This year, we decided to visit Grand Teton NP and Yellowstone NP. We flew from Brussels via Schiphol directly to Salt Lake City on board Delta Airlines. Upon arrival in Salt Lake City, the city’s heat immediately overwhelmed us. It was no less than 45 degrees Celsius, and combined with the jetlag, you can imagine that we didn’t do much on the first day besides enjoying an Italian dinner at Caffé Molise and going to bed early. On our second day, we were already awake at 5 am and decided to explore the surroundings of Salt Lake City. In the […]
Despite the Covid-19 uncertainty, we seized the opportunity to travel to Kenya and the Masai Mara this past September. The preparations for the trip, especially the Covid-related tests and certificates, took a bit more time than a typical African trip, but we hoped for the reward of encountering a relatively deserted Masai Mara instead of an overcrowded savannah teeming with noisy tourists. After a perfect flight via Qatar Airways, with a layover at the stunning Hamad International Airport, we landed in Nairobi on Saturday morning and immediately flew on to the Masai Mara. For our six-day stay in the Mara, […]
“They really seem to appear out of nowhere, these lion prides!” Our love for Ruaha began in 2011 when we visited the park for the first time. We spent 3 nights in Ruaha combined with a visit to the Selous Game Reserve, and we were already captivated by the park and the abundant wildlife in the area. This time, we decided to spend a full week in the park to spot as much wildlife and predators as possible! We chose to travel again at the end of the dry season, as most of the wildlife tends to concentrate around the […]
“It seemed too good to be true, but after a fifteen-minute drive, we came across a pack of 5 Wild Dogs, lying in the shade of some bushes. What a sighting! Location: Selous Game Reserve Accommodation: Rufiji River Camp – Foxes Safari Camp Travel Dates: November 1-2-3 & 4 Distance: 35 minutes flight from Dar Es Salaam Temperature: 26-30°C Report: After an hour’s flight from Ruaha, we landed safely on the banks of the Rufiji River in the Selous Game Reserve. The biggest difference between a Game Reserve and a National Park is that you are allowed to go ‘off-roading’ […]
**LOCATION:** Ruaha National Park, Tanzania **PERIOD:** November **TRAVEL AGENT:** Matoke Tours If you’re in search of an authentic bush experience, your quest ends here! One destination stands out: Mdonya Old River Camp! At Mdonya, your wildest expectations are not only met but exceeded; the seemingly impossible becomes a reality! After more than 10 safari trips in Africa and numerous stays in tented camps, lodges, and the like, our time at Mdonya was a true triumph! It was our second visit to Ruaha, one of Tanzania’s most remote wildlife reserves, and once again, it surpassed our expectations. Ruaha, as vast […]
In November 2016, we embarked on a journey to Zambia, specifically to the South Luangwa National Park. Covering over 9,000 square kilometers, it is the second-largest park in Zambia after Kafue. Our journey began with a night flight from Schiphol Airport via Kenya Airways to Nairobi, and after just an hour, we continued to Lusaka. It was a tight schedule, but it allowed us to save an extra night in a hotel. From Lusaka, we took a domestic flight with Proflight to the Mfuwe airport. Around 1 PM, we arrived at our first destination, the Track & Trail camp. After […]
Friday, November 13th Overnight at Slipway Hotel, Dar Es Salaam Perhaps even more than during our Ruaha trip in 2014, I wondered why Matoke Tours brought us to Slipway for just one night. The drive takes at least 45 minutes, but our driver had taken 2 hours just before… Could there really be no other alternatives without having to pay double? Moreover, the room itself left much to be desired: 1 bottle of water, 1 towel, a musty smell, barely hot water for showering, a noisy kind of air conditioning, a party in the courtyard, no food, and no drinks […]
On Saturday, March 5th, we landed in Nairobi at around 7 in the morning, ready to embark on the 5-hour journey to the Laikipia region for a week among the wild dogs. The Laikipia region, located in the shadow of Mount Kenya, is a corridor connecting several renowned wildlife reserves (editor’s note: Samburu, Mount Kenya, and Nakuru) and is primarily known for its numerous packs of wild dogs. Wild dogs, precisely the reason we chose this region. After a 5-hour drive, we finally reached the Laikipia region and, a few moments later, our destination: Laikipia Wilderness Camp. After […]
