OnlyMeOirish

Hi Lisa,
I'm glad my trip report influenced you to visit the Gorillas - I really cannot describe how amazing it is to do this ... but you'll know for yourself soon enough .
Re two trecks - hubby and I are by no means fit and we managed the treck fine. We stopped lots but were still back down the mountain well before lunch time as we visited one of the nearer groups. I think we would have had no problem doing a treck the next day if we had planned it that way. Yes we were tired the first day but that wasn't so much from the treck, it was more from the 30+ hours travelling the day before .
I don't want to seem like I'm pushing you into doing the second treck but when you look at how much it would cost to go back and do a second one again then the extra $ looks pretty small, after all it's the flights that make it $$. You are correct in that we booked our trip independently. At first I thought it was a mountainous task but by the end I had a great sense of achievement AND I got the lodges I wanted (the reason I did it this way in the first place was that none of the TA's could get the Mara Serena for our dates). You could consider booking the Rwanda portion independently. It's pretty easy as there's not a lot to it as you're not moving around. It might be no harm to ask Roys etc to split the quote into Kenya/Tanzania and Rwanda - that way you could see if it would be worth the hassle ... just a thought. Also, if you need any help feel free to ask and I'll give you as much info as I can.

I'm glad you are considering the Ellie Orphanage too. They really are the sweetest little babies and I SOOO want to go and visit my two adoptees in Tsavo! Mind you, you have to realise that I'm a bit of an Elephant fanatic so maybe you wouldn't be as 'into' it as me (just thought I'd say, just in case) - but when else are you going to get to pet an Elephant without doing it any harm .

Anyways, happy planning - it's half the fun!!

Imelda

atravelynn

luv2globetrot,

Virunga Lodge on your arrival night, as LynneB suggests, would put you much closer. It would increase your trip cost because (1) It is a more expensive accommodation and (2) you would need a driver and vehicle to accompany you for that night, unlike the transfer to the Kigali hotel.

The very early morning departures from Kigali are typical, even if they are demanding on the body.

I have never heard of anyone not seeing the gorillas in Rwanda. I have in Uganda. Weather or other factors could make a second trip desirable. I used to be more adamant about doing 2 trips. But now that the cost is $500/permit, that's an extra $1000 per couple, and may make a second trip prohibitive for lots of people.

Lynneb

Lisa
You asked whether doing two gorilla treks would be tiring. It really depends on which group you see and your general fitness. Yes, it can be tiring if you get a long trek but it's so worth it and you get to rest for the remainder of the day. You can alleviate part of the tiredness by staying nearby rather than travelling from Kigali. The gorilla treks really are amazing...

luv2globetrot

Patty,
In regards to our FF miles to New Zealand, that was my one and only experience using our miles and I must say I fear it may have spoiled me.
We didn't even decide to go to NZ til 5 months before. I called in October 2005 and booked our business class seats for February 2006. It took less than an hour on the phone and it was just that one call and we got what we wanted!
Even though the flight time was MUCH longer than had we gone via L.A., we thought it was great! We were so excited about the whole experience and Korean Air was superb (the flight from JFK to Seoul was superb, the plane fom Seoul to Auckland wasn't near as nice, but still pretty good). But, still, that being our first experience with the whole "business class thing", it was very fun for us! We didn't mind the flight times at all

So, I tried that NW website and I'm having a bit of trouble. Once I type in the flight info and dates, then I scroll to the bottom, there are 3 choices to select:
-search perk saver award only
-search best available
-search by schedule
When I did best available it looks like it's saying it will cost me 180,000 miles for economy and 480,000 for business.
When I did search by schedule it said 240,000 for business.
According to Delta's website we need 120,000 miles to fly to Central Africa in business class.
Am I missing something? Or am I in for a rude awakening????
I'm at work, so I don't have time to call Delta, I'll probably call them sometime tomorrow.
Thanks for all your help so far

atravelynn

Tiring treks? Yes at the end of that day you'll likely be tired, unless you happen to visit a group that is very close. But a good night's sleep will prepare you for the next day's trek. Since the pace is slow, I did not find I had sore muscles the next day.

