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We went on a trip organised by the Livingstone Tanzania trust and we spent time visiting places we would have been scared of visiting without their help, staying with families in their homes and seeing an Africa we'd never seen before. The different tribes were fascinating and the landscapes completely beautiful.
Before our safari we visited the school that they sponsor, met the kids and saw their farm. The safari was a budget one, budget because we stayed in a local guest house rather than in expensive European ones and so the money was kept in the community, which was important to us. The vehicles were excellent and the guides knowledgable and friendly. We saw no other white faces!
Based in Babati, 175km from Arusha.
www.livingstonetanzaniatrust.com
Cape Town is a city of spectacular sights! If in a chair, take a cruise from the V&A waterfront. The city and table mountain will float by. Many wine and safari tours are accessible too!
Brilliant safari with the big five. Excellent guides, fabulous lodges, plus your own personal chef at a very pleasing price. Stay in the heart of the reserve with the animals or outside. Had a truly fab three days here and wish I could have stayed longer.
Colonial era coffee estate farm set in delightful gardens on edge of Ngorogoro crater. Recommended for its kitchen garden, working farm, setting and stylish accommodation. Go for the new rooms with outdoor showers and verandahs. The food is a cut above.
So lovely you'll probably want two nights - at the Manyara/Ngorogoro stage of your Northern Circuit safari.
Captain Shallo and Sail Kenya run sailing safaris along the Lamu archipelago. Captain Shallo also runs sailing safaris from Kalifi between Mombasa and Malindi.
I went on the four-day Lamu sailing safari last September and would truly say it was one of my best ever holidays. Captain Shallo and the crew really make sure you have a great time - swimming in clear, warm, blue water, walking along the most powdery of white sands, visiting tiny villages along the north-eastern coast and eating great super-fresh food.
It's not a luxury comfort holiday, but a bit of an adventure combined with a lot of pleasure.
A luxury lodge in a private reserve on the edge of the Kruger Park. Find your soul in the heart of the wilderness - this place will change your life (if you'll let it).
One of the lesser-known parks in Tanzania (dwarfed in size by the Masai Mara and Ngorongoro crater parks), Tarangire is thronged with wildlife towards the end of the dry season. Elephants flock here in their hundreds, and in one day there expect to see lions, leopard, buffalo, fish eagles, dik-dik, mongoose, zebra, wildebeest. The works, in short.
About two hours west of Arusha. Book with one of Arusha's myriad operators and leave as early as you can the next morning to get the best of the morning. Take in nearby Lake Manyara if you need to see a hippo. www.tanzaniaparks.com/tarangire.htm
I hired a car at J'burg airport and headed up to Kruger for a week self-driving around. A 2WD road car is fine even on the gravel tracks. Booking accommodation before going is recommended on the SAN web site.
I stayed at three different 'camps' from the south to the north to view a range of habitats. Self-driving gives you much more freedom to take photos (I recommend turning off the engine, taking a beanbag and 300mm+ lens to get sharp shots). The 'camp sites' offer guided bush walks which I highly recommend.
Four-hour drive from Johannesberg airport to the nearest entry gate.
The most interesting park at the Eastern Cape, about 50 miles from Port Elisabeth airport. The best way to get there is by renting a car or by organised coach tours.
If you fancy a bit of safari when going to Zanzibar, I can recommend Saadani. It's only a few hours' drive from Dar es Salaam, or I believe you can fly if you are flash!
It's got loads of big game such as lions and elephants and the lodge we stayed at was right on the beach.
Saadani Lodge has a website: www.saadanilodge.com
Tel: +255 22 277 3294.
We booked through www.realafrica.co.uk
The owners of this lodge have succeeded in establishing a touch of luxury in the Eden that is Etosha. The chalets are superbly appointed and the food first-rate. The attention to detail in the decor and furnishings is remarkable. One of the most pleasant stays we have had anywhere.
For game viewing, this park is better than Kruger. Accommodation in the park and outside in Mtubatuba was good but a professional guide is a must.
We were lucky to have Jeff Asherwood who made our trip memorable. His spotting skills and knowledge are legendary and he worked hard to find every animal we wanted to see. An excellent trip, first-class food and, best of all, we learned a lot while having a great deal of fun.
When visiting a few game reserves and national parks, I have found that wildlife watching is really just wildlife spotting. You usually see an animal and then immediately afterwards, you see the animal running away.
When I visited Mkuze, I sat in one of their hides overlooking a waterhole from dawn (about 6am) till 10.30. There were very few other people, but lots of animals. And this time, I actually managed to observe the animals, as they came for a drink.
It was simply the highlight of my five weeks in South Africa: there were nyala, white rhinos, zebra herds, warthogs, a host of bird species, blue wildebeest and giraffes. None of them were aware of human presence and we could watch them interact and behave naturally - and none ran away!
Walk up Mount Kenya from the north, starting at Timau. It is a longer route than the popular one starting from Naro Moru, in the west, but one avoids the horror of the vertical bog.
It is through moorland and steady slopes. The views are superb and few other walkers are seen. It took us three days to go up and two to come down, sleeping in bunkhouses.
One ends up at the Lenana summit if a walker, however proper mountaineers can go a little higher to Batian or Nelion summits.
For variety, one can descend via the eastern side of the mountain on the Chogoria route through moorland then grassland and finally forest. Watch out for buffalo.
Most of the reputable tour operators could organise this safari. In the ten years living in Kenya this was the most memorable safari - although there were many others almost as good. It is a wonderful country.
On the subject of lodges versus camping, it really doesn't matter to the animals how much you have paid. I went on a budget camping safari and saw the big five within the first day - including both black and white rhino, so many lions I lost count and three leopards.
The most important thing is to talk to your guide beforehand and ask lots of questions. The more knowledge they have, the better your chances of spotting some amazing animals.
This is a great introduction to one of Africa's most glamourous animals. They pose like supermodels and the wardens are extremely knowledgeable. On top of all that, you get to feed the giraffe at their head height which is a breathtaking experience.
Giraffe Centre, Karen, Nairobi
Lewa is a large private conservancy in the north of Kenya. It was once a cattle ranch, then a black rhino conservancy and is now a more wide ranging (non-profit) wildlife conservancy which is also spreading the conservancy message to the communities surrounding the park. One of these communities is where the BBC's Mission Africa was filmed.
Lewa cannot compete with the Masai Mara in terms of wildlife but does have large numbers of black rhino and lots of other animals, including the cats. They also have huge numbers of birds.
The guides are fantastic and very committed and, because the park is large but has limited guests, the predators (in particular) are left to get on with their lives without 30 Land Rovers filled with people with huge cameras watching their every move.
We loved every minute of our time at Lewa and missed the silence and feeling of being alone in the landscape when we moved from there to the Masai Mara. I cannot recommend it enough.
Lewa's site is www.lewa.org which includes all the information you need.
Very intimate, private camp which employs real Maasai warriors to take guests out in the safari trucks - the very best way to experience a game drive!
A midnight swim in the pool while listening to the sounds of the jungle and the animals at the nearby watering hole is unbeatable.
Offbeat Meru Camp, Meru National Park www.offbeatsafaris.com
Loved the managers Jack and Eve.
Great flight over the Okavango and mokoro trip.
Thanks to Jody for arranging the flights to Chobe safari lodge afterwards.
Great lodge with game drives in the Chobe National Park, and lots of elephants. Booked with Dumela Botswana for discounted rates.
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