Three more days and I am off to Botswana, South Africa and Australia!

In South Africa, I am visiting Sabi Sabi in the Sabi Sand, Mateya in Madikwe, a night at the D'Oreale Grande at the Emperors Casino near the airport, a night at the Michelangelo Towers.

In Botswana, it will be Linyanti Bushcamp, Baines Camp, Chiefs Camp, Kwando Lagoon, Kwando Lebala and Kwando Kwara.

In Australia, it will be the Observatory Hotel.

All in all, this, at least on paper, is the most fantastic trip I will have taken yet.

Thanks to everybody who has offered their support recently...it is truly appreciated.

Just tying up a few loose ends this weekend and then a couple more days at work and then I am off on Tuesday night...LAX to Sydney with only a 2.5 hour layover and then direct to Johannesburg...Qantas Airways, which I have only heard great things about.

Picked up a new Tamrac Backpack, this one with wheels and an extendable handle (thanks JWeis for the recommendation), a new lens (Canon 300mm f/4L IS) and 4 more GB's of memory and a couple more batteries. Also, I cannot forget the Chillow and battery operated fan that I picked up (thanks GreenDrake).

If there is any downside to this safari it is that it is interrupting my fitness training! I am so used to being an utter couch potato and going on safari...this is the first time since my first safari that I will be going in fairly good shape (the first safari followed immediately after my first marathon, the L.A. Marathon).

It will be nice to leave this awful weather in L.A. behind (has been dipping down to the FIFTIES at night!) but I am scared of the heat and mosquitos I may face in Botswana.

I promise plenty of photos and a trip report upon my return!!!

Happy travels Rocco.
Give yourself twenty minutes during the day to work through a few sets of sit ups and press ups, just to keepm the kilojoules in check.

"All in all, this, at least on paper, is the most fantastic trip I will have taken yet."

I hope that it IS your most fantastic trip yet, Rocco! Have a marvelous time...we'll look forward to your trip report and photos upon your return!!

Rocco,
We hope that you have a fantastic time, and you don't get too bitten up by the skeeters!!! Geez the hardships you face for this trip-LOL. You could do some on foot tracking to keep up with the fitness routine a little??? Have a wonderful time, I can't wait to hear all about it!!!!!
Suzic

Have a great trip, Rocco....

Happy and safe travels......

Hari

<i>&quot;See you later!&quot;</i>

I think so, somewhere down the line.
Happy trails,

Matt

Hi Rocco,

I wish you a really great gameviewing trip, I am envious about the gameviewing side, not at all envious about the number of camps you are visiting, though I understand why you do it, I guess!

The mozzies in Botswana in July were horrific, I didn't realize they would be such a problem, so I can well imagine how many will be around now, when the days will be so much warmer.

Do not know the Observatory Hotel, but not surprising as I rarely go to Sydney, but I wish you a wonderful stay in Australia, though I am not sure how long you are staying here.

Kind regards,

Kaye

Certainly with all the planning and recent &quot;excitement&quot; on the board, your trip is well deserved. And should be interesting to hear from someone traveling backwards. Even those from Hawaii fly via Europe.

SYD will be a nice diversion, a lovely city, easy place to get around, and consider for Alexandra a lovely &quot;black opal&quot; as there are jewelers everywhere.

Happy travels.

Your trip sounds fantastic Rocco! Happy travels. Took Quantas to Sydney a few years back. LOVED IT!

Leaving so soon after just arriving back on the forum. Welcome back and bon voyage!
Sherry

Thanks for all the responses.

Sandi, I checked it out and it is a 10.5 hour flight from Honolulu to Sydney, and then a 14 hour flight from Sydney to Johannesburg, so it is definitely shorter for Hawaiians to go through Sydney than to go through the USA/Europe. For my own situation out of Los Angeles, it adds about 2.5 hours to the journey and gives me an opportunity to see one of the best cities in the world, Sydney, for a couple nights. The early December weather in Sydney will be much nicer than had I stopped in Europe for a couple nights...the only other consideration I made was stopping in Dubai for a couple nights, but I will save that for another time. Going to Sydney will allow me to check off continent #6 on the list and hopefully I get to Antarctica in February 2008.

About the fitness...yes, I suspect that I will be going stir crazy and have already requested a walking safari at Linyanti Bushcamp--the operator, African Bushcamps, are soon to launch what they call Linyanti Walking Trails and they have assured me that walking will be a highlight of my visit.

I will also do the Walk With The Elephants activity at Baines Camp so I have one walking safari while there. Not sure if walking is available at Chiefs Camp in the Mombo concession or not, but if so, I will walk once while there, and if possible once at each Kwando camp. I will skip the walking at Sabi Sabi and Mateya, as my time is limited and I want to see as much wildlife as possible. Plus, I do plan to take advantage of the fitness centers and the WELLNESS CENTERS at both Sabi Sabi and Mateya!

