The young boy stood very still, with his head bowed as we approached him in single file. We followed the lead of our French guide and placed our hands on the crown of the boy’s head, which he kept lowered as we filed past. The idle chit chat from the group as we trekked across Maasailand in Southwest Kenya quieted as this confounding spectacle took place. After the scene had passed and we stood in a group, we understood this was some sign of respect and tradition by the boy but unsure why we, a muddy crew of travelers walking through the long, wet grasses of Kenya’s Loita Hills at the end of the rainy season, deserved his respect. Then, as we looked back an elder from the nearby Masai village, emerged from behind the crest of the hill and began speaking in Swahili with our guide. Regal, proud and graceful, this Masai man embodied everything I’d ever read or been told about the Maasai people.

Still gathered in bemused silence, we watched as the young boy approached the old man and again the young boy bowed his head and the old main placed an open palm on the crown of his head. Finally our guide explained to us that this is a sign of respect that young boys offer to elder men in their communities. Then, cracking a smile he said that this young boy clearly didn’t realize that our group was mostly women, albeit a bit dirty from the day’s trek, and offered his head to us all. As we started to laugh, the boy and elder, not understanding English, joined in on a universally appreciated laugh together and we all carried on down the path, pushing deeper into this Maasai ancestral land.

As I continue work on my book, an experiential travel guide book to East Africa, I’m reminded of moments like these I’ve been lucky enough to have while traveling in Africa. These moments are what connecting culturally is all about, and are the memories that persist long after we’ve forgotten about the thread count of the sheets at the hotel or that night’s dinner menu.

After two decades of decreased poaching numbers across Africa, the report highlights an alarming increase in elephant poaching in Africa citing an increase in global demand for Ivory. First, I can’t believe that people still purchase Ivory?! Who are these people?? Further, Kenya and Tanzania seem to be in the middle of this sad storm.

The article states that, “unlike the last surge in poaching (in the 1970’s) the current one is being aided by cell phone networks and criminal syndicates that are providing some poachers with sophisticated equipment such as night-vision goggles, GPS systems, and satellite phones.” Scary stuff.

However, importantly the safari industry plays a vital role in helping save what’s left of Africa’s elephants. In West Africa, where there is very little tourism, elephants are all but extinct. Last year the last 6 known elephants in Sierra Leone were poached for ivory. While poaching in East Africa has come to a crisis point, the tourism industry is what is protecting what’s left and what will continue to do so.

Now for a bit of interesting history; in 1989 a world wide ban was put in place on the trade of Ivory, which directly influenced a surge in elephant numbers and decrease in poaching in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. Ironically, as a result, this led to a relaxation of the ban and granted permission for some southern African governments (Namibia and Zimbabwe for example) to hold auctions of stockpiled ivory. This flood of new ivory on the market stimulated demand and created an incentive for criminal syndicates to organize poaching for the black market. Today, we’re in a poaching crisis as a result.

According to this Conde Nast article, the worst case scenario is that elephant poaching will lead to near-extinction within 15 years, which could cause the ecosystem to collapse in the central African rain forests, the world’s second largest carbon-capture zone (after the Amazon.) This is really important people!

What can we do to help?
First, tourists can deter poaching by there mere presence. You’re travel to Africa can make all the difference! For example, regions such as the Selous in Southern Tanzania and Northern Kenya need tourism in order to protect the elephants there. Statistics show that over the past three years over 30,000 elephants have been poached out of the Selous, Africa’s largest game reserve. Increased tourism in this region can help stop this scary trend.

Save the Elephants research camp in Samburu National Park in Kenya recently lost nearly everything after a massive flood. A temporary camp has been established but they are in desperate need of absolutely everything necessary to continue their valued work. You can reach more about the flood here:

Donate through Wildlife Conservation Network, 100% of all donations go directly to Save the Elephants is designated
Support Save the Elephants by visiting their web site and learning more about what they do.

Activities at the camp include expert-guided walks and drives (day and night) through this fascinating mix of wilderness, wildlife, rare plants and birds, culture, history, war and recovery. Your hosts in camp, Rob and Jos Janisch, also include a group of local Mozambicans all hired from within the parks buffer zone and trained as part of a creative community based ecotourism initiative.

Gorongosa National Park is the most aggressive conservation and wildlife restoration project underway in Africa, and is one of the reasons why Mozambique is the hottest destination in Africa today. Accommodation at Explore Gorongosa in Gorongosa National Park is in traditional East African-style semi-permanent safari tents. These tents have all the comforts and luxuries; including proper beds, mattresses, linen, down duvets. The camp is 90% eco-friendly, with no generators, minimal disturbance to the ground below, composting toilets and solar power. Marvel over dinner at the fantastic meals produced over the kitchen camp fire and enjoy the outstanding service of the camp staff.

