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Summer 2009 Adventure

Greetings to you all. Here is the outline for a legendary two – three week holiday in June / July 2009. 

The plan is to drive in a convoy of expedition equipped 4x4 safari vehicles on an African Adventure, followed hopefully by some time on the Indian Ocean coastline.  For the safari part the main two areas we could visit are Botswana, or East Africa (Tanzania or Kenya).

Current interest from about 25 people including;

probables: bkm, jack wood, charlie bell, charlie birley, ali & vilma, jp & rachel, doc proc & susannah,

possibles: scotty & britney, rach & grant, claz & barney, LOP & Jamie, claire black, big si (aitken) & jo, tiny & lucy.

I'm sure there will be more interest, and the great thing is the whole trip will be 100% scaleable, as we can add any number of vehicles to the convoy.  I expect that at the end of it all - we'll have between 12 and 20.  Each vehicle will be capable of having 6 people at a squeeze, but ideally 4 people.  So for example - 20 people would likely be 5 cars.

INDEX Costs Where shall we go? Itinerary When to go Beach Extensions Other ideas How to book

THE COSTS

8Airfares - depends where we go - flights to Kenya start at £500pp, for the Vic Falls and Botswana options flights will be around the £850pp mark. 

8Vehicle hire will be between £150 and £200 per day. That will be for a high spec land cruiser fully equipped with the works.  So if we take average occupancy of 4 persons per vehicle, a worst case scenario is per person cost of £50 per day x 12 days = £600 per person. (In all likelyhood we might do a few days less on safari, so that we can build in some time on the beach, so this cost could come down.)

8On trip expenses to budget for include; fuel, food, grog, national park entry fees. If we were to budget a generous £40 per person per day to cover this, then we are looking at £40 per day x 12 days = £480 per person

Totalled up Kenya itinerary will come to £500 + £600 + £480 = £1580 per person. 

The Botswana + Vic Falls itinerary, we will be approx £850 + £600 + £480 = £1930 per person. 

The above assumes a 2 week holiday (12 days on the ground + 2 days for travel).

WHERE SHALL WE GO?

There are a number of different routes open to us –

- Northern Tanzania (Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Rift Valley)

- Kenya – exploring the rift valley from Turkana to Lake Natron.

- Botswana (the Okavango Delta) and Victoria Falls

- Namibia, Botswana and Victoria Falls

All the routes have their pro’s and cons – the Tanzania and Kenya ones would be great if we wanted to combine with some beach time on Zanzibar or Kenya Coast, whereas the Botswana and Vic Falls options would be better for lions tour add-ons.  My feeling is that we should avoid Tanzania as it'll be hellish busy, plus more expensive than Kenya.  So that leaves Kenya trip or a Botswana / Vic Falls trip as options.

Pluses for the Kenya itinerary:

1. Cheaper.
2. Imagine Africa is a bigger player here, so better chances of using that leverage to get some complimentary bits and bobs
3. For combining with somewhere on the beach – this definitely best plan (see Beach Extension paragraph)
4. Easier to join the trip half way through, or to leave the trip early – so much more flexible.
5. Flight connections to South Africa for anyone keen on Lions Tour.

Pluses Bots + Vic Falls itinerary:

1. More off the beaten track. Longer periods in the bush. 
2. Quite a few people will already have been to Kenya, whereas Bots / Vic Falls itinerary might represent a more interesting / new experience
3. Closer to South Africa for those with interest in the Lions Tour.

I personally am keenest for the Kenya .  So below is a full itinerary showing how this would work....

