Bruce and Marija say jambo to Kenya and Tanzania
Sep 4th, 2006, 11:34 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,500
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Bruce and Marija say jambo to Kenya and Tanzania
There are those for whom Africa has been a life long dream. And there are those of us who as children fearfully crossed the street at the sight of a dog and preferred I Love Lucy reruns to National Geographic Specials. To be perfectly honest, I never bonded with animals at any point in my life. I never even had a pet. But I did bond with an Eagle Scout who has seen every National Geographic Special at least a dozen times.
Despite our markedly dissimilar zoological backgrounds, Bruce and I share a great enthusiasm for travel. As we gently emerge from youth, we've decided the time has come to get up from Parisian cafes and out of Roman museums and visit must-see-before-we're-really-not-young destinations. Last year we successfully tackled China on our own. This year it was to be Egypt. I diligently researched an itinerary, grumbling about why there were so many more African postings than Egyptian ones on the Fodors board. Then in April our neighbors who had just returned from South Africa sternly admonished us to go to Africa and to do it now. Easily suggestible, we bought into their compelling argument that Egyptian treasures have proven remarkably resilient to the passage of time while Africa's are so much more fragile.
It was easy to decide that we are going to Africa this September. It was the details that got us. We've never taken a tour but toyed with the idea that maybe we should, especially since time was short, Africa big, and we knew nothing about planning a safari. However, tours weren't a particularly appealing option since I had priced some Abercrombie and Kent tours for China and knew their large markup. Besides being value oriented (OK, cheap), we don't like being told what to do, unless someone's paying us serious money for the right to do so. The wise Africa travelers on this site so generously volunteered their advice and helped us put together our East African itinerary. In retrospect there's something to be said for ignorance. If I knew in April what I now know about Africa, I'd still be anguishing over the ideal trip and we certainly wouldn't be leaving today. So many destinations, so many lodges, so many camps!!! And to complicate matters even further, unlike treasures in other countries, stuff in Africa moves. The wildebeests that are in Tanzania today may be in Kenya tomorrow...
We booked with CCAfrica and you can read my tale of woe with them. It never got better. Surprisingly we didn't have difficulty booking desirable accommodations even at such a late date. In retrospect I should have booked a CC Africa trip using an agent. Since CC Africa doesn't give a break for direct bookings it seems to me that having an agent who's actually interested and knowledgeable about Africa would have been wonderful.
Our trip is: London (3) Nairobi/Norfolk Hotel (1) Giraffe Manor (1) Campi ya Kanzi (2) Bataleur (3) Lake Manyara Lodge (2) Ngorongoro Crater Lodge (2) and Tanzania under Canvas (4).
Despite our markedly dissimilar zoological backgrounds, Bruce and I share a great enthusiasm for travel. As we gently emerge from youth, we've decided the time has come to get up from Parisian cafes and out of Roman museums and visit must-see-before-we're-really-not-young destinations. Last year we successfully tackled China on our own. This year it was to be Egypt. I diligently researched an itinerary, grumbling about why there were so many more African postings than Egyptian ones on the Fodors board. Then in April our neighbors who had just returned from South Africa sternly admonished us to go to Africa and to do it now. Easily suggestible, we bought into their compelling argument that Egyptian treasures have proven remarkably resilient to the passage of time while Africa's are so much more fragile.
It was easy to decide that we are going to Africa this September. It was the details that got us. We've never taken a tour but toyed with the idea that maybe we should, especially since time was short, Africa big, and we knew nothing about planning a safari. However, tours weren't a particularly appealing option since I had priced some Abercrombie and Kent tours for China and knew their large markup. Besides being value oriented (OK, cheap), we don't like being told what to do, unless someone's paying us serious money for the right to do so. The wise Africa travelers on this site so generously volunteered their advice and helped us put together our East African itinerary. In retrospect there's something to be said for ignorance. If I knew in April what I now know about Africa, I'd still be anguishing over the ideal trip and we certainly wouldn't be leaving today. So many destinations, so many lodges, so many camps!!! And to complicate matters even further, unlike treasures in other countries, stuff in Africa moves. The wildebeests that are in Tanzania today may be in Kenya tomorrow...
We booked with CCAfrica and you can read my tale of woe with them. It never got better. Surprisingly we didn't have difficulty booking desirable accommodations even at such a late date. In retrospect I should have booked a CC Africa trip using an agent. Since CC Africa doesn't give a break for direct bookings it seems to me that having an agent who's actually interested and knowledgeable about Africa would have been wonderful.
