nelle_1234

Hi

I just booked a Safari to Tanzania in September for 14 days. I am staying at the Serena Lodges. AFTER I booked the rooms I found a website that said they were HORRIBLE and that everyone got their money stolen.

I'm also nervous about the general area itself. I'm a female traveling alone (will have guides once I get there though).

Any tips,tricks or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

atravelynn

Put Serena in the search box here and I don't think you'll find any mention of theft. I can only recall two thefts being mentioned on the forum for Africa and neither was at a Serena. Plus I think the items were returned.

I've stayed at Serena in the Mara and found it to be lovely. I've visited other Serenas and they were really nice too. Serenas are above some of the other lodges that get good reviews and that I've found to be great.

Here's my suggestions: Relax and get ready for the trip of a lifetime. Bring a money belt and keep your valuables with you at all times. Let your agent (or Serena if you booked directly) know you are concerned because they can address your specific questions. Start saving now, because odds are this trip will be so good you'll be returning.

Here's my tips: Put your toothpaste in a ziplock so little creatures don't nibble on it. Better yet, bring two toothpastes. I do. Bring along envelopes to put your tip money in for the guides. Get a small Swahili book to learn the names of the common animals and maybe a couple of phrases. You and your guides can have fun with it.

Here's my tricks: Since I'm an old dog I have no new tricks and can't remember if I ever knew any old ones.

Lots of us travel alone without incident. My first safari and all but one since have been alone.

September is an ideal month for wildlife in Kenya. Where all are you going?

sandi

I agree with lynn, can't recall that Serena properties were a problem.

As with travel anywhere, you can't leave your common sense at home. Keep all important papers - airline tickets, passort, money, medicines - with you at all times. If you prefer not, the Serena lodges, all have safe deposit boxes at their reception areas... use them (but remember to remove your belonging before moving on).

And do remember to protect your camera. Either take it with you for meals; if not the camera itself, remove the digital media chip. Many are small enough to fit into your bag.

It's a matter of not "tempting" anyone who might not have good intentions.

I've booked many solo travelers, mostly women, who have visited Kenya and Tanzania - all with wonderful experiences and tales - none having anything stolen at Serena or other lodges or camps.

Bill_H

We've stayed a total of 12 nights at the Serena lodges at Lake Manyara and Serengeti and eaten lunch three times at the Ngorongoro Serena and never heard any of the other guests mention theft.

We carry over $30,000 worth of camera and computer gear on our safari trips and simply lock it up and leave it in the rooms when at meals etc and have never had a problem.

Out of curiosity could you give a link to the site that claims the rooms "were HORRIBLE and that everyone got their money stolen." Probably one of their competitors saying these things

Bill

aby

Nelle

ssso, this is why Serena properties are so full - everyone's money was stolen (probably with their air tickets) and they couldn't move on..

Tip: <font color="gray"> never believe ANYTHING that has the word &quot;EVERYONE&quot; </font>
as in <i>...HORRIBLE and that everyone got their money stolen. </i>

was it on a Sopa site ??

do i have to continue and say i've been so many times to different Serena lodges and ... ???

Safari Njema Nelle !!
(though u r a bit late on finding this forum, we may excuse you if u write a detailed Trip Report, which will be advertised FREE by LyndaS... )

aby

PS
Lynn my dear
<i>&quot;old dog&quot;</i> Lynn sounds more like an old bitch ...
<i>&quot;...can't <u>remember</u> if I ever knew any old ones...&quot;</i>
That must be true, as immediately after reading she's going to Tz u r talking about Ke...

atravelynn

Aby,
You are right, I did write Kenya, proving I cannot remember what I read a few paragraphs above. How funny. The &quot;old dog&quot; part is from the line &quot;You can't teach an old dog new tricks.&quot; At least that's what I meant, but the bitch part is occasionally accurate as well.

ShayTay

Who is your safari ground operator? Will you have the same driver/guide throughout with a private vehicle, or will you be traveling with others in the vehicle?

nelle_1234

I'm so glad so many have had good experiences with Serena. I have printed out so many postings from the internet that I think I'm on information overload. Not to mention that it seems that I am doing this 'last minute' I thought I had plenty of time. =)

Has anyone else gone in September. Is it hot or cool? Is it true that you should not wear black/blue as it attracts the bugs? My brother also suggested that I not wear shorts (someone please tell me you can wear shorts).

