African Parks & Reserves

Travel Dreams Aloft: Serengeti National Park Hot Air Balloon Safaris

Picture this: Dawn is seconds away from breaking across the acacia-strung savannahs of East Africa, and the twilight air breezing at your back is grippingly chilled and pristinely fresh. The morning grass is sprinkled with dew drops—or at least that’s what you remember seeing just minutes ago, as the drooped blades slowly shrunk from your […]

The Complete Luxury Safari Guide: Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

Here at Penwell, we’ve jeeped through the sprawling plains of Maasai Mara National Reserve more times than we can count on both hands—and we’ve gotta keep those hands on the wheel! There’s so much to see and do in this little slice of Kenya; whenever we’re out in the Mara, we know we’ve got friends […]

Ngorongoro Safari: The Crown Jewel of Tanzania Safari

“You’ve Been to Tanzania?! Did you go experience Ngorongoro safari?” A traveler to Tanzania is guaranteed to get this question from any fellow visitor—or from anyone eagerly anticipating a journey there. Your inquirer’s success in smoothly pronouncing “Ngorongoro” will indicate whether or not they’ve seen this wonder firsthand; what looks like a mouthful on the […]

Rubondo Island Safari: The Chimpanzee Habituation Project

Tucked away along the southwestern shore of Lake Victoria, tiny Rubondo island offers altruistic tourists a unique opportunity to contribute to both the scientific and safari communities: a symbiotic chimpanzee trek where your own positive presence is the best gift you can give. Here, amongst 240 square kilometers of volcanic hills and forested slopes, you’re […]

5 Must-see Parks and Reserves while on Tanzania Safari

Considering a custom safari to Tanzania? We can’t recommend the place enough. The rough-and-tumble little brother to Kenya’s classic safari experience, Tanzania’s got everything from volcanos to villages and rhinos to rift valleys, plus an unbelievable cast of critters in every location. With 16 national parks and over a third of the countryside under conservation, […]