What better way is there to explore some of the 5,700 square miles of the Serengeti National Park than by hot air balloon? For a very reasonable $479 or $499 per person (depending on precise location), Serengeti Balloon Safaris will take you up for an hour to get a unique overview of the flora and fauna that abounds. Time it right and you might even witness the annual migration.
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would YOU like to go ballooning most? Click on the comments link to let us know!
Experience the Serengeti from a totally new perspective at Grumeti River Camp. Exhilarating hot air ballooning safaris have recently been launched, offering a life-changing opportunity to experience the sheer enormity of the Serengeti and its magnificent wildlife from 1,000 feet above.
iExplore, named the Best Adventure Travel Website by Forbes Magazine and Travel + Leisure, has announced a list of top 10 world travel destinations as determined by purchases made by adventure and experiential travellers. Egypt retains its number one spot, but South Africa jumps to the number 2 spot (from 19th position the year before). Argentina and Italy fell to 21st and 26th positions respectively, having previously been in the top 10. Here’s their current top 10, with the previous year’s ranking in brackets:
- Egypt (#1)
- South Africa (#19)
- China (#6)
- Antarctica (#2)
- Peru (#4)
- Galapagos (#17)
- Thailand (#5)
- Costa Rica (#11)
- Tanzania (#8)
- India (#14)
CC Africa’s Tanzania Under Canvas - the ultimate, exhiliarating, tailormade Tanzanian safari concept - is now open for guests. The luxurious tented migratory camps have been beautifully assembled and guests are enjoying up close and personal encounters with the Serengeti’s vast and exciting game-rich wilderness. Designed with CC Africa’s legendary fully-serviced style, comfort and elegance, these intimate and private camps follow directly in the footsteps of the animals year round, across the limitless Serengeti plains. Tanzania Under Canvas provides a true sense of remoteness and complete solitude in classic Hemingway tents. The tents are available on a nightly basis, allowing guests to combine it with further nights at CC Africa’s other unique Tanzanian lodges.
Precision Air have been given the 2005/6 Airline of the Year award in Tanzania in Dar es Salaam after being announced as winners by the Tanzania Tourist Board at the Africa Travel Association annual general assembly. The airline has outpaced its key competitor, Air Tanzania, and now offers an extensive domestic network that covers Zanzibar and Tanzania’s key national parks. Precision Air also provide services to Kenya (Nairobi and Mombasa), Malawi (Blantyre and Lilongwe) and UAE (Dubai).
Tourism in Tanzania is booming, thanks in part to the numerous recent investments by major luxury hotels such as the Kempinski Hotels and Resorts, Movenpick and Sun International. Kempinski has opened its first properties in East Africa, the Kilimanjaro Kempinski on the Dar es Salaam waterfront and the Zamani Kempinski Resort Hotel on the Island of Zanzibar. Movenpick has taken over the Royal Palm Hotel in Dar es Salaam, its first property in East Africa, and Sun International is building a luxury property in Zanzibar.
CC Africa’s Grumeti River Camp is located on the banks of the Grumeti River in the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. Although there is the opportunity to travel on a rather bumpy road, most guests arrive by plane courtesy of Regional Air, landing on a make-shift airstrip (read: flat stretch of grass). As we descended upon the camp, the abundance of wildlife was immediately evident and the tail-end of the migration was depicted by a scattered line of wildebeest, all heading in the same direction.
On arrival, we were greeted by the staff and immediately shown to our tented camp by our butler, Rueben. There are ten tents here, each with en suite bathrooms, and our shower was open to the sky allowing us to shower under the stars if we so wished. Without further ado, it was lunch time. Here you lunch on the banks of the river to the sound of snorting hippos.
The food is exceptional given that you are in the middle of nowhere. (I think they fly provisions in from South Africa.) Lunch consists of Greek salad followed by delicious, fresh pizza, and pineapple and raspberry sorbet to finish). And, after watching the hippos for a little longer (they were starting to get a bit impatient with each other) and relaxing about the camp a little, it’s time for our first game drive.
Game drives at Grumeti are best at dawn and just before dusk. On the afternoon of our arrival we went out with our ranger, Wilfred, and two guests from the UK, Ken and Kim, who were seasoned visitors of the CC Africa lodges and enjoying their third stay at Grumeti. The smart 4WD Grumeti River Camp vehicle we travel in is open-sided, allowing easy viewing.
Well, what can we say… we saw everything from termite mounds to Thompson gazelles. Wildebeest, zebras, ostriches, dig-digs, mongooses (mongeese?!), a tawny eagle (which we saw kill a small bird), giraffes, Grant and Thompson gazelles, a lioness and three cubs, and more… a lot to take in and somewhat awe-inspiring!
The next day, even before breakfast we had seen crocodiles, pelicans, monkeys and more. We spent the rest of the day relaxing around the camp. They have an open (but covered) lounge area, a bar and a plunge pool to help prevent you overheating. And, of course, your butler is there at your beck and call. Rueben went beyond the call of duty when I was stung by a wasp, and he jumped to the scene, removed the sting and massaged my arm… I’m not sure what miracle he performed, but I’ve never before had a wasp sting that did not sting!
All the staff at the camp were exceptionally friendly, yet professional. On a semi-regular basis, many of them while away an hour or two of their afternoon playing football (soccer) and I was lucky enough to be the first guest to join them. Having a kick-about in the Serengeti with Tanzanian supporters of the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool, with a lioness and her young less than a mile away, was one of my more surreal experiences to date!
A few more game drives later and we’d seen warthogs, giraffes, hyenas, buffalo, cheetahs, and lots and lots of wildebeest and zebra. We’re also lucky enough to spot a rare Colobus monkey. This is a perfect location and one where the romance of Africa is complemented by luxurious accommodation, superb cuisine and CCA’s highly personalised service. All in all, I’d highly recommend it.