Safari Scoop

Walking safari or game drive? Which one should you choose for your African safari? In this episode, Baraka and Magreth break down what makes these two safari experiences different, what you'll see and learn from each, and how to decide which belongs in your itinerary. A game drive lets you cover more ground, spot a wider range of wildlife, and get incredible opportunities for photography. A wa...

Thinking about an African safari in 2027? More travelers are exploring a different kind of safari: fewer camp changes, longer stays, and remote wilderness areas beyond the usual routes. In this episode, Baraka and Magreth discuss what a slow, remote safari actually looks like, which destinations in Tanzania are worth considering, and how to decide whether this style of travel is right for you. The...

What comes after your first African safari? And even after years of exploring the continent, is it possible to see it all? In this episode of Safari Scoop, Magreth and Baraka talk about why there's always more to discover in Africa, whether it's your first safari or your fifth. Baraka shares some of the experiences still on his own bucket list, including gorilla trekking in Rwanda or Ugand...

In this episode, Magreth and Baraka explore what the holiday season feels like in the African bush, from holiday morning game drives and campfire dinners to local Tanzanian traditions, wildlife, family time, and the flexibility that makes a custom safari work for everyone. They talk about: • What holiday celebrations can look like at safari camps • Tanzanian holiday traditions, including church, f...

Magreth is back from Cape Town, and on this episode, she shares the experiences that stood out most from her trip. From the views of Table Mountain and a morning among the vineyards of Stellenbosch to seafood, oysters, the V&A Waterfront, and time by the beach, Magreth takes us through some of her favorite moments in Cape Town. She also talks about what surprised her, what she wishes she had k...

"Walking safari" isn't one activity, it's four completely different experiences, and most travelers only ever hear about one of them. In this episode, Baraka breaks down the guided nature walk, the tracking safari (built for guests 16 and up), the rare Big Five walking safari with specialist guides, and fly camping, where you spend the night out in the bush instead of heading bac...

It sounds like a contradiction. .. Some people email asking if it's too early to plan a safari for 2027. Others email the same week asking if it's too late to book for this December. Baraka explains why both are true at once, and why September is the month that actually matters for each. Calving season in Ndutu runs December through March, and the small camps positioned right in that zone...

Most people assume that once September hits, this year's safari season is done. It isn't, at least not entirely. In this episode, Baraka breaks down exactly what's still bookable through the rest of 2026, month by month. October is still deep in dry season with strong wildlife viewing across the Serengeti, Ngorongoro, and Tarangire. November is the quiet, underrated shoulder month most...

September is when most parents have next year's school calendar memorized, long weekends, exam weeks, spring break, and that clarity is exactly what makes it the right month to plan a family safari around real life instead of flight sales. On this episode, Magreth asks Baraka the question he gets in his inbox constantly: is it actually worth pulling a kid out of school for a safari? You'll...

Twenty-two to thirty-six hours in the air. That's the number that stops people before they even start planning a safari, not the cost of the flight itself. In this episode, Baraka and Magreth break down what the flight actually looks like (routing through Amsterdam, Doha, or Addis Ababa), why a longer layover is better than the tightest connection, and how turning that layover into a two- or t...

Most people picture a safari as a jeep, binoculars, and a lion in the grass. That's maybe half of what's actually on the table. 🤔 In this episode, Baraka and Magreth walk through everything else you can build into a Tanzania itinerary: walking safaris with an armed ranger, night drives timed for hunting leopards, a morning with Hadzabe hunter-gatherers near Lake Eyasi, conservation visits...

Some of Good Earth Tours' guests first went on safari as kids in the 90s. Now they're grown up, and they're booking trips to bring their own children to Africa for the first time. To Baraka, that's the real sign a safari was done right, not a five-star review, but a family trusting you again, decades later, with the next generation. ✨ In this episode, Baraka talks about what that...