Where is the soul?

While staying at Explore Gorongosa, it may be possible to join the Gorongosa conservation team on their wildlife re-introduction or game capture exercises. Each and every guest here can experience the African bush in total privacy and exclusivity, with no other tourists in sight. The owners and managers have selected the site for the camp with great care and consideration to the “soul” of the space, and carefully integrate special, surprise touches throughout a stay at the camp to showcase the energy and vibrancy of this emerging wildlife destination.

Email me at sarah@fazendinportfolio.com for more information or to chat about visiting this amazing destination.

With very little preparation or pre-existing knowledge, I went into the experience with no expectations. Africa wasn’t a destination I’d previously thought about traveling to, but I have to admit the romance and exotic nature of the destination had me intrigued.

My trip consisted of one week on a budget-friendly group departure followed by one week on a private luxury safari. Organized by my colleagues at the Kenya Tourist Board, the objective was to showcase as much physically of the country as possible as well as highlight a range of safari experiences within those destinations. The differences, as one might expect, between the two trips were huge.

I ended my first week on the budget safari totally overwhelmed and underwhelmed at the same time, and more or less appalled with Kenya. While it was fascinating to see the African wildlife up close, I felt voyeuristic, like I was in a zoo. Since this was a last minute trip I didn’t have much knowledge of the history of the parks, or the wildlife or Kenya as a whole. I saw the Samburu people and visited a village, but left with only photographs, not a meaningful understanding. We spent a few full days doing nothing but driving over rough, pot-holed roads. From the insane Australian missionary worker to the mute, elderly British man traveling alone, the company of this group also detracted from my enjoyment of my maiden safari voyage. “Magical Kenya” was the tourist board’s marketing tagline, but was this a destination I could market as “magical”?

My second week on safari was a completely different experience. I enjoyed small and intimate safari accommodations hosted by charming, interesting and knowledgeable safari guides. To this day, I can close my eyes and clearly re-create in my mind the sounds, smells and emotions of that moment I fell in love with Africa. After an early morning flight into the Masai Mara and a slow transfer to camp, stopping along the way to stop and admire elephant, Cape buffalo and a price of lion, I arrived at a charming, small tented safari camp. After a warm greeting by the staff and hosts, I was seated in a simple canvas chair before lunch, with a cold beer in hand, listening to the calls of a massive herd of wildebeest that had gathered in front of me, on the crest of a hill out on the horizon. I was left alone for a few minutes, and as the warm sun rose further in the sky, burning off the last chill of the morning air in the Masai Mara, I closed my eyes. I could hear birds, the wildebeest, sounds of the camp staff preparing lunch, chattering away in Swahili… but at the same time there was a vast silence engulfing me in this massive open African wilderness. The sun on my face felt fresh and warm. I was relaxed but highly sensitive to what was happening around me at the same time. This was the moment I fell in love with Africa.

Want to learn more about how to best experience East Africa? There is also still some space left for summer and Kenya Migration safaris, contact me at sarah@fazendinportfolio.com to chat more about planning your safari!

Particularly when looking at travel to Africa, the standard safari circuit in crowded game parks in the same big hotels is no longer interesting to today’s new generation of experiential travelers. The great news is that regardless of budget, there are ways to get off the beaten path, go a little deeper, and have a truly personalized and memorable safari in East Africa.

Africa is perhaps one of the most exciting destinations to photograph, including some of the world’s most dramatic landscapes, exotic cultures and thrilling big game and wildlife. Photography is something that is important to experiential travelers and a great example of one way in which travelers can go deeper and experience a destination on a unique level, with greater appreciation for surroundings and taking the time to slow down and fully appreciate where they are.

I’m in the process of working with a team of enthusiastic travel and photography professionals to develop an exciting photography safari workshop for May 2011. In the process, I’ve spent a considerable amount of time looking at other photography workshops and have done quite a bit of research into what makes these trips not only sell, but what makes them fulfilling and educational experiences for travelers. My initial observations include;
• Wow these trips are expensive!
• By and large, photographic safari workshops on the market today are uninspired itineraries with minimal differences from traditional safari itineraries.
• Very few photo safaris incorporate true meaningful cultural interaction and instead focus on wildlife. The opportunity to make spectacular photographs while respecting the people and cultures of the destination is completely missing from most programs.

