Tag

Announcing my Botswana safari for 2017 is now available for you to join!  This is an exclusive safari for just 8 people with me, combining the World Heritage wetlands and wildlife fiesta of the Okavango Delta, the elephant-rich woodlands of the Khwai region and the Makgadigadi Pan among the San Bushmen.  It’s 7 nights in one of the world’s last great wildernesses and a safari not to be missed if you love animals and Africa at its wildest!

One of the great things about being in Botswana is you can see lions like this big guy at close range and completely unworried about our vehicle.

As with all my safaris, we’ve focused on ethical safari camps that make a difference, but also keeping to the highest standard, especially when it comes to the wildlife experience.  On my last Botswana safari, my group were blown away by how much wildlife we saw at close range, including lion after lion after lion, tonnes of elephants (Botswana has the largest elephant population in Africa), spotted hyaena pups at a den, African wild dogs stalking a giraffe, cheetah, baby impalas…. We were there then in the low season (green season) but this time we’re going just after the Okavango floods so we will see the wetlands in all their glory!  Take a look at the amazing shots from my 2014 safari to Botswana here.  As with all the safaris I personally lead, I’ll be talking through the animal behaviours and conservation issues as we go along, and there are always great conversations by the campfire after a day out in the bush.

Seeing the Delta from a mokoro is a must-do experience and incredibly peaceful. Last time we were lucky enough to see some sitatunga!

Here’s the itinerary for June 2017:

You will make your way from wherever you are in the world to Maun, Botswana, where the safari starts and ends.  International flights are not included in the price, but all internal flights and transfers from the start of the safari in Maun to the end in Maun are included, as are all activities, meals, drinks, conservation and park fees.

Happy elephants in the Okavango, Botswana, taken on my last group safari there in November 2014

June 16:  Light aircraft charter to Khwai area, staying at the community-owned Khwai Camp for 2 nights among the elephants in the mopane woodlands.  (NB. This camp has just changed hands so the new website is coming soon, but for those in the know it was previously on my itinerary in 2014.  For full details of the camp, contact me for the itinerary. Suffice to say it is in awesome part of the Okavango with tonnes of elephants!!)

June 18: Light aircraft charter from Khwai area to Pelo Camp for 2 nights, to experience the wetlands for which the Okavango is famous.  Here we will try out a mokoro (wooden dugout canoe) to see the wildlife up close on the water.

June 20: Light aircraft charter from Pelo Camp to Maun, followed by 1 hour road transfer to Meno a Kwena Camp, where we will overnight for 3 nights.  Experience traditional life on a walk with the Bushmen, watch the elephants and other wildlife drinking at the river in front of camp (including at a floating hide on the Boteti River!), and see desert-adapted wildlife in the Makgadigadi Pans National Park or the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, both within easy reach of the camp.  We can even do a sleep out on bedrolls in the park if you like!  Click here for more on Meno a Kwena Camp & activities.

June 23: Return to Maun by 1 hour road transfer for your international flight out.

Only 8 people can come on this safari with me as I am limited by room availability, so please register your interest ASAP!

Price is US$5900/person sharing.  The price goes down to US$5750/person if you bring a friend to share your room!  Note this includes almost everything other than your international flights.  You will need to keep some money aside for souvenirs and tips, but there are no visa entry fees for Botswana.  Single supplement for those who want their own room is possible.

This photo of young Aussie wildlife crusader Alice Bertram was taken at Banoka Camp in 2014 during my group safari, just near where our 2017 safari will be going first….

Pelo Camp, Okavango Delta, Botswana

Pelo Camp, inside a guest room – boutique luxury in the bush… I love being behind canvas at night in Botswana as it lets all the wonderful sounds of the animal world in (while keeping the lions out!).

Pelo Camp guest room – the exact right amount of comfort in the bush….

Watching elephants having a bath in the Boteti River at Meno a Kwena Camp

Watch the elephants in the river at sunset while you have your own relaxing time in the pool  at Meno a Kwena Camp.  Look at that sky!

