It seems that there are many types of African safaris. I did the classic one to see the big mammals, but I've heard that gorilla treks in places like Uganda are cool. There's some dude I read about a few years back who is Da Man now on primate treks. I think he's in Uganda and goes into the most remote areas to get great experiences. He only takes a few people at any given time. I wish I remembered his name.

I've heard that Gabon is a good place to go and they have all sorts of refuges now, but I don't know if you see as much wildlife there as you do in southern Africa.

I'm also a huge fan of Egypt, even though it's Africa only in a technical sense.

If you want to do Timbuktu I'd join you. I don't want to go there by myself, but want to go.

Just to S. Chicago ...

Considering 7-9 days in South Africa or Kenya and then 6-7 days in Egypt. That can change, though.

That'd be a cool trip. Everyone's tastes are different, but I'd recommend flipping the durations. Egypt is chock full of cool stuff. I spent 8 or 9 days there and had to skip some really cool places.