Taking these observations into account, in the process of developing an outstanding photographic safari workshop in Tanzania a few areas of focus have guided each and every decision throughout the safari planning experience, including;
• LIGHT: When photographing in Africa, you want to be out in the bush when the light is the best. This is in the early morning and the late afternoon, which extends into before sunrise and after sunset. Photos during the high sun taken in flat light and not interesting or inspiring, so this time will be spent enjoying good old fashioned game viewing as well as group edit sessions back in Camp and instruction from the professional photographer guide. Most days we’ll be up before sunrise and eat dinner back at camp after dark. Dedication to capturing the best light is critical.
• ACCESS: It’s important to be able to drive off road to capture the best shots. This isn’t allowed in the Serengeti, but we’re going to use our connections to secure some off road permits for our photo group and make other itinerary decisions to ensure we’re in areas where we’ll have immediate access to the best wildlife viewing areas.
• PERSPECTIVE: Perhaps only second to light, photographers are obsessed with perspective. On safari there are very few times when you can capture dramatic wildlife images from anywhere else other than the safari vehicle, thereby limiting the perspective. Therefore, we’ll include a hot air balloon ride over the Serengeti. Not only is this a totally unique perspective, but it’s a silent way to glide just over the tree tops and view wildlife from a unique vantage point. What’s more, this is often talked about by travelers as one of their most memorable travel experiences ever.
• DATES: Peak season in Kenya and Tanzania is a busy and expensive time to travel. In East Africa peak season relates to holiday schedules as well as the Great Wildebeest Migration, yet is often a time when the weather is slightly cooler and the skies can be overcast most days. We want to focus our workshop around times when there won’t be many other people in the parks, and also when the colors and contrasts will be at their peak making for stunning and dramatic photographs. For this reason we’re going to offer our first photographic safari workshop in May 2011, the rainy season. The drama between billowing clouds, changing to crystal clear skies, is only found during this season.
• PHOTOGRAPHY INSTRUCTION: Our back-up crew will carry a full generator so we can utilize a projector and screen for group edit and critique sessions daily. This will be critical to photography ability and technique growth, and ensure that each and every participant on the trip will be pushed to their own personal next level on their photographic journey.
• CULTURAL IMMERSION (not only focus on wildlife): Perhaps most importantly, our photographic safari workshop will offer participants a unique experience to interact with and photograph the lives of the local, nomadic Maasai people. By camping in the heart of Tanzania Maasai country, approaching the village on foot and spending time just relaxing and watching the morning and afternoon routine in small groups, this experience is so much more than a quick and intrusive village tour. Our photographer will provide instruction on how to interact with people and capture the best photographs, by slowing down to the pace of life in the village.

We’ve got an exciting and ground-breaking formula for an amazing photographic journey through East Africa. What’s more, this safari will be priced well under the “going rate” and will truly offer an outstanding value for money.

Participants will be pushed to their own, individual next level when it comes to photography, and by the end of the trip will have a portfolio of photos to share and showcase that will surely instill pride in the photographer.

Details will be released very soon for this Photography Workshop Safari in Tanzania May 10 -17, 2011. For more information please email sarah @ fazendinportfolio.com

Walking on Safari in Tanzania

Where is the soul?
Northern Tanzania lends itself to this mobile camping experience, as there are relatively few properties scattered across a fairly massive wildlife region. While many of the properties are very nice, they tend to be on the bigger side which leads to more people concentrated in one area. These camps offer totally exclusive access to pristine wildlife areas, and also allow for the opportunity to get out of the safari vehicle and walk in the bush as well as interact with local people.

I drift out of sleep slowly, trying to gauge the time based on the darkness of the sky, peering through the netting walls of my safari tent. I hear a few birds so recognize it must be the wee hours of the morning. As the few calls erupt into a full bird chorus from within the African bush, I take great pleasure in rolling over in my comfy, massive bed under canvas. As I lay there I hear footsteps becoming louder as they approach my tent and the friendly “Jambo, good morning!” call is right on time. It’s my African alarm clock. I don’t mind his presence, since it means caffeine and a biscuit are waiting for me on the veranda of my tent. A shining example of the continuously outstanding service while on safari he asks, “Would you like me to pour you a cup of coffee?”

