Preface to Trip Report - Our Incredibly Amazing Kenyan Safari August '08!
 

We’re a group of 4 (husband, his parents & I) about to embark on a wonderful adventure – Kenyan Safari August ‘08! What began over 2 years ago as a gift to our mom (her dream) has turned into a dream trip for all of us!

Not unlike many of you Fodorite's, I started this journey by researching, researching and researching some more. And through out it all found the most helpful info here in this forum. So I would like to say a big “THANK YOU” to those of you ‘contributors’ for well…contributing. Without you, this lurker (that would be me) would have been much more confused, confused and confused some more.

I thought I would post our itinerary for you all to admire. No drooling allowed. Okay, maybe just a little…

Day 1 19 Aug Arrive in Nairobi. Macushla House.
Day 2 20 Aug Fly to Samburu. Larsen’s Tented Camp.
Day 3 21 Aug Larsen’s Tented Camp.
Day 4 22 Aug Drive to Nanyuki. Sweetwater’s Tented Camp.
Day 5 23 Aug Drive to Lake Nakuru. Mbweha Camp (Congreve).
Day 6 24 Aug Mbweha Camp
Day 7 25 Aug Fly to Maasai Mara. Nyumbu Camp (Olare Orok).
Day 8 26 Aug Nyumbu Camp. Night game drives/nature walks.
Day 9 27 Aug Nyumbu Camp.
Day 10 28 Aug Drive to Mara Serena Lodge. Migration please.
Day 11 29 Aug Mara Serena Lodge.
Day 12 30 Aug Fly to Nairobi. Visit Hope Streams Academy School. Depart home.

Private Safari Includes:
Accommodation as stipulated in the itinerary
Transport in 4WD Toyota Land Cruiser, fully equipped and air-conditioned
HF Radio, roof hatches, luggage space, fire extinguishers
Experienced, bush savvy, English-speaking driver/guide (and mechanic) for entire safari
Fuel
Park fees for you, driver and vehicle
Unlimited game drives
Internal flights
Transfers
Mineral water
Comprehensive medical box and first aid kit
Biscuits and sweets (nibbles in the car)
Welcome packages - As You Like It T-shirt and cap/hat
Beanbags (for steadying cameras)
Umbrellas Gumboots Government taxes and levies

Extras and excluded:
Drinks
Tips to the driver/guide
Tips to camp and lodge staff
Laundry
Personal expenses (for e.g. telephone calls)

Our operator is Nairobi based Vivien Prince of As You like It (Safaris) Ltd. – relatively unfamiliar on this forum but one that Nyamera used just recently in June. Still awaiting her trip report. No pressure, Nyamera… Also, another Fodorite, BethV114, will be using them in Jan ‘09. Our decision to go with AYLIS is far too complicated to explain here but at the end of the day, it was their communication (100 emails later), patience, tenacity, price (value for money) and the fact that we did end up with a safari itinerary just as we wanted.

So, with a much smaller bank balance (but with happy hearts & awesome photographic equipment) we’re pretty much ready to go! Thanks again! You’ve all been great! And to show my undying gratitude, I promise to write our “incredibly amazing trip report” when we return (famous last words?)…

Asante sana!

P.S. Special thanks to LyndaS for your very handy packing list! http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34902894

P.S.S. 1st time to Africa for all of us…

Have an absolutely wonderful time! And I can assure you that it won't be your last...

I just got back from Africa in May (Botswana and Zambia this time)and I'm already dying to go back.

Deb

Gonna be great. The photo nerd in me has to ask what is your "awesome photographic equipment"?

regards - tom

Have a fantastic time and looking forward to your report!

Thanks, one2travel! I know what you mean. We're so excited that we're already talking about our next trip and we haven't even been there yet!

Cheers, Tom! Maybe you should join us to make sure my husband knows what he's doing? Poor thing. The pressure is sure on him...
We have the Canon EOS 40D with EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens. But what we're really excited about is our Canon EF 100-400 IS lens! We plan on shooting mostly in RAW and JPEG so we can tweak (if we need to) when we get back home. Since this presents a storage issue, we're taking along a Nexto Extreme 149G portable storage device backup along with several Sandisk Extreme 4G cards.
Any 'nerdy' advise you can offer?

Thanks, Patty! I certainly have appreciated all your contributions to this forum. And tripadvisor too, if I'm not mistaken?
Any advise on how one can prepare in order to write a good trip report?

I'd like to join you but I'm not that familiar with your Canon gear :-(. Perhaps another forum Canonite will go if you send them prepaid flight tickets and camp vouchers :-). (I do Nikon).