Experiencing the traditional culture of the San Bushmen is something else (at Meno a Kwena)

What more could you want from an African safari?  I’d love to have you along with me on this magical journey into the heartland of Africa’s elephants, Botswana, in June 2017.  Contact me for the full itinerary now and register your interest!

I’m getting very excited about my upcoming safaris in 2016, which are set to be in some of Africa’s most spectacular wilderness areas!  As always when you book with Matson & Ridley Safaris, the whole experience are specially hand-designed by me every step of the way to ensure that your hard earned dollars are spent as ethically as possible, to maximise benefits flowing back to African people and their wildlife.  And of course, I choose the areas and camps I want to go to based on the best I can find in terms of wildlife experience, exclusivity, camp feeling and local culture – so you get a mind-blowing African journey that will change your life.  Most groups I take are between 8 and 12 people, so you get to know people really well.  Imagine yourself spending time with like minds on the savannah while watching elephants and then spinning a few yarns under the starry night sky by the campfire later – life doesn’t get much better really!

I have a few spots for my safaris left in 2016, but don’t wait to grab your spots as these have to be booked this year.

Kenya’s Maasai Mara in the green season, including a private visit to Daphne Sheldrick’s elephant orphanage

20-27 Feb 2016.

Up to 7 places left, but time is very limited to sign up for this trip as you only have until THIS FRIDAY!  Check out my photos from  last year’s trip.  An unforgettable journey – I can’t recommend this area highly enough!

Lions thinking about chasing some wildebeest – a virtual buffet in the Maasai Mara (photo: Tammie Matson)

Namibia’s Skeleton Coast – Himbas, desert elephants & dunes!

20-27 May 2016.

Only one spot left for a single female!!  Check out my photos from this year’s trip to Namibia.

North West Namibia – one of the greatest wilderness areas left in Africa (photo: Wilderness Safaris)

Zimbabwe – Hwange, Mana Pools and Victoria Falls!

23-30 September 2016.

Only 3 spots left!  This trip is different to the one I advertised previously as it focuses only on northern Zimbabwe.  We are going to some of the most wildlife rich areas in Africa – an unbeatable nature experience at some of the most gorgeous camps in the country. Contact me for the itinerary.

Elephants congregate in abundance in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe – one of my favourite parks in Africa (photo: Wilderness Safaris)

My 2017 Safaris

Shortly I’ll be releasing the details of the conservation safaris I’ll be leading in 2017.  I can share at this stage that there will be two back-to-back ethical safaris that you can join either one of or both during August 2017.  The first, starting on 8 August 2017, will be to Rwanda to experience the incredible Mountain Gorillas up close and personal.  The second starting 5 days later, is in Tanzania, exploring the great plains of East Africa’s Great Rift Valley, first at Ngorogoro Crater and then onto the world famous Serengeti, during the height of the wildebeest migration.  There will be an add-on adventure at the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro for those who are keen to continue the journey after the Serengeti!  Full details of both of these adventures will be in a blog very soon, but do drop me a line if you’re keen to register your interest…

Baby Mountain Gorilla (photo courtesy of Governors Camps)

Kenya and Botswana are two of the most amazing wildlife destinations in Africa, but they do come at a price.  If you’ve always wanted to travel to these countries, you can save a lot of money by going in the green season.

Today I can announce a great saving on my Kenyan safari from 20-27 February next year.   I’m taking a small, intimate group of adventurers with me to the world famous Maasai Mara in Kenya, following a visit to the wonderful elephant orphanage run by Dame Daphne Sheldrick in Nairobi, staying in the best areas in communal conservancies that directly benefit local Maasai communities.  I still have a few spots left and I’m offering them at a reduced rate if you get in quick!

Price now reduced to US$5000/per person sharing!!  Contact me now for the full itinerary.  This saving is only valid for the next two weeks til 6th November, so get in quick for this special last minute rate!