Our trip is: London (3) Nairobi/Norfolk Hotel (1) Giraffe Manor (1) Campi ya Kanzi (2) Bataleur (3) Lake Manyara Lodge (2) Ngorongoro Crater Lodge (2) and Tanzania under Canvas (4).
Sep 4th, 2006, 11:36 AM
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,500
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Once we had a plan in place, I was forced to confront a grim reality. I knew almost nothing about animals. I couldn't tell a cheetah from a leopard; I didn't know who ate whom or what. In the absence of obvious clues, I couldn't even tell the boys from the girls. For many years I've easily managed to hide this ignorance from colleagues, friends and students. But I knew I would be busted on a safari. To make matters even worse, there's no simple fix, no safari equivalent of a tutor in conversational Italian or Chinese; no course to enroll in.
So with Bruce as my guide, and with the able assistance of a library card and large screen TV, I embarked on an ambitious self-study program, reminiscent of preparing for prelims in grad school. While Bruce concentrated on fine points of animal behavior, I studied the pictures. We watched every animal movie out on CD. Once I could recognize the Big Five, and a handful of their neighbors, I too moved from pictures to words. (I quickly reached the conclusion that I have as much chance of learning about birds as I did of mastering Chinese.) Our house is still awash in books and if I don't return the latest ton before we leave, I'll have another expense to add to the Africa trip. But then, who's counting?! (One of our favorites is "A Primate's Memoir: a neuroscientist's unconventional life among the baboons" by Robert M. Sapolsky. Besides being informative, it made us laugh out loud.) My wildlife education is still in its infancy but I've got some basics down and I have Bruce and Somebody's African Safari Guide to consult as needed.
Bruce has acquired a digital SLR camera and a rugged (cheap) watch. He seems to be more concerned about whether he'll remember how to set the time on the watch or will have to track down the tiny instruction booklet than whether he'll have the presence of mind to switch into aperture-priority mode to soften the background behind a cheetah on a kopje. We've bought two fly swatters but decided against the travel stapler.
As we leave for Africa we wonder if it will be "a trip of a lifetime" or if we too will catch that mysterious African bug that afflicts so many of you. Or if we will be eaten alive.
Thanks so much for your guidance and stay tuned for our return...
So with Bruce as my guide, and with the able assistance of a library card and large screen TV, I embarked on an ambitious self-study program, reminiscent of preparing for prelims in grad school. While Bruce concentrated on fine points of animal behavior, I studied the pictures. We watched every animal movie out on CD. Once I could recognize the Big Five, and a handful of their neighbors, I too moved from pictures to words. (I quickly reached the conclusion that I have as much chance of learning about birds as I did of mastering Chinese.) Our house is still awash in books and if I don't return the latest ton before we leave, I'll have another expense to add to the Africa trip. But then, who's counting?! (One of our favorites is "A Primate's Memoir: a neuroscientist's unconventional life among the baboons" by Robert M. Sapolsky. Besides being informative, it made us laugh out loud.) My wildlife education is still in its infancy but I've got some basics down and I have Bruce and Somebody's African Safari Guide to consult as needed.
Bruce has acquired a digital SLR camera and a rugged (cheap) watch. He seems to be more concerned about whether he'll remember how to set the time on the watch or will have to track down the tiny instruction booklet than whether he'll have the presence of mind to switch into aperture-priority mode to soften the background behind a cheetah on a kopje. We've bought two fly swatters but decided against the travel stapler.
As we leave for Africa we wonder if it will be "a trip of a lifetime" or if we too will catch that mysterious African bug that afflicts so many of you. Or if we will be eaten alive.
Thanks so much for your guidance and stay tuned for our return...
Sep 4th, 2006, 11:52 AM
#4
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 836
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Marija, has your time to leave come already?! You must be SO excited.... you are sure to have a WONDERFUL trip and I bet that African bug bites!
I'm glad you found 'A Primates Memoirs' - it's a fantastic book and I too laughed out loud. I started it before our trip and finished it on the plane to Africa!!
Marija, Have an amazing trip and safe travels and please don't forget to post a report when you get back.
Imelda
I'm glad you found 'A Primates Memoirs' - it's a fantastic book and I too laughed out loud. I started it before our trip and finished it on the plane to Africa!!
Marija, Have an amazing trip and safe travels and please don't forget to post a report when you get back.
Imelda
Sep 4th, 2006, 02:31 PM
#9
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 157
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Can't wait to hear how your trip goes. Especially since I am virtually dragging my husband, a non-animal person (he claims) on our trip this month. Hope you love your trip, and that my husband will, as well. Good luck!
