Isn't ANYONE coming from or going to Africa???
 

I, for one, would rather stick my head in a yawning hippos mouth, than continue to read about the Great Pencil Debate.

Well,we've been drinking South African wines to get a taste before we go in May. Best so far is Railroad Red - a yummy blend of Cabernet and syrah. Also, Goats do Roam, which we got simply because of the name (how can you pass it up!?!) It was pretty good. Both are inexpensive blends that are fine for everyday quaffing. We're going to have a great time!

uhohbusted,

I bought myself a bottle of Goats Do Roam, but unfortunately, in a pinch and arriving empty handed at a dinner reception, it now probably sits unopened somewhre forgotten in the host's home. I will have to pick myself up another bottle. It is one of the few South African wines that I have seen at Cost Plus World Market, here in Los Angeles area.

Roccco--
Re: I, for one, would rather stick my head in a yawning hippos mouth, than continue to read about the Great Pencil Debate.

PLEASE DO SO.

Love--STD

I would also enjoy any safari related question/report anything!

What's happening? No safari feedback for over a week now!

Safarinut,

I was going crazy so just did a near-Thesis on Botswana game lodges. Enjoy! :)

Yes there are lots of people going to Africa. Where in Africa.

Rekleod

rekleod,

Right or wrong, when I say "Africa", I am talking about only the countries that feature safaris/wildlife such as South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. For that very reason, I can hardly show my face on Lonely Planet's Thorntree Forum since to so many of those members, Africa means something entirely different (spending months travelling through different African nations, mostly without ever spending a single night on safari).

So, right or wrong, to my narrow mind, when I see Egypt, Morocco and any other country not mentioned in my list above, it not the Africa that I know and love.

Rocco could you actually be any more insulting and childish if you tried?

I appreciate you might not be interested in all topics on the board but that is no reason to imply that those topics are not worthwhile.

There have often been threads from you that have bored me rigid (as well as others I have enjoyed) and I have exercised my adult control and simply not clicked on them.

If you find no threads to interest you, by all means create new ones, but please don't criticise others for not being Rocco-clones with Rocco-interests.

PS Yes there are people going to Africa. Can't wait, very excited.

PPS It wouldnt do you any hard to actually read the Pencil thread any way - certainly your reference to throwing coins to the local children indicates either ignorance or lack of concern about the future of the locals in the countries you are so fixated by.

hard=harm

Well, I -thought- I was going to Africa in April, but it's just to Mauritius, Reunion, and Seychelles. Guess that's not really Africa...

Kavey,

I apologize if I offended you, but I see no need to be politically correct about all this. As you are aware, I have received messages from others pointing out exactly what you did about some of my threads, and I do not disagree with all of them! :)

Are many of my posts self-serving babel? Of course they are. However, hopefully many of my posts will lead others to great destinations at great prices.

There is a place for The Great Pen debate, and as I think you or another Fodorite so kindly pointed out it is at LONELY PLANET!

I, for one, will not soon be acting as if I am remotely interested in Central, Western or even Northern Africa, and when I see too many posts, I will voice my displeasure, just as anyone is free to voice their displeasure in my posts. Come on now, even with two trips in two months upcoming, I don't see you straying too far from safe ground. Most people that post about safari on Fodor's would receive little interest or even hostility at Lonely Planet, where we would be treated like Elitist Scum.

I thought I was making a light-hearted attempt at generating some safari themed posts, and I am surprised that you, of all people, with your two upcoming safaris (and last time I checked no time handing out pens to Egyptian children) would be offended.

And, for clarification purposes, the only time I have thrown Zambian Kwacha out the window (and it has always been paper bills, NOT coins) has been when we were unable to come to a stop where I could personally hand them to the people and meet them. I would much rather engage in this form of charity than in giving money to any organization that is going to send some American or European down there to cruise around in a new Land Cruiser or Land Rover whom will also likely eat away half of my donation.

NFZ,

Hey, I'd love to oneday run a marathon in New Zealand, but it doesn't mean that once I do that I will get credit for running a marathon in Australia and be able to count it towards my goal of running a marathon on all seven continents.