“No thanks,” I reply, not wanting to rush out of bed just to keep the coffee hot. After the footsteps have gone, I roll over and get into my khaki uniform and prepare for another day on safari. This early morning routine is one of my favorite times of the day on safari. Alone in the African bush with a fantastic cup of African java…. Does it get much better than that? I drink my coffee on the veranda, watching the sun rise over the Serengeti plains, and then make my way to the safari vehicle for another morning exploring the African bush. After listening to lion calling all night, not at all the MGM movie lion roar we all grew up with but a deep “rurgh rurgh rurgh” call traveling miles across the African plains. I’m excited to go find them and can’t wait to see what they have been up to as I peacefully slumbered.

One of the best ways to see Africa is from the classic tented safari camp. These are canvas tented accommodations, the sleeping tents have full beds and attached private bathrooms, and the common area is usually a dining area and bar/library/sitting area. These tents are usually taken down or closed for the rainy season, thus often called “semi permanent” name. This style of accommodation is usually small, only 6-8 tents, and are hosted by a manager or couple. Guests share safari vehicles, sit around the camp fire together after an exhilarating day on safari, and dine family style – the perfect opportunity to swap safari stories of the day as well as learn about your travel companions.

And the travel companions are usually fascinating! People who travel to Africa, venturing off standard circuits and away from the large lodges or “hotels in the bush” are often quite interesting, well traveled and from all over the world. This makes for a great combination for the single traveler. Here you have an opportunity to explore Africa, enjoying the company of the property hosts, never need to dine alone at any meal and can be assured that every detail is planned and taken care of for you, ensuring your safety and enjoyment throughout your safari.

Here are a few of our favorite safari camps for single travelers:
Mara Offbeat and Meru Offbeat Camps: Both of these properties do not charge a single supplement to single travelers! Accommodation in Africa is charged per person, not per room, so single travelers are usually charged a supplement, $100 a night and up, to compensate for only one person in the room vs. a double.

Sunrise from tent in Meru National Park

And for single travelers, time in Zanzibar or Lamu can also be a great way to meet other travelers while extending your stay in cost effective beach accommodation. We always recommend single travelers splurge on the safari portion of their trip and then save a little on accommodation at the coast while spending time relaxing and leartning about the Swahili culture, unique to the Indian Ocean East African coast.

Are you a single traveler thinking about traveling to Africa? Please contact me!

Offbeat Mara Camp, Kenya’s Masai Mara: Offbeat Mara Camp is a 12 bed traditional semi-permanent safari camp situated on the newly formed Mara North Conservancy, north of the Masai Mara Game Reserve. This unspoilt part of Masailand is an area full of wildlife, with resident lion near camp, but far from any other camp or lodge allowing for exclusive use of a vast area of prime wildlife terrain. Offbeat Mara Camp works with the local Masai community, employing many in the camp staff in all departments. All safari guides are graduates of the Koyiaki Guiding School, a local, highly regarded safari guide training program for the Masai people.

Each tent has its own en-suite bathroom with hot bucket showers, wash basins and flush loos. The spacious tents are all furnished with large, hand made 7-ft square cedar beds, 24 hour solar lighting and the finest linen. Informal dining is hosted in the mess tent or around the campfire. Delicious English breakfasts, lighter lunches and three course dinners are served each evening. Guests can also relax in the bar and living room tent, which is furnished with comfortable sofas, a writing desk, and library and fully stocked bar.

Where’s the Soul? Aside from being a divinely small and intimate safari camp experience, all the guides and spotters are local Maasai, trained at the renowned Koiyaki Guiding School in the Mara North Conservancy. Your guides here are traditionally dressed Maasai, incredibly knowledgeable about this local area, their home, and can provide a unique insight into this colorful culture unique to East Africa.

Lion on Safari in East Africa

I recently came across the following classic Tanzanian safari, priced at $2400 March, April, and November through mid-December. It’s only six nights, but I can’t think of a better way to spend that little gift from Uncle Sam (tax return!) on a fabulous and super affordable adventure. And if this is all you can afford this time around, that’s ok, save up for a few years and head back later for longer!

Lake Manyara: Drive Arusha to Lake Manyara, overnight on night Kirurumu Tented Camp

Serengeti: Drive to the Serengeti and spend 2 nights at Mbuzi Mawe, a luxury tented camp

Ngorongoro Crater: Drive back towards the Ngorongoro Crater and spend 2 nights at the lovely Plantation Lodge, with time to explore the Ngorongoro Crater

One final night in Tarangire at Maramboi
Back to Arusha and depart

Contact me if you’d like more information on this adventure. It can of course also be combined with other safari activities, for the traveler on a budget we have light weight non-participatory camping safaris as well.

So start thinking about what to do with that Tax Return, thanks Uncle Sam!

