FAQ

To get to the more remote bush sites that offer the best wildlife viewing, you usually need to spend some time in a specially adapted safari vehicle.

When in a Ker & Downey Mobile camp, our guides have a strict policy of never seating more than four guests to a vehicle, to optimise individual comfort and ensure unobstructed views through each window. Most of our vehicles are Land Rovers or Toyota LandCruisers, and all are equipped with large roof hatches, camera-charging sockets, and those all-important fridges. Each vehicle is driven by a highly trained guide who will stay with you throughout your safari – not only to show you the country but to promote conversations with local people, and explain everything from politics to parrots!

When staying at a carefully chosen lodge, we tend to use their specially adapted vehicles and work in tandem with their driver-guides who are on hand to share their intimate local knowledge of the surrounding landscapes.

​Most of the air charter companies we use operate Cessna 208's or 206's, depending on the size of your group. Our preferred helicopter charter operations tend to use the safest Eurocopters. These are all comfortable, highly maintained aircraft, flown by some of the most experienced bush pilots in the world. Flying between destinations also gives us a great opportunity to see the forests and plains – and often, some magnificent wildlife spectacles – from above.

The K&D safari experience is highly personalised so we don’t sell ‘off-the-shelf’ itineraries. Please complete our contact form and provide us a brief overview of your travel dates, party size, interests and preferred guide, should you wish. We will then get in touch and begin helping you plan the trip of a lifetime!

Download our pre-departure information and packing list. Press to download

Absolutely, many of our guests do this. Many African countries have magnificent coastlines.

Kenya is unique in this respect: just an hour’s flight from the heart of the Maasai Mara and you can be enjoying a sundowner looking out over the Indian Ocean. Tanzania and Mozambique also offer exceptional beach destinations, while Cape Town in South Africa offers totally unique experiences.

We insist that you take out comprehensive travel and medical insurance before you travel. These details should be sent to us before you arrive so we can add your name to our Medi-evac cover which provides emergency airlift evacuation from remote areas.

A diverse geography means a variable climate across the continent.

Most of East Africa can be considered a year-round destination for both safaris and beach holidays. Between January and March and between June and October, the weather is drier, meaning the bush is less dense and wildlife gather at waterholes and rivers. In April, May and November, seasonal rains bring new life, less crowds and is rarely so wet that it affects daily activities.

Southern Africa's safari regions tend to be dry and cool in the winter months of June to September. Hot and humid conditions can be expected from November to April. Both seasons bring different wildlife spectacles and your guide will be able to discuss pros and cons to each.

Niche destinations, such as the Congo, Chad, Madagascar and Ethiopia are far more seasonal. Your guide will be able to determine the most suitable time of year to plan a trip to these regions.

The famous Serengeti-Mara Wildebeest migration tends to be in Kenya between July and October. In January to March, the approximately two million animals – mostly zebra and wildebeest – congregate in the southern Serengeti plains. This annual migration is one of the greatest spectacles in the natural world.

There are other wildlife migrations too. The zebra migrations between the Okavango Delta, Chobe River floodplains and the Makgadikgadi and Nxai Pans in Botswana reaches the Pans between December and March.

In Zambia, a wildebeest migration reaches the Liuwa Plains at the onset of the rainy season, usually in November. Then there is the largest mammal migration on earth, where up to 10 million fruit bats arrive into the Kasanka National Park, between October and December each year.