Live Your Best Lives
When talking about traveling in Africa, Safari is always mentioned.
And the ultimate dream of many people is to go to Africa to watch the great animal migration. So what exactly is a real Safari?
Picture▲Off-road vehicle hunting
"Safari" comes from the Swahili word meaning "travel".
With the arrival of European hunters in the 19th century, Safari specifically referred to hunting trips for the Big Five in Africa. Large-scale hunting activities brought Africa's wild animals to the brink of extinction. The local government therefore established a national animal protection area and banned private hunting.
Photo▲Hike hunting
For more tourists, Safari still has the same charm, but the hunting tools have changed: hunting rifles have been replaced by cameras and video cameras to capture images.
There are dozens or even hundreds of wildlife national parks across Africa, each of which is very interesting. How should we choose?
Xiaoxia recommends that you follow a few steps:
⬇️First, confirm your travel holidays (usually summer vacation, National Day or Spring Festival. Of course, friends who are free all year round can simply ignore it)
⬇️Confirm the species and number of wild animals you want to see
⬇️Confirm your approximate budget
Then look at the table below, you can easily confirm your destination and time
Tips:
📍East Africa · Kenya
🔖Visa-free
Budget: 30,000-40,000 RMB (including airfare)
✅ East African animal migration from June to September (Africa's Big Five/animal groups)
❌During the rainy season from March to May, roads are blocked and some campsites are closed
·
📍East Africa Tanzania
🔖Electronic Signature
Budget: 40,000-50,000 RMB (including airfare)
✅ Wildebeest give birth from January to March, and animals migrate throughout the year (Africa's Big Five/animal groups)
❌March to April, peak rainy season
📍East Africa · Uganda 🔖 Electronic visa
Budget: 30,000-40,000 RMB (including airfare)
✅ Trekking to see mountain gorillas from June to August and from December to February
❌During the rainy season from March to May, road conditions are poor and some hotels and campsites in high rainfall areas are closed
·
📍Madagascar, an island country in southeastern Africa
🔖Visa on arrival
Budget: 30,000-40,000 RMB (including airfare)
✅Best season from May to October
✅Whale watching from July to September, lemur birthing and jacaranda viewing from October to November
✅Diving and snorkeling from August to October, bird watching from September to December
❌November to March rainy season is humid and rainy and not suitable
·
📍Southern Africa·Namibia
🔖Sign in advance
Budget: 30,000-40,000 RMB (including airfare)
✅ Wildlife (Africa's Big Five) available year-round, whale watching available in October
✅December to March: Lush greenery and abundant clouds in the sky
·
📍Four countries in Southern Africa
▪️Botswana🔖Electronic visa upon arrival
▪️Zimbabwe🔖Visa on arrival
▪️Zambia🔖 visa-free
💰️Budget: 50,000-60,000 yuan (including airfare)
✅Makgadika Zebra Migration in March
✅Watch animals (Africa's Big Five/fauna) and participate in canoe safaris in the Okavango Delta from July to October
✅Visit the world's largest waterfall group, Victoria Falls from May to October
❌December to February: Few people, humid, some campsites closed
·
📍South Africa
🔖Sign in advance
Budget: 20,000-30,000 RMB (including airfare)
✅ September to November is the brilliant spring in South Africa, a good time to travel during the off-season
✅October is the special season for Jacaranda
PS: The above cost estimates are based on China-TravelNote group products and do not include high-end customized small groups.
First, let’s take a look at an East Africa map👇️
Photo @ China-TravelNote
Why go to East Africa to see the Great Migration? This brings us to two countries: Kenya and Tanzania.
Photo @ China-TravelNote
Many people have a misunderstanding, which is to regard "wildbeest crossing the river" as the only criterion for the great animal migration. It is true that this is indeed the most spectacular and famous scene.
But in fact, the real East African animal migration is a regular annual migration activity consisting of a huge team of more than 1.5 million wildebeests, more than 300,000 zebras, and more than 500,000 antelopes in search of water and grass.
The journey begins in the Serengeti Reserve in Tanzania and ends in the Maasai Mara National Park in Kenya.
When they reach the end point, the three main forces plus various predatory carnivores, a mighty expeditionary force of two to three million people, will once again tirelessly pursue green grass and return to Serengeti.
Photo @ China-TravelNote
It can be said that each month of the migration offers a different experience, and the entire loop can be called the "migration loop."
💡So, should you choose Tanzania or Kenya to watch the Great Migration?
