I am looking forward to this report Cindy. And I know it is hard to do. Thank you for sharing so far.

My husband's reluctance to go, though, put a lot of pressure on me, worrying that things along the way would not go smoothly.

And yes, it is hard to have that kind of pressure on you during a trip.

Thanks so much for starting your trip report, Cindy. Hope this brings back a lot of good memories for you. Looking forward to more.

An entertaining start, Cindy. Thanks for beginning, and I do hope you will be able to relive the good moments as you write this.

A great start Cindy, I am looking forward to more. I had no idea you could rent a lounge at Heathrow! Could you let me know how to go about getting info on that for our next trip through? I'd really apprecaite that! Is it a lounge just for you guys, or are there others as well? Is it expensive?

Great report so far, Cindy. Look forward to reading more.

I love this "His reasoning: If I have to be drug to Africa, I might as well take some good pictures". Your husband sounds like a better sport than mine - so mine stays home.

Cindy

Not trying to rush you Cindy, but I can't wait for more!!!!

What a descriptive first sentence! I'm looking forward to your report, your husband's pictures, and his outlook on Africa as the trip unfolds.

Yes, Wayne, I think my husband may win the prize for the most reluctant traveler to Africa in the history of Africa! He actually would tell people "I just can't wait until this trip is behind me"
LyndaS-The lounge was great...there are 4 of them, so you just check which Terminal you are leaving from, and you book the lounge in that Terminal. I think it was about $60.00 for the 2 of us...just log onto Heathrow's main page, and you'll see a heading, "Booking a Lounge". It's great for those of us not flying First or Business, especially if you have a long layover, like we did.
Thanks for all of your kind comments...Part 2 is coming soon!
Cindy

Great start to your trip report Cindy! I can't wait to read more!


Jenn

I can totally sympathize with you re: a reluctant husband! My next trip to Africa will have to be sans spouse probably. Looking forward to hearing more.

Trip Report cont.
September20- Good news! As we open the airport doors, standing right in front of us is a smiling, pleasant man holding a sign with our name on it. "Chewie" seems genuinely delighted to see us. He warmly welcomes us to Kenya, and loads us into a pretty nice Land Rover. Well, this is good...Ha! I look at my husband in triumph. See? Nothing to worry about...we will be well taken care of!

We soon learn, though, that driving on a regular street with traffic is NOT for Chewie. He much prefers mud puddles and sidewalks beside a street to drive on, if possible. If there are neither of those, he takes whatever is on the side of the road...even if it's crowded with people. Driving on the wrong side of the road is fine with him, too. Space Mountain at Disneyland is sissy stuff, compared to riding with Chewie. After several near misses with pedestrians or cars, or both, I realise my jaw is aching...I'm clenching it so hard in nervous tension. My husband is holding on for dear life and he has a grim look on his face. I give him a weak smile, and he manages one back. I try to be really positive.."Hey, what an adventure, huh?" Fun!!!! Meanwhile I'm thinking, "Where the heck is Wilson Airport????"

Oh Cindy, I know that reluctant Hubby syndrome well. Our first trip to Africa was 4 years ago on our honeymoon and talk about using my persuasive powers to get DH there! It was a 'compromise' trip with Victoria Falls (no safari), Sun City (casino's for him) and 3 days safari then Cape Town. Thankfully, he was bitten by the bug and we returned to Africa this year - Hope (and think!) this was your hubbys reaction too

You had me giggling with the 'chewie' driving description, by the sounds of things we're in for one heck of a report!!

Imelda

A great start to a great trip report. Can't wait to read more.

Jan

This is going to be a good one...I can tell already!

Thanks for posting Cindy. Can't wait to find out if DH came around. I do hope you were able to say "I told you that you would love Afree kah"
Look forward to more.
Sherry

Well…

HUSBANDS . . .

Have been defined, eons ago by the omnipotent Moms, as just an extra kid
Though somewhat more massive, with a lower toned voice, IT is basically a kid
If & when approached, addressed, treated & caressed like one, it may change its mood as quickly as a young sibling

After all, they are not to be blamed, having all this burden (plus consequences) of the Y-CHROMOSOME … …

& the EGO
sometimes prevents from admitting: "i was wrong" {or "lost" or ...}

Good start, Cindy, I'm anxiously anticipating the next installment!

