Kenya : Self-Catering Wildlife Safari – A Low cost option

Most people seeking wildlife Safari to Kenya would be thinking of doing the ‘traditional’ type in which most of the catering and accommodation needs are included in the package. That means your meals, accommodation, transport and sometimes even laundry needs are taken care of. You simply sit back and ‘shot’ the African wildlife with your camera, while your safari operator worries about these on your behalf.

However, besides this traditional, conventional, guided, full-board accommodation safari in Kenya, one might also consider other types of safari arrangements. One of these is the self-catering safari. This is for the more adventurers. As long as you are willing to sacrifice a little comfort and luxury, then you should consider this option. In some places you might have to go without running water or flushing toilets. But the alternatives to this comfort are bearable and at the end of it all, is worth the experience and the savings on your pocket.

The self-catering Safari would be ideal for budget travelers who may be on a shoestring budget or students with limited financial resources.

What is the difference?
The self-catering safari does not differ much from the guided, full-board safari. The major difference is on food and accommodation arrangements. While on the guided full-board safari, you depend on meals prepared by the hotels and lodges in the areas you will be visiting. You will have paid for all these meals in advance. But on the self-catering safari, you will be preparing your own meals. In fact, some facilities have cooks available so that you only need to come along with your food, and they will cook it for you. You get to determine, to a large extent the type of menu that you prefer and you are also in control of the cost to a large extent. And, as mentioned, a few luxuries are foregone.

First things to consider when thinking of self-catering safari
Depending on your interest in terms of what you would like to see and experience on your safari, you will need to define your routing. The choice of routing is of course dependent on the availability of accommodation facilities that will enable you to do your self-catering. It also depends on the number of days you have for your Safari.

Whichever routing you opt for, and whatever number of days you may have, accommodation while on self-catering safari will be limited to about 3 main options:

The first option is to use of the Kenya Wildlife Services self-catering facilities
Kenya Wildlife Services, the organization that is basically in charge of taking care of wildlife in Kenya, runs and maintains some self-catering facilities. These are spread out fairly well through out the country covering a good number of wildlife viewing areas. For example on the southern circuit, there are self-catering facilities in Amboseli National park and Tsavo West National park. Further, south, along the coast, you will also find their bands at Shimba Hills National Reserve, at Shimoni near Wasini Island and in Malindi, on the north coast side.

In the central Kenya area, you will find KWS self-catering facilities in Aberdares National park and in Mount Kenya area. On the western Kenya route, Kenya Wildlife Services have self-catering facilities in Kakamega, Ruma, Sibiloi and Mount Elgon.

On the floor of the Great Rift Valley, they have facilities in Lake Nakuru – Naishi Guest House.

The second option is to pitch up your own igloo-type tents at designated Campsites
This option means you carry your own tents that you pitch up and dedicated campsites. Such campsites have share public facilities that you can use for cooking. You also share bathroom facilities. You might need your own utensils and certainly need to have beddings. Sleeping bag is a must-have item on this option.

The third option is to use semi-permanent Tents run by private or community groups. As the name suggests, these are semi-permanent canvas tents that are basic. At the campsite, most facilities will be shared – the bathrooms, dinning hall, cooking area etc. Such facilities are not as spread out to the whole country as the ones managed by Kenya Wildlife Services. They are found in Amboseli National park, Maasai Mara, Samburu Game reserve and in Lake Naivasha area.

Transportation mode while on Self-catering safari in Kenya
Once you have designed your routing and picked your accommodation location, you will need to shop around for transportation. If you are traveling in a group of up to 4 persons, you might want to consider renting a SUV that will tackle the sometimes-difficult terrains of the national parks and reserves. Another thing to consider at this point if whether you are better off on a self-drive basis or if you might need a local driver. If you shop around well, you might be able to get one who will triple up as driver/guide/cook.

For groups of more than 4 persons, you probably needs to rent a bigger 4WD vehicle- one that can take up to 8 passengers. If you are 6 persons for example, you still have enough space for your bags and other items that you need on such a safari. In Kenya, such vehicles are always rented out together with a driver. You will hardly find a car-rental company willing to give it to you on a self-drive basis. This should serve as an advantage since the local drivers know their way around, especially for first-timers.

Arrangement for park and reserve entrance charges
Your entrance fees to the various game parks and wildlife reserves need to be arranged in advance and this requires your attention. Kenya Wildlife services does not allow handling of cash by officers at the entry point for the payment of these fees. This is a measure to reduce possible lose of such monies by way of corruption. They have therefore employed the use of a smart card system that demand that you make the payment at designated points of sale.

Even in the case of the game reserves that are run by the local county councils, councils in part of Maasai Mara have designated agents from whom you must purchase the tickets in advance.

In fact, if you have not engaged a travel agent or tour operator to help you in putting together your self-catering safari, you certainly will need a couple of days before the start of the safari so that you can arrange all the aspects for a smooth-running safari.

If you are using a guidebook to gather information as you plan your tour, please crosscheck the currency and reliability of the information you get by consulting as many sources as possible.

Other areas of concern while on self-catering safari: Safety, Security and Health matters
When planning your self-catering tour and designing your itinerary, one major concern will your safety and security during the safari. Again, take your time to consult and get the most current of updates on the security situation. This will guide you on what areas you might want to stay clear off even if they might be of high interest to you.

If you opt of the self-drive option, find out about the road conditions, availability of gasoline and acceptability of credit cards. When on the road, watch out for reckless drivers who might pose danger to you!

Needless to say, on your health matters, take the required precautions against Malaria and other tropical diseases. Ensure you buy and stock enough clean water and only drink bottled water during this time in the bush. Take along water-treatment tabs just in case the need arises.

Enjoy your self-catering safari!

Solomon Okila is Editor African Voyages Ltd Kenya Travel Guide and Tourist Information and African Hotels, Lodges and Tourist Information.