AFRICAN SAFARI PLANNER

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The Complete African Safari Planner
(Fodor's) ISBN 978-1400019281 1400019281

This Fodor's guidebook helps travelers select game reserves, safari lodges, national parks and safari tour operators in Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Victoria Falls and Zimbabwe.

The Complete African Safari Planner describes attractions such as wild animals, trees, plants and where to find them, and activities such as game drives, sandboarding on dunes and meeting African tribes. A safari vacation calendar helps travelers organize walking safaris, mobile tented camp stays and self-drive safari trips.

Swahili food

Readers learn when to go on safari (e.g., June, July and October for the great migration in Kenya and Tanzania), the differences between luxury and tented safaris, and costs and locations of safari lodges, national park campgrounds and self-catering accommodations.

Where to Eat sections provide information on menus, addresses, costs and entertainment in African restaurants. For example, travelers will find Swahili food and Tarab music in Monsoon Restaurant in Zanzibar.

Things to do in African game reserves

Informative and well-organized, Fodor's Complete African Safari Planner introduces each African park and game reserve section with highlights and a star rating of game viewing, park accessibility, ease of getting around, accommodations and scenic beauty. A description of what to see and do and where to stay follows. For example, two of the oldest parks in Africa in the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa, offer activities like Wilderness Trails walks with armed rangers for three days and four nights.

Planner sections cover facts like the number of national parks in Namibia (eight), when to go (May to September in Etosha National Park) and currency (the Namibian dollar).

Did you Know sidebars contain facts such as the largest population of elephants in the world is in Selous Game Reserve, a Tanzania World Heritage Site, which is the second largest national park in the world.

African national park maps

Excellent colored maps depict national parks and game reserves. Photos illustrate luxury lodges, game viewing, African tribes and safari trips.

The snows of Mount Kilimanjaro may be disappearing, but 12,000 visitors (along with four to six porters, guides and a cook) try to summit the dormant volcano every year. The Complete African Safari Planner includes a map of Mt. Kilimanjaro National Park and information on trekking to the summit: where to start, when to go, the routes, the geology and terrain (farmland, forest and scrub zone at the base; alpine desert and a glacier on the summit). Tips on climbing Kilimanjaro include avoiding the full moon when the summit is crowded.

The African Arts and Culture chapter introduces readers to African souvenirs like beadwork, woven baskets, handpainted batik, weavings, rock art, wirecraft and paintings. Readers learn approximate prices (e.g., Tinga Tinga paintings in Kenya cost $10 to $50) and where to find handicrafts (e.g., Cultural Heritage in Arusha, Tanzania, sells tanzanite items).

Learn to speak Swahili

The Vocabulary chapter lists useful phrases in Swahili (e.g., Ngapi shillings? means How much is it?) and helpful phrases in Zulu (e.g., Ngicela means I want to buy).

Another chapter describes what to wear on safari (khaki colored clothing, sturdy walking shoes, Tilley hats and good sunglasses) and what not to wear on safari (camouflage clothing, so you aren't confused with African military and white clothing, which startles animals).

The Health section lists which vaccinations you need for African safari vacations and how to protect yourself from malaria (DEET, light colored clothing and antimalarial drugs).

A chapter on African music describes African musical instruments such as the talking drums in Western Africa, Djembe drums, mbira (thumb piano), Khoisan mouth bow, kudu horn, concertina, marimbas (African xylophones) and pennywhistles.

Information about Ngorongoro Crater

Ngorongoro Crater boasts spectacular scenery and some of the best game viewing in Africa. The UNESCO World Heritage Site is part of a group of volcanoes in the Biosphere Reserve of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area of northern Tanzania. A Keep in Mind sidebar recommends arriving early (6:30 am) to beat traffic jams and avoiding the Ngorongoro Crater rainy season (April and May).

Where to Stay on the Crater Rim describes facilities and contact information for luxury lodges like Ngorongoro Crater Lodge and Ngorongoro Serena Lodge. Where to Stay in Ngorongoro Conservation Area identifies additional luxury safari lodges, permanent tented camps and budget lodging such as Ngorongoro Safari Resort.

A sidebar on The Cradle of Mankind, Olduvai Gorge, a World Heritage Site in the Great Rift Valley of eastern Africa, gives readers information about fossil discoveries, such as Paranthropus boisei and Homo habilis. Did You Know sidebars provide facts like: baby white rhinos follow their mothers while baby black rhinos walk in front of their mothers.

The Complete African Safari Planner

Contents

Editor

Alexis C. Kelly

More information on African wildlife:

South Africa Cheetah Outreach and Conservation


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