I'm not knowledgable about Cameras. Can someone please tell me if my camera is going to be good enough? I have a kodak so I went to their www and cut/paste the info they had. (It means nothing to me)

Kodak Z740
CCD resolution 1/2.5&quot; type (5.36 megapixels)
Image resolution 5.0 megapixels(2576 × 1932 pixels)
Picture quality 5.0 MP—best (prints up to 20 × 30 in. (50 × 75 cm))
4.4 MP—best 3:2 (optimized ratio for 4 × 6 in. (10 x 15 cm) prints)
4.0 MP—better (prints up to 11 × 14 in. (28 x 36 cm))
1.8 MP—good (small prints)

Still format JPEG/EXIF v 2.21
Lens 38–380 mm (35 mm equivalent)
Zoom 10X optical zoom
Advanced digital zoom—5X

Aperture f/2.88–8 (wide), f/3.7–8 (tele)
Shutter speed automatic: 1/8–1/1700 sec.; manual 8–1/1000 sec.
Viewfinder electronic, high-resolution 201K pixels
LCD 1.8 in. (4.6 cm) high-resolution indoor/outdoor color display


THANKS!!!!

sandi

September is winter in East Africa. The mornings and nights will be chilly if not downright cold... no shorts. Be prepared with layers during these times, then peel off as the days warm. Daytime temps can rise into the low 70s, but still shorts may be a bit much. To the extent that you won't be wearing them that long, maybe a few hours. When the sun starts to set, the temps drop. At the Ngorongoro crater, it's freezing at night. And other places can be at high altitude, so not all that hot. Shorts weather is between Jan-Mar.

Sunrise and sunset are almost contant year-round, rise at 6-6:30am, sets 6:30-7pm. And when the sun hits the horizon it's gone.

Most visitors are comfortable in convertible pants that zip off at just above the knee to shorts; many say they never get around to unzipping. These can be found in Travel Smith or Magellan's catelogues.

But shorts are small and don't weigh much, so sure, throw in a pair, if you feel you must.

cary999

You've used the Kodak Z740 and like the pictures, yes? If no, then do it. If yes, then it will be good on safari. The lens zoom range, 38-380, is a very good range for safari. You will also need spare batterys, it uses standard AA size so either take several extra Lithiums or a couple sets of rechargeables (and charger).
You will need SD type memory cards. How many? Check the Kodak manual, how large is the best quality image file? (The 5 megapixel image size is not the same as the jpg file size stored in the memory card). I'd guess it is likely close to 1 megabyte, 1MB. If you take (keep) 100 photos a day, you will need 100MB of card memory a day. Or, 1,400MB in 14 days or 1.4GB in 14 days. SD memory cards typically cost about $25 per GB, so buy 2, or buy 4 at 512MB if you like to spread it out a bit.
regards - tom

sandi

Can't comment re your specific camera, but as far as the media used, like cary, I don't like to put all my eggs in one basket. Instead of 1 large 1GB (or even 2Gb) chip, I have 256, 512 and 1Gb chips. Just in case, one goes bad, is lost, is damaged even before using or just because. Something to consider. And I have 3/sets of AA batteries - 1/set in camera, 1/set at backup while on game drives, 1/set recharging back at camp.

GreenDrake

&quot;Is it true that you should not wear black/blue as it attracts the bugs?&quot;

Yes - but this pertains specifically to tsetse flies and it is absolutely true. Traps set up to catch them routinely use a dark blue material to attract them.

npederse

I just was in Tanzania and stayed at two Serena properties -- no worries about any theft.

As to the weather, most days when the sun was out it was warm enough that we all were in shorts and short sleeve shirts. But we usually started with zip-off pants. Some days we even had a fleece for the morning. (If you're staying at the Ngorongoro Crater, it gets colder there, so pack appropriately). My wife wore shirts, but then had a full-lenght wrap skirt that she could use as a skirt/wrap in the vehicle, which worked well for her.