Trip Report: Tanzania, Kenya & Zanzibar with MICATO May /June 2006
Jun 20th, 2006, 08:31 PM
#24
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Your enthusiasm is totally infectious and we do hope that the report doesn't end soon with the footnote...
"At this point unfortunately Lynda literally exploded with joy; we will all miss her, but it's how she would have wanted to go....
Jim"
;-)
Love the detail Lynda. Reckon you'll have paid us all back with interest by the end!
"At this point unfortunately Lynda literally exploded with joy; we will all miss her, but it's how she would have wanted to go....
Jim"
;-)
Love the detail Lynda. Reckon you'll have paid us all back with interest by the end!
Jun 21st, 2006, 06:27 AM
#25
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Thanks all for your great comments!
Jed - I did put spaces in word, but for some reason when I pasted it , they didn't appear; I will try double spacing between paragraphs this time!
Susannah and Paul, your comments gave me a good morning laugh - great epitaph for me Paul! Now how could I have missed describing the Collectors Den !! Oh, wait, I didn't go in then, I went back to the hotel ;-) catch me later for that as I went at the end of the trip.....
Michael I was glad to read that the excitement doesn't wear off after even the fifth trip - wow your sixth, that's is fabulous - i can't wait to say that too!
Thanks Simbakuwa for the info, it's makes sense now to me.
Erika - sometimes you can get in to see the cheetahs, if the timing is right, by just asking apparently, but, the best way is to pre-arrange it before you go as they cannot let everyone in the cage to hug them, they would be overwhelmed.
Those of us who have gone, or are going, have pre-booked it in a Nairobi day tour with an incredible Nairobi guide named Kennedy - he owns Waymark Safaris (private or group guide/driver for safaris as well as Nairobi guide/driver) and he will arrange it with KWS in advance for you. Here's his info -
Kennedy (Waymark Safaris)
E-mail Address(es):
[email protected]
Kumasawa, you & your wife will have a great time with Kennedy next month - he is one fabulous person and a wonderful, knowledgable guide! We came home with a new friend!
Jed - I did put spaces in word, but for some reason when I pasted it , they didn't appear; I will try double spacing between paragraphs this time!
Susannah and Paul, your comments gave me a good morning laugh - great epitaph for me Paul! Now how could I have missed describing the Collectors Den !! Oh, wait, I didn't go in then, I went back to the hotel ;-) catch me later for that as I went at the end of the trip.....
Michael I was glad to read that the excitement doesn't wear off after even the fifth trip - wow your sixth, that's is fabulous - i can't wait to say that too!
Thanks Simbakuwa for the info, it's makes sense now to me.
Erika - sometimes you can get in to see the cheetahs, if the timing is right, by just asking apparently, but, the best way is to pre-arrange it before you go as they cannot let everyone in the cage to hug them, they would be overwhelmed.
Those of us who have gone, or are going, have pre-booked it in a Nairobi day tour with an incredible Nairobi guide named Kennedy - he owns Waymark Safaris (private or group guide/driver for safaris as well as Nairobi guide/driver) and he will arrange it with KWS in advance for you. Here's his info -
Kennedy (Waymark Safaris)
E-mail Address(es):
[email protected]
Kumasawa, you & your wife will have a great time with Kennedy next month - he is one fabulous person and a wonderful, knowledgable guide! We came home with a new friend!
Jun 21st, 2006, 12:21 PM
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I want more!!!! What a great report, Lynda! Can't wait for the next installment! Your report has gotten me through a very long-boring day at work! My boss is on the golf course & left me with nothing to do...so....I am reading stories from this forum all day!
Dory
Dory
Jun 21st, 2006, 05:35 PM
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Lynda, I'm enjoying your report immensely, however I'm sitting on pins and needles waiting to see how the stapler came to be used! Great style of writing and love the quotes. I'm sure glad you and your husband enjoyed it so much!
Thanks!
Aloha,
Dennis
Thanks!
Aloha,
Dennis
Jun 22nd, 2006, 06:42 AM
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‘BEING ON SAFARI IS LIKE OPENING A NEW PRESENT EVERY DAY!’