Cindy
Cindy
Sep 4th, 2006, 04:02 PM
#10
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 1,774
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
What a wonderful start to a trip report for later Marija! Even if you don't continue on this thread I will be sure to link this one with it in the index as it's priceless!
Have a WONDERFUL time - I know you will LOVE it and you will be back planning the next one, along with the rest of us here when you get back.
And, if you would have just packed that tiny travel stapler you could have had stapled the following into your journal:
Look for the <b>lions</b> on the kopjes; the cheetahs are on the <b>anthills</b>!
Have a WONDERFUL time - I know you will LOVE it and you will be back planning the next one, along with the rest of us here when you get back.
And, if you would have just packed that tiny travel stapler you could have had stapled the following into your journal:
Look for the <b>lions</b> on the kopjes; the cheetahs are on the <b>anthills</b>!
Sep 7th, 2006, 07:13 AM
#12
Wow, what a treat a trip report from Marija will be. Have an excellent adventure!
"As we leave for Africa we wonder if it will be "a trip of a lifetime" or if we too will catch that mysterious African bug that afflicts so many of you. Or if we will be eaten alive."
I have a feeling you'll be bitten by the African bug rather than eaten alive!
"As we leave for Africa we wonder if it will be "a trip of a lifetime" or if we too will catch that mysterious African bug that afflicts so many of you. Or if we will be eaten alive."
I have a feeling you'll be bitten by the African bug rather than eaten alive!
Sep 28th, 2006, 02:56 PM
#14
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,500
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
We've returned from Africa with backs that will never be in alignment again, with enough unused medicines to open an online pharmacy (if only I could figure out how to send out the requisite advertising spam), and with so many digital images that our disks may crack under the extra weight. (We did bring home some extra pounds for ourselves as well.) But most important we're back with the sights and sounds of Africa as permanent additions to our lives...
Nairobi
We arrived late at night in Nairobi on British Airlines after an uneventful flight. Although we were subject to the recently-imposed one-small-carryon-bag-each requirement, we managed to fit our cameras, camcorder, and computer (for backup) into them. Since we had reset our internal clocks with a three night stay in London, we were as alert as we can muster at this point in our lives. I was somewhat anxious since I didn't have any plane tickets or hotel vouchers for our trip. All I had was the assurance that someone from CC Africa would be there. Since I experienced so many difficulties with CC Africa reservations, I also had their emergency phone number readily available. We retrieved our duffels without any problems and I changed $200 into Kenyan shillings. The exchange rate was good and this eliminated any possibility of some machine eating our card so early in the trip.
Stepping out of passport control I was greatly relieved to see a sign with our name, carried by a driver who quickly escorted us to his car in a nearby parking lot. The first hour of our stay in Africa was spent trying to get out of the airport parking lot. No animals, but what a zoo! The driver assured us that this was typical for a Saturday night. At the Norfolk Hotel we were upgraded to a junior suite and quickly shown to our comfortable room in some building quite a bit away from headquarters. It was too late to eat so we ventured out to the hotel's Lord Delamere lounge for a much needed drink. Since it was close to midnight not much was going on in the hotel and we fairly quickly returned to our room and fell asleep.
The next morning we examined the old photos on the walls, congratulating ourselves for recognizing Denys Fitch-Hatton (as opposed to Robert Redford). The included breakfast buffet was both good and filling. Unlike our trip to China, during which we carefully monitored every piece of food we ate, we decided in advance that we were going to buy into the Fodorite wisdom that food in upscale African hotels and lodges was "safe," and eat anything we wanted. That's what we did during the entire trip and we never had to dip into the medicines, except for our prophylactic malaria pills.
Nairobi
We arrived late at night in Nairobi on British Airlines after an uneventful flight. Although we were subject to the recently-imposed one-small-carryon-bag-each requirement, we managed to fit our cameras, camcorder, and computer (for backup) into them. Since we had reset our internal clocks with a three night stay in London, we were as alert as we can muster at this point in our lives. I was somewhat anxious since I didn't have any plane tickets or hotel vouchers for our trip. All I had was the assurance that someone from CC Africa would be there. Since I experienced so many difficulties with CC Africa reservations, I also had their emergency phone number readily available. We retrieved our duffels without any problems and I changed $200 into Kenyan shillings. The exchange rate was good and this eliminated any possibility of some machine eating our card so early in the trip.