Our group watches an exhausted male lion (in between a week of mating every twenty minutes) – photo taken on my group safari July 2015

Check out my photos from the Maasai Mara in July here – it’s spectacular!  Our trip in February is during the green season which is just beautiful and full of baby animals….

And there are some great deals going in the Okavango Delta if you can travel between January and April next year.  Consider going on a 6 night safari at prime Wilderness Safaris explorations camps in this world heritage area for just US$3,499/person sharing (valid for travel between Jan-April, set dates).  This is a great saving in one of the most wildlife-rich parts of Africa, and much less expensive than going in peak season.  But availability won’t last so get in touch quickly if you’re interested.

For information on special deals in Botswana or to sign up for my Kenyan safari in February at the reduced rate, get in touch with me now!

An amazingly relaxed female leopard let us watch her for over an hour just before sunset during my group safari in the Okavango Delta, December 2014

It had been a few years since I’d been back to Namibia, the desert land where I studied black-faced impalas for my PhD, later planning a reintroduction for the subspecies to their historic range in the far north west.  Namibia is also where I went on to start my work on elephants, working with the San Bushmen in Nyae Nyae Conservancy to help alleviate human-elephant conflict over water.  Namibia will always have a special place in my heart, and it gave me a great grounding in the how-to of practical conservation.  It’s also a great place to go on safari, being easy and safe by African standards, and having the most astounding landscapes, fascinating cultures and unique wildlife, unlike anywhere else.

Oryx in Palmwag, Damaraland, near Desert Rhino Camp, a ecotourism partnership between Wilderness Safaris and Save The Rhino Trust, that also benefits 3 local communities.

I believe Namibia is one of the best countries in the world in terms of innovative, practical conservation, largely because of their highly successful community-based conservation efforts, centred around the communal conservancies.  There’s no better place to visit than camps like Doro !Nawas Camp, Damaraland Camp, Serra Cafema Camp and Desert Rhino Camp, if you want to see how engaged local communities get when they have genuine ownership over their natural resources.  It’s not only the fact that you have locals running these camps, as managers, waiters and guides – it’s the warm feeling you get from the staff, who are not just employees but owners and landlords.

One of our excellent guides, Johan, at Desert Rhino Camp in Palmwag concession

I had a fantastic group of people on safari with me this time, mostly expats from Singapore of Dutch, Indian and American backgrounds, as well as a representative Aussie and a Kenyan!  They were all up for an adventure, and that’s certainly what Namibia provides.  Flying over the vast landscapes is half the experience, seeing the dune shapes from the air and if you’re lucky, seeing flamingoes and seals along the coast!

Our whole group enjoying a Namib sunset at Kulala

Seeing wild flamingos on Nambia’s coastline is utterly breath taking

We kicked off the safari at Kulala Desert Lodge, the closest camp to the famous Sossusvlei area in the Namib Naukluft Park.  I was delighted to find that my research assistant, Munekamba (now known as Ati-Sari), who helped me on my black-faced impala studies in north-west Namibia, is now the manager at Kulala Desert Lodge.  If you’ve read my second book “Elephant Dance” you’ll remember the story of the two bull elephants standing over my tent while my assistant looked on from his roof top tent – well, that was Munekamba!  After we worked together I introduced him to the managers at one of the Wilderness Safaris camps, and he’s done so well that he’s now managing one of their busiest camps.  I’m stoked to say Munekamba saw his first elephant with me back in 2006 – and it was standing over my tent at the time!

Me with Munekamba, my former research assistant, now known as Ati-Sari as manager of Kulala Desert Ldoge, and my Aussie guest, Robert Livingstone-Ward, who took the most incredible photos (check them out on Facebook – and this one above is also from his camera)

Kulala Desert Lodge is a great place to explore the Namib from.  If you want, you can actually sleep on the roofs of the gorgeous chalets, star gazing from your bed as you drift off to sleep, however it wasn’t the best night for it for one of my group, Robert, as during the night a sand storm blew in and he had to make a quick departure inside!  It was a wild morning in the dunes, as the more adventurous among us climbed the dunes, being literally blown right off their feet as cyclonic winds whipped across the desiccated landscape.