-an unknown safari enthusiast, from Gary Clarke’s ‘I’d Rather Be On Safari’
My first game viewing day!! The call to meet everyone in the lobby was early today at 6:30 am – but that was OK as I was so excited, I don’t think I slept a wink! Our flight from Wilson Airport, on a regularly scheduled Air Kenya flight (Dash 7 – about 40 seats) was scheduled to leave at 8:00, but first, we had to get through that dreaded baggage ‘weigh in’! Cutting to the chase, they took all our green bags (1 per person), weighed them all together and multiplied 33 lbs x 15 people to come up with our allotted weight. Carry on was not included in this – just our green Micato bags. And, we were 70 lbs overweight. What a way to start! Daniel took care of this for us – and, I even told him we were two of the guilty party by approximately 7 lbs each and to charge us accordingly. I have no idea to this day what was done, by who or how, but possibly we were ‘let go’ as the flight was no where near full. Or maybe some of the other passengers had no luggage or something, I’m not sure.
We arrived at Amboseli at 8:45. How exciting it was to spot our first wildlife from the plane! It was, as most would assume – elephants. Dividing up into 3 Micato pop-top vans, we met our driver, and proceeded on our first game run en route to AMBOSELI SERENA LODGE. Even this was an exciting moment for me to see who our van mates might be! The mother and the daughter – Audrey and Lucrece joined us, as well as the couple from New York, Roberta and Michael. Our driver’s name was Samuel, he had been with Micato for 3 years, and even though he was on the quiet side, he sure knew his animals and where they might be. Our first animals, from afar were wildebeest and Thompson’s Gazelle, everyone in the van was so excited to see them in the distance! It was a wonderful game drive, we saw ostrich, crowned cranes, elephants very close up, buffalo, Grants gazelle, spotted hyena, warthogs, Burchell zebras, Tantulus monkeys, impala – and lions, but just from afar. But that was OK, as you guys can all imagine, I got pretty excited when Samuel pointed across the field and said – look – lions – way over there!
We arrived at the lodge just before lunch – what a beautiful quaint lodge it was! The concept of the design was meant to be ‘Africa’, and I would say they have attained this. Checking in to the hotels, on a Micato trip, as I was to find out, was a breeze – while the lodge staff was handing us the warm towels and juice, Daniel would get our keys and hand them to us.
We were in Room 5 – very close to the pool, with a nice view from our large picture window into a sparse wooded area. The room was small, but quaint. Two single beds (and here we were on our anniversary trip!!!), a writing desk, an open closet, a nightstand, a chair and an average size bathroom that offered up shampoo, shower caps, body lotion/bath gel and nice smelling insect repellent wipes. There were huge, tastefully done murals on the wall of local wildlife; I enjoyed looking at them at night lying in bed. There were no mossie nets, but there was a can of bug spray and that seemed to take care of any bug problem at night in the room. The lodge itself had a restaurant, a gift shop, a computer for internet use (but be aware – it’s in an open area – lots of mossies bit me here) a pool and a TV/conference room. The food was good, it was buffet for each meal – the supper would include Indian dishes as well as a fish and a meat dish for the entrees. The vegetables were fresh and tasted incredible! The restaurant was big, but not noisy, it was spacious and well laid out. We had two large tables just off the terrace, it had a great view. Around and about the lodge during the day were many monkeys, I enjoyed watching them, taking pictures of them, and I never tired of hearing them play on the roof of our room.
Jim and I missed the afternoon game run (and yes, of course they saw lions up close!) as he was pretty tired, and just as I was ready to go, I got very violently ill. Just bang – hit me suddenly! Jim called the desk to let Daniel we weren’t going so they wouldn’t wait, and we both slept the afternoon away. I felt fine for supper, which was pretty bizarre. It went as suddenly as it came. After supper the lodge was running a showing of the documentary on Echo, most did watch it, but I had some serious journal notes to write so that I could be sure to bore all my Fodorite friends to death with MANY details when I got home!!!