However, I do know that you have a great DSLR and great combo of lenses. The 100-400 is always known as the classic safari lens. Practice with them all as much as you can. Do you have a small lake nearby where you can shoot birds/ducks? Birds and birds flying are my favorite practice targets. Their motion (now here, now gone) and movement across different lighting conditions makes for good practice. Also that Nexto storage device, check it out thoroughly. Don't wait for the safari to find out it doesn't work nor work like you "thought" it should or loses images when you try to recover them. Looking forward to your photos and trip report.

regards - tom

Thanks, Tom, for the advise! We do need to practice more. And we happen to live around water. So your idea of shooting (you did mean photos?) birds/ducks is an excellent idea! And, yes, we are pre-testing everything. You can never be too cautious. Are you familiar with the Nexto device? Any heads-up needed?

"Shooting" - well, take your double barreled shotgun and if the duckies are reluctant to fly for you, pop a shot into their midst and watch'em scatter!!!! Have the camera ready :-)

Nexto - no, not familiar with it. I just know for certain that if you take something new like that, any electronic gizmo, that it will either not work or you will not be able to figure out which buttons to push.

regards - tom

Have a great trip, Somuch! You'll love Kenya. (But you already know that.) :)

somuch2c, your itinerary sounds wonderful--may I ask the indelicate question? Cost over or under $10k per person, excluding air flight to/from Africa and the exclusions you mentioned? We are trying to plan a similar trip for next year. Thank you so much.

Thanks, MyDogKyle! Can't wait...

Hi, Moondoggie..it came in well under 10K p/p – slightly shy of 4K p/p would be more like it. We feel for what we're getting, it's a fair price. It was really important for us to have the internal flights, land cruiser (as opposed to mini van) and to keep our driver/guide through out. Also, we're staying mostly in tented camps which was what we wanted. We decided on the last 2 nights at Mara Serena so we could be right in the triangle – prime spot for the migration. Some of the other tented camps in that area took us outside our budget.

Please let me know if you have any other questions. I'd be more than happy to help (if I can).

BTW...Who let the dogs out? Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof...Sorry, I just couldn't help myself!!

P.S. Can't seem to figure out how to insert a 'smiley'. (I really could have used one for the above comment). Can anyone enlighten me?

Smiley legend http://www.fodors.com/forums/smileys/

Yes, I post on TA too. I take a journal and update it during down time at camp. Otherwise, I'd forget half the details!

Have a wonderful time SoMuch2C. Please post a report and photos when you return.

Somuch2c, I’ve noticed that you’ve started posting your trip report more than 2 weeks <b>before</b> you trip, but I don’t feel any pressure at all. :^o Concentration and memory problems are delaying my report.
Safari njema!

Thanks, Patty :D!! I finally figured it out ((I))!! I kept on trying to cut &amp; paste the actual item :`( ! Silly me :&quot;&gt;...

And thanks too, Dana_M! Planning on having an incredibly amazing time!!

Asante sana, Nyamera! And hey, take your time. Your trip reports are truly worth waiting for. Oops...Sorry...please take this as a compliment and not added pressure :S- !!

somuch2c -- I am only just starting to look at Africa and so I know nothing, I was wondering why you wanted the Land Rover rather than mini-van -- more durable? able to see better? better protection form animals? less bouncy?

Your trip sounds like it will be wonderful. Hope its al you want it to be.

Have a great trip Somuch2c and I will expect a trip report a little quicker than I got mine posted. And some great pictures.

Julie

Hi sallyky! To be honest, the main reason we wanted a 4WD land rover/cruiser is because it just 'seems' (looks &amp; feels) more like a proper safari vehicle than a minivan. Plus, 4WD land rover/cruiser's are made more rugged -- more appropriate for the african terrain. And yes, apparently the viewing is better and the ride more comfortable. We also like how our vehicle's been customised, with the pop-up top in front (passenger) and back.

However, a lot of people (even on this forum) do their safari in a minivan and are very satisfied. I suppose it gets down to personal preference and whether the added expense is worth it to you.

Perhaps someone reading this would like to chime in and give share their experience?

Hey, Julie...better late than never! I sure appreciated it! Thanks...

somuch2c, have a great trip!!

We will look for the Migration to keep them near Serena, leaving the Mara on 28th just the day you arrive at Serena;-) We do exactly the same trip (diffrent camps) as you do but one start 6 days earlier.

Hopefully we will be lucky for the Migration...

Thank you, steffid...you have a great trip too! We'll certainly be keeping our fingers crossed. Just read that the 'mega-herd' has already crossed into the Mara. Sure hope the 'stragglers' hold off until we get there! Don't they know we're coming!!
Safari njema!

Cute name. It is appropriate for where you are going. Have a wonderful trip.

Thanks for the well wishes, atravelynn! Your 'name' sure seems to suits you perfectly...

Looking forward to reading about your latest South African adventure. Haven't been there yet but it's definitely on the list!

...and so little time...