Flying over Namibia on safari gives you a unique perspective to see the vastness of the landscapes

At Dead Vlei however, it was perfectly calm, somehow protected from the winds by its sunken position.  We discovered several fascinating species in the Namib, including the white lady spider and a horned adder at Sesreim Canyon, plus a wonderful spotted eagle owl in a tree near where we stopped for coffee, all well spotted by our excellent Wilderness Safaris guides.  But to me it’s always the oryx that steal the show in the Namib, these magnificent antelopes with their black and white markings and sharp, straight horns that make them stand out so strikingly against the pastel colours of the mountains.

Oryx (or gemsbok) at Kulala

Horned adder, well spotted by our guides in Sesriem Canyon

Then it was off to Desert Rhino Camp at Palmwag in Damaraland, a place of incredible red, rocky, mountainous landscapes, and home of rare black rhinos who munch on toxic milk bushes (Euphorbia damarana), springbok and oryx, kudu and many more desert- adapted creatures.  If the Namib is like landing on the moon, then Damaraland is like going to Mars.  Here were were lucky enough to experience spotted hyaenas at a den, including two very young ones who walked right up to our vehicles with not a care in the world.

We joined the Save The Rhino Trust trackers on a walk to see a black rhino they had found earlier that morning, a bull known as “Don’t Worry”, who had been dehorned as part of a Ministry of Environment and Tourism initiative to reduce poaching in Damaraland.  It never feels right to me to see a rhino without its horn, and I worry about the ability of the rhinos to defend their young against lions and conduct normal behaviours without this natural appendage.  Sadly, there is evidence that poachers will still kill dehorned rhinos for the small amount of horn left below the skin, because of its high value on the illegal market in Vietnam.

There was lots of discussion around the campfire about rhino conservation, and a recurrent theme was the issue of legalising the trade in rhino horn, which seemed to be a popular idea among all the Namibian wardens, guides and rangers I spoke to.  Many people in Namibia feel that they should be benefiting from the horns, not the criminals involved in the trade, or that the sales of horn could support rhino conservation.  While this makes sense to me, I can’t imagine how wild rhinos, with such low populations today, and continuing to decline at 1000+ per year, could sustain a market in Vietnam, with its growing population of 93 million+ and increasing wealth.   In Africa, a single horn can fetch three year’s worth of a local person’s monthly salary, so there are very real incentives for good guys to sacrifice conservation for economic motivation.  We have to continue to support anti-poaching efforts in Africa, but I’m more convinced than ever that reducing demand in Vietnam is the most effective weapon we have to stop the slaughter.  That’s why I think awareness campaigns in Vietnam (like Breaking the Brand) need much greater support, targeting the elite audience who are buying it.  This battle cannot be won in Africa alone.

Increasingly rare black-rhino next to a Euphorbia bush

Desert Rhino Camp is a partnership between Wilderness Safaris and both Save The Rhino Trust and 3 Damara communities surrounding the Palmwag concession.  Going there is truly supporting conservation because what you pay to visit directly supports the 3 communities and pays for the trackers to protect the rhino every day in the concession.  I love examples of genuine community-based conservation like this, based on sound economic principles.  And quite besides the feel good factor of going there and knowing the contribution you’re making makes a real difference, which the staff remind you about all the time by thanking you at least three times a day, the feeling in this camp is just magical.  The staff sing and dance every night (and boy, have they got rhythm!), and on our last night they arranged a surprise starlit dinner out in the bush, something that me and my group will never forget.  It was the highlight of our Namibian journey.

