AFRICAN SAFARI PLANNER
Review by Barb & Ron Kroll
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.
Contents
- About this book
- Your safari
- What's where
- When to go
- If you like
- What's your budget?
- Safari planning timeline
- Who's who
- Tour operator chart and reviews
- Special considerations
- Types of safaris
- The changing continent
- Flora & fauna
- Flora & fauna planner
- Finding the Big 5
- Other animals
- Birds
- Trees
- Plants
- Kenya
- Welcome to Kenya
- Kenya planner
- Must-see parks
- Masai Mara
- Where to stay
- Between Masai Mara & Amboseli National Park
- Amboseli National Reserve
- Where to Stay
- Near Amboseli & Tsavo East & West
- Tsavo National Park
- Tsavo East
- Tsavo West
- Where to stay
- Laikipia Plateau
- Samburu National Reserve
- If you have time
- Nairobi National Park
- Meru National Park
- The lakes of Kenya
- Gateway city
- Nairobi
- Nairobi essentials
- Beach escapes
- The Kenyan coast
- Kenya essentials
- Transportation
- Contacts & resources
- Green lodgings in Kenya
- Tanzania
- Welcome to Tanzania
- Tanzania planner
- Must-see parks
- Serengeti National Park
- Where to stay
- Ngorongoro Crater
- Where to stay on the Crater Rim
- Where to stay in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area
- Lake Manyara National Park
- Where to stay
- Selous Game Reserve
- Where to stay
- Gombe Stream & Mahale Mountains National Parks
- Gombe Stream National Park
- Mahale Mountains National Park
- Where to stay
- If you have time
- Arusha National Park
- Tarangire National Park
- Ruaha National Park
- Gateway City
- Dar es Salaam
- Arusha
- Beach escapes
- Zanzibar
- Mnemba Island off Zanzibar
- Tanzania essentials
- Transportation
- Contacts & resources
- Green Lodgings in Tanzania
- South Africa
- Welcome to South Africa
- South Africa planner
- Must-see parks
- Kruger National Park
- Where to stay
- Sabi Sands Game Reserve
- Where to stay
- KwaZulu-Natal Parks
- Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve
- Mkuze Game Reserve
- Itala Game Reserve
- Phinda Private Game Reserve
- Thanda Private Game Reserve
- Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
- Where to stay
- If you have time
- Tswalu Kalahari Reserve
- Pilanesberg National Park
- Ukhahlamba/Drakensberg Park
- Addo Elephant Park
- Shamwari Game Reserve
- Gateway cities
- Johannesburg
- Cape Town
- Johannesburg & Cape Town essentials
- Beach escapes
- Durban
- Plettenberg Bay
- Wilderness
- Durban, Plettenberg Bay & wilderness essentials
- South Africa essentials
- Transportation
- Contacts & resources
- Green lodgings in South Africa
- Botswana
- Welcome to Botswana
- Botswana planner
- Must-see parks
- The Okavango Delta
- Where to stay
- Moremi Wildlife Reserve
- Where to stay
- Chobe National Park
- Where to stay
- Kwando Reserve
- If you have time
- The Central Kalahari Game Reserve
- The Makgadikgadi Pans
- The Tuli Block
- Linyanti Area
- Gateway city
- Beach Escapes
- Durban
- Maputaland Coastal Reserve
- Botswana essentials
- Transportation
- Contacts & resources
- Green lodgings in Botswana
- Namibia
- Welcome to Namibia
- Namibia planner
- Must-see parks
- Namib Naukluft Park
- Sesriem & Sossusvlei
- Where to stay
- Damaraland
- Where to stay
- Etosha National Park
- Where to stay
- If you have time
- The Skeleton Coast
- Caprivi Strip
- Waterberg Plateau Park
- Gateway city
- Windhoek
- Beach escape
- Swakopmund
- Namibia essentials
- Transportation
- Contacts & resources
- Green lodgings in Namibia
- Victoria Falls
- Welcome to Victoria Falls
- Victoria Falls planner
- Livingstone, Zambia
- What to see
- Where to stay & eat
- Sports & the outdoors
- Shopping
- Livingstone & Zambia essentials
- Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
- What to see
- Where to stay & eat
- Sports & the outdoors
- Shopping
- Victoria Falls & Zimbabwe essentials
- Green lodgings in Zimbabwe & Zambia
- On safari
- Getting started
- The paper trail
- Money matters
- Health issues
- What to pack
- Clothing
- Toiletries & sundries
- Plugging in
- Binoculars
- Camera smarts
- Photography pointers
- Digital cameras
- Video cameras
- On safari
- Game-viewing
- Health on safari
- Vocabulary
- Safari speak
- South African words & phrases
- Swahili essentials
- Zulu essentials
Closeups- Kenya's tribes
- To go or not to go
- Writer snapshot
- The cradle of mankind
- Tanzania's tribes
- South Africa's tribes
- San culture & language
- San paintings
- Sip & Spoeg like an expert
- Language barrier
- Botswana's tribes
- Namibia's tribes
- From Portugal to the Skeleton Coast
- Windhoek's historic buildings
- Zambia's tribes
- Zimbabwe's tribes
- Safari tipping
- Getting started
- Maps
- What's where
- Distances and flying times
- Kenya
- Masai Mara National Reserve
- Amboseli National Reserve
- Tsavo National Park
- Laikipia Plateau
- Nairobi
- Mombasa
- Lamu
- Malindi
- Tanzania
- Serengeti National Park
- Ngorongoro Conservation Area
- Lake Manyara National Park
- Selous Game Reserve
- Gombe Stream and Mahale Mountains National Parks
- Mt. Kilimanjaro National Park
- Dar es Salaam
- Arusha
- Zanzibar & Mnemba Islands
- South Africa
- Kruger National Park
- Sabi Sands Game Reserve
- KwaZulu-Natal Parks
- Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
- Johannesburg
- Cape Town
- Durban
- Plettenberg Bay
- Botswana
- The Okavango Delta
- Moremi Game Reserve
- Chobe National Park
- Kwando Reserve
- Maputaland Coastal Reserve
- Namibia
- Namib Naukluft Park
- Damaraland
- Etosha National Park
- Windhoek
- Swakopmund
- Victoria Falls
- Livingstone
- Victoria Falls (town)
- Africa
- African safaris in focus
- What to expect
- The Big Five
- The Great Migration
- Mount Kilimanjaro
- African music & dance
- African arts & culture
- The Namibia dunes
- Victoria Falls
- Safari style
Editor
Alexis C. Kelly