First African Safari confusion

I haven’t been to Tanzania, but I loved the safari I took in Botswana. (back in 2003). We spent 4 nights in Cape Town before flying on to Botswana. In Botswana, we stayed in 3 safari camps (Okavango Delta, Chobe, and Mashatu). I loved both the Okavango Delta and Mashatu. Chobe National Park was not as interesting as the other two locations. Since it was a national park, our jeep had to stay on the road so we did no see as many animals as we saw in the two private reserves. We arranged our trip through Fish Eagle Safaris. They specialize in Africa and have a number of articles on their website about safaris in Africa. I thought they did a great job arranging our trip.

Everyone I’ve talked to who has been on a safari has loved it, so I doubt you can go wrong whether you choose southern Africa or eastern Africa. You might read through some of the blog posts on the Fish Eagle website and see if one region appeals to you more than another. Bert Duplessis arranged our trip and he has a post on his five top Africa trips. Calfing season in Tanzania is one of his top 5 and so is the Okavango Delta. Good luck with your decision.
https://fisheaglesafaris.com/berts-top-5-africa-trips/

I've never done a safari holiday, but was talking about it the other day with someone who is planning one.
Apparently, the South African game drives take place in reserves, still big places, but the chances of seeing animals are greater than in the other places.

We just did our amazing safari trip last year and used Yellow Zebra Safaris - yellowzebrasafaris.com. It was incredibly well planned.
We also talked with Fish Eagle Safaris, Tara Beckett at [email protected] and Nicky Mears at [email protected].

You tell them what you want and they will tailor a trip and offer advice.
Here is what we learned:
1. We did not want a packaged safari like on Gate 1 Travel.
2. We chose Kicheche in the Naboisho Conservancy in Kenya. They were simply incredible. And if you are in a Conservancy, the jeeps go off road and place you within feet of the animals. And you may have 4 people in your jeep. This was a huge learn.
3. We also wanted to go to Ambocelli and this was another wonderful visit. But you are in a National Park so you stay on the road and had dozens of jeeps vying for the perfect photo op stop.....
4. We told them we wanted to see the gorillas and they planned a visit to Bwindi National Park - The hike up hill was not as hard as I thought, and I just stood there and cried as we watched the gorillas.
5. All four of them had different price points. Ask a lot of questions. Some camps came with unlimited drinks - we like wine, but we don't need 5 gin and tonics every day.

Decisions, decisions! Tanzania and Kenya are the "classic" safari destinations, where you can see the big herds. You can also do a side trip to Rwanda or Uganda to see mountain gorillas (a trip I'm currently researching). Did you know that there are options for people with limited mobility, such as being carried in a sedan chair? A friend of mine had to do this, as he sprained his ankle in Germany on his way to his gorilla trek in Africa. Once the gorillas were located, he did have to do the last little bit under his own steam (crawling, in his case), as you leave most of your gear in an area away from the gorillas. https://www.silverbackgorillatours.com/gorilla/gorilla-trekking-for-the-elderly-old-and-disabled If being carried is overkill for you, keep in mind that you can request an easier trek, stating your reasons, and the organizers will do their best to accommodate you. (Of course, gorillas don't sit in one spot and wait for you, so this isn't absolutely guaranteed.) You can (and should) also hire porters who will help carry your gear and give you a hand on any tricky bits. I say should, because this helps with employment and supporting the local economy. It's not terribly expensive, either (about $20-$30 per porter plus tip).

On our first (and, so far, only) safari, we ended up choosing Namibia. Our reasons included: stable government and relatively decent roads. Also, my brother had been there, and we were inspired by his accounts and photos.

Now, Namibia is fairly dry. It has a lot of desert (both the Kalahari and the Namib desert). So, it doesn't have the big herds, as the landscape doesn't support it. But during the dry season (roughly May to October), animals congregate around waterholes, so you can see quite a variety fairly easily. There are even places where you can stay that overlook waterholes. That said, long drives are common, although we didn't mind that, because the landscape is stunning.

It is also quite easy to combine a trip to Namibia and Botswana, as they are adjacent to one another. (Note that Botswana safaris tend to be more expensive than those in other African countries.)

We ended up doing a private safari in Namibia, and we absolutely loved it. You can read my trip report here, in case you might find it helpful: https://www.safaritalk.net/topic/17676-namibia-a-midsummer-tourists-dream/#comment-229098 And, not to detract from the Rick Steves forums, which are awesome, but you might also want to have a look at the SafariTalk forums where my trip report is, because it is a good resource for safaris and for Africa travel.