Impromptu yoga session led by Roopa Dewan, one of my guests, as the sun rose over Damaraland

Finally it was off to see some big animals up close at the Ongava Game Reserve, right next to Etosha National Park.  For me this is really home territory as I was based there for two years in a battered old caravan at Okaukeujo research camp while collecting data on black-faced impalas for my PhD.  This part of the world is really fantastic in terms of wildlife in September, the dry season, because you get the big concentrations of animals at the waterholes, and on this front it didn’t disappoint.  You can simply sit at a waterhole for hours in Etosha at this time of year, just watching the hundreds of animals come and go.

As the dry season progresses in Namibia, you see more and more animals concentrating at waterholes

We also spent some time with mating lions in Etosha, walked up to white rhinos at Ongava and shared a cup of coffee at Okaukeujo waterhole with my old friends, Shayne Kotting (MET warden, Okaukeujo) and Birgit Kotting (MET, head of the rhino custodianship program).

Lion striding towards Etosha Pan in the heat haze

I’d like to thank Dr Julian Fennessy of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation for giving us a talk on the plight of Africa’s giraffes on our first night in Windhoek and for joining us for a fun night at Joe’s Beerhouse afterwards.  Julian really opened our eyes about the increasingly worrying state of Africa’s giraffe subspecies, and watch the IUCN red list this year which is likely to suggest that quite a few giraffe species are more endangered than we realised.

Giraffe in Damaraland (see the welwitchias in the foreground, Namibia’s dinosaur?)

A magical moment – surrounded by elephants at Ombika waterhole, Etosha National Park

Thanks also to Abigail Guerier at Ongava Research Centre for the fascinating talk at Ongava on our last day on her work on the genetics of white rhinos.  Fascinating to learn about the complex life histories of these prehistoric giants.  Let’s just hope they are around for our children to see!

Black-faced impala rams and an elephant bull at Ongava Lodge waterhole

All in all, it was a fantastic life-changing journey, one that I certainly won’t forget, and I hope that all who joined me are now great ambassadors for the cause of conserving Africa’s wildlife.  If you’re interested in joining my next Namibian adventure, contact me to sign up for an odyssey in to the ruggedly beautiful Skeleton Coast from 20-27 May next year, limited to 10 people and already half full.  And last but not least…

Elephant breeding herd heading for water in the heat of the day at Etosha National Park

Finally, a very big thanks to Susan van der Vloodt, who brought most of her family and friends along on this magical journey.  There’s nothing like sharing an African experience with the ones you love, and for me it’s a real privilege to share Africa with others who love being there as much as I do!

The author with Susan van der Vloodt at sunset in the Namib (thanks Robert Livingstone-Ward for taking this photo)

To see more photos from our Namibian journey, you can like our Matson & Ridley Safaris Facebook page by clicking here and pressing ‘like’.

Last year, Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp won Tatler’s “Most Out Of This World” award.  I reckon it would have been a tough choice for this between Hoanib Camp and Serra Cafema, two of the most remote and wild-feeling places you’re ever likely to visit, both of them run by Wilderness Safaris.  That’s why my May 2016 safari focuses on these very two camps.  Because I reckon they’re both awesome and, frankly, I want to go back there!  I want you to feel the magic of Namibia’s wild spaces with me and go home feeling like you’ve just touched the moon.  The truth is, in the modern world there’s not many places you can go where you are truly away from it all, hundreds of kilometres from civilisation and the things that own us (television, smart phones, meetings, commuting…).  You won’t get a better escape than among the desert-dwelling animals and plants of Namibia’s North West region.

Right now I’m recruiting for my safari there in May next year (2016), which is already half full (up to a maximum of 12).  Read on if you’d like to know more and get in touch with me here to sign up.

Can you see yourself here? (I can!) Serra Cafema Camp is set in the middle of the desert on the Kunene River

Namibia – Desert Dreaming Safari

If you’ve never experienced Namibia’s north west then you’ve got something special to look forward to!  If you’ve ever dreamed of visiting the spectacular Skeleton Coast, meeting Namibia’s traditional Himba people, and spending time with desert dwelling elephants and lions in an environment that is wild, remote and pure adventure, then this is the safari for you.

