Overlanding Camping Safari in Kenya..My impressions and experiences.

Wow...just got back from my first trip back 'home' to Kenya ( I was born
there, but left when I was a little kid!) and was sooo confused by the
many,many,many different 'safari' options, so I decided to travel there with
GUERBA/INTREPID on their ' faces of Kenya ' tour...brave for me seeing as I
have never really camped before!


The ternary was the best looking one I could find for 2 weeks in Kenya ( I'm
not the sort to want to lounge around on a beach when there are beautiful
animals to look at..I can lounge on a beach anywhere)..

The ternary included Amboseli NP, Mount Kenya , Samburu/Buffalo Spings NP,
Rift Valley, Lake Nakuru/Lake Niavasha , Walking with the Masai in Loita and
the fabulous Masai Mara NP.

Whilst this trip was loaded with game viewing, just as importantly ( for me,
anyway) there was also a very heavy bias towards culture,people and the
anthropology of this beautiful country.


ABOUT overlanding...

Well, this is down & dirty camping...expect *very* few creature comforts,
with very basic camp sites facilitating at best a long drop toilet and a
pipe that dribbles the odd drop of water that's referred to as a 'shower' in
the bigger game parks. You sleep in a tent ( usually share with someone)
that is easy enough to pitch if there are 2 people, but really hard for one
person to do it alone. Food is of the plain but plentiful variety, and as a
vegetarian, I never went hungry!

However, at Amboseli & Samburu Np's, we had the option to pay $10 or so to
use the pool,bar and shower facilities at a very posh lodge for an
afternoon..and after the bumpy and dusty long distance drives, this is a
very worthwhile option...also a good chance to get laundry done because you
*WILL* be covered head to toe in dirt,dust and grime.


THE Overland Vehicle...

One thing you notice on safari is the many different types of vehicles used.
Guerba's vehicle for our trip was an absolute MONSTER of a 10 ton truck,
that is designed to carry 20 campers and all the gear for every eventuality!
Unlike some trucks that other companies ( including GUERBA) use for these
sorts of trips, our truck had removable canvas sides that roll down almost
completely, affording fantastic 360 degree views when on a game drive. The
truck also had a lot of overhead shelf space and lockers were beneath the
seats which were foam mattresses running alongside of the vehicle. For 6
people there was ample space, but on a trip of 20+ people, space would
definatly be a premium.

Also, our truck had THREE 'cigarette lighter' type adaptors to fit invertors
to charge cell phones, digital camera equipment etc. Mercifully, I was the
only one on the trip who took an invertor along with me, so I could have
fresh charged electronic gear always,as well as my group. HOWEVER..the other
GUERBA truck we met had NO SUCH FACILITIES and those guys were at the mercy
of local shops etc to charge their gear...in this day of digital photography
etc, It is absloutley CRUCIAL you ask if there are provisions to charge your
equipment and what chargers/invertors you need...so, again, we were VERY
LUCKY our truck had onboard charging facilities..and mygroup were VERY lucky
that I took an invertor with me.


|As a group elected to have the sides rolled down wherever possible,
because Africa really does reveal it's many beautiful facets as you drive
VERY long distances from place to place.

The DYNAMICS of Overlanding...The good, bad and the ugly...

Ok..most people before they decide to overland already know that this is a
trip without usual creature comforts, and expect to rough it for a more
rustic, bush experience that is really second to none. However, when you
book these trips, there isn't any way of knowing how many people or the
personalities of the people you will be travelling with. This is very
important ( yet completely OUT of your control) because you will quiet
literally be spending 24 hours a day with each other. This not to say that
there isn't a social element to these trips, but people can get stressed
after awhile.

I was EXTREMELY lucky in that only SIX people were on my trip, on a trip
that caters for UP TO TWENTY people. The six people I shared with were, for
the most part very nice and good travelling companions ( apart from the odd
bouts of not wanting to help out and single males in their 40's attempting
to seduce pretty 23 year old blondes with disastrous consequences), but I
couldn't possibly imagine how miserable an experience this would be with
more than EIGHT or TEN people. Because of the small numbers, we were allowed
to have our own INDIVIDUAL tents ( no need to share!) or sleep in the
truck...or if we were especially brave, sleep on the roof of the truck...and
whilst the thought of going to the toilet in the bush late at night is
frightening, the sounds of Kenya at night are awesome..you can expect to
hear crickets, lions, hyenas and elephants as your bed time symphony!

I think it's all well and good to flex the 'look at me, look at me I'm a
hard core backpacker & know what I'm doing' muscles, but back that up with
helping people out..it makes everything more enjoyable. I saw another GUERBA
group who were clearly seasoned backpackers and also lived with that
attitude of superiority of being 'travellers'...needless to say they
struggled socially outside of their group in the bar at Crayfish camp.

