Welcome to our safari pages.  It was a great 7 day adventure.  We shot 800 photos and it took us almost as much time to edit, crop and create the web pages as did to go on safari.  This is one of our planned highlights of our world tour itinerary and was the primary reason for coming to sub-Saharan Africa.  Thanks to our friend in the States, Steffi, who is a former tour guide and now writes travel books, we were able to figure the ins and outs of surviving in Kenya and Tanzania, and how to pick a safari that would be reliable and affordable.  We, like most people, have only heard about safaris that costs thousands of dollars.  Of course, those are the only ones that have the fancy brochures that are shown in the States by travel agents.  To our surprise, in Kenya (where park fees are the lowest) a safari can  cost only $ 50 - 55 US dollars per day, and there are numerous varieties of length and types.   A good camp (tenting), lots of food, a decent cushy van seat, and a fun guide are the necessities. The way many budget travelers go is to show up in Nairobi and scout out the safari companies, or if lucky enough, to have a recommendation from a trusted traveler (with no vested interest).  Steffi sent us to Game Trackers, but it was Christmas, and unfortunately the safari business in town was a bit slow and they didn't have this route available when we wanted to go.  Plan # 2:  Walk around Nairobi (which is dangerous in itself) and talk to 4 or 5 companies listed in Lonely Planet, our trusted bible of guidebooks.  Believe me, it is a pain, but as the song goes "My momma told me, you better shop around".  In Nairobi, every tout knows which hotel you are staying in, when you come and go and which safari company you have looked into choosing.  They often represent several companies and have a handful of different brochures.  It's all a bit creepy.  Going completely on gut, we chose Prime Time Safari, which is about 3 years old and not in Lonely Planet.  It seems that some businesses and hotels that get in Lonely Planet, get pretty cocky as the business just pours in.  The Prime Time office was spotless (as opposed to a few others visited), had a dorm room, kitchen, and clean bathrooms that you can use, complementary for 2 nights before and/or after your safari. Most important, they had a safe for our belongings.   So, shelling out big cash for an unknown, was a risk, but we had a great safari (ugh, my ulcer was burning on this one).  Funny thing is we recommended Game Trackers to our friends (on our friend's recommendation) and they were also thrilled.  Other people's experiences with other companies didn't always pan out, as their camp sites weren't good, or their drivers wouldn't stop when they wanted.   Another option we found while sitting on Zanzibar Island working on this web site are the overland trips in a huge monster truck contraption for 17 days or so that go thru Kenya and Tanzania, safaris, Mt. Kilimanjaro, and Zanzibar.  All food and park fees included for only $ 700.  It's a rough ride for some, but a great deal for others, in case you are ever planning to come and make good use of the time and money spent on the flight.  So the moral of the story is to find out how you can make a dream come true, so get off of your excuse chair, and get to Africa for safari!