Dates: 20- 27 May 2016

This luxury, conservation-focused safari kicks off on 20th May in Windhoek with a night at the Kalahari Sands Hotel, and then we’re off the next day by plane to Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp for 3 nights.  On our second day, we’ll do a full day fly-in excursion to the Skeleton Coast itself, where we’ll see shipwrecks, desert dunes, seals and so much more.  I’ll spend time telling you about the behaviour and ecological functions of the elephants and other species in this unique, fragile region.

Desert elephants at Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp, Namibia

On 24th May, we’ll fly to Africa’s most remote and my favourite camp, Serra Cafema and spend 3 amazing nights there.  I don’t know how to describe this luxurious camp – it’s so much more than an oasis in the desert.  You just have to see it to believe it.  A community partnership with the local Himba community is one of the unique features, meaning it really makes a meaningful contribution to the locals and hence to conservation.  You’ll see how the Himbas live and breathe in landscapes so big you will feel like the tiniest of insects in this vast landscape.  Serra Cafema camp also made the Top 50 in “Africa’s Finest” for its contribution to conservation.

Serra Cafema area, north west Namibia

Luxury rooms at Serra Cafema overlook the Kunene River, bordering Angola

Finally on 27th May, we’ll all fly back to Windhoek and bid farewell.

Price: SING$10,000/person sharing (approx AUD$9350 at current exchange rate on 3/3/15)

All meals and drinks are included in these safaris (with the one exception of the first night in Windhoek on the Namibian safari), all luxury accommodation, all park and community fees, two activities daily, internal flights between camps, laundry, and donations to relevant conservationists we spend time with.  Travel insurance is compulsory and can be added separately.  International flights to and from your home town are not included.

The local Himba people benefit from the community partnership with Wilderness Safaris that is Serra Cafema Camp

Remember that the price also contributes to local conservation projects and keeps the wildlife and traditional communities you meet along the way afloat – so it’s really as good as a donation to charity.  You’re also keeping my conservation work going, as my safari company is what pays the bills and allows me to do my conservation work for free.

Group size is limited to 12 people and this trip is currently half full.  Family groups are welcome.  Please get in touch with me now if you’d like to sign up for this amazing adventure!

Imagine that you’re sitting back with a nice sundowner, with a bowl of nibbles within reach, looking out over the magnificent wetlands of the Okavango Delta at sunset, knowing that a sumptuous dinner and a luxury room awaits you on your return to camp….  Well if you’ve ever wanted to do it, here’s your chance to do it with me in a couple of months time!  It’s just over two months til I head to the Okavango Delta, Botswana with a group of Aussies and Singaporeans, and I’m starting to get excited.  Most people travel to the Okavango in the peak dry season (June-October) but what many don’t know is that the green season is equally awesome.  Crashing thunderstorms like only Africa can provide, baby animals being born and green grass rather than brown, are just a few of the season’s draw cards.  Of course, it’s also significantly less expensive to travel then.

(more…)

The week before last I went a shade of envy-green….  After finishing up at Earth Hour after 11 years with WWF, my husband Andy Ridley, who, as you all know, I love and adore, travelled to the Okavango Delta in Botswana – without moi!  There he experienced the pure magic that only this part of Africa offers.  There is simply nowhere like the Delta.  Take a look at his photos to see why I was so jealous….  Andy has written the captions below each photo.  If you’d like to join Andy or me in Botswana next year, or if you’d like me to arrange your own personalised African safari through Matson & Ridley Safaris, drop me a line now!  Remember that safari camps in the Okavango are incredibly popular, so if you want your choice of camps it’s best to start planning a year in advance.

Heading out into the Delta from Vumburra Plains Camp, we came across this herd of elephants playing.

(more…)

Africa’s a big place.  Actually, really big.  You can fit all of China, India and much of Europe into it’s vast landscape.  So when you’re planning to go on safari, where do you start?  And once you’ve been once, and you’ve got the Africa bug, where do you go next?

