Where to see which wildlife? Answers from Expert Africa

May 31, 2011 - PRLog -- If there’s a safari animal you really want to see, tell Expert Africa and they’ll pinpoint the best Southern African location for spotting it.  That’s how Expert they really are.  Here are some popular requests, and the answers:

ELEPHANTS are present at virtually all of Expert Africa’s destinations but look in Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Crater – the world’s largest intact volcanic caldera – to find a handful of old bull elephants, among Africa’s biggest tuskers. Lovebird Safari from £2,286 pp*
OR TRY: Botswana’s tiny Khwai Tented Camp in the Moremi Game Reserve, where a large pride has specialised in hunting elephants in recent years.

LIONS are relatively common in most safari reserves but, for a unique experience, Expert Africa’s sister company Wild about Africa introduces travellers to north-western Namibia’s Desert Lion Conservation Project, spending time with expert lion researcher and guide Dr Flip Stander. Namibia Desert Lion Safari from £3,739 pp*
OR TRY: Tanzania’s remote Ruaha National Park, which often produces spectacular lion sightings.

LEOPARDS are elusive, solitary and largely nocturnal, so night drives are essential. The Lower Zambezi National Park in Zambia has a good population and heading toward the river in a 4X4 after nightfall is an exhilarating experience. Slender Mongoose Safari from £3,016 pp*
OR TRY: Botswana’s Okavango Delta – where the Vumbura camps have an excellent record of leopard sightings.

CHEETAHS thrive in the Cape’s Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, hunting in its fossil river valleys and the surrounding Kalahari dunes. Being away from most major routes, the park gets few visitors, making it ideal for dedicated game-viewers. Meerkat self-drive Safari from £2,409 pp*
OR TRY: Namibia’s AfriCat Foundation at Okonjima Bush Camp, where visitors see cheetahs at very close quarters as part of relocation and rehabilitation programmes.
                                                                                         
RHINO are easily seen in Namibia’s Damaraland at the remote and exclusive Desert Rhino Camp. Set up with the help of Save the Rhino Trust (a charity supported by Expert Africa), the focus here is tracking black rhino on foot. Pelican drive and fly from £4,376 pp*
OR TRY: The floodlit waterhole at Okaukuejo, in Namibia’s Etosha National Park, where black rhino appear almost every night.

MEERKATS have become habituated to human observers - allowing for some staggeringly close and relaxed sightings – in Botswana’s Kalahari Salt Pans, where researchers have been studying them in recent years. Jack’s Camp Add-on from £2,085 pp*
OR TRY: Bagatelle Guest Farm, in Namibia’s Kalahari region, where a hand-raised meerkat was released, and now a whole troop are relaxed with people.

CHIMPANZEES go where they want and are relaxed near humans in Tanzania’s Mahale Mountains National Park. Home to around a thousand chimps, here you can sit and watch them foraging, grooming, bickering and taking care of their young. Chimpanzee Safari from £3,945 pp*
OR TRY: The vast forests of Nyungwe National Park, in Rwanda, where tracking them is less certain, but more exciting!

GORILLAS live in the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda - about 350 of them (more than half of the world’s last mountain gorillas). Look into the eyes of a large silverback (which can weigh up to 200kg) and he’ll stare back knowingly – it’s intense and thrilling. Mountain Gorilla Safari from £2,713 pp*
OR TRY: Uganda – but this isn’t a destination that Expert Africa features!  There’s really nowhere better than Volcanoes NP.

HYENAS are common across the continent, but the Rare Brown sub-species are often spotted on Namibia’s Skeleton Coast – an eerie and isolated stretch of windswept beach littered with old whale carcasses and occasional shipwrecks. It’s an intimidating but exhilarating area – a sympathetic backdrop for these menacing scavengers. Gemsbok self-drive Safari from £3,162 pp*
OR TRY: San Camp, in Botswana’s Kalahari region, where you track these elusive animals with researchers.

GIRAFFES really stand out in Tanzania’s Selous Game Reserve (Africa's largest single reserve – at more than 30,000 square miles). In the northern part of this park, the giraffe population has become so large that the area is sometimes known as "Giraffic Park". Bat-eared Fox Safari from £1,553 pp*
OR TRY: South Luangwa National Park, in Zambia, which has its very own sub-species of giraffe: Thornicroft’s Giraffe.


*All prices are based on two sharing and include flights from London and transfers. Most prices include full board, activities and expert guiding.

Expert Africa covers Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, the Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. For further information, call 020 8232 9777 or visit http://www.expertafrica.com.

Wild about Africa (020 8758 4717; http://www.wildaboutafrica.com) is a small group specialist - known for affordability, inclusiveness and flexibility - to Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Tanzania. Many of the safaris have very low or no single-person supplements, making these very economic options for solo travellers.

Ends
31 May 2011

Press: For further information, or to interview Chris McIntyre, MD of Expert Africa, call Richard Mellor at Travel PR on 020 8891 4440 or email r.mellor@travelpr.co.uk.

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