This week I had the opportunity to join some big names in the safari industry for a breakfast presentation highlighting some exciting new safari products across Africa. The thesis of the event was the concept that we in the tourism industry play a vital role in conservation and preserving Africa. This is an incredibly important point made during this morning’s presentation that can not be overemphasized. Governments in Africa will never make conservation a leading role in any administration, there are ‘bigger fish to fry” so to speak. It’s our role as the Africa safari industry to ensure conservation happens and happens in the right way.

It all starts with operations on the ground in camps, lodges and safari companies across the continent of Africa. From there – and this is where those of us sitting in North America come in – it is our role and responsibility to ensure that we work with and promote companies, camps, lodges and guides that operate in a way that truly benefits the local communities and protects the fragile ecosystems in these iconic locations. It’s our job to ensure that travelers are making detailed and responsible purchase decisions when planning travel to Africa.

This event focused on the “high price/low volume” model of tourism in Africa, which is otherwise known in the industry as the “Botswana Model.” Examples of conservation success in Botswana as well as across Africa always involve the triangle made up of community benefit, conservation of wildlife and ecosystems, and business success. Failing businesses won’t be able to support conservation. The objective of this “high price/low volume” model is to have as few people come through as possible, paying as much as the market will allow, so that these funds can go towards conservation while minimizing the amount of traffic in these specific areas. All good, right?

Well yes, but I just wonder if we might be leaving something out of this conversation in focusing exclusively on this tourism model. The threat of commoditizing the African safari looms large and focusing exclusively on the “high price/low volume” tourism model seems to be enabling this threat of commoditization.

Let’s look at East Africa as an example. East Africa is in a position to look at what has worked and what hasn’t in southern Africa and learn from that, as change is quickly coming to destinations like Kenya and Tanzania as some of the big safari corporations look to expand into East Africa.

The following words have been used to describe the quintessential safari experience in East Africa, including; old style Africa, what everyone comes to Africa to experience, intimate, absolute warmth all around you, attention to detail, low footprint. The history and pedigree involved in the traditional safari in Kenya and Tanzania are unique, through the combination of spectacular settings, wildlife and making the seemingly impossible in terms of luxury happen in the remote bush. Add in some colorful characters and the romance of the Great African Safari was born in East Africa over 100 years ago.

So when as an industry we talk about making the “Botswana model happen in East Africa”, I certainly take pause. Botswana is a fantastic safari destination, no questions asked. They have absolutely nailed their model of tourism and as a result have protected some of the most fragile and important wilderness areas in Africa. However, is it the right answer to take this model in its entirety and apply it to East Africa? What can East Africa learn from how the safari industry has developed in southern Africa, for both the positive and the negative?

East Africa has always excelled at the small tented camp safari experience. New conservancy projects in Kenya and Tanzania, where limits have been placed on number of beds for the area, have been hugely successful and are key to the advancement of the critical low-density plan for tourism development in these countries. Whether truly mobile, semi-permanent or even permanent, these small, intimate safari experiences are to many people what safari in Africa is all about. It seems to me that we can apply the “Botswana model” to a certain extent but we must be careful to maintain an objective of luxury without ostentation to retain the charm of the East African safari; a charm that in other parts of Africa is slowly slipping away. A safari will never be an inexpensive trip, nor (in the interest of conservation as outlined above) should it be. But can we maintain a more realistic price point, and continue to offer an authentic safari experience that so many stunning safari camps and operators currently offer in Africa, without going over the top in terms of luxury and price and in many ways stripping East Africa of an experience it invented more than 100 years ago?

Clearly East Africa needs low density tourism both for conservation and for the future of the safari industry there, but the real question is the high cost part. At some point when developing safari experiences that are upwards of $1000 per person per night, there is a diminishing point of return to where the operations can leave little to no footprint. Consumers who can afford this level of luxury oftentimes expect a luxury hotel in the bush that simply can not operate in the most environmentally friendly way possible. It seems to me there may be an opportunity to develop more traditional, intimate safari camps across East Africa without the massive capital outlay needed to build luxury properties worthy of the $1000 per night price point, and in the end charge less because they cost less to run yet do absolutely as much for conservation as a top end luxury product.

This seems to be an emerging issue that we’ll continue to think about and debate. I’ve had many interesting conversations with operators who all struggle with the same issues. We all have the same long term objectives; conserve and protect these iconic and fragile ecosystems across Africa and continue to provide outstanding African safari experiences for travelers for many, many years to come. This is a complex conversation we’ll be having in the safari industry for some time to come, that’s for sure.