Africa Lodge Based Safaris - Venture Magazine Issue #3Pages
10-11
Creature Comforts
The old adage ‘No pain, no gain’ was always associated with African travel. Waking up cold on the savannah and feeling at one with the landscape was all part of the appeal. Aches from the tent’s bed were just some of the small prices you had to pay. However, if you’re one of those who are past the romance of roughing it, and simply want Africa’s best with a little added comfort, Kumuka now offers lodge-based safaris. Venture talks to Dharmesh Patel about his recent experiences
Q Where did your African safari
take you?
I joined Kumuka’s ‘Wildlife Encounters’
tour, which led me through several parks and reserves in
Kenya and northern Tanzania. I then finished off my sojourn
with the 7-day Zanzibar extension.
Q Had you been to Africa before?
And what made you opt for a lodge-based safari?
I’d been once before, though I’m quite familiar
with East Africa as my mother grew up there. Why a lodge-based
trip over the traditional rough-and-ready safari? Well,
I have a passion for photography and I really wanted to
have some extra space (and protection) for my equipment.
I also thought I’d have fewer people to peer around
while taking photos on game drives. The upscale lodgings
and meals weren’t a big pull for me at the time of
booking, though I certainly appreciated being well fed and
well rested while on the early morning game drives.
Q You were clearly impressed with
the accommodations en route. Did the activities stand up?
Yes, our guide was very experienced and he always knew the
secret spots to find the animals we were interested in.
The parks are so vast that if you simply wandered aimlessly,
you’d most likely miss loads of the action. In the
Masai Mara, our guide quickly tracked down a cheetah and
her three newborn cubs, despite their being hidden in lush
grass. I was quite impressed to say the least. Our vehicle
was also top notch – besides being comfortable, it
was sturdier than most. That latter quality actually hindered
us a few times; we had to rescue weaker vehicles from the
mud on several occasions.
Q How many people were in your group?
Amazingly, there were only three of us. I was hoping to
be in a bit larger group, though the vehicle was very spacious
and my views were uninterrupted.
Q What was your favourite part of
the trip?
I had two actually. The first was standing high in the sky
and looking down into Ngorongoro Crater from its jagged
rim. The other was a walking safari within the Crescent
Island Wildlife Sanctuary on Lake Naivasha. Walking amongst
the likes of zebra, giraffe, wildebeest and gazelle while
on their turf definitely added another rich layer to the
safari experience.
Q Were you not scared?
No. Our guide knew what he was doing. Oh…and I also
double-checked that there were no predators on the island!
It never hurts to double check these things.
Q Were the beaches of Zanzibar the
perfect way to end the trip?
Most definitely. Although it was the beaches that attracted
me, I found the history and culture of Stone Town rather
compelling.
Kumuka chooses lodges that not only complement their natural
environment, but are also found in unique and remote locations.
Many are actually within national parks, which means you’ll
still hear those lions calling in the morning – you’ll
just have something more substantial than a canvas tent
separating you. Although modern, the interiors of most lodges
are influenced by traditional African cultures, so you’ll
never forget where you are.
Kumuka uses quality open-topped 4WD vehicles, such as Toyota
Land Cruisers, to carry passengers, so you’ll be spending
more time tracking wildlife than avoiding slippery patches.
Group sizes are limited to ten, which means your personality
will never disappear into a crowd.
Kumuka’s Safaris
With over 24 years of experience in running trips through
Africa, Kumuka’s expertise of this continent is unquestionable.
Using our in-depth knowledge we’ve created no less
than seven lodge-based safari options for you to choose
from. Dip into the delights of Kenya and Tanzania’s
legendary game, or slip southward to Botswana and Zambia
for a slice of the Victoria Falls and the outstanding Okavango
Delta. Each tour offers 3-4 star accommodation and comfortable
transportation, as well as a maximum group size of 10. As
always with Kumuka, prices include guides, game drives,
activities and most meals. All prices are based on twin-share
with single supplements available on request.
