Chad wildlife vacation in Zakouma NP
Price
£7050To£7750 including domestic flights only
More info
£7,050 per person sharing, with a £500 single supplement
Description of Chad wildlife vacation in Zakouma NP
Price information
£7050To£7750 including domestic flights only
£7,050 per person sharing, with a £500 single supplement
Check dates, prices & availability
Travel guides
Gazelles skip over plateaus, rare crocodiles bask in oases, and the Toubou people lead their camel herds to the shade of the rocks to drink. Landlock...
'Safari' means 'journey', and the word itself has travelled – first from the Arabic safar and safariya, through to the Swahili safari. This East...
Reviews
2 Reviews of Chad wildlife vacation in Zakouma NP
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed on 26 Mar 2023 by Sarah Wilkins
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
The thousands of cranes; storks; geese; ducks and other birds at the Zakouma pans; also the large herds of buffalo; topi; hartebeests etc and the famous Zakouma elephant mega herd (now split into two)
2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Don't expect this park to be like those in Southern Africa - there are long stretches of dry bush country between the pans but lots of excitement around the pans. A good park to visit in the dry season if you are interested in birds as well as mammals.It is a long 2 day drive from N'djamena to the park. There are also flights.
3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
employment at Tinga lodge and by African Parks
litter is a real problem in Chad - the local people did not seem to consider a covering of blue; white and black plastic bags near and in towns to be an issue.
Our camp staff seemed surprised when we cleared up all our waste from camping.
It will take a life time to litter pick Chad!
4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
It was good to see a country not spoilt by tourism and fast food chains. Despite Uk gov warnings, it seemed very safe and the people friendly. Zakouma park was very different from SA parks with the pans being a magnet for wildlife in the dry season. It was nice not to have many other vehicles in the park; often we were the only vehicle at a sighting and could drive all day without seeing other trucks.
Reviewed on 01 Apr 2022 by Martin Waldock
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
The wildlife. Especially the quantity & variety of bird life. An incredible number of Eagles. We saw about 6 different species.
The landscape of the park i thought was pretty amazing. I think it deserves a mention. Vast open vistas. Great for bird watching.
2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Be prepared to go with the flow. This is Africa after all. Patience is a good attribute. Roughing it is all part of the experience. The heat is incredible, 40Deg C +.
If you don't like or can't stand these sort of temperatures, don't go. There is no A/C. No pool.
Some of the roads can be rough, quite a few pot holes.
3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
This vacation did all of the above. The guides, drivers & trackers all did a first class job.
4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
A very good experience. It's nice to go where not many other tourists go. A cut above east & southern Africa.
I would like to give a lot of credit to Tom, the owner of the operator. He was very diligent. Helped you when needed. He had good attention to detail. Nothing
seemed too much trouble.
Responsible Travel
As the pioneers of responsible tourism, we've screened this (and every) vacation so that you can travel knowing it will help support the places and people that you visit, and the planet. Read how below.
Planet
We care deeply about the ecosystems we visit and the wildlife that call these amazing places home. Zakouma is one of the best protected wilderness areas in Central Africa and your visit helps to demonstrate the value of the park to the Chadian government and their international partners. We ensure that every interaction with Zakouma's wildlife is memorable, holding ourselves to high standards when it comes to keeping a respectful distance from all wildlife, not crowding sightings with additional vehicles and only driving off-road when entirely necessary. We also limit the length of all nocturnal sightings to reduce the likelihood of alerting any animal's behaviour, and we will never spotlight a young or vulnerable animal. We ask that guests understand this approach and never attempt to feed or otherwise interact with any wild animal.The suppliers we partner with in Chad, including our transport providers, are all based in Chad or exclusively employ Chadian people. We believe that the only way to ensure long-term protection for wilderness areas is to ensure that local people always see the benefit of ecotourism. With this in mind, all drivers, guides and housekeeping staff in Tinga Camp are Chadian. Our transport providers exclusively use Chadian drivers, cooks and camp staff - and we wouldn't have it any other way.
People
We believe that all local people and communities should be treated with the utmost respect - they are showing tremendous courtesy to allowing us to spend time seeking out their wildlife, and we must return that favour. We work hard to create positive relationships between our clients and local communities - we always encourage tipping of at least $10 per person per day, we ask clients to never photograph anybody without their permission, and we provide clients with some useful local phrases to help build warm relationships.We also support local craft-makers in Zakouma, and encourage all of their guests to attend a nearby weekly market. This market offers a wide array of products, from traditionally-crafted sword sheaths to baskets woven from camel hair. We are also able to visit the park headquarters, where many local people to employed, to learn about how the management of the park have built and cemented excellent relationships with local communities - and what more still needs to be done.
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