Was I disappointed with my overlanding experience?

Overwhelmingly NO..despite me being a person who is used to a lot more
comfort, I really enjoyed the rustic way of travel...BUT...

there is NO WAY I would do a trip like this if I knew there was to be MORE
than EIGHT other travellers...the conditions in the truck would be FAR TOO
SQUALID with twenty or so people and , of course, that large number would
lead to very conflicting group dynamics.


The other point to remember is that our truck HAD the canvas,removable sides
and seating that was padded ( and comfy) benches along the SIDES of the
trucks...other trucks I saw ( including another GUERBA truck) had planned
seating and windows that only slide down to half way...AN ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE
on a game drive if you can imagine 12 + people and the animal you are seeing
is NOT on your side of the truck!!!...20 people, FORGET IT.

About GUERBA..

Not wanting to make this sound like a plug for GUERBA/Intrepid but...

Our trip had 3 crew members..a tour leader, driver and a cook. Because there
were only 6 of us, it was an easy group to manage. Our tour leader was an
absolutely WONDERFUL man..an incredibly knowledgeable person who could
answer everything we threw at him, and treated us with incredible warmth and
respect. The cook and the driver were also VERY much like the tour
leader..these guys were an ABSOLUTE pleasure to be with at all stages. the
cook could never ever understate how important it is that we dictate what we
eat and was willing to make anything we wanted to eat, and he was especially
accommodating for vegetarians ( there were 3 including him out of all of
us).

Food was of the plain but plentiful variety..you will NOT GO HUNGRY!!

I also met other GUERBA drivers, cooks and tour leaders at camp sites we
stayed at and they were so very similar to our own crew..GUERBA clearly have
an excellent selection criteria when it comes to hiring people, as the crew
make the holiday enjoyable in it's own right, and needless to say, deep
friendships are so easily forged. I tipped $50 for each crew member, it's
usual to give what you can afford or feel you should give.


The Game drives...


Well, we saw the ' BIG 5' many times over , even seeing all 5 on 3 separate
days..you can't ask for more than that, and it's a credit to our guide/tour
leader as well as our driver.

Animals don't come out and make appearances for tourists..you need to be
lucky and have good guides.

However, there are a lot of drivers equipped with 2 way radios and cell
phones who quickly relay info about the best sightings. This is great in
principle, but when you see OVER 20 safari vehicles that surround an elderly
male lion trying to hunt, you see clearly how distressing this for the
animals. The WORST example I saw of IRRESPONSIBLE tourism was in the Masai
Mara when a lioness was tucking into a fresh kill was surrounded by OVER 40
...yep..FORTY vehicles...which was made worse by an extremely unscrupulous
driver who then BLOCKED OFF the lioness's male lion's path to the kill by
going OFF ROAD and REVERSING alongside the lion , PREVENTING any means for
the lion to go eat. I hope those tourists who got the great shots realise
that their driver and others like him are destroying the entire eco system
of the country...the very thing that attracts tourists to Africa in the
first place.

Also, I was absolutely HORRIFIED to see Japanese tourists THROW oranges and
fruit at a sleeping lion, and then use FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY to startle the life
out of the poor animal. This effect of tourism is now forcing the animals to
change their lifestyles and forcing them to hunt in the SEARING AFTERNOON
heat simply because the tourists are back in the lodges drinking Gin &
Tonics, when in the afternoon, these animals should be sleeping and relaxing
in the shade, out of the heat.

I am pleased to say that GUERBA absolutely condemn the sort of practices I
outlined and we are given very clear guidelines about our own expected
behaviour, for both our safety and that of the environment.
I am very satisfied that GUERBA are an extremely ethical company in this
regard.



Value for Money...

I paid £690 for this safari ( excluding flights) approx $1,4000.

On arrival I had to pay a 'local payment' of $540 ( to cover entry into game
parks, etc).

Because of the small group, our outstanding successes in the game drives and
wonderful crew, I'd say I got good value..HOWEVER...

I still feel that the 'local payment ' is ONE HUGE RIP OFF..there is
absolutely no itemisation for it and ABSOLUTELY NO JUSTIFICATION FOR IT.
Camp site fees ( typically $5 per person) should MORE THAN BE COVERED BY THE
COST OF THE TRIP.

The ONLY THING negative about my experience is this fictitious, rip off,
immoral ' LOCAL PAYMENT'...it really is as vague as it's description, yet so
many tours make this a mandatory addition to the final cost, and despite
numerous enquiries to Guerba, they sstill cannot account for whatt he local
payment went towards. \it left an extremly bad tatse int he mouth and the
awful feeling of being utterly ripped off by our trusted tour provider, who
were faultless in everything else.