Patty

Hi Lisa,
Sorry, I should've included some instructions. I'm so used to using the site that I automatically think everyone else knows how to use it too.

First of all, don't pay any attention to what the site displays for mileage requirements. Those are the mileage requirements if you were redeeming NW Worldperks miles. Just look for availability of PerkSaver seats. PerkSaver is the lower mileage, capacity controlled award inventory which you'll need in order to redeem DL Skymiles. PerkPass is the higher mileage category that overrides these restrictions but you don't have access to this inventory. So if you only see a red Select button under PerkPass business on the screen after you hit Search, it's a no go. There has to be a red Select button under PerkSaver business.

I just noticed that my earlier link gives you a session time out message, so try this one instead http://asiares.nwa.com/?siteCode=JP&...orldPerksAward Flight=on&searchBy=awardtravelsearch

Under Search By, the WorldPerks Award Travel button should already be selected. All you really need to do is enter the From, To, Date and number of passengers and click Search For Flights. You don't need to select anything under Additional Search Options on the bottom. Everything else can be left the way it is. For example, if I enter AMS, JRO, 08/19/08, and 2 passengers, I can see on the next screen that there is PerkSaver availability in business class on KL571 that day which means you can use your DL miles for that flight.

To keep searching other dates or flights, just click Modify Search. That's all you really need to do.

Maybe I'm making this all more complicated than it needs to be and you could call DL and get what you want, but I've found that some agents don't look at all options so I like to know what's available before I call.

Hope this made sense. Let me know if you have any questions.

Patty

For some reason, that link got broken, so copy and paste the whole thing into your browser. You should see a screen that has NWA Skyteam Japan on the upper left. Let me know if you're seeing something different than I am because I don't see these 3 choices:

-search perk saver award only
-search best available
-search by schedule

And it's possible some of the settings are saved on my computer and when you click on the same link, you get something different.

Thanks for sharing your experience getting KE seats. It sounds like you were able to get your first choice of dates?

luv2globetrot

Patty, Thanks for the info. I did finally get it to work. However, it looked like a "no go" as you put it. It only would show PerkPass as available. PerkSaver kept saying not available.
This immediately put a lump in my throat assuming that there'd be some sort of catch, like there would only be seats if we used double miles. But I called Delta and asked about availability 331 days from today and they showed that they do have availability in business using 120,000 miles.
So, that made me feel much better.
Now I just have to wait about 3 more weeks. I have the 120,000 miles but my husband is still a bit short. We have a trip in 2 weeks that will put him over 120,000. The wait is going to be tough
I do appreciate the tip, though.

As for our Korean Air trip, we only had to change our plans by one day. We wanted to go out on a Monday, but they only had Sunday available. But we were able to be flexible with the dates so it was very easy.
Like I said, I hope they didn't spoil me and get my hopes up too high.
Good luck if you decide to go for it

Keep your fingers crossed for me for the Africa flights


Thanks to all of you who posted about the 2nd gorilla trek. Because of the cost and the time, it's something we'll really have to think about.

Patty

Don't be too discouraged if you're checking mid-Sep or later and don't see availability right now as it may be too early. I did a quick check for 2 passengers AMS-JRO and there's currently availability on Sep 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, & 12 but nothing past that. You'll probably start to see some availability open up beyond that in the next few weeks or so. And you always have the NBO flights on KL, DL or KQ to fall back on. I'm sure you'll end up with something!

luv2globetrot

Thanks, Patty and to all who've been answering my queries.

I've sent Nancy at Roy Safari an e-mail with questions regarding the private vehicles and cost. Also I've inquired about the cost of changing the lodging in Rwanda to someplace closer to the park and adding a 2nd trek and taking out a day at Samburu.
I asked her a bunch more questions and am now patiently awaiting response

Also, patiently waiting 2 more weeks until hubby and I both have enough miles to book the flights. We're going on a short trip in 2 weeks and that will put us at the mileage needed.
Patience is a virtue, right??

Thanks again to all of you!
Lisa