|
|
 |
Private Safaris in Africa
I was drawn to Africa by Alan Root, whose films I promoted as the first U.S. employee for Survival Anglia Ltd. Promoting such was easy; the Survival films in general and his in particular were superior to most television programming then and now, and �then� was during a pre-David Attenborough era (early 70s) when Green meant money and environmentalists were considered beyond the fringe. The epic that hooked me was
Root�s film on the great migration of wildebeest that occurs every year in East Africa. He captured this magnificent parade without people on the landscape. These white-bearded gnu, after all, need no visa to cross the border between Kenya and Tanzania, and the film�s footnote was a vast one; the migration has occurred for millions of years, before humans began to emerge on this landscape known as the Cradle of Humankind.
As happens when you work on promotion or post-production, you screen a film so many times that you begin to repeat the script, anticipate the SFX, and even mock them. With these gnus I ended up making a pretty good low. Obviously I was in the wrong herd. One day, sitting for the nth screening in a dark room above Grand Central Station, I thought Why am I sitting here when I could be there?
When I made my way to Africa for the first time in 1977, the first thing I did in Nairobi was to drive toward the Ngong Hills on a pilgrimage to the home of Karen Blixen, author of Out of Africa, and one of the world�s better storytellers. It was the first of many road trips that led me to characters that loom large on this landscape. The arid terrain of Turkana and Olduvai where the Leakey family unearthed evidence of early humans and stone tools would hook me yet again, and
to research my books, I made Africa my home away from home for over a decade. I not only searched for fossils alongside Richard and Meave Leakey but camped out with Alan and Joan Root as they worked on their films. I spent one memorable Christmas with Cynthia Moss at her research camp with the shadow of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Beryl Markham, author of West With the Night, was a neighbor, and as were Iain and Oria Douglas-Hamilton, known for their studies of elephants.
The way my friends camped out in the middle of nowhere set the pattern for the safaris that I design today. You are close to nature, yet there is hot water for a shower, fresh food on the table, good wine, and such touches of civilization as china rather than tin plates. The escalation of accoutrements (carpets, crystal, claw-footed bathtubs) cannot compete with the fact that the key to a great safari, however, is privileged information, seeing this world with the insiders who
can bring even ancient landscapes alive. Again, the quality of any journey boils down to good story telling.
For a sample of destinations and price range, see the two web sites I have written or edited, http://www.africaparkeast.com and http://www.exploreafrica.net Both sites contain details about the weather, when to go, what to pack, plus the first site has background on accommodations,
national parks, train journeys, and safari options such as hot air balloon flights, floating over the great herds (an industry begun by Alan Root, who used the gondola of a balloon as a filming platform.)
For a private custom safari designed to suit you particular interests, a retainer fee of $450 is required as a deposit up front. The fee is for the itinerary, not per person, so with two or more, this is much less than commission you are normally charged. It is non-refundable, to weed out inquiries from the somewhat inclined or those not willing to pay for quality access. To take the first step on your private safari, contact [email protected]
|
|
