Jim's Africa Page

Jim's Kenya and Tanzania Safari Page

Between August 17th and September 3rd 2001 my Mom and I travelled through Kenya and Tanzania. We booked a tour through "Maupintour" and spent about one week in each country. We flew via British Airways 10 hours direct to London from San Francisco and then 8 hours to Nairobi. We also took charter flights on small planes between several sites in Kenya and Tanzania. I took over 250 photos with my digital camera. I also have 2+ hours of video.

Click here for the itinerary

Click here for some of the photos

The highlight of the trip for me was seeing Cheetahs hunting Gazelles in the Samburu game park at twilight. There were many "runner up" experiences, including the hot air balloon trip in the Masai Mara. The landing was exciting when the passenger basket tipped over and dragged for a few feet on its side.

The diversity of life and landscape is terrific. We tend to see only Africa's dry plains and Acacia trees on TV. But East Africa is far more lush and fertile than I expected. Each location we visited was uniquely different from the last. In addition to the many animals, we saw rivers, agriculture, the Rift Valley, mountains, jungles, forrests, plains, tribes, villages, cities, and endless dusty washboard dirt roads.

Despite Yellow Fever shots and the dreaded "Larium" Malaria pills, mosquitos and Tsetse flies were not a problem. In fact, I don't have a single mosquito bite on me, and I never saw one on any of the 15+ people in our group. A proof of Yellow Fever vaccination is required for entry into Tanzania, but the Immigration Officer barely glanced at my paperwork.

The surprise "bonus" of the trip was being upgraded to Business Class seats on our return flight home. 10 hours on a 747 isn't so bad when you are offered steamy-hot towels to freshen up, served Champagne, choices of seafood, and chocolate, and are able to stretch out and go to sleep. This was British Airway's way of apologizing for losing our bags for the first 3 days of the trip. BA also gave us $200 to buy replacement clothes for our trip, most of which we spent on "Tusker" and "Kilimanjaro" beer and cocktails after our bags arrived. Our bags caught up with us on the 2nd or 3rd day of the trip.

This man was the shop-keeper of a store where our bags were delivered. He wanted my SF Giants hat, but I wouldn't give it to him. So I mailed one to him after I got home and he mailed me this photo.

Travel via Toyota Land Cruisers

Animals

Samburu Women

Incredible sunrises and sunsets

Breakfast on Safari

Hot Air Balloon shadow over a Masai Warrior

Downtown Nairobi

Maps: Africa | Kenya | Tanzania | Big list of Africa maps
Flags: Kenya | Tanzania

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Between August 17th and September 3rd 2001 my Mom and I travelled through Kenya and Tanzania. We booked a tour through "Maupintour" and spent about one week in each country. We flew via British Airways 10 hours direct to London from San Francisco and then 8 hours to Nairobi. We also took charter flights on small planes between several sites in Kenya and Tanzania. I took over 250 photos with my digital camera. I also have 2+ hours of video.
Click here for the itinerary	Click here for some of the photos

The highlight of the trip for me was seeing Cheetahs hunting Gazelles in the Samburu game park at twilight. There were many "runner up" experiences, including the hot air balloon trip in the Masai Mara. The landing was exciting when the passenger basket tipped over and dragged for a few feet on its side. The diversity of life and landscape is terrific. We tend to see only Africa's dry plains and Acacia trees on TV. But East Africa is far more lush and fertile than I expected. Each location we visited was uniquely different from the last. In addition to the many animals, we saw rivers, agriculture, the Rift Valley, mountains, jungles, forrests, plains, tribes, villages, cities, and endless dusty washboard dirt roads. Despite Yellow Fever shots and the dreaded "Larium" Malaria pills, mosquitos and Tsetse flies were not a problem. In fact, I don't have a single mosquito bite on me, and I never saw one on any of the 15+ people in our group. A proof of Yellow Fever vaccination is required for entry into Tanzania, but the Immigration Officer barely glanced at my paperwork. The surprise "bonus" of the trip was being upgraded to Business Class seats on our return flight home. 10 hours on a 747 isn't so bad when you are offered steamy-hot towels to freshen up, served Champagne, choices of seafood, and chocolate, and are able to stretch out and go to sleep. This was British Airway's way of apologizing for losing our bags for the first 3 days of the trip. BA also gave us $200 to buy replacement clothes for our trip, most of which we spent on "Tusker" and "Kilimanjaro" beer and cocktails after our bags arrived. Our bags caught up with us on the 2nd or 3rd day of the trip. This man was the shop-keeper of a store where our bags were delivered. He wanted my SF Giants hat, but I wouldn't give it to him. So I mailed one to him after I got home and he mailed me this photo.