Hi Cindy. This is our first time joining into a forum like this. really enjoying your story. my husband and i are leaving on nov. 29th, through the OAT (overseas adventure travel) company, to Tanzania for 2 weeks. Going on a safari has been something I've wanted to do for a very long time and the occasion of my upcoming 60th birthday made me really act on it. But unlike you, I didn't plan it in advance, for lots of reasons and decided somewhat quickly. I do have a friend who used OAT to go on a different trip to Africa (South Africa) as well as to India and was very happy with the trip. So now that I have the opportunity to read people's opinions, reactions, I'm curious about so many things that I didn't think about. May I ask how much your trip cost...or a ballpark figure...anyway, I'm excited to continue to hear the rest of your wonderful travelogue.

aby~I resemble that remark!

elaine,
Have you checked out the East African Trip Report Index? I believe there are some OAT trips there. And other info that may answer some of your questions.

Here is the link. I made it tiny using tinyurl.com but this is a thread here on Fodor's Africa board.

http://tinyurl.com/kpjmy

And I'm sure Cindy will help you when she checks back in. You'll have a great trip!

Dang it. Here is a link that should work:

http://tinyurl.com/wxec6

Cindy, I hope this report will be the story of your husband’s conversion. I’m looking forward to reading more.

Glad to know I am not the only one with a husband reluctant about Africa! I am working on my next installment...
Elainegary- Our trip was about $12,500. for the two of us...this was a flying safari, so internal airfare was included in this, and virtually everything else, too..(not tipping or balloon ride, though)...we were really taken care of, and it was 12 actual days in Kenya. I think this was pretty expensive compared to some trips...it sure was nice, though.

Cindy, you did great at $1000 a day for people on a flying safari.

Hey, I don't get lost...I sometimes CHOOSE to take the scenic route!

Anyway, when I get lost nowadays, I can blame it on James, aka the navigation system in my Land Rover. I have had to curse at James on more than a few occasions as he sometimes chooses the most illogical routes.

Looking forward to the rest of the report.

Trip Report-cont.

In spite of Chewie's aggressive and overly confident driving style, or maybe because of it, we screech into Wilson airport with half an hour to spare, none the worse for the experience, I think. We climb out of the land Rover, a bit shaken up, but Chewie with his bright smile ushers us into the Boskovitch Air office, where he shows us facilities that we can freshen up in, and then serves us tea, coffee and bisquits. Not bad at all.
Our paperwork is done in a timely manner, and then out to the air field, to board our plane.
We meet our pilot, who seems nice enough, and then here comes our plane. A good thing: We are leaving exactly on time. A bad thing: Our plane looks like a toy...I have never flown in such a tiny little airplane...4 seats, including the pilot. OK, I expected it to be just my husband and I, but Wow! This is tight!
In we go, and the pilot starts tapping the dials on the control panel. I think he is doing this to get the dials to function, but my husband tells me later he is just checking off everything before we take off, which is another good thing. A few minutes and off we go! We are flying over AFRICA!

I have seen "Out of Africa" many times, so I am expecting to fly out of Nairobi and instantly be flying over the African plains, with animals roaming all around. What I do see, instead, is lots and lots of poulated areas, farms next to each other, lots of green, like Hawaii, even...and the only animals I am spotting, because we are flying very low, are cows and goats. OK, not exactly what I had in mind...but very pretty, I have to admit.

Oh, please don't stop

Trip Report cont.

LAKE BARINGO

We land on a pretty primitive airstrip, after about an hour flight, and we are met by an extremely attractive young couple, Joffey and Rose. This is where we will meet up with our other 4 friends, who have been already a week in Kenya. (They have stayed at Giraffe Manor, Ol Donyo Wuas, and Sarara Camp). We can't wait to see them, and hear about their trip before this. Joffey and Rose load us into a small boat, like a panga, and take us across Lake Baringo, to Samatian Island. And this is where we see our first animal that is not a goat or a cow. We glide in our boat right beside a whole group of Hippos. WOW! So close! I am seeing a crack in my husbands uptight demeanor...this close to Hippos? He is trying hard not to be impressed, but I can see he is. Out comes his camera for the first time. A Hippo takes out after us, half-heartedly. I say to Joffey "You must get tired of people being so thrilled by something you see everyday", and he says, "I will never never tire of it, not in my whole life". Good answer. We also pass crocodiles, on our trip across the lake. Joffey asks if we ski or wakeboard, which we do, so he says he can take us out later to ski, if we'd like. With crocodiles and hippos in the water? My husband and I look at each other...hmmm.
Since we are the first to arrive, we get our choice of accomadations. These are very private cottages here, very charming, and completely open to the outside, all having incredible views.