-an unknown safari enthusiast, from Gary Clarke’s ‘I’d Rather Be On Safari’
My first game viewing day!! The call to meet everyone in the lobby was early today at 6:30 am – but that was OK as I was so excited, I don’t think I slept a wink! Our flight from Wilson Airport, on a regularly scheduled Air Kenya flight (Dash 7 – about 40 seats) was scheduled to leave at 8:00, but first, we had to get through that dreaded baggage ‘weigh in’! Cutting to the chase, they took all our green bags (1 per person), weighed them all together and multiplied 33 lbs x 15 people to come up with our allotted weight. Carry on was not included in this – just our green Micato bags. And, we were 70 lbs overweight. What a way to start! Daniel took care of this for us – and, I even told him we were two of the guilty party by approximately 7 lbs each and to charge us accordingly. I have no idea to this day what was done, by who or how, but possibly we were ‘let go’ as the flight was no where near full. Or maybe some of the other passengers had no luggage or something, I’m not sure.
We arrived at Amboseli at 8:45. How exciting it was to spot our first wildlife from the plane! It was, as most would assume – elephants. Dividing up into 3 Micato pop-top vans, we met our driver, and proceeded on our first game run en route to AMBOSELI SERENA LODGE. Even this was an exciting moment for me to see who our van mates might be! The mother and the daughter – Audrey and Lucrece joined us, as well as the couple from New York, Roberta and Michael. Our driver’s name was Samuel, he had been with Micato for 3 years, and even though he was on the quiet side, he sure knew his animals and where they might be. Our first animals, from afar were wildebeest and Thompson’s Gazelle, everyone in the van was so excited to see them in the distance! It was a wonderful game drive, we saw ostrich, crowned cranes, elephants very close up, buffalo, Grants gazelle, spotted hyena, warthogs, Burchell zebras, Tantulus monkeys, impala – and lions, but just from afar. But that was OK, as you guys can all imagine, I got pretty excited when Samuel pointed across the field and said – look – lions – way over there!
We arrived at the lodge just before lunch – what a beautiful quaint lodge it was! The concept of the design was meant to be ‘Africa’, and I would say they have attained this. Checking in to the hotels, on a Micato trip, as I was to find out, was a breeze – while the lodge staff was handing us the warm towels and juice, Daniel would get our keys and hand them to us.
We were in Room 5 – very close to the pool, with a nice view from our large picture window into a sparse wooded area. The room was small, but quaint. Two single beds (and here we were on our anniversary trip!!!), a writing desk, an open closet, a nightstand, a chair and an average size bathroom that offered up shampoo, shower caps, body lotion/bath gel and nice smelling insect repellent wipes. There were huge, tastefully done murals on the wall of local wildlife; I enjoyed looking at them at night lying in bed. There were no mossie nets, but there was a can of bug spray and that seemed to take care of any bug problem at night in the room. The lodge itself had a restaurant, a gift shop, a computer for internet use (but be aware – it’s in an open area – lots of mossies bit me here) a pool and a TV/conference room. The food was good, it was buffet for each meal – the supper would include Indian dishes as well as a fish and a meat dish for the entrees. The vegetables were fresh and tasted incredible! The restaurant was big, but not noisy, it was spacious and well laid out. We had two large tables just off the terrace, it had a great view. Around and about the lodge during the day were many monkeys, I enjoyed watching them, taking pictures of them, and I never tired of hearing them play on the roof of our room.
Jim and I missed the afternoon game run (and yes, of course they saw lions up close!) as he was pretty tired, and just as I was ready to go, I got very violently ill. Just bang – hit me suddenly! Jim called the desk to let Daniel we weren’t going so they wouldn’t wait, and we both slept the afternoon away. I felt fine for supper, which was pretty bizarre. It went as suddenly as it came. After supper the lodge was running a showing of the documentary on Echo, most did watch it, but I had some serious journal notes to write so that I could be sure to bore all my Fodorite friends to death with MANY details when I got home!!!
Jun 22nd, 2006, 08:01 AM
#29
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Lynda, sorry to hear you were sick and missed the Lion 'close up', hope you got another chance at it!
The Serena sounds really nice - I hope the Mara Serena is as nice!
Can't wait to hear more.
Imelda
The Serena sounds really nice - I hope the Mara Serena is as nice!
Can't wait to hear more.
Imelda
Jun 22nd, 2006, 08:45 AM
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Lynda, I am sorry that you missed the lions. While I was in Amboseli, I only saw one lion and it was far far far away.
Looking forward to seeing some of your Amboseli pics.
Had there been any rain lately in Amboseli?
Looking forward to seeing some of your Amboseli pics.
Had there been any rain lately in Amboseli?
