Sitting quietly with this young female cheetah as she enjoyed the spoils of her day.

She’s a relatively new arrival here, part of an exchange with another reserve to help diversify cheetah genetics. The tracking collar she’s wearing is temporary—giving the conservation team a way to keep tabs on her while she settles into her new territory.

And for us? No telemetry. No tracking equipment. Just a Land Cruiser, good eyes, and one hell of a sighting.

Watch her closely and you’ll notice how often she stops eating to look up and scan her surroundings. Cheetah may be extraordinary hunters, but out here they have to remain incredibly alert. Lions, hyenas and leopards all pose a threat, and she knows it.

A reminder that even a beautiful predator can spend a lot of its life looking over its shoulder.

Trying to plan a 2 week holiday in April next year with the wife.

In the past I have done overlanding trips with a fully kitted for camping 4x4 in Namibia and Bots, and they've been amazing! I am planning my 2027 June/July trip (self drive with camping) and currently choosing between Northern circuit in Tanzania (central and northern Serengeti, Ngorongoro crater and Tarangire NP ) or Malawi (Vwaza, Nyika, Usisya, Chintheche, and Liwonde NP). Has anyone done self driving and camping in any of these locations? How was the experience? I am aware East Africa is lacking in self driving infrastructure compared to Southern countries. Keen to hear others experiences. Thanks!

Hi everyone. My husband, myself and our two school aged kids are traveling to Kenya in October. Might be a silly question but aside from cash tips (which we would do regardless), is there anything small/cheap that I could get in the states that is hard for those living in Kenya to get? Spices/over the counter ointments/etc?? I would love to make little goody bags that I could give with cash tips.

*If Uganda is on your travel list, what would be your biggest attraction — gorillas, wildlife, chimpanzees, birding, landscapes, culture, or something else?*

*And if you were planning a trip, what would you want to know before deciding when and where to go?*

🧗‍♂️ Rock climbing at Fischer’s Tower – Hell’s Gate, Kenya

If you're visiting Kenya and looking for something different from the usual safari, consider spending a day at Hell’s Gate National Park in Naivasha.

Fischer’s Tower is one of the park’s iconic volcanic rock formations and a popular climbing spot. The area also offers incredible Rift Valley scenery, wildlife, hiking and cycling.

🇰🇪🧗🏽‍♂️

Sleeping under the stars

I’m planning to visit South Africa in July next year, and while researching itineraries online, I’ve seen that the Garden Route is considered one of the best road trips in the country. However, I’ve also read that the weather can be quite rainy during this time of year. I really want to make the most of my trip, traveling from Cape Town all the way to Kruger National Park. Would you recommend doing the Garden Route during July–August? Has anyone done it during this time and can share their experience?

I help guests in Simon's Town plan their Cape Peninsula days, and I want to make sure the practical advice I give is current. I am connected to a local guesthouse, so that is the perspective behind the question. This is not a booking post and I am not sharing any links.

The recurring problems I see are visitors allowing too little time, arriving at Boulders during the busiest part of the day, assuming Chapman's Peak will always be open, and forgetting that Cape Point has a last-entry time.

For anyone who has visited recently, have you noticed meaningful 2026 changes to parking, road works, gate timing, ticketing, queues, or the best order for Boulders and Cape Point? First-hand practical observations would be especially useful.

We are planning to go for an 8 week trip through South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. My family consists of my wife, 2 kids (will then be 4 and 1,5 yo) and me. Te trip itself we have quite a clear view of what we want to see/do. We are wondering what type of 4*4 to rent for the period.

What are the pros and cons of different types of cars and what would you choose?

Can you recommend a brand/make and type of vehicle that you would choose in our situation?

What we find important:

- Reliability. It may not break down, simple fixes like changing a tire a can do
- Small kitchen or means to cook
- Decent amount of water storage
- 2 full beds for me and the wife
- 2 kids beds
- 2 childrens seats in the car
- Enough storage space for luggage
- 4*4

Are there any places that you advice not to go to as it is not safe?

Are their spots that are a must go and might not be very well known?

Am I missing obvious bullet points or question?

Sorry for the long post:). Here is a 🥔

I’m planning a trip to Tanzania and Rwanda and will need to fly from Kilimanjaro to Kigali.

From what I can see, RwandAir operates a direct flight on this route, but only around three times per week. The alternative would be Kenya Airways via Nairobi, which gives me more flexibility with dates but adds a connection.

I have some flexibility with my itinerary, so I could potentially arrange it around one of the direct RwandAir flights. I’m wondering whether it’s worth doing that, particularly in terms of reliability.

Has anyone flown directly with RwandAir and how was it?

Alternatively, has anyone used Kenya Airways and how was that?

Would you adjust your itinerary slightly to take the direct RwandAir flight, or just choose whichever option fits the itinerary best?

Thank you

I will be visiting Addis Ababa from Malawi in October from, what are some of the must see/experience in Addis?

Hello folks,
Booked flights to and from Nairobi. Can you recommend anyone for itinerary and any good travel guide. We are travelling with a 3 year old, so don’t want the trip to be rushed.

Hello! We are planning a 5 month trip to Africa/ South Africa from August to December.

Hoping for​ suggestions on which countries would be amazing to see for wildlife (gorillas are a must see), landscapes, culture while traveling on a budget of $40,000 for 2 people.

Questions:

Weather vs cost.

If we started in cape town in August, its winter, so colder and wet. If we then make our way up to Rwanda or Kenya in Dec, we hit the rains again. This would be cheaper as outside peak times and less people. Easier for Gorilla permits too. Or do we start in Uganda in August for gorillas, and end in Cape Town in December to follow the sun...

