Anyone been to Africa?

[6miths]

The other thing that Naroibi has is the elephant orphanage. I have pics of that somewhere too. A way to get up close with some of the smaller ones - say under a couple of tons. My favorite Africa pic aside from giraffe pics is a youngish male elephant like Nemo2's taken in Kruger. I'll have to dig it up and post it. It was many years ago when I was young and foolish in my 20s so the idea of staying in my vehicle seemed ridiculous - turns out to be good advice. Great up close 35 mm pics of a elephant with flared ears threatening to charge!! Lived to tell the story though!

Oh popped back to edit - as I was typing OldShooter beat me to the orphange tip! Great pic!

 

[mpeirce]

That's AMAZING!! My wife absolutely loves giraffes and it'd be one of the most awe inspiring experiences of her entire life if she were able to do that..wish we were including Kenya in our trip!

Not sure where you are, but The Wilds in Ohio might be of interest to you. It's reclaimed strip mine area and now has a wide variety of animals in big open spaces. They aren't all African, but there are rhinos and giraffes and lots more. They drive you around, very much like an African safari, but you get up close to some of the animals.

The day we were there last summer, our group was made up of folks who were docents at the Columbus Zoo. At the zoo they helped out with the giraffes, but never were allowed up close and personal. Here, the giraffes came up to the truck and were very friendly. The docents were SO EXCITE to be so close to the giraffes.

Anyway, it's different from an "true" African safari, but not all that different (I've been on safari in South Africa). Might be worth a visit.

 

[24601NoMore]

Not sure where you are, but The Wilds in Ohio might be of interest to you. It's reclaimed strip mine area and now has a wide variety of animals in big open spaces. They aren't all African, but there are rhinos and giraffes and lots more. They drive you around, very much like an African safari, but you get up close to some of the animals.

Great info - thanks! Ohio is fairly close to us, so sounds like a visit in the future is something we will need to plan..

 

[Nemo2]

If you can find them these guys are our favorites:

 

[24601NoMore]

If you can find them these guys are our favorites:

The wild dogs, or the zebras?

 

[Nemo2]

The wild dogs, or the zebras?

Wild dogs.....they're the only animals we've encountered who don't acknowledge human presence...just look right through you.

We followed a hunt...the adults leave the younger ones behind because they may not be able to keep up - we parked amongst the juveniles for maybe an hour....we may as well have been invisible for all they cared.

Then a call came that we couldn't hear...the adults had downed an Impala.....they were immediately off and running and we followed along.

 

[Rianne]

OP here. Reading everything, enjoying pics.

 

[Diver]

Hoping to go next year, so really enjoyed all of the info and pics posted!

 

[DektolMan]

My wife and I just got back from Botswana. We went through www.idubephotosafaris.com and stayed at the main lodge at https://mashatu.com/.


Here are a few images.

 

[Nemo2]

If you're going to Uganda....bring cash:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...n-safari-500000-ransom-demanded-idUSKCN1RF1LU

 

[griffithee]

If you go to Djibouti dont get into a cab if the driver has green teeth. You'll thank me later.

 

[OldShooter]

In post #10 I mentioned our friend Pierre. We're working with Pierre and Karen to plan a trip for next March. Given that several people have mentioned interest in an African trip, I thought I'd show you the first cut itinerary that Pierre sent us this morning.

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I have finished designing your package but still waiting for 2020 rates from two lodges, which I hope to have very soon. Below is a short lodge by lodge break down for you to have a look at but I hope to have the finished write up for you very soon.

Day 1 Africa Sky – This can be removed if you arrive on an early flight but it might be nice to take a day and recover from the long flight.

Day 2,3 & 4 Mushara Lodge – Botswana. We will fly you up there where I will meet you (its an 8 hour drive from JHB) and spend the first three nights in this lodge. Great Game viewing. (Edit: Just got a note from Pierre: "Sorry I wrote Mushara lodge for night 2, 3 & 4 when it should be Mashatu lodge. Mushara is in Namibia, that would be a long drive."

Day 5, 6 & 7 Pafuri Tented Lodge. A private concession in the very north of the Kruger National Park

Day 8 & 9 Lions Place – I added this firstly as an over night stop. I have never been to this lodge before. It is in the private Kruger park area, but I do not see this as a major game viewing area. The more I look at it the more I love it. It only has 2 rooms so we will have it to our selves and the reviews are amazing. So I made it 2 nights.

Day 10, 11, 12 & 13 Khoka Moya. I have used this lodge many times now and have never been disappointed with the game viewing. Last time I had three leopards outside my room. Two males fighting while trying to mate with the third female.