Since there is a honeymoon couple arriving, in fact their plane buzzes overhead as we are traveling across the lake, we opt to give them the most private and best cottage...I think this may be the one, Patty, that you had. Also, my husband notices that this cottage has a toilet right out in the open, overlooking the lake, so he says to the very handsome Joffey, "Oh, my wife has enough troubles going to the bathroom when we travel. She'll NEVER be able to go, with a toilet out in the open like this!" GRRRR...I wanted to throttle him!!! (What he said was true, though). So we opted for the next best place, with a awesome view of the lake...we could lay in our bed and look out across the water, totally unobstructed, and we knew we would have a beautiful view in the morning, of the sunrise. Joffey set up a shower for us, which felt so wonderful after 24 hours of traveling, and during this time our dear friends arrived, and we all met down below for drinks.

Describing Samatian Island, like every place we stayed, is hopeless for me...I just don't have the words to do any of these places justice. When I sit here and think back to where we stayed, and the people we met, my eyes fill with tears, literally. Hopefully my husband will post his pictures, and that will be more descriptive than my words , but of course, you will all agree, you have to GO to Africa, to ever appreciate all that it is...even pictures can't convey what it is to be there.

Back to Samatian....
Our friends are so excited to see us and tell us about the amazing trip they have had thus far. They really liked Giraffe Manor, and they really enjoyed Sarara, especially the Singing Wells there, but they have been blown away by Ol Donyo Wuas...their favorite so far. Hopefully I can get 1 of them to write a report about those places....they were brimming over with enthusiasm for both Sarara, and especially Ol Donyo.

Anyway, this is when I meet Ross, that afternoon.... Patty, I make sure and tell him that you and Mark send your regards, and he is thrilled that you remember him.

Ross talks us into going to our hut for a nap before tea, which I don't think I need, but as soon as I lay down, with the cool breeze blowing through our room, and the soothing sound of birds singing everywhere, we are both sound asleep very quickly. That was one of the best naps I think I've ever taken.

We wake up to that wonderful view of Lake Baringo, and go down for tea. Later that afternoon, we take a ride on the panga boat with Ross, to view the lake, bird watch, and have sundowners. The sky is spectacular, as it is every day that we are in Africa. Then it's back to Samatian for the first (for us) of what will prove to be the most delicious and stimulating (conversation wise) dinners, every evening. I am running out of adjectives here!

This next morning Ross takes the six of us to Lake Bogoria, to see the flamingos. Everyone gets great pictures here, and we have breakfast with a view of that wonderful lake.

My husband is enjoying all this, but I must say he is not doing carwheels yet. I ask him how he likes it, and he says, yeah, it's nice. Just nice. Well, that's better than horrible, so I'll take that. He does really enjoy Joffey, Rose and Ross very much...so fun to talk to. He is not thrilled with the bugs at Samatian. I have said that our room is totally open here, so birds fly through all the time....this is great. The bats at night also fly through, and while this doesn't bother me in the least, my husband isn't thrilled. I still feel at this point, that I am dragging him along, a little.

That night, Ross comes down with malaria, so he leaves us to go to the main house and rest. We don't see him again, but he sends word that he is much better, and is sorry he can't be there to tell us goodbye. So there we are the next morning...off now to Ol Malo...and here at Ol Malo is where my husband has a complete change of heart...

Don't stop now!!

Thanks for continuing, Cindy! We didn't have a cottage with an open bathroom, but I think I know the one you're talking about. Was it the one with the lakeside bathtub that you let the honeymooning couple have? I think that one is my favorite although all of the cottages have elements that I like.

I'd love to see your photos of Bogoria. We didn't end up going there because it was soooooo hot in November!

Looking forward to more and I hope you can convince one of your friends to write about Ol Donyo Wuas and Sarara.

Patty-Yes, the one we let the honeymooners have is the one you described. It was nice and private for them, ad I think it was the best...but I think all the cottages were pretty neat, don't you?
I wanted to tell you also, that although we met Caro, we only saw her for a few minutes...she was caring for her grandmother. And also, Ross is involved in a pretty big project of drawing the Njempt(did I spell that right?) and Pikot tribes together to try and open a wildlife conservancy on their combined properties, on Lake Baringo. It is a huge endeaver..he may have talked about it while you were there...if it is successful it will be really something worthwhile. It will benefit those two tribes, who often are at odds with each other, force them to work together for something positive, and be an excellent place in that area to view wildlife. He was preparing to present his ideas to the two tribes the next morning after we left Samatian. We sure wished him sucess, and we were sorry he was so ill with malaria, especially at such an important time.