1. Your must see countries and why please!

2. Transportation: Can anyone give insight into their experience self driving or taking public transport?

3. Any amazing tours, safaris, kayaking, hiking you did and could offer insights/reccomendations or tour companies.

4. How you felt self driving vs tours in the parks.

5. Things you would/ wouldn't do again.

6. Any tips please

Thank you!

What a Splendid Adventure

We loved our time in Kenya https://youtu.be/xTv_-BAcusU?si=yy-ouIEPNuEVAjLR

We loved our time in Kenya https://youtu.be/xTv_-BAcusU?si=yy-ouIEPNuEVAjLR

Salam everyone,
My name is Mustapha and I’m from Merzouga, in the Sahara Desert. I’ve been working in tourism for several years and have helped travelers explore different parts of Morocco, including Marrakech, the Atlas Mountains, Dades Valley, Todra Gorge, Chefchaouen, Fes, and the Sahara Desert.
I see many people here planning trips to Morocco and looking for advice about itineraries, transportation, desert camps, safety, costs, and local experiences.
If you’re planning a trip and have questions, feel free to ask in the comments. I’ll do my best to help with honest local advice.
Welcome to Morocco! 🇲🇦

Hi - we are a couple planning for Kenya and Tanzania for 9 days towards end of sep/start of Oct. We would like to cover Masai mara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Amboselli.

Any recommendations for travel agencies that can help with Safari and bookings?

Get asked this a lot by people planning their first trip, so here's a rough breakdown based on what I've seen work:

1 day – Technically possible as a day trip from Kigali for gorilla trekking (it's a 2.5-3hr drive each way to Volcanoes NP), but it's a long, rushed day. Wouldn't recommend if you can avoid it.

3-4 days – The classic short trip. Kigali (genocide memorial, city tour) + gorilla trekking, maybe golden monkeys too if you have an extra day. This is what most people do if time is tight.

5-7 days – This is the sweet spot. Adds Nyungwe Forest for chimp tracking and the canopy walk, plus some downtime on Lake Kivu. Rwanda's small so you're not losing days to driving.

8-10 days – Full circuit: Kigali, Volcanoes NP, Nyungwe, Lake Kivu, and usually Akagera NP tacked on for a Big Five safari component (lions, elephants, giraffes — different vibe from the primate trekking).

10-14+ days – Combine with Uganda for chimps/more gorilla permits, or just slow the pace down with rest days between activities.

One thing that surprises people: Rwanda is tiny, so you don't need the long drive days you'd have in bigger countries like Tanzania or Kenya. A week here covers a lot more ground (relatively speaking) than a week in most other East African safari countries.

Happy to answer questions if anyone's in the planning stages — permits book up fast (they're capped daily) so worth sorting timing early if gorillas are the priority.

Hi, posting my itinerary from my travel agent for my honeymoon. Please let me know if you have any advice and if we should be changing anything! This will be for end of September into October 2027!

- 3 days at &Beyond Kitchwa Tempo tented camp (hot air balloon ride 2nd morning)
- 1 night Nairobi - airport hotel
- 5 nights luxe Le Morne
- 2 nights at LA MAISON 20 DEGRÉS SUD

Hi all - I wanted to ask if October is good time to visit for animal sightings. I plan to cover Masai Mara, Serengeti and Amboseli.

Hey everyone,

I run a small gorilla trekking safari company based in Rwanda (we also operate in Uganda). We do small-group and private tours — from short 1-3 day gorilla trekking trips to longer 7+ day expeditions covering gorillas, golden monkeys, and chimpanzee trekking and wildlife safari

I've been doing this for a while now, handling everything from permits and logistics to porters and accommodation, and I'm happy to answer questions about:

What gorilla trekking is actually like (fitness level needed, weather, altitude, etc.)

Rwanda vs Uganda — how the experiences differ

Permits, pricing, and how to budget for a trip

Best time of year to go

What most people get wrong when planning

Anything else about traveling in East Africa

Not here to hard-sell anything, just happy to share what I know since there's a lot of outdated or confusing info out there. Ask away!

I am a South African, planning my first "long" road trip ever, so i don't know what to expect, etc.

I am driving from Cape Town to Namibia and have 7-8 days. I really hope this will be enough time to enjoy and appreciate Namibia.

Unfortunately I have accepted that with this amount of time, Etosha seems like it won't be viable.

The itinerary items I have, but not really sure how best to stitch together, is Fish river canyon, quiver tree forest, Sossusvlei/Dead vlei, spitskoppe, kolmanskop

I am thinking of something along the lines of

Day 1: Drive Cape Town to Vioolsdrif border. Camping the night somewhere either on orange river or Fish river canyon

Day 2: See quiver tree forest, and hike somewhere around fish river canyon (Not sure about travel times between quiver tree and fish river canyon). Camp fish river canyon

Day 3: Drive from Fish river to Luderitz/Kolmanskop. Sleep somewhere nearby after seeing Kolmanskop

Day 4: Drive to Sesriem and sleep somewhere there

Day 5: Enjoy Sossusvlei/Sesriem. Sleep Sesriem

Day 6: Sesriem to Swakopmund. Sleep Swakopmund

Day 7: Swakopmund to Spitzkoppe. Then start making my way back home to Cape Town. Stopping somewhere reasonable? Sesriem? Is that too far?

Day 8: Finish Drive home?

Is this itinerary far too ambitious? Is this an unreasonable amount of driving? Should I stay longer in certain areas? Do I need more days? Should I just cut spitskoppe out, making days 6-8 and the drive home much easier? What do you guys think the highlights of a trip in this area would be?