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Should I go: African safari
My husband and MIL want to go on a safari tour this summer. Friends of theirs (scientists who study wildlife) are hosting the tour.
It's 20 days and a full itinerary. You do everything with the tour group. While it's expensive we could afford it and MIL has mentioned she'd help. She really wants us to go.
I'm not the biggest nature/wildlife person but I'm sure it would be amazing to see all that wildlife. I'm just worried about the length of time, going with MIL (she's sweet but not necessarily my favorite person to hang with, especially for 20 days) and just in general whether I would enjoy all of it. I've never been on this type of trip before so just a little nervous.
So if your husband really wanted to go, and money/time off work wasn't an issue, would you go? Have you been on a safari like this or know people who have? Thanks for your advice!
Re: Should I go: African safari
What kind of safari would it be? Tent-camping? Mid-range? Luxury? One location? Multiple? Which country/countries? Is it purely tourism, or would the friends be doing research as well?
I'm a pretty low-frills girl with a travel addiction, but even I might think twice about 20 days of back-country camping in the middle of Africa while my friends take samples and record data!
Honestly, if I had the time/budget for 20 days in Africa, I'd rather do a bigger trip like one of the cross-continent overland journeys and see/do some other things besides just the safari. We did three days camping in Kruger, and by the end of the third day, I was starting to feel ashamed that I wasn't finding the lions and elephants as interesting as I had earlier. It was all starting to run together. But if your husband really wants to go, and there isn't a better alternative to spend that time/money -- heck yeah! Unless it really is 20 days of back-country camping and I'd be expected to haul my share of the food/water, in which case I'd probably have to decline (regretfully) based on my own physical limitations.
This. We went to Kruger for 5 days and 4 nights over Christmas. I loved it but I don't think I could do 20 days straight of nothing but game drives. By the fourth day there were times where I was napping in the car with my big dark sunglasses on so that no one could tell I was sleeping and get mad at me for not spotting game. 20 days is a really long time not to be broken up by something.
I'd go - In. A. Heartbeat.
In fact, we are planning our next two trips and that is one of them.
No way in hell would I go on safari for 20 consecutive days unless it was in like 4-5 very different habitats (which would require a lot of long flights).
If it's just a 20 day trip, no problem. You can get away from your MIL for periods of time I'm sure.
Thanks for all the replies. Here's the itinerary http://gtd.org/post/pdfbrochure/120706.pdf.
The scientists are purely running the tour, not collecting samples, so it's definitely tourism which is good. They'll be very knowledgeable. It's not a private tour, there will be other people but I think it'll be a smaller group.
In Kruger for the first week but multiple camps. The second week we move on to other areas and opportunities for some different activities like whale watching and touring the city. But for the most part, I see "wildlife viewing," so yeah, I'm worried that after a few days, the excitement will wear off.
We'd be staying at rest camps and hotels, so I'd say mid-range. Not too worried about the accommodations.
from that itinerary it seems like it's 8 days of heavy wildlife watching and then it gets broken up into various sightseeing and cultural activities.
I would definitely do it. I would say on day 6 or so if you are tired of the gamewatching not to feel badly about staying behind at the lodge and reading or something if that's more your speed and/or you need to have some quiet time away from people like MIL.
but ultimately I would ABSOLUTELY!! go.
If I could afford it, I would absolutely go! Of course, Africa is one of my dream trips that I doubt I'll be able to ever take, so I'm a little biased.
And I'm saying this totally understanding how spending 20 days with your MIL might drive you insane. I know I would not want to spend 20 days on vacation with my MIL; however, I think you should be able to get some time away from her. And even if not, I think it would be too good of an opportunity to not do just because of your MIL.
It says all but one breakfast and two dinners will be self-catered meals. I'm not 100% on what that means. They buy us food, and we prepare/grill it how we want?
That's a good point about taking a break on a day or two to swim or relax.
Mandy, I am currently in Hluhluwe Imfolozi park in South Africa with my H and my dad and stepmom. In fact, we are getting up at 4am tomorrow to go out on a safari! We are doing a month long stay in various places and a few days here.
So you know, self catered means that you will have a kitchen or kitchenette and you will have to buy and supply your own food and drink and cook it yourself. I didn't look at your itinerary but if you are going with a group, then I assume they will travel to a supermarket and you can just get what you need and bring it back and cook it yourself.
We are currently two weeks in to the trip and I will tell you that it has been harder than I thought being around my father 24/7 and I am related to him! H and I have taken some day trips on our own or go off for a few hours for dinner if we don't all have plans. The truth is that we couldn't have afforded the places where we are without staying in a group but I know my H wishes we could be alone. H has been a saint through all my Dad's bad behavior. I really feel that I am babysitting my Dad a lot as he is 73 and his memory is waning and his hearing is shot. We will be each getting a car when we return to Cape Town next week so we can be on our own more often which wasn't the original plan.
For me, seeing what we have seen so far and the amazing moments we have managed to have on our own has been worth it. I think you need to consider whether you could deal with your MIL in a high stress environment for 20 days and if you think you can handle it then go.
Thank you so much for this feedback!
The website/itinerary say that breakfast, lunch and dinner are included in the price, but that meals are mostly self-catered, so I don't think we are going to buy any of our own food...I'm guessing they'll buy food for us to cook how we want.
Thanks for the honest thoughts on traveling with a parent or in-law. That's what worries me. She's in great health but is the type of person to ask a million questions about everything and can make things more difficult than they need to be. Even worse, my H gets in little fights with her a lot. I brought that up to him, and he seemed to think it'd be fine. I guess he just really wants to go. And I get why going with his mom would also be important, they may never get another trip like this together. I'm just not sure the dynamic will be the greatest for me.
I'll think over it some more. Thanks again. Hope you enjoy the rest of your trip, I'd like to hear about it when it's over!