Jun 22nd, 2006, 08:09 PM
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Thank you Lynda for allowing to relive your travels with you. Loving this report although I've been slow to catch up.
Hope you recover well for rest of the trip. It's like reading a book you don't want to put down!
Hope you recover well for rest of the trip. It's like reading a book you don't want to put down!
Jun 23rd, 2006, 12:35 PM
#34
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DAY 4 – WEDNESDAY, MAY 31ST, SERENA LODGE, AMBOSELI NATIONAL PARK
I literally bounded out of bed at 5:00 – which is no small miracle for me who does not usually take too well to even a 7:00 AM rising. I was looking forward to an early exciting game run, maybe even seeing some lions after missing the ones yesterday afternoon! The lodge had coffee available from 5:00 AM at an outside bar, this was a very welcome sight so early in the morning. We filled our ‘just-got-for-Xmas small stainless steel sealed coffee mugs’ and ran to the van. Today, I thought would be my LION day! And, it didn’t disappoint.
At this time, Amboseli Park was still pretty dry. There were patches of green occasionally, but mostly dry, not too-tall brown savannah grass (or at least that is what it looked like to me) with lots of bald patches. Sammy, our driver told us this was good compared to what it was during the drought. Mt. Kilimanjaro had not been visible to us yesterday (behind clouds), and it was still that way when we set out this morning.
‘It will appear later’ Sammy said. And, it did.
Sammy took us past the employee camp and straight into a troop of Olive Baboons. Not one or two, but hundreds – on the road, in the trees, all over! We had great fun watching them; they are really neat to watch. More buffalo, waterbuck, wildebeest, hyenas (I really liked these guys –definitely an underloved animal), warthogs, cranes, zebra, gazelles – but where were those illusive lions??? With no luck on this morning’s game drive, we headed back to the lodge for lunch, some outdoor journal-writing time and time to talk to the young Maasai men that were there to socialize with the guests.
But, not for too long – those lions, I just knew, had to be out there. Refuel the coffee mug, jump into the van at 4:00 and off we went again. ‘Going on a lion hunt’ – that kid’s camp song kept jumping into my head. Mt. Kilimanjaro, just as Sammy had said, had poked its head through the clouds – what an incredible sight. I kept staring at it, thinking of BostonGal, Darren, Eben and all the others on this board that were brave enough to climb it. We saw more zebra, impalas, and various birds. Then, just as I thought we weren’t ever going to find any lions – there was Daniel, who was riding with us in our van, turning to me and saying – ‘look to your right, Lynda’. Ohmigosh!!!! There was a whole pride of them, a bit off in the distance under a tree, but I wasn’t being fussy! I could see the female, the kids and the teenage male! We stopped the van, we watched. And it wasn’t long before the mom decided she needed a drink – which was on the other side of the road. One by one they got up, and one by one they crossed in front of us – what a thrill!!! Word had spread fast once we spotted them – about 20 vans pulled up behind us, and in front of us. ‘The park internet’ Sammy explained.
We watched for a bit more, they drank from the stream and then laid down in a classic ‘lion pose’ on the grass. There was a lone wildebeest further out, we could see they were watching it, but I guess they weren’t hungry; they just sat there in the grass watching it. Everything else paled by comparison after this (‘oh, just another zebra’)
Kili was showing us all its glory this afternoon, so Daniel suggested that we go the Normatior, better known as Observation Hill to take a look at it. The van took us as far it could, and then everyone walked the rest of the way up the hill to observe Mt. Kilimanjaro. When we got back down, the three vans had moved to a good vantage point, and, there standing beside a table spread with wine, beer, pop, chips and peanuts were Daniel and the three drivers. Our first sundowners! It was a great way to close a day, watching the sun set around Kilimanjaro and socializing with the rest of the people from our group. Jim assured me that the Tusker he had tasted great in the great outdoors!
I literally bounded out of bed at 5:00 – which is no small miracle for me who does not usually take too well to even a 7:00 AM rising. I was looking forward to an early exciting game run, maybe even seeing some lions after missing the ones yesterday afternoon! The lodge had coffee available from 5:00 AM at an outside bar, this was a very welcome sight so early in the morning. We filled our ‘just-got-for-Xmas small stainless steel sealed coffee mugs’ and ran to the van. Today, I thought would be my LION day! And, it didn’t disappoint.
