Nils Lindhorst
Travel Designer
I am Nils, Senior Travel Planner at Take Memories, and when it comes to Kenya and Tanzania, you are in the right place with me. Since my first trip to Tanzania about twenty years ago, East Africa has captivated me – personally and professionally, it draws me back time and again. On several inspection trips, I have tested lodges, camps, and routes myself, and I actively shape the East Africa portfolio of Safari Memories.
What never lets me go about Kenya and Tanzania is the mixture: the incredibly diverse wildlife, including the Big Five, and the constant change of landscapes, the encounters with the Maasai, Samburu, and Kikuyu, the many ways to experience it all – from game drives to bushwalks, horseback rides, and night game drives to fly camping – and at the end, the transition from the wide savanna to the turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean.
On my bucket list
Lake Turkana & Meru National Park
At the top is northern Kenya, Lake Turkana. I am drawn to this remoteness: seeing the flamingos and Nile crocodiles by the water from the bush plane and meeting the people of the Turkana tribe, who still live very much for themselves, far from the modern world. And then, once in this vastness, to spend a night fly camping under the open sky – that is exactly my idea of true adventure. The second place on my list is Meru National Park. Here, "Born Free" was once filmed, the story of the lioness Elsa, which has shaped me since childhood. Meru has created a remarkable story of successful nature conservation, home to one of the largest rhino sanctuaries, yet is still visited by only a few travelers. This tranquility away from the known routes is what really captivates me.
My next trip
Tanzania: Katavi & Mahale
Next, I am heading to western Tanzania, to the Katavi and Mahale regions – two of the most remote parks in the country. In Katavi, I look forward to the untouched wilderness and the walking safaris for which the park is known: walking through an area where buffalo, hippos, and lions reside. In Mahale, what I am most looking forward to awaits – the wild chimpanzees that have been accompanied by Japanese researchers since the 1950s and are well known to the rangers. After that, Lake Tanganyika beckons with clear water: a sunset tour on a dhow boat, a round in a glass-bottom kayak, just swimming. And because I have become a birder over the years, I look forward to the birdlife that here at the edge of the Central African basin is very different from the rest of Tanzania.
About Nils – How East Africa won my heart
It all started in the children's room. I used to listen to the audio drama "Kimba, the White Lion" over and over, and those images of the African wildlife awakened my imagination. Later, "The Lion King" came to the cinema – the same landscapes that the filmmakers had already searched for in East Africa. And then there was "Born Free," the story of the lioness Elsa, filmed in the Kenyan Meru National Park. Each of these films contributed a piece to what has settled within me.
Over time, real interest emerged from the images. I devoured documentaries, read more and more about the region, and eventually, that was not enough – I had to go myself. My first trip to East Africa is now about twenty years ago, and it changed everything. What I had only known from tapes and television was suddenly right in front of me: the vastness, the animals, the people. Since then, it has not let me go. My childhood fascination has turned into a travel dream and eventually my profession – and the enthusiasm from back then I still carry within me on every journey.
Places that particularly excite me:
Mugie, Laikipia (Kenya)
On a game drive in the Mugie Conservancy, we were all alone in the savanna when our guide suddenly spotted something in the binoculars. Shortly thereafter, two cheetahs lay just a few meters in front of us – brothers, as it turned out. We stood there for almost half an hour, completely still, having the scene entirely to ourselves: the two completely relaxed, undisturbed by us. Cheetahs are often hard to find and quickly disappear again – having that moment for so long and so close to ourselves makes it special to this day.
Masai Mara, Mara Triangle (Kenya)
I once floated over the Mara Triangle in a hot air balloon, and that view from above changed everything. Below me the Mara River, lined with small forests, with swamps in between and the vast grasslands with their acacias – and right in the middle, elephants, giraffes, hippos, wildebeests, and antelopes. This tranquility in the air, as the whole scenery spreads out beneath me, is incomparable. To finish off, there was a traditional champagne breakfast in the middle of the savanna – the perfect conclusion.
Amboseli (Kenya)
Amboseli is famous for a certain picture, and I was lucky enough to experience it just like that. We were the only vehicle out there, the sky clear, when a large herd of elephants slowly passed by us – in front of us, behind us, in all directions. And in the background stood Mount Kilimanjaro. It is a classic, yes, but at that moment, all alone with the animals and this mountain, I understood why.
Tarangire (Tanzania)
In Tarangire, I once experienced a pride of lions with a freshly killed zebra. You could clearly see how the hierarchy was distributed within the pride – the alpha animal, the females, the younger ones – and we were so close that we heard the crunching of bones and saw the bloodied mouths. On one hand, it is hard to watch, on the other hand, it is nature as it truly is. Being part of this spectacle, while the lions paid us no mind, left a lasting impression.
Ngorongoro Crater (Tanzania)
The Ngorongoro Crater is a classic, I admit – yet it captures me every time. When I stand at the crater rim and look into that vastness, I become aware of how small I actually am. It puts many things into perspective. It is a moment of awe and true gratitude to be able to experience something like this. And then, with the binoculars, I catch a glimpse of the first animals down below – elephants, giraffes, maybe lions – and I know: Soon I will drive down and be right in the middle of it.
Southern Serengeti (Tanzania)
Once, I was in the southern Serengeti during the calving season at the beginning of the year. While many travelers focus on the dramatic river crossings in late summer, I find this time just as impressive: In just a few weeks, hundreds of thousands of wildebeests give birth to their calves. Accordingly, the predators – lions, cheetahs, hyenas, jackals – are very close. Experiencing the beginning of this new life cycle firsthand, with all the new life and the danger that lurks at the same time, was one of the most special moments for me in East Africa.