awaited 3 week trip to Africa in
> October. We are now researching destination options. May we have your
> opinions? We are looking for a plentiful and wide variety of animals to
> view. We would like comfortable, clean accommodations with a friendly and
> knowledgeable guide who speaks English. We do not need to have ultra
> luxurious accommodations. The location and the abundance of animals is
> priority to us. We had first been looking at the private game lodges in
> MalaMala and Botswana, but were given advice that Kenya may be a better
> choice. Also, how much should we budget per day for nice accommodations?
> Your advice is appreciated.
> Aloha, Linda and John
>
>
>
>

I have never been in South Africa proper (although I visited Namibia),
anyway, I would wholeheartedly recommend the great parks of Tanzania
(Ngorongoro, Tarangire, Serengeti, Manyara). From what I've seen, read
and heard this is most likely to be THE safari of your life. I've been
there in august, and the wheather was fine (perhaps a bit too
cold/cloudy at times). October should be better, but I'm not sure.
Anyway, the landscapes and wildlife there are unforgettable. (My
girlfriend has visited Kenya, too, and she too swears Tanzania is far
better). All the guides and personnel we met did speak english, and
the accomodations (lodges) were just awesome.

MC

I couldnt agree more MC.
Tanzania is THE place to be!!!!!!!!


"moongateclimber" <moongateclimber@m> wrote in message
news:8cb2082d.0308180210.96b69e9@co m...
> I have never been in South Africa proper (although I visited Namibia),
> anyway, I would wholeheartedly recommend the great parks of Tanzania
> (Ngorongoro, Tarangire, Serengeti, Manyara). From what I've seen, read
> and heard this is most likely to be THE safari of your life. I've been
> there in august, and the wheather was fine (perhaps a bit too
> cold/cloudy at times). October should be better, but I'm not sure.
> Anyway, the landscapes and wildlife there are unforgettable. (My
> girlfriend has visited Kenya, too, and she too swears Tanzania is far
> better). All the guides and personnel we met did speak english, and
> the accomodations (lodges) were just awesome.
>
> MC