At this time, Amboseli Park was still pretty dry. There were patches of green occasionally, but mostly dry, not too-tall brown savannah grass (or at least that is what it looked like to me) with lots of bald patches. Sammy, our driver told us this was good compared to what it was during the drought. Mt. Kilimanjaro had not been visible to us yesterday (behind clouds), and it was still that way when we set out this morning.
‘It will appear later’ Sammy said. And, it did.
Sammy took us past the employee camp and straight into a troop of Olive Baboons. Not one or two, but hundreds – on the road, in the trees, all over! We had great fun watching them; they are really neat to watch. More buffalo, waterbuck, wildebeest, hyenas (I really liked these guys –definitely an underloved animal), warthogs, cranes, zebra, gazelles – but where were those illusive lions??? With no luck on this morning’s game drive, we headed back to the lodge for lunch, some outdoor journal-writing time and time to talk to the young Maasai men that were there to socialize with the guests.
But, not for too long – those lions, I just knew, had to be out there. Refuel the coffee mug, jump into the van at 4:00 and off we went again. ‘Going on a lion hunt’ – that kid’s camp song kept jumping into my head. Mt. Kilimanjaro, just as Sammy had said, had poked its head through the clouds – what an incredible sight. I kept staring at it, thinking of BostonGal, Darren, Eben and all the others on this board that were brave enough to climb it. We saw more zebra, impalas, and various birds. Then, just as I thought we weren’t ever going to find any lions – there was Daniel, who was riding with us in our van, turning to me and saying – ‘look to your right, Lynda’. Ohmigosh!!!! There was a whole pride of them, a bit off in the distance under a tree, but I wasn’t being fussy! I could see the female, the kids and the teenage male! We stopped the van, we watched. And it wasn’t long before the mom decided she needed a drink – which was on the other side of the road. One by one they got up, and one by one they crossed in front of us – what a thrill!!! Word had spread fast once we spotted them – about 20 vans pulled up behind us, and in front of us. ‘The park internet’ Sammy explained.
We watched for a bit more, they drank from the stream and then laid down in a classic ‘lion pose’ on the grass. There was a lone wildebeest further out, we could see they were watching it, but I guess they weren’t hungry; they just sat there in the grass watching it. Everything else paled by comparison after this (‘oh, just another zebra’)
Kili was showing us all its glory this afternoon, so Daniel suggested that we go the Normatior, better known as Observation Hill to take a look at it. The van took us as far it could, and then everyone walked the rest of the way up the hill to observe Mt. Kilimanjaro. When we got back down, the three vans had moved to a good vantage point, and, there standing beside a table spread with wine, beer, pop, chips and peanuts were Daniel and the three drivers. Our first sundowners! It was a great way to close a day, watching the sun set around Kilimanjaro and socializing with the rest of the people from our group. Jim assured me that the Tusker he had tasted great in the great outdoors!
Jun 25th, 2006, 05:18 AM
#37
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Welcome back Lynda!
What an absolute pleasure to meet you both in London after your trip and an honour to be able to deliver the Tomboy print in person!
I was, as you know, utterly in AWE at the amazing journals you created both before and during the trip - I have NEVER seen anything quite like them and am very impressed indeed!
Looking forward to reading more and to seeing pics online - it was fun to see a few of J's pics on the storage device but can't wait to see his favourites processed and on a large screen!
What an absolute pleasure to meet you both in London after your trip and an honour to be able to deliver the Tomboy print in person!
I was, as you know, utterly in AWE at the amazing journals you created both before and during the trip - I have NEVER seen anything quite like them and am very impressed indeed!
Looking forward to reading more and to seeing pics online - it was fun to see a few of J's pics on the storage device but can't wait to see his favourites processed and on a large screen!
Jun 25th, 2006, 07:03 AM
#38
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Hello and welcome back Lynda,
I just finally got to your wonderful report as I've been away.
Your enthusiasm is contagious. You really do make me want to drop everything and head back to Africa. So glad you enjoyed and look very forward to hearing more of your adventures.
Sherry
I just finally got to your wonderful report as I've been away.
Your enthusiasm is contagious. You really do make me want to drop everything and head back to Africa. So glad you enjoyed and look very forward to hearing more of your adventures.
Sherry