Of course, this IS the appropriate board for those posts, but you are correct in stating that islands that are 1,000+ kilometers off the coast of Africa ARE NOT Africa. While these places do look beautiful, I am surprised at the density in population for Mauritius. In only 1,860 sq. kilometers there are 1.1 million people stuffed in, excluding tourists!

For comparison's sake, in a place like Kwando's Kwara concession, in 1,700 sq. kilometers, there is a single game lodge, and possibly, what, 100 people, with 85% of those people being residents?

Anyway, have a great time.

Roccco -

Africa is a big continent and I'm sure there are people traveling throughout. Sorry is they aren't all safari countries, which is your preference, but please - there is no need for a debate.

I enjoy your posts and the information provided, and STD pops in just when we need some reality (this is a woman I'd like to meet some day). You have a wealth of information and you're often very funny, which is so important. However, I'm sure that for as much information you would wish to see about Safari countries, there are as many on this board who when they see your posts say to themselves "Oh, there he goes again, doesn't he realize there is more to Africa than safaris."

Give it up for awhile - I'm sure they'll be some safari questions popping up soon enough that I know you will be only too glad to participate. Take a deep breath and relax!

"And have a good day!"

FLASHBACK...

Author: sandi
Date: 07/29/2003, 07:26 am
Message: DE -

It was the "we saw our first zebras here" that kind of gave it away - 'cause if you had been before you would have seen lots of zebra, there are just so many in every country. Not so with the leopard - you saw many, yet in my 5 trips I have only seen one - all the more reason to return again and again and see yet more leopard.

And since our friend Roccco provided us with so much information on how he booked and with whom and even, in some cases the great deals he got (how much he paid) - we kind of got spoiled.

Rocco
You are absolutely correct that with two trips to Africa coming up I enjoy related posts.
The difference between us is that I don't feel that my own personal interests should dictate what other discussions occur on this board, and neither should you.
I certainly didnt point out that discussions such as the one about pens should occur on the LPTT forums at all -I simply added into a debate here a reference to additional, useful information there.
It's not about being politically correct, Rocco, it's about not assuming you're the centre of the universe or that your interests for this board are any more valid than someone else's interests for this board.
Expressing an interest in having more safari based threads is perfectly understandable and no one would dream of saying otherwise. However referring to other people's posts as dull, of no interest etc is just plain downright rude and unecessary.
I can't imagine you'll actually "get" the distinction but one can live in hope.
Understand, Rocco, that I have nothing against you personally, and I am sure I will continue to enjoy some of your posts and respond to various of them.
But I do think that you have some way to go in learning about common courtesy.

Kavey,

I wish there were more on this board that were equally passionate about something, be it safari, doling out pens in Egypt or whatever. I would welcome five more people that posted as much as I do, and if their posts were not to my liking, besides an occasional post asking the original question on this thread, I would just ignore it if it were not to my liking.

There's lots more to do besides post and read on the web. I just finished a book "Looking for the Lovedu" (gotta check Amazon to get the author's name...my DH brought it home from the library so I read it.) It's by an American woman who DROVE through Africa from London! It was fascinating as much for the adventures and challenges they faced and met as for discoveries about how the two main expedition partners perceived the trip's purpose and objective. (The Lovedu is a tribe in South Africa that has been/is still led by a Queen. Also interesting anthropological references!)
Of course, I also have a pesky fulltime job that gets in the way of my travel planning activities.

Roccco - and the point being?

Yes, you've shared a wealth of information and much of it very good, and I have no issue in acknowledging that, but so have many others who participate regularly or only occasionally.

Whether on this board of any of the others, there are periods of time when any one of them can be in a slump for any one of us. At those times one neither asks nor replies. So be it.

It's not unlike being in East Africa during Migration - there's no guarantee you'll see a crossing.

>Whether on this board of any of the others, there are periods of time when any one of them can be in a slump for any one of us. At those times one neither asks nor replies. So be it.

When there is no wind, row.