We are startled from our thoughts when the internal communication system spits out four letters: b-e-ar, b-e-ar, b-e-ar, b-e-ar. Spitsbergen, June 2014 Introduction Because we had a special wedding anniversary to celebrate this year, we decided to make our annual vacation a bit more special. My wife wanted to see penguins and opted for Antarctica, but I was more inclined towards an encounter with Ursus Maritimus, literally the sea bear. However, we know it better by its more popular names – polar bear or ice bear. The polar bear is one of the largest land predators in the world, […]
“What followed was one of the most beautiful experiences I have ever had with a leopard. The leopard continued to track the herd of impalas, even using our jeep briefly as perfect camouflage to slowly creep closer…” Travel Agency: Askja Reizen Day 1: Flight Amsterdam – Johannesburg After an approximately 11-hour flight from Schiphol, we landed in Johannesburg around 9:30 PM. We headed straight to The Airport Grand Hotel for an overnight stay. The temperature difference from Europe was enormous! It was around 5°C in Johannesburg at 11:00 PM. After a very cold and short night, along with a hearty […]
The Tintswalo Lodge in the Manyeleti Private Game Reserve, that was the destination of our short safari trip! Short Safari Trip! An unfamiliar destination for us, recommended as an interlude for our trip to Cape Town by Lotte from Safari Design.Online, we had already noticed that Manyeleti Private Game Reserve was in a pretty good location, bordering the Sabie Game Reserve in Kruger Park, and it was quite large. The advantage of such a private game reserve is that you can get very close to the animals since you can go offroad. So, we were very curious about what we […]
**LOCATION:** Uganda **PERIOD:** May **TRAVEL AGENT:** Matoke Tours At the Antwerp Vacation Fair, we connected with Paul Gevers, one of the founders of Matoke Tours. This Dutch travel agency specializes in Tanzania, Rwanda, and especially Uganda. After about a dozen trips to Africa, where we almost always sought out the predators and their prey, we wanted to experience something entirely different—primates. And, of course, the cherry on top was the mountain gorillas that inhabit the rainforest of Bwindi. Our journey began with a flight from Brussels, and after a brief stopover in Kigali, we arrived in Entebbe an hour later. […]
The Best Way to Visit Kruger National Park Suppose you are planning a trip to South Africa and want to visit Kruger National Park. What are your best options? There are two main possibilities: – You can visit Kruger Park with a self-drive option and stay either just outside or within the park. – You can visit Kruger Park through one of the various private game reserves. The advantage of the first option is that you can drive through Kruger Park yourself and stop to observe the wildlife you are interested in. The downside is that you’ll need to spot […]
“A pack of Wild Dogs tearing apart a Kudu in the middle of a waterhole. What a sighting!” Travel Agency: Askja Reizen Location: Mapula Lodge Area: Okavango Delta, Botswana Distance: 45-minute flight from the Savuti region Dates: July Temperature: 35°C during the day // 10°C at night Day 5: Flight from Savuti Region to Okavango Delta, Botswana After a 45-minute flight, we landed around 3:00 PM at the Mapula Lodge airstrip. We had just gotten into our Jeep when our guide, Mozilla, told us that there were three male lions resting next to the airstrip. Within a couple of minutes, […]
In early December, we traveled to Kenya to go on safari in the world-famous Masai Mara after many years. We had some doubts beforehand about going there during that period, knowing that the migration of wildebeests and zebras is much further south in Tanzania. However, we were convinced by Annabelle from Laikipia Wilderness Camp, where we had stayed before, also in Kenya. Due to the heavy rains of the past two months, we were eagerly anticipating photographically beautiful green landscapes and lots of young life on the vast plains. This time, we flew with Brussels Airlines (Lufthansa), which was considerably […]