Would I do this again???

overwhelmingly NO..*unless* it was GUARANTEED with a small group of
travellers WITH a truck that had open sides. The chances of BOTH happening
are literally zero..I was EXTREMELY LUCKY!!


but if you have ever been in 2 minds and have wanted to visit Kenya..Id urge
you to go..it's like setting your soul free and will give you memories that
stay for ever and ever and ever...

And if you do decide to visit, pay the extra and do a lodge safari..once you
factor in the disgusting rip-off ' local payment' and add flights etc,
you're not really paying much more for a lodge safari and the comfort levels
are a a huge benefit....sacrificing, of course, a HUGE slice of authentic
Africana :-)

I'll be pleased to field any questions if people want to know more about
either overlanding or my safari!!


Dee :-)



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Dee,

thanks for your interesting and thorough report! Other readers
will now be able to make a much more educated decision.

Glad you enjoyed it. Would you agree that Africa has its unique
attraction?

General remarks about the price: It is actually not low.
Consider that you can have a full service lodge safari for about
$1,200 to $1,500 per week during off-season time, perhaps even
less, if you do it yourself, like two people hiring a small
jeep, plus air fare. And if these two people camped out most of
the nights, they could do it a lot more cheaply. No cook and no
guide though---they'd have to do it themselves. But guides tend
to be overrated---you can see more than you think without having
any guide and any experience. One strategy is to look a little
bit where the other minibusses go.

Did they announce this local payment beforehand or did it come
as a surprise?

Hans-Georg
--
No mail, please.

"Hans-Georg Michna" wrote in message
news
Dee,

thanks for your interesting and thorough report! Other readers
will now be able to make a much more educated decision.

Glad you enjoyed it. Would you agree that Africa has its unique
attraction?

General remarks about the price: It is actually not low.
Consider that you can have a full service lodge safari for about
$1,200 to $1,500 per week during off-season time, perhaps even
less, if you do it yourself, like two people hiring a small
jeep, plus air fare. And if these two people camped out most of
the nights, they could do it a lot more cheaply. No cook and no
guide though---they'd have to do it themselves. But guides tend
to be overrated---you can see more than you think without having
any guide and any experience. One strategy is to look a little
bit where the other minibusses go.

Did they announce this local payment beforehand or did it come
as a surprise?

Hans-Georg
--
No mail, please.


Hi Hans, thanks for the feedback...

I definatly agree that a more comfortable alternative to my overland trip
( not to mention cheaper,perhaps) would be to go on a lodge type safari
independantly.

I can't say if I would have been lucky during the game viewing without our
particular guide...he really did beat the other mini buses to the punch
every time, but the common theme was to follow the mini buses..large groups
usually indicated a big cat, as elephants etc were always on plentiful
display.

The local payment wasn't a 'hidden' extra...we were clearly instructed to
have it ready in cash $540( pre 2003 dollar bills), but I was greatly
irritated that there was no concrete explanation as to what it went towards.

That said, even factoring in the local payment, I can say with great
confidence that this particular vacation was the greatest trip of my life,
perhaps emotionally so too as I got to see my old house where I lived in
Karen, my old school and other places I remembered.

The guide from my safari group also took me on a 'private' guided tour of
Nairobi on foot, including the seedy River Road area as a favour and beyond
his remit.

I would absloutley agree that Africa does indeed have a very magiacal and
unique attraction and I look forward to revisiting it at every
opportunity...but perhaps not via overland!

My total cost including local payment and flights to the UK worked out to
about $2,600 ( not including mandatory travel insurance and $50 for the
visa).



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On Tue, 30 Oct 2007 17:59:39 -0000, the_niner_nation wrote:

My total cost including local payment and flights to the UK worked out to
about $2,600 ( not including mandatory travel insurance and $50 for the
visa).

It is cheaper than a lodge safari, but not by much.

If you're interested, you can check current lodge prices at
http://michna.com/kenya.htm#Hotel_Prices .

With some diligent planning and a cheap flight you can have a
complete self-drive safari with lodge accommodation for roughly
$3,000 for two weeks. This assumes two people hiring a small
jeep, using cheap accommodation in Nairobi, selecting lodges for
low price, and travelling during the low season.

It would become even cheaper for 3 people, because the jeep
share per person shrinks, and some lodges offer a low price for
an add-on bed.

It actually looks even cheaper when calculated in ¤, because
many of the Kenyan prices are fixed in $$, and one ¤ already
buys $1.45 today.

But generally the prices are bound to rise, so do your first
safari soon, everyone who hasn't been there.

Hans-Georg
--
No mail, please.