Day 14 Back to Africa Sky

Day 15 end.
​

**************************************
The way this works is that we will look at the lodges and the route, then make suggestions and changes. Pierre and Karen will then update as necessary. When we first traveled with them, we would go through three or four iterations. Now that they know us better I expect the itinerary listed above will be pretty close to final.

This is a Southern Africa trip. A Tanzania/Kenya trip has the advantage of seeing the Migration, but it is a much rougher trip. Terrible roads -- incredibly rough riding, often less comfortable accommodations, etc. So we have opted for comfort having seen the Migration already.

Since we're doing pictures, here's one from somewhere in Greater Kruger Park:

​

 

[Teacher Terry]

Beautiful pictures!

 

[Rianne]

What a beauty! My series "The Big Cat Diaries" no longer exists. You're so lucky the camera was ready. No one would believe me if I came home with a pic like that.

 

[OldShooter]

OK, you like cats? This little guy (Masai Mara, Kenya) was very interested in watching us while mom was up in a tree finishing off the last of an Impala both had been snacking on for a couple of days.

I find those gray leopard eyes to be just fascinating.
​

 

[Scuba]

OK, you like cats? This little guy (Masai Mara, Kenya) was very interested in watching us while mom was up in a tree finishing off the last of an Impala both had been snacking on for a couple of days.

I find those gray leopard eyes to be just fascinating.
​

Wow - amazing shot!

 

[Rianne]

^^ Yeah, just look at those eyes. No words for the beauty and perfection of these animals. Why can't we just leave them alone and ONLY use our cameras to shoot them.

 

[travelover]

^^ Yeah, just look at those eyes. No words for the beauty and perfection of these animals. Why can't we just leave them alone and ONLY use our cameras to shoot them.

How better to prove your manhood than to kill a dangerous beast like a giraffe?

 

[OldShooter]

^^ Yeah, just look at those eyes. No words for the beauty and perfection of these animals. Why can't we just leave them alone and ONLY use our cameras to shoot them.

Yes. Mom's eyes are even more fascinating:

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That was the last of the impala. The leg pieces fell out of the tree a few minutes later and mom completely lost interest.

Re hunting, I have not heard of leopards or cheetahs being hunted, at least legally. Maybe some countries sell culls like they do with elephants and lions.

 

[Rianne]

I'm obsessed with these creatures, their habits, instincts, hunting ability, how they care for their young and their beauty. I no longer go to zoos. They make me cry. Prison for those who never committed a crime. This is the series I love. You don't have to watch all of it, but the storytellers follow these beauties and their families.

 

[Bklyn55]

Direct flights to Cape Town

United Airlines just announced plans to fly direct from EWR (Newark) to Cape Town. It’s the only non stop between U.S. and Cape Town.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I don't go to zoos either. Rich people or poachers hunting these beautiful animals is disgusting. At least the last few poachers got eaten. I consider that justice.

 

[OldShooter]

I don't go to zoos either. Rich people or poachers hunting these beautiful animals is disgusting. At least the last few poachers got eaten. I consider that justice.

There are complex underlying issues:

The way legal hunting of lions, elephants, etc. works most of the time (I don't have the data to say 100% of the time) is that government authorities identify problem animals that must be culled. An elephant destroying villagers' crops, for example, or a lion who has developed a taste for villagers. The government then sells the animal to a licensed hunter, who then resells the animal to someone like an American tourist/hunter. The hunting party goes out, finds the animal, and that's the end of it. The government gets money where, if they culled the animal, they would get nothing. The licensed hunter brings more money into the country via the tourist/hunter. So it is kind of a win/win/win, considering that the cull animal will never win anyway. It's not something that I am interested in doing but it does make economic sense. Our guide/friend Pierre is a licensed hunter, though not using the license any more, and we have discussed this.

If you want disgusting, google the phrase "canned lions."

Poaching is a little complex too. These are areas where people are living on maybe $2/day and the men are maybe scratching out this kind of living as farmers trying to feed their families. So the $1000 or so that they can get by poaching a rhino is a staggering amount of money. Too, they are unsophisticated subsistence farmers who have no understanding of the bigger picture of rhino extinction, etc. I think we should be walking a few miles in these men's shoes before we start making our first-world judgments.

 

[audreyh1]

United Airlines just announced plans to fly direct from EWR (Newark) to Cape Town. It’s the only non stop between U.S. and Cape Town.

How long a flight is it?

 

[Scuba]

One thing to consider about aquariums, zoos and wild animal parks is that they teach kids respect and love for these animals. As a SCUBA diver and animal lover, I think it’s good to show the beauty of these animals to humans and to teach us about their natural habits. Kids who have learned about the animals and seen them up close are less likely to want to kill them when they grow up.