Africa is a big place!

So what’s your favourite safari destination?  It’s a tough question, because they all have their merits.  In this blog I’m going to have a crack at sharing my current top 5 safari destinations and let you make up your mind where’s best for you to live out your dream.

1. Okavango Delta, Botswana

It’s not just that the Okavango is literally teeming with wildlife in the most beautiful palm tree lined wetlands you can imagine, it’s that Botswana itself is such a wonderful conservation success story.  With strong and stable political leadership, a healthy economy and 45% of the population being employed in tourism, it’s no wonder this land-locked country at the centre of southern Africa is doing so well at conserving its wildlife.

Vumburra area, Okavango Delta, Botswana (Photo: Wilderness Safaris)

The human population is only about 2 million and most of the country is classified as desert, so you don’t get the human pressures that you get in other more highly populated African nations (violent crime being one of them).   You’ll see all sorts of interesting critters in Botswana, including all the big cats, African wild dogs, the sitatunga, a wetland dwelling antelope I have yet to feast my eyes on, and the largest elephant population in the world.  Besides that, who wouldn’t want to explore nature in a mokoro?

Suggested Camps:  Chitabe (for predators galore), Xigera (for wetlands, mokoros & sitatungas), Vumburra Plains (for pure luxury in my kind of heaven).

Xigera Camp, Botswana (photo: Wilderness Safaris)

2. Zimbabwe

This choice might surprise you.  Zimbabwe is where I started my African journey back in 1993 on a safari with my Dad at the age of 15 in the Save Valley Conservancy, and it’s still a special place to me.  The Save Valley Conservancy remains one of the best places in Africa to see rare African wild dogs.  If you go during June, July, August, you’ve got a very good chance of seeing pups at dens, and that is just the cutest thing ever.  If you arrange to visit through me, you can also meet the team running the rhino anti-poaching operation, Bryce and Lara, and the Turgwe Hippo Trust‘s Karen Paolillo, who has been studying the area’s hippos for decades.

African wild dog pups, Save Valley Conservancy, Zimbabwe (Photo: Tammie Matson)

I also love Hwange National Park.  It feels like old Africa to me, and the wildlife there, especially in the dry season (June-Oct), is spectacular.  I’ve had lions walk right beside the open vehicle in Hwange, and elephants in their hundreds lining up at waterholes.  The thing about Zimbabwe is that many people aren’t traveling there because of the political instability brought about by the current regime.  But I’ve been traveling there with my family in the last five years without any troubles, and the people are as friendly and welcoming as ever.  And of course, on the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia is the famous Victoria Falls, which you have to see at least once in your life to have your breath literally taken out of you.

Suggested Camps: Sango (Save Valley Conservancy), Little Makololo (Hwange National Park), the River Club (at Victoria Falls, on the Zambian side near Livingstone)

Little Makololo Camp, Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe

3. Kenya

I only recently ventured into East Africa, having spent the last couple of decades exploring what southern Africa has to offer, and man, was I blown away by Kenya!  They’ve been doing safaris in style there for a long time, and it shows in the quality of the experiences they can offer.  One very good reason to go to Kenya is that it has the famous great wildebeest migration in the Masai Mara.  You have to time this carefully to make sure you’re in the right place at the right time.  I am taking a group of up to 12 to Kenya in July next year (safari details here) and there are still spots available for now, but please don’t wait to register your interest as my other two trips to Namibia and Botswana sold out in record time!).

Masai Mara, Kenya (photo: Asilia)

When I got off the plane at Ol Donyo in the Chyulu Hills, nestled between Amboseli and Tsavo National Parks, I looked across the vast grass plains and up to the gobsmacking sight of Mount Kilimanjaro, and I was speechless.  The key with traveling in Kenya is to avoid the crowds of minibuses and go with a good operator that offers you exclusivity with the wildlife.  And as always, I suggest staying at lodges that operate in partnerships with local communities and conservation organisations, so you know your tourism dollars are helping make a difference on the ground.  Kenya is also the home of Daphne Sheldrick’s famous elephant orphanage, a truly special experience that has brought many tears to the eyes of those who visit.

