DS was in Peace Corps in Mali and now has been doing engineering in Lesotho, Mali, SA, and last 4 years in Tanzania. So we've had a built in tour arranger since 2002. He lives in Morogoro TZ and just three weeks ago we toured Mikumi Park, saw higher concentration of animals than we did in Kruger, Chobe, or even Selous. We have good friends that want us to take them next time we go, and it's really tough trying to fit in what we felt were highlights, Africa is a big place after all!
-Capetown- Highly recommend, do the little Carous wine country while in area. Also drive down to Cape of Good Hope, amazing views.
-Selous Park in TZ; huge, many animals, and hardly see any other people which makes it really special. Did have to stay in fancy tents w chemical toilets, but food and accommodations great if you don't need mints on pillows
-Vic Falls - just because it's an amazing place. Stay at the colonial hotel, pricey but needs to be experienced. If limited in time for safaris, Chobe is not that far from Vic.
-if going through TZ make it to Zanzibar. Old Stone Town interesting, some nice beach resorts too. Think India Ocean there is as clear and blue as any we've seen.
When he was in PC we did three weeks in Mali in 2004, traveling as locals on buses with goats and chickens. Most amazing was a 3 day canoe ride down Niger River to Timbuktu, camping on banks. Unfortunately that area is pretty dangerous now if even accessible to westerners. DW was a real trooper; ate some pretty marginal foods but the experience was not one I'd want to have missed.
Depending on your level of road tolerance and interest in animals, I'd think twice about more than 3 days on a safari. Bouncing around in a hard suspensioned open top land cruiser on dusty (or really muddy depending on season) bumpy roads can get pretty tiring. And some of the parks can get really congested ... find a rhino and you get a traffic jam, and our course you don't get to get out of the vehicle.
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