ITINERARY

ITINERARY Day 1 Check in at London Heathrow for British Airways/Kenya Airways flight departing early evening for Nairobi (8 hours).  Day 2 On arrival into Nairobi at about 06h30, we will be met and transferred to a hotel in Nairobi where our fleet of expedition equipped land rovers will be waiting.    Rest of day for buying provisions, visiting elephant orphanage, drinking beers, planning the route and packing the vehicles.   Day 3 Head off for Masai Mara Game Reserve (4 hours).  An awesome drive accross the Great Rift Valley.  Arrive in the Mara and set up camp in our private campsite, before dinner and a night game drive.  Days 4 & 5   Game viewing in the Mara.  No need for everyone to stick together, each of the vehicles can do their own thing. Plus anyone with cash to burn (£230 per person) can do a hot air balloon flight over the plains - just let me know, and I can arrange.   Day 3,4,5 (Option) Any people wanting a bit more luxshry for some or all of the first three nights could opt to stay at somewhere like Naibor Camp which is close to where we'll be bush camping.  Day 6 Pack up camp camp, and head across the great rift valley to Lake Naivasha (off road driving for about 2 hours, followed by a further 2 hours on tarmac).    Lake Naivasha is a freshwater lake, surrounded by lots of shady acacia trees.  We will camp here for one night at Fishermans Camp.  Activities here include fishing, mountain biking, canoeing and i think you can even waterski here if you dont' mind the hippos. Day 7 Early morning start - we will continue northwards up the Rift Valley and into Lake Nakuru for a half day wildlife viewing.  The park is one of the best places to see leopard and rhino in all of East Africa, and the lake is normally choc full of flamingos. After a picnic lunch by the lake shore, we'll leave the park and drive (3 hours) to Lake Baringo, arriving late afternoon. Here we can either camp (at the Roberts Campsite), or we can hire some houses on the lake shore (still v. cheap), or for about £100pp a night, we could stay on one of the islands in the middle of the lake.  I love Baringo, so would care what we did. Day 8 Full day for fun and games in and around Lake Baringo. Canoeing, moutain biking, kitesurfing, waterskiing, fishing, exploring lake by boat (great birding), visiting hot springs at Lake Bogoria (v close), or going to visit some of the Njemps tribe that live on the other side of the lake. Day 9 Pack up and head towards the Laikipia and the Matthews Range - a group of remote mountains to the north of Samburu.  This is the "off the beaten track" part of the trip.  We'll be off road driving, fording rivers, bush camping, seeing plenty of animals and relying on GPS to get to where we want. Day 9 (Alternative Option) This will be the last part of the safari - and anyone ready to get to a beach could head down to Lamu or Mombasa and skip this bit.  Days 10, 11 & 12 3 days in Laikipia, Samburu and the Matthews Day 14 Transfer back to Zanzibar airport in time for the early morning Coastal flight to Dar es Salaam (20 mins).  On arrival, check in immediately for the British Airways flight departing for London.  Arrive into London Heathrow that evening.

WHEN TO GO

The main 2 week itinerary will take place between Friday 26^th June 2009 and Sunday 19^th July 2009.  Exact dates within the above period to be confirmed at a later stage.

Extensions to the trip can easily be arranged for either before or after the trip

Reasons for my decision on dates are;

8Air fares to everywhere in Africa go on up on approx 10^th July – as this is when peak season starts (extra £250pp).  So outbound travel must be before this (outbound date governs flights costs, doesn’t matter when return date is).

8The Lions Tour to South Africa starts on 30^th May and ends 4^th July.  The three tests are on 20^th June (Pretoria), 27^th June (Durban) and 04 July (Jo’burg).  Anyone keen to incorporate this, can do so before the trip.

8There is a wedding on 19^th June in France that a few people are going to, so keen avoid being away on this date. 

8For the safari part - weather will be great anytime in June or July – but for anyone considering beach time after the safari, the later we depart the better.

BEACH EXTENSION

If we do the Kenya trip, then getting down to the coast is v. easy.  There are some great places to stay for those after a bit of seclusion and romance (www.kizingo.com or www.msambweni-house.com) and if a group of people are keen to get down to the beach, then the Kizingoni Beach Houses in Lamu would be incredible (www.kizingonibeach.com/house.aspx?HouseID=4) they can sleep up to 20 people easily and quite cheaply.

OTHER IDEAS

Depending on peoples budgets and ideas for the trip we can definitely look at adding in a 2 night stop at a lodge here or there.  This is particularly for the Kenya option as link to Imagine Africa could open a few doors. Tassia (www.imagineafrica.co.uk/Kenya/Laikipia__Safari_Lodges/Tassia.html), Sarara (www.lewa.org/sarara.php) or Shompole (www.imagineafrica.co.uk/Kenya/Amboseli_Safari_Lodges/Shompole_Lodge.html) would be options.

HOW TO BOOK

Call ben on 07795 057 820, or email by clicking here

Would be good if anyone interested can signal intent asap – even if not ready to book. Numbers are may end being limited – as I have a feeling theres a lot of keenness out there - so definitely let me know if interested.

Those ready to confirm attendance - I will need to know if you are going to be keen to do the full safari which will be about 10 days, or just part of it.  And I’ll also want to know if you are interested in beach extension.

Stating the obvious – the earlier you sign up the more time you have to save.  At the moment if you were to save £130 a month you’d have enough for the Kenya trip by next July!

I am going to do the full safari, with a week on the beach – if there are enough people then I’m definitely going to hire one of the Kizingoni Beach Houses mentioned above.

BotswanaKenyaMozambiqueSouth AfricaMauritiusTanzaniaNamibiaZanzibar

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