WHY NOT TRY:
HEART
OF KENYA 9 DAYS
Starting and ending in Nairobi, this tour visits some of
Kenya’s most famous wildlife havens, as well as some
of its most underrated parks and reserves (typically visited
only by safari experts). This trip is fully escorted with
an experienced tour leader, and takes in: Samburu National
Reserve, Aberdares National Park, Lake Nakuru National Park,
Lake Naivasha, Masai Mara National Reserve.
SERENGETI,
CRATER & ZANZIBAR 14 DAYS
This tour visits some of East Africa’s most heralded
reserves and parks and the exotic spice island. Your experienced
driver/guide will weave you through: Amboseli NP (Kenya),
Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater, Stone Town and the beaches
of north/east Zanzibar (Tanzania).
FALLS,
CHOBE & DELTA 6 DAYS
Gawk at the sight of Victoria Falls and its Devil’s
Cataract before heading south into Botswana’s wildlife-rich
Chobe National Park for a game drive and river cruise. From
here it’s a breathtaking flight into the Okavango
Delta, where you’ll slide through the reeds in punted
mekoro (traditional dug-out canoes).
FLIGHTCHECK:
For flights
to connect all our African tours from the UK or Australia,
contact your local Kumuka office.
Moroccan Musings
Amar Grover cherishes his visits to North Africa. Whether he wants you to go is another matter…
People sometimes ask me if it’s worth going to Morocco. “Don’t!” I feel like saying, “…ever!” I want to add: “Miserable people, awful roads, terrible scenery, and nothing to see except braying donkeys and mud hovels.” Like a petulant and greedy child, I am briefly tempted to keep the prized, glinting and colourful toy all to myself for this is one place I have sniffed and pawed well beyond the guidebooks. It is not just a personal favourite; it is really quite magnificent.
Barely a century and a half ago, Morocco was almost as unknown and inaccessible to Europeans as Tibet. It had dynastic sultans, was fanatically Muslim and had once colonised half of Spain. It had spells of anarchy and outsiders were not particularly welcome. Today all that has changed, yet there is still perhaps nowhere else so accessible from Europe that is quite so effortlessly, even stylishly, exotic. All the most modern comforts and indulgences are there, of course, and in cities like Marrakesh you can almost pretend you’re somewhere by the Mediterranean both in look and feel.
Yet the older and more intoxicating Morocco still thrives much as before. It lingers in the narrow lanes, alleys and souks of the old quarters of Marrakesh, Fes and Essaouira – shadowy figures in hooded djellabas fading into archways, the pungent smells of a spice stall, or the squint-eyed chameleon of a folk doctor gazing over a baffling collection of skins and bone.
Most of all, it lies amidst the spectacular gorge and canyon country of the Atlas Mountains whose three main ranges remain home to the Berber tribes. Daily life endures much as it has for centuries, often amidst biblical-looking villages of flat-roofed mud-brick houses that disguise simple, even surprising, comfort and the warmest hospitality. Lush oases twitching with birds offset the stark mountains and intensely blue skies, and at night beneath a pinhole sky and nodding palms there are few places I know quite so pure and magical.
Kumuka’s Morocco
Trace Roman, Moorish and colonial history through this
enchanting nation on Kumuka’s 15-day tour. Visit Morocco’s
famed cities of Casablanca, Marrakesh and Fes, dip in the
beaches of Essaouira and marvel at the Sahara Desert (on
an overnight camel trek), Ait Bennahdou, the Todra Gorge
and the Atlas Mountains.
WHY NOT TRY:
MAGICAL
MOROCCO 15 DAYS
Tangier, Asilah, Rabat, Casablanca, Essaouira, Marrakesh,
Atlas Mountains, Valley of the Kasbahs, Todra Gorge, Sahara
Desert, Meknes, Fes, Volubilis, Chefchaouen
FLIGHTCHECK:
For flights
to connect to our Africa tours, contact
your local Kumuka office.
