Are you thinking of heading off on safari? We know the perfect place online to help you plan your dream adventure. Expert Africa has launched a new website, and it’s jam-packed with innovative data-driven answers to every safari question you can think of.
Adding to the brand’s reputation as a resource for in-depth, first-hand knowledge and honesty – both from its team and unedited client reviews – Expert Africa’s traveller wildlife surveys are a pioneering new tool that will let guests discover the best areas and camps for spotting specific wildlife species.
Chris McIntyre, Expert Africa’s Managing Director, says: “A great safari can be an amazing, life-changing holiday. Choosing the right one is critical and so helping our guests with the best possible insights when planning was a big part of our vision behind our new website.
“Travellers can use our new website to discover much more about Africa’s key wildlife species and where they are most commonly seen, as well as exploring safari options at their leisure and gleaning insights from our team of experts.”
Over the last two years, over 700 travellers (and counting) have completed surveys, recording over 28,035 observations of 26 animal species from various camps and parks. Expert Africa’s website has used this data to build a clear picture of the best places to see the different wildlife species in East and Southern Africa.
As well as being a useful tool for safari travellers, wildlife researchers are using the data captured by this ‘citizen science’ project to understand population distributions better. “Our travellers’ data has already helped hyena researchers to pinpoint new areas for three species of hyena, beyond their previously known ranges. Our hope is to use these wildlife insights to produce more tangible contributions to wildlife research and conservation awareness across many species and areas,” adds Chris McIntyre.
With a new image-led look and feel, the new website provides a visually appealing experience for visitors, along with a more user-friendly structure, with the holiday options and itineraries taking centre stage. For each different trip, the chances of seeing each animal are broken down into an easy-to-digest infographic, so that travellers can be sure they are choosing the right holiday for them.
What’s the best area for me to see a leopard?
Follow the ‘Wildlife’ tab and find detailed information on your favourite animal. The Leopards in Africa page, for example, reveals a handful of facts about leopards across Africa, an interactive map detailing the precise sighting records for leopards at hundreds of individual camps and lodges across Africa, top tips for viewing leopards, a list of top holiday suggestions for seeing leopards and, finally, links to even more focussed maps on leopard sightings in individual African countries.
Example itinerary: The stats illustrate that Zambia’s Lower Zambezi National Park has an amazing record for leopard: 100% of travellers (some 30 in total) to Old Mondoro Bushcamp and Chiawa Camp recorded at least one leopard sighting. So the Slender Mongoose Safari all but guarantees that travellers will have at least one sighting of these often-illusive big cats, along with elephants, as well as extremely high chances of seeing lion and a surprisingly good chance of aardvark.
“Even the rarer animals have been quantified through these surveys. For example, aardvark’s are shy, largely nocturnal and very seldom seen. After living and travelling in Africa for 33 years, I’ve never seen one. But our Aardvark in Africa page highlights that an astonishing 40% of our travellers to Old Mondoro Bushcamp have had aardvark sightings. Ask anyone who knows about Africa; this is an amazing record for this animal. We’re already investigating why their sightings are so reliable!”, concludes Chris McIntyre.
Prices for the five-night trip start from £4,362 pp (two sharing), including all meals, most drinks, internal flights, transfers, activities and park fees.
Which camp in Botswana has the best wild dog sighting?
Expert Africa’s insights reveal that there have been 140 recorded sightings of wild dogs in Botswana since May 2018. Based on this data, Expert Africa recommends 19-holiday ideas for travellers, listing trips ordered by the likelihood of travellers seeing wild dogs.
Example itinerary: Based on the sightings of previous travellers, the Porcupine Safari will give visitors a 99% chance of seeing wild dogs – Africa’s rarest predator.
Prices for the 11-night trip start from £6,665 pp (two sharing) including all meals, most drinks, laundry, internal transfers and all activities/park fees—international flights extra.
What are my chances of seeing a black rhino on this trip?
Each of Expert Africa’s itineraries includes a percentage chance of seeing each animal in the destination. All of the data driving this comes from observations made by their travellers over the last two years.
Example itinerary: On the Francolin Fly-in Safari, fly between northern Namibia’s highlights – Sossusvlei’s dunes, quaint Swakopmund, Damaraland’s mountains and a safari in Etosha – on a spectacular aerial adventure. According to their travellers’ experiences, there’s an 88% chance of seeing black rhino on this trip.
Prices for the 10-night trip start from £4,085 pp (two sharing) including all meals, most drinks, laundry, internal transfers and all activities/park fees—international flights extra.
For more information on the background behind this wildlife data, see the explanations on the Traveller wildlife surveys page of the website.
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