Thanks for continuing Cindy.

I have been anxious for more, but didn't want to push

Trip Report cont.
Before I go on, I should mention that a few things were different on our trip than I expected. For 1 thing, we obsessed about our luggage weight...keeping it the required 33 lbs. But our lugguge was never weighed, even for our first flight...I asked about this, and was told it was because we had a private charter. I almost WANTED them to weigh us, because we confidently were just under our weight restriction, and we were so proud about it!
Another thing...we purchased our Kenyan Shillings at our bank before we left...we got a really good exchange rate...but almost everywhere we went they took U.S. dollars....most places we stayed told us they preferred dollars to schillings. Even our guides said it didn't matter to them, either way. We didn't get stuck with any schillings, though, fortunately.
One good thing: we didn't see any mosquitos, except at Samatian Island, and our hosts there always had repellent at the ready for us, so we didn't really need to bring our own, at all.
Someone also suggested filling a water bottle to bring along for game drives, but we were always provided more bottled water than we even needed, so that was another really good thing.

I don't recall Ross mentioning anything about the conservancy when we were there (or my memory could be failing ). Sounds like a huge endeavor indeed and I hope he's successful. Thanks for the info.

So hippos were your first animal. Your husband is serving as the hook that keeps us checking for more.

Enjoying the saga very much Cindy. Glad you continued.
I'm sensing your DH layers slowly shedding off. Can't wait and hope for the moment of his Afican awakening.
Sherry

Sorry I've been gone for awhile, I've just been so busy...let me get back to my report, if anyone even remembers me!

As I was saying, we left in the morning for Ol Malo.....Joffey and Rose saw us off, as Ross, our main host, had malaria.

The six of us friends load into a very nice, comfortable plane...I should mention here that we are so glad our friend Randy is with us, he is a surgeon, but he also is a pilot, and has his own plane, so we feel good about flying with him along...he always sits in the co-pilot seat, which is how we like it!

We have about an hour flight to Ol Malo from Lake Baringo, so we relax and take in the scenery of the area from our plane. So interesting to see the Manyattas from the air, along with all the animals raoming about. It occurs to me, "Is this real? Am I really here?" I ask myself that question so many times on this trip...did I really travel to such a place? What a privilige to experience this.

As we near Ol Malo, the plane flies very very low into a sort of gorge, with cliffs on both sides of the plane. The pilot gets really close to a cliff wall, and my friend says, "Watch out for the wing!"...and then we see it...the pilot tips the plane, and we have a vision of a place like we have never seen. A beautiful group of cottages spread out and perched on the edge of a cliff....so unreal looking, it almost is like something from a mat painting of a settlement or village in a Star Wars movie, a fantasy. We all say at once, "Is this Ol Malo????" WOW!!!!!! It really looks like something an artist has created.
I look at my husband, and his eyes are filled with excitement...I can see it! Yea!!!!!

The plane lands on a nicely maintained airstrip, just like everything is at Ol Malo. Andrew Francolm, our host, is waiting for us, and is enthusastically waving at us as we land, along with two Samburu men, dressed in their brilliant traditional clothing and beads.

Visually, the appearance of these Samburu men was so dramatic and beautiful that I was overwhelmed....I had never seen anything like them, not in person, anyway. Their skin was so black it was almost purple, and with their vibrant red fabric tied around their waists, and colorful beads not only around their necks and chests but on their heads and faces, too, I was, for once, intimidated and speechless. These men, Ndere and John, we learned, were to be our guides. They confidently came up to each of us, introduced themselves and shook our hands. We were already impressed...but our admiration and respect, especially for Ndere, grew as we spent days with him and got to know him, and learn about his experiences. Again, I feel so priviliged to meet and know such a person as Ndere, and he is someone none of us will ever forget.

It's funny, my desire to travel to Africa was only to see the animals, and yet we learned there is so SO much more to this wonderful place.

Thanks for continuing!

Thanks so much for continuing your story! I've really enjoyed your writing so far and am looking forward to more!