Archive for July, 2009
Is Kosher available on safari?
Posted by jimheck in Advice, Planning Travel on July 31, 2009
From SimonandMariaLWagner@ Q. We recently returned from a wonderful safari to South Africa (Kruger, Phinda and Bushkloof) which we had been planning for some time, because we need kosher meals throughout. Now we’d like to visit Tanzania. Is this possible? A. Right now, no. If you stayed most of your time around the bigger cities [...]
OUT OF AFRICA
25 years ago the final shots of the movie that made East Africa famous were just being shot. And today the controversy continues…. The 1985 movie, Out of Africa, was being completed in Naivasha, Kenya, almost exactly 25 years ago. The last scene shot was actually in the middle of the movie, where the lions [...]
Best Time To Go
Posted by jimheck in Planning Travel on July 20, 2009
First-timers always ask, “When is the best time to go?” to East Africa. There’s no easy answer, but there are many wrong answers! I got a lovely email this morning from Amy who is planning her safari honeymoon. Honeymoons are a large part of any tourism business, and according to lovecarnival.com, more and more couples [...]
Tourism Plummets
Posted by jimheck in Tourism Trends on July 17, 2009
As tourism to East African continues to plunge, Kenya’s mistaken approach is to lie about the statistics. Last week Kenya’s Central Bank reported that “tourism continues to do well” and that visitor numbers were up nearly 55.4% over last year. Read a bit further. Actual revenues, which the CBK can’t lie about as easily, dropped [...]
Drought Deepens
The drought in Kenya is seriously effecting many game parks, and may be headed for catastrophe by August. The current drought is not universal across the region, and much of Tanzania seems normal if a bit dry. But Kenya, which is found in the two-rainy-season region of East Africa, is definitely reaching a crisis stage. [...]
Border Opening?
Posted by jimheck in Planning Travel, Politics on July 10, 2009
Overland border crossings between Kenya and Tanzania have been restricted since the late 1970s. Are things about to change? While in the Mara for the last three days I talked with a border policeman at the Sand River Gate. He said that in the last week, Kenyan customs and immigration officials have arrived with new [...]
Mara Family
Posted by jimheck in Big Game, Family Safari, Mara on July 7, 2009
Family safaris usually occur at a difficult time for optimum game viewing. But the Mara won that game for us! Understandably, most family safaris are scheduled for the summer school holiday. Spring break is often too short, and there are often kids in the same family with different spring breaks. And with U.S. schools starting [...]
Crater of Cats
Posted by jimheck in Big Game, Ngorongoro Crater, Planning Travel on July 6, 2009
This is not the best time to visit Ngorongoro, because so many of the animals have left during the dry season. And that meant for us, lots of cats! Travel brochure description is a communication form that is often low on truth. And economies often motivate the travel companies to use the same description of [...]
Manyara Saturday
Posted by jimheck in Lake Manyara on July 4, 2009
Saturdays are crowded in Lake Manyara National Park, but we still got a couple hours of fun game viewing in. One of the really encouraging signs in Tanzania is how Tanzanians are using their own national parks more and more. I remember not too many years ago, you’d never see anyone but a foreign tourist [...]
Fabulous Tarangire
Posted by jimheck in Big Game, Tarangire, Wildlife Management on July 4, 2009
While much of the rest of East Africa is suffering in the midst of a serious drought, Tarangire though dry is still fabulous. We entered the national park in the late afternoon at the northern gate, and we’d traveled hardly three minutes before we encountered the Watermelon Club. The watermelon club is composed of 20 [...]
Overland Attractions
Posted by jimheck in Planning Travel on July 2, 2009
There’s a lot more to coming to East Africa than just to see animals, as I’ve often written. And overland travel increase those options even more. Our day of travel from Kenya to Tanzania (from Amboseli to Tarangire) was made easier by the enthusiasm of everyone to do everything on the way! So we left [...]