Here we made a comparison 👇️
·
📍Kenya
⏰️Recommended June-August
✅️More spectacular scenes of animals crossing the river.
✅️Compared with Tanzania during the same period in summer, it is more cost-effective. Tanzania is 30%-50% more expensive than Kenya.
✅️Amboseli is the best national park for viewing Mount Kilimanjaro (the top of Africa).
📍Tanzania
⏰️Recommended February-May, September-November
✅️You can see the great animal migration almost 365 days a year (July and August are at the border between the two countries).
✅️There are fewer tourists and the experience is better, like safari alone on the vast African grasslands.
✅️Recommended for guests who don't have time during the summer vacation. Wildebeest give birth in February and March, there are seas of flowers in May and June, and you can continue to watch the great animal migration from September to November.
On the vast East African savannah, a magnificent Mara River naturally divides this fertile grassland into two parts. The part in Kenya is called Masai Mara, which means "striped" in Maasai language.
The park covers an area of 1,800 square kilometers and is home to approximately 95 species of mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and more than 400 species of birds.
More importantly, from July to September every year, the most exciting annual wildebeest migration and the crossing of the Tianhe River take place here, presenting a "speed race" of life and death in nature.
The Masai Mara grassland is known as the "Garden of Eden" for animals. The annual great animal migration takes place on this grassland. Don't underestimate this quiet river. There are tens of thousands of ferocious African crocodiles lurking in the river, and groups of lions are waiting in the bushes on the shore.
Despite this, every year at this time of year, a spectacular spectacle of millions of wildebeest and zebras bravely crossing the Mara River takes place. Across the river lies the Serengeti, Tanzania's "endless plains," forming one of the world's most famous wildlife reserves.
💡💡💡
Here is some additional knowledge:
Kenya's wildlife conservation is divided into three types: National Park, National Reserve and Conservancy.
Private conservancies are a very specific form of land and wildlife conservation through which landowners enter into lease agreements with safari operators in exchange for monetary compensation and other assistance.
Most of our trips were to NP, or national parks.
Here we will talk about the China-TravelNote Kenya Summer Animal Migration Tour. Many friends are confused about the difference between depth and photography. The following table will make it clear instantly.
Simply put, if you consider the film quality and the greater probability of seeing the Ferry to Heaven, you must choose the Kenya Photography Group.
Because they deliberately spent all their time and money in the most expensive Masai Mara National Park, and there were 4 people in a car to ensure independent camera positions, because you know that many scenes of wildlife are "close to death".
Going on safari in Africa to chase the Big Five and the Great Migration of Animals is the first choice for many travelers.
But few people know that there is also a unique tourist attraction here, which is chasing mountain gorillas.
Face-to-face communication with this primate, which has only about 1,100 in the world and has a 97.7% similarity with human DNA, is a very unique African travel experience.
When it comes to mountain gorillas, most of our knowledge comes from movies and documentaries. From "King Kong" to "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," gorillas always give people the impression of being wild and dangerous, but in fact, gorillas are very gentle and intelligent animals.
Currently, there are only three places in the world where mountain gorilla tracking is officially organized: Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Bwindi National Park in Uganda.
However, since Congo is a high-risk area for travel, for safety reasons, the places suitable for tourists to track mountain gorillas are still mainly Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda and Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda.
The main differences between the two are:
Tips:
📍Uganda
✅️License is cost-effective: $800/person
✅️The drive from the airport to the national park is long
✅️Average accommodation options
·
📍Rwanda
✅️License is twice as expensive: $1500/person
✅️The drive from the capital to the national park is shorter
✅️There are more luxury accommodation groups
Southern Africa can be said to be the main area that breaks my personal impression of Africa. The safari countries we recommend here are: Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, South Africa, Madagascar, etc.
Botswana was once one of the "countries in the world where it is most difficult to apply for a visa". Even Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote, was denied a visa when entering the country.
It is now one of the richest countries in Africa, even surpassing Argentina and Chile. Unlike the desert you imagine, 90% of the land here is grassland, which is very fertile!
At the end of 2018, Botswana finally opened its visa-on-arrival policy to global travelers!
This country, featured on Lonely Planet's "World's Most Worth-Visiting Countries" list, is finally opening up to the world! Its stunning natural scenery is meticulously protected.
The waterways flowing through Botswana are a torrent of effort. As rain falls from the sky, they coalesce into a torrent, beginning their long journey from the Angolan highlands.