Stepping out of passport control I was greatly relieved to see a sign with our name, carried by a driver who quickly escorted us to his car in a nearby parking lot. The first hour of our stay in Africa was spent trying to get out of the airport parking lot. No animals, but what a zoo! The driver assured us that this was typical for a Saturday night. At the Norfolk Hotel we were upgraded to a junior suite and quickly shown to our comfortable room in some building quite a bit away from headquarters. It was too late to eat so we ventured out to the hotel's Lord Delamere lounge for a much needed drink. Since it was close to midnight not much was going on in the hotel and we fairly quickly returned to our room and fell asleep.
The next morning we examined the old photos on the walls, congratulating ourselves for recognizing Denys Fitch-Hatton (as opposed to Robert Redford). The included breakfast buffet was both good and filling. Unlike our trip to China, during which we carefully monitored every piece of food we ate, we decided in advance that we were going to buy into the Fodorite wisdom that food in upscale African hotels and lodges was "safe," and eat anything we wanted. That's what we did during the entire trip and we never had to dip into the medicines, except for our prophylactic malaria pills.
Sep 28th, 2006, 02:59 PM
#15
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,500
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Giraffe Manor
Our next stop was an overnight at Giraffe Manor. Their driver arrived promptly at 10:00 to get us. Upon arrival we were greeted both by giraffes and by the daughter-in-law of the original owners. A large part of her family were there for Sunday lunch and we had a wonderful outdoor meal talking with her 80 year old mother about her life in Tanzania and Kenya, while watching the giraffes and warthogs freely wandering the grounds. After lunch we went to the Karen Blixen house (a worthy stop for Out of Africa fans), the Kazuri bead shop, and Utamaduni crafts center. We bought beads as gifts, since we didn't expect to have many shopping opportunities during the trip and we also wanted to support this worthy project. We checked out the craft center to see if it had any African masks that appealed to us. We figured we could have it shipped or stop by on our way home to pick it up. We didn't see anything we liked so we pretty quickly returned back to the Manor in time for sundowners and dinner. During dinner we met a woman from Switzerland who was bitterly complaining about CC Africa reservations staff. We all laughed when we discovered that we had been tormented by the same incompetent agent. This woman had resorted to daily phone calls to South Africa from Switzerland.
Bruce and I both enjoyed Giraffe Manor. There's nothing like eating breakfast with giraffe heads popping in through the windows. The house itself is grand, the food was very good and it was an excellent way to slip into our safari.
Campi ya Kanzi
CC Africa was supposed to pick us up and take us to Wilson Airport for our 9 AM flight from Nairobi to Campi ya Kanzi (www.maasai.com). The hostess at Giraffe Manor tried calling them repeatedly when they failed to show promptly at the appointed time. She was ready to have her driver take us when the CC Africa car finally arrived, pleading heavy traffic. The CC Africa driver was to be met at the airport by another person who would put us on the Campi ya Kanzi Cessna. She never showed and the driver wasn't sure what we were to do. Fortunately, the Campi ya Kanzi pilot found us in the parking lot and we took off with Martin for a one hour flight. (This was the only minor problem we encountered on the ground. CC Africa was otherwise flawless throughout a series of bookings and transfers.)
Campi ya Kanzi is an acclaimed eco-tourism enterprise located between Amboseli and the Tsavo parks. It is Maasai-owned and staffed, on Maasai community land, managed by an Italian couple with a strong commitment to preserving Maasai culture. This was a property that had been inserted (without explanation) into our itinerary by CC Africa when I requested Galdessa camp. The website description of the camp and its goals appealed to us, so we accepted the substitution. In retrospect, that was an excellent move on our part!
Unlike other places we stayed at, Campi ya Kanzi forced us to think seriously about the challenges of balancing the needs of the Maasai, the wildlife and the revenue-generating tourists. The Maasai were not treated as staff at the camp; they were owners and their pride and satisfaction was evident. Luca and Antonella (and their charming four year old daughter) were delightful hosts who had taught the African cooks how to prepare wonderful Italian meals. We ate campfire-cooked breakfasts in the bush, and exquisite dinners in the lodge and in the hills. The tented accommodations were lovely. Upon arrival we were told about the difficulties of trucking water into the camp, so we learned to be conscious of this precious resource.
It was here that we unexpectedly encountered our fellow Fodorite, safaridude, who was leading an expedition of five intrepid travelers. He patiently sat next to me on my very first game drive and expertly identified all of the antelope that we were seeing. (I seem to have missed quite a few types of antelopes in my wildlife studies...) He also whipped out some miraculous machine that sucked a dust bunny from Bruce's camera and thereby removed an unsightly spot from the digital images. (Together with his photographer friend he sternly reprimanded me when I tried to clean a camera lens with lens cleaning paper. I never did that again! So much for all of the advice to bring lots of lens cleaning stuff.) Thanks, safaridude!