The author overlooking the plains of Chyulu Hills, Kenya (Photo: Nadya Hutagalung)

Suggested lodges: Naibosho (Masai Mara – a luxury, community partnership lodge), Ol Donyo (near Amboseli National Park, operating in partnership with the Big Life Foundation and local Masai community)

4. Namibia

Having lived in Namibia for six years, studying black-faced impalas and later working on human-elephant conflict, I’ve still got a soft spot for this vast desert land.  You won’t get a sense of space like this anywhere else in the world.  The silence in the Namib desert can be overwhelming when you live in a noisy city, and can actually take a bit of adjusting to!  Spotting unique desert creatures like oryxes, springboks and ostriches on the desert plains is one of the best things about being in Namibia, as is seeing the vast congregations of animals at waterholes during the dry season (July-October).

Desert Rhino Camp, Namibia (photo: Wilderness Safaris)

Etosha National Park is famous for its white elephants (coated in white dust from the Etosha salt pan) and is one of the best places in Africa to see black rhinos.  I also love the north west of Namibia, the Skeleton Coast and Damaraland, where you get desert adapted lions and elephants eking out an existence alongside traditional ethnic groups like the ovaHimbas.    My absolute favourite camp in Namibia?  Serra Cafema, for sure.  Up on the border with Angola, right at the top of Namibia, on the Kunene River, it’s the most remote camp in Africa and going there is like going to the moon (in a very good way!).

Suggested camps: Ongava (for Etosha & rhinos), Serra Cafema (for having your mind blown by desert solitude), Desert Rhino Camp (Damaraland, for tracking desert rhinos & supporting Save The Rhino Trust)

Serra Cafema, my favourite camp in Namibia (photo: Wilderness Safaris)

5. Okay so now I’m up to number five, and of course, this is not easy, as there are lots of other great options for safaris that I’d like to include here, like South Luangwa National Park in Zambia (real wild Africa with tonnes of elephants) and even some I haven’t been to that I really want to see, like Ethiopia, Tanzania and Mozambique, but I think the final choice for this blog, based on what I’ve seen to date, has to be Kruger National Park, South Africa.

There’s really no other national park like Kruger for an awesome ‘big five’ experience.  But it’s the private reserves on the edge of the park that you want to stay in.  South Africa offers so many luxurious and mid range options for families, couples or groups, that it’s hard to know where to start.  You’ll get a lot for less price in South Africa because there’s a lot of competition and very high standards of accommodation.  It’s a great starting point for a first safari, especially for families as they specialise in this.  At Tinstwalo last year with then 3 year old Solo, we saw the entire big five, including an incredible leopard sighting and mating lions, in 36 hours!

Leopard at Tintswalo, South Africa (photo: Tintswalo)

There are excellent malaria-free reserves in South Africa too, guides that specialise in giving kids an amazing learning experience, and you can always add on a few days exploring Capetown and the magnificent mountains and wineries of the region.

Suggested camps:  Tintswalo (for luxury, incredible wildlife & families), Grootbos (2 hours from Capetown, for families & marine life)

Solo (then aged 3) got to pretend to drive the Land Cruiser while on safari at Tintswalo, South Africa, which was definitely a highlight of the trip for him.

Great news!  The wonderful folks at Wilderness Safaris have just offered me a huge discount on my conservation safari to Namibia in September 2015 (next year).  However, it’s only for a limited time!   (more…)

You simply have to experience Namibia at least once in your life.  It’s like nowhere else on the planet.  The sense of space you get, and the deep desert silence, has to be experienced to be believed.  If you’re in the rat race this is the perfect escape.

Sunset in the Namib Desert (credit: Tammie Matson)

(more…)