After the torrents flow into the Okavango River, they pass through the Kahara Desert and eventually pour into the delta and reach the floodplain. They also have to break through the obstacles of reeds.
Finally, on an area of more than 20,000 square kilometers, they transformed into tens of thousands of waterways and lagoons, providing a source of life for wild animals and plants.
The most exciting place in Botswana is the Okavango Delta. In the Okavango Delta, you can encounter a large number of animals without having to look for them.
The Okavango Delta, with its abundant water resources and lush grass, attracts an astonishing number of wild animals to come here to feed and live.
Therefore, travelers who know how to travel know that in Botswana they can see a rich variety of species, experience stunning safaris, and unique fancy safaris.
If safari in Botswana were like safari in other parts of Africa, it wouldn’t be the most luxurious travel destination in Africa.
Experience the majestic splendor of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, one of Lonely Planet's best travel destinations for 2019.
In 1855, an Englishman named David Livingstone came here by canoe and saw the stunning waterfall. He named it after the British monarch at the time, Victoria.
Victoria Falls is the largest waterfall in Africa and one of the three largest waterfalls in the world. It is more than 1,700 meters wide and 108 meters at its highest point. However, due to the terrain, the main waterfall, Victoria Falls, has the largest flow and is 1,800 meters wide.
Victoria Falls is actually composed of a group of waterfalls, there are five main ones, from west to east they are "Devil's Falls", "Main Falls", "Rainbow Falls", "Horseshoe Falls" and "East Falls".
Each waterfall group has its own characteristics.
This is our first border-line country in 2018, but believe me, this small country is definitely not something you can see in one go.
🔹Here is the world's oldest Etosha National Reserve
As Namibia's largest wildlife national park and Africa's largest salt marsh basin, Etosha is translated as "Great White Place" in the Ovambo language. The name comes from the huge white salt marsh Etosha Pan, which covers an area of 4,800 square kilometers.
But animals are definitely not enough to describe this country. Namibia calls it the four elements of "creatures/dunes/stars/sea". In addition to the Big Five and flamingos, there are also...
🔹Southern Star River——The starry sky here is definitely not what you can see in the Northern Hemisphere
Namibia has several internationally certified dark sky reserves, of which there are only five in the world. The low light pollution and dry climate make it a very suitable place in the world for observing and photographing the starry sky.
The most famous thing here is the Quiver Tree Galaxy, which you never get tired of seeing. In "Flowers and Youth", Chen Bolin visited this place before leaving for South Africa to reunite with his friends.
The quiver tree (QIVERTREE, a tree aloe unique to southern Africa, called the quiver tree because hunters here used the tree crowns as arrows) grows densely into a forest in the extremely arid environment here, which is unique in the world.
Our accommodation is right at the entrance of the Quiver Tree Scenic Area, so we can watch the stars all night long.
In fact, in Namibia, as long as the weather is good and the moonlight is not strong, and you are in a place far away from light pollution, you can just look up and the entire Milky Way in the starry sky will be visible to the naked eye.
🔹The oldest desert - Namib Red Desert
In essence, it is a huge vertical strip of red desert that extends directly to the seaside.
As the oldest desert in the world, the sand here is 60 million years old. You should know that the famous Sahara Desert is only 2.5 million years old.
The sand and dunes appear red due to the high iron oxide content. The dunes are most beautiful in the morning and evening due to the change in color temperature.
What is different here from Kenya is that there are static safaris.
Throughout Etosha National Park, there are numerous waterholes of varying sizes. Watching animals here is simple: simply follow the waterholes and wait for them to arrive. You'll notice that each animal drinks differently, at different times.
What animals can we see in South Africa, the "Rainbow Country" we are familiar with?
Go to Pilanesberg Wildlife Park to look for the "Big Five of Africa", go to the Penguin Sanctuary to see South Africa's spot-billed penguins, and go to Hermanus, which is recognized as the "world's best land-based whale watching site". If you are lucky, you can see whales on land.
Moreover, during the National Day, when everyone was enjoying the autumn colors, you crossed the equator and embraced the spring dominated by purple, which flooded your circle of friends in minutes.
No other city can interpret the romantic purple so brilliantly. Pretoria in spring belongs to the jacarandas.
Every October, jacarandas are in full bloom and can be seen in many cities in South Africa, including Pretoria, Johannesburg, Cape Town, etc.
Our short but wonderful life
Always want to set foot in some distant places that I have never been to
See for yourself the wonder and vastness of Earth!