Our next stop was an overnight at Giraffe Manor. Their driver arrived promptly at 10:00 to get us. Upon arrival we were greeted both by giraffes and by the daughter-in-law of the original owners. A large part of her family were there for Sunday lunch and we had a wonderful outdoor meal talking with her 80 year old mother about her life in Tanzania and Kenya, while watching the giraffes and warthogs freely wandering the grounds. After lunch we went to the Karen Blixen house (a worthy stop for Out of Africa fans), the Kazuri bead shop, and Utamaduni crafts center. We bought beads as gifts, since we didn't expect to have many shopping opportunities during the trip and we also wanted to support this worthy project. We checked out the craft center to see if it had any African masks that appealed to us. We figured we could have it shipped or stop by on our way home to pick it up. We didn't see anything we liked so we pretty quickly returned back to the Manor in time for sundowners and dinner. During dinner we met a woman from Switzerland who was bitterly complaining about CC Africa reservations staff. We all laughed when we discovered that we had been tormented by the same incompetent agent. This woman had resorted to daily phone calls to South Africa from Switzerland.
Bruce and I both enjoyed Giraffe Manor. There's nothing like eating breakfast with giraffe heads popping in through the windows. The house itself is grand, the food was very good and it was an excellent way to slip into our safari.
Campi ya Kanzi
CC Africa was supposed to pick us up and take us to Wilson Airport for our 9 AM flight from Nairobi to Campi ya Kanzi (www.maasai.com). The hostess at Giraffe Manor tried calling them repeatedly when they failed to show promptly at the appointed time. She was ready to have her driver take us when the CC Africa car finally arrived, pleading heavy traffic. The CC Africa driver was to be met at the airport by another person who would put us on the Campi ya Kanzi Cessna. She never showed and the driver wasn't sure what we were to do. Fortunately, the Campi ya Kanzi pilot found us in the parking lot and we took off with Martin for a one hour flight. (This was the only minor problem we encountered on the ground. CC Africa was otherwise flawless throughout a series of bookings and transfers.)
Campi ya Kanzi is an acclaimed eco-tourism enterprise located between Amboseli and the Tsavo parks. It is Maasai-owned and staffed, on Maasai community land, managed by an Italian couple with a strong commitment to preserving Maasai culture. This was a property that had been inserted (without explanation) into our itinerary by CC Africa when I requested Galdessa camp. The website description of the camp and its goals appealed to us, so we accepted the substitution. In retrospect, that was an excellent move on our part!
Unlike other places we stayed at, Campi ya Kanzi forced us to think seriously about the challenges of balancing the needs of the Maasai, the wildlife and the revenue-generating tourists. The Maasai were not treated as staff at the camp; they were owners and their pride and satisfaction was evident. Luca and Antonella (and their charming four year old daughter) were delightful hosts who had taught the African cooks how to prepare wonderful Italian meals. We ate campfire-cooked breakfasts in the bush, and exquisite dinners in the lodge and in the hills. The tented accommodations were lovely. Upon arrival we were told about the difficulties of trucking water into the camp, so we learned to be conscious of this precious resource.
It was here that we unexpectedly encountered our fellow Fodorite, safaridude, who was leading an expedition of five intrepid travelers. He patiently sat next to me on my very first game drive and expertly identified all of the antelope that we were seeing. (I seem to have missed quite a few types of antelopes in my wildlife studies...) He also whipped out some miraculous machine that sucked a dust bunny from Bruce's camera and thereby removed an unsightly spot from the digital images. (Together with his photographer friend he sternly reprimanded me when I tried to clean a camera lens with lens cleaning paper. I never did that again! So much for all of the advice to bring lots of lens cleaning stuff.) Thanks, safaridude!
Sep 28th, 2006, 05:41 PM
#19
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 14,440
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Your description of yourselves upon your return is hilarious. I liked the zoo with no animals description of the airport parking lot.
Campi ya Kanzi--looking forward to reading more about this place and the game you saw while there.
So far CCAfrica does not get high marks.
Alright Safaridude to the rescue! It's fun to meet Fodorites while traveling.
Dumb questions: No lens cleaning papers? Is that standard practice? Instead you need that suction device? Or does a soft camera cloth work?
Campi ya Kanzi--looking forward to reading more about this place and the game you saw while there.
So far CCAfrica does not get high marks.
Alright Safaridude to the rescue! It's fun to meet Fodorites while traveling.
Dumb questions: No lens cleaning papers? Is that standard practice? Instead you need that suction device? Or does a soft camera cloth work?