It looks great on paper: five national parks in five days. But according to Baraka, that's the single biggest mistake he sees first-time safari travelers make. In this episode, he breaks down why packing too much into too little time turns a safari into what he calls "a glorified transfer," and why staying two or three nights in one place almost always beats checking off more parks....

Safari planning in 1995 meant fax machines, landlines, and no cell service. Today it looks completely different, but the goal has stayed the same since Good Earth Tours started: connecting travelers to the people, land, and wildlife of Tanzania. In this episode, Baraka breaks down what's actually changed in over 30 years of booking safaris, the philosophy behind the name Good Earth Tours, and...

Is Namibia the right place to start your African safari, or is it better saved for later? In the final episode of our Namibia series, Baraka, Magreth, and Suzanne, answer the question a lot of travelers are actually asking. Suzanne explains why Namibia isn't built for a first-time, big five checklist trip, and why it tends to work better for travelers who've already done a classic safari a...

How do you actually pick where to stay on a Namibia safari? In this episode of Safari Scoop, Baraka sits down with Suzanne and co-host Magreth to break down what really separates a good lodge from a great one, and it's not the star rating. ⭐️ Suzanne shares why access matters more than anything else. At Onguma The Fort near Etosha, she ate dinner watching rhinos and lion cubs drink at the wat...

Should you fly between stops in Namibia, or make the drive? In this episode of Safari Scoop, Suzanne shares her experience driving through Namibia's shifting landscapes, from the stop at Solitaire (a tiny desert bakery everyone ends up at) to crossing the Tropic of Capricorn. Baraka adds his own take on driving through Namibia's dry riverbeds, valleys wide enough to expect a real river, th...

Most people picture lions and river crossings when they think "African safari." Namibia gives you something else entirely, and in this episode we get into why that's actually the draw, not the drawback. Baraka and Magreth are joined by Suzanne, who just spent days on the ground in Namibia visiting properties in our network. She breaks down what surprised her, from elephants climbing...

Most travelers compare prices, read reviews, and look at photos before choosing a safari operator. That part is easy. The harder part is knowing which questions actually tell you whether an operator is the right fit, and what a good answer sounds like when you hear one. In this episode, Baraka walks through the questions he'd ask any operator before committing. The guide question, and why most...

In this episode, Baraka and Magreth pull back the curtain on everything that happens outside a guest's line of sight: the informal guide network that's already tracking predator movements before sunrise, what guides and camp staff do during the midday hours while guests rest, and the detailed briefing that camp managers receive before you even land. What you experience on safari feels seam...

When people hear "custom safari," most picture a blank canvas. Whatever you want, wherever you want, no limits. The reality is a little different, and honestly, better. In this episode, Baraka walks through exactly what happens between "I want to go to Africa" and a finished itinerary. Why the first call isn't about destinations. How the reason someone is traveling shapes e...

You see a price for your safari. It looks clear. Then somewhere along the way, costs show up that weren't in that number, and not because anyone was hiding them. They're just the parts of a safari budget that aren't obvious until someone points them out. In this episode, Baraka and Magreth walk through the costs that don't make it into the headline price: how peak-season flight tim...

Everyone comes home with photos. The ones who book a second safari? They come home with something else. In this episode of Safari Scoop, Baraka and Magreth get into the part of safari nobody puts in a brochure: the guide who remembered what you mentioned on day one and showed you something on day four because of it. The campfire that finally got your family talking. The village visit that felt rea...

Most safari content will tell you that safari is for everyone and it will change your life. That's the marketing version. This episode is the honest one. Baraka, CEO of Good Earth Tours, sits down with Magreth to talk through who actually ends up loving safari, including the people who surprise you most, and the situations where his genuine advice is: maybe not right now. He shares two real st...

"Is it safe to travel to Africa?" It's the question Baraka has been asked more than any other in 31 years of running safaris. In this episode, he and Magreth break down what's actually behind that question and why the answer is a lot more specific than most people expect. They cover: -Why Africa's size matters more than most people realize (54 countries is a big continent) -W...