Here is the photography arsenal I have selected for this safari:

(2) Canon 20d DSLR bodies
Canon 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS
Canon 85mm f/1.8
Sigma 70-200 f/2.8
Sigma 1.4x teleconvertor
Canon 300mm f/4L IS
Canon 1.4x teleconvertor
Sigma Super Flash
White Balance Filter
Warming Filter
12GB's of CF Cards (I will be shooting mostly with 2GB cards but then will have a few 1GB cards as backup)
8 Camera Batteries
1 Canon Dual Battery Charger
HP Centrino Duo Laptop Computer w/ Photoshop CSII Nothing like being able to look at your photos on a 15&quot; screen five minutes after the game drive is completed...the other guests still shooting film especially hate me!

Rocco, have a great time -- that's an excellent itinerary (and I'm in the camp that prefers fewer nights at more camps).

Sydney is beautiful (and I'm sure you've heard about Torango Zoo, a nice ferry ride from the city center). I haven't been to Sydney in a few years, but I still remember my meals at Rockpool, a short walk from the Observatory.

Have a great trip.

Michael

PS -- The NYC marathon is now passing below my window!

Rocco-
Welcome back and see you later. Have a wonderful time!

Sydney is a fun city. If you get a chance, try to get over to Manly Beach for a couple of hours. It's a short ferry ride from Sydney harbor and has a cool boardwalk and lots of cafes to sit and people watch.

Looking forward to some great photos and
the trip report.

BTW, why are you taking both the 17-85mm lens and the 85mm lens?

Have a wonderful trip and for fitness maybe jog in place.

Thit Cho,

Thanks for the Sydney suggestion of the Torango Zoo. I was trying to follow the NY Marathon earlier online, but could not find any live coverage...I was especially interested to see how Lance Armstrong did in his first marathon...I figured he would break 2:30 but would be far, far back from the leaders.


Divewop,

The reason for taking the 85mm f/1.8 lens is because it is fantastic for portraits in low light conditions. Have a look at these two shots taken with the 85mm f/1.8, (this female boxer has just had her fight stopped by the referee due to a nasty cut...blood streaming down her beautiful face and you can see her complete disappointment).

http://www.ufcfightnews.com/sept1-2/...-Rakoczy04.jpg

http://www.ufcfightnews.com/sept1-2/...Rakoczy04a.jpg


Atravelynn,

I may just bring a vinyl/plastic jumprope with me and that would go a long way to helping me keep in shape if I were to skip rope for 15 minutes daily, as well as taking Mkhonzo's suggestion of push-ups, sit-ups, and I could also add squats and lunges.

It will be kind of nice to be away for 4 weeks as I ALWAYS lose weight in Africa and that is with eating whatever I want...so if I actually watch what I eat and exercise, I could come back 10 pounds lighter and with a great tan to boot!

I did buy 5 packs of Beef Jerkey to be used in the event of an emergency! I will always have one with me, especially for sundowners when, at times, there are only high carb snacks available. I don't mind eating carbs in the morning, but I don't want to eat them in the late afternoon/evening, if possible.

Wine &amp; Beer are fine, as I think I actually eat less when I have a couple drinks. Plus, after all, free booze, you know? (In reality, the lodges probably wish that all the guests drank as little as I do!).

I was smart and passed on the opportunity to run a half marathon today...I am not going to risk injury right before this trip and would like to lose far more weight before I subject myself to the abuse of road racing again. In the future, just to avoid injury, I will likely do far more trail running than road running...trail running is so much more beautiful anyway...I mean being surrounded by concrete/asphalt/buildings/cars or being surrounded by mountains/rivers/trees/plants/flowers...not a hard choice.

Have a fabulous trip! (And welcome back aboard...)
Looking forward to seeing how the 300 worked for you. I'm envious!

And don't forget to pay your drinks bill. Nothing is for free.
Have a good trip.
Celeste

Roccco - try for a left side window on the SYD-JNB flight just in case you get vectored over Antarctica like we did.

Dang, I'm jealous, Rocco. Ruth and I spend much of our time reliving our wonderful Africa experience which you made possible, and we have lots of questions about future possibilities to which we will add many more upon your return.

Great choice re. the Canon 300mm f/4.0. I chose that very lens over the 2.8 version because is is far more manageable esp. on walks. However, after going through 42 rolls of slide film and getting cheap scans (which added up is still expensive), plus the limitations of being stuck with low ISO film in low light, I'm really ready to make the switch to digital.

Didn't notice if you are bringing something for cleaning your sensors. A must for addressing dust issues prevalent where you are going based on what I've been reading. Also a chip downloading device such as the one made by Epson, both as backup, and to free up chip space.

Have an awesome trip!

Jim

Celeste and her daughter are right now on a plane to Sydney with Joshi in the first class seats and if you want I will give feedback.
Mark