re: Saving for a safari trip

I just got back Friday from Kenya and Tanzania. Pretty awesome trip, especially in the age of Covid. It was a actually a birding trip but it was in a Range Rover and mostly at Safari locations. We spent 10 days in Kenya, 9 in Tanzania and I liked Tanzania better, though Amboseli in Kenya is just north of the Tanzania border and is an excellent location for wildlife with a great view of Kilimanjaro. That's the first tip I guess - I'd recommend going in the dry season, just after a rainy season so it's still green. We had rain every day but one and rarely saw Kilimanjaro. The rain still wasn't much of a problem, though. Lodges were all very good, though half are shut down now. Kilimanjaro International Airport is a much better airport to use than Nairobi, and one of the reasons that I liked Tanzania better is that the population of northern Tanzania is pretty sparse compared to Kenya, and the roads in Tanzania were better. And there were no Covid restrictions in Tanzania, while we had to wear masks at public areas in Kenya, and even in the Range Rover at road stops. My favorite spot was Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania - just a beautiful location from the lodges on the rim, and the crater is full of wildlife. Amboseli was probably my second favorite with the Serengeti coming in a close third. There is no shortage of wildlife, Leopard is the only thing we missed but we had plenty of lions (including literally just outside our tents at Tarangire at night), several pairs of Cheetahs, a Serval, tons of Elephants, Giraffes, everything else really except Rhino. Rhinos are very rare in Tanzania and Kenya due to poaching, though they are working on re-introduction. We did see several Rhinos at Nairobi National Park which is worth a day trip if you end up in Nairobi - though it's odd seeing wildlife with the buildings of Nairobi in the background. Food was good at all lodges, especially if you like English breakfasts. I don't know anything about other locations in Africa but intend trips to South Africa, Ethiopia, and Uganda within a few years. Highly recommended trip.

ETA - Take LOTS of memory cards and batteries for your camera. I ended up taking a crazy number of photos.