Who's Next???!!!
 

As a spinoff of the "Countdown" thread, I would like to know who is next in line to leave?! :)

I know with 27 days til Italy and 38 days til Zambia there are quite a few people in front of me. I imagine that I am at a deli with one of those ticket machines for the people in the queue (trying to be more international with my vocabulary!) and while the next number up is 11, I am still at about 22! :(

So, who is next in line?! :)

I'm May 5, is it me?

42 days ......... that put's us way down the list.

And when is Liz back - I can't wait for her report with the very latest info on the delta. I really hope she's had a fabulous time.

She should be back soon... can't wait to hear either... :D

I received my tickets etc in post today!

:o)

Rocco & All,

108 days

We're not next, we're excited, and we haven't yet decided where we're going/staying.

And we'd like to get comments on which of two itineraries you would personnally choose.

I started a thread "Which itinerary would you choose?" (see link below)to get feedback.

Thanks in advance for your insights,
Roger


The link for the thread is:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...amp;dirtyBit=1

We're the day after Kavey, May 6

And we're May 15.

We're May 13.

Boo-hoo! It aint me!!!! :`(
My trip isn't until October (although that was my choice)! So, I will have to live vicariously through all your trips until it is time for mine!

Moving on up...after Kavey (May 05th), Uhoh Busted (May 06th), Jackie Sun (May 13th), and Celia (May 15th), I may be next on May 20th! :)

I swear I don't care about anything else in life right now other than getting back to Africa.

May we all be blessed with great guides, nice weather, turbulence free flights, great gameviewing, cool co-guests and decent food! :)

And few mosquitos :) Actually we leave from Baltimore tomorrow night with a stopover in London before heading to Capetown the 6th and Botswana on the 10th (really early in the AM!)

Uhoh Busted,
hope you have a great trip!Looking forward to hearing about it all when you get home.

Just had a last email from my consultant at ccafrica. I'd asked her for a report on the water levels at Sandibe and Nxabega. She got this report from someone in their Maun office:

"The latest flood graph shows that the water coming in at the top of the
delta has slacked off. Sandibe and Nxabega both have a nice amount of water, not too much, although some roads are too wet to use (we have alternative routes) There are a lot of insects at this time of year, one is just careful.

I was at Sandibe last month and had excellent game sightings including lion. Yes, the grass is very high but our guides are very aware of the animals movements. If there are Big Cats in our areas, we know about them. At Nxabega the water is also high, as in: close to the lodge, but has
stabilised in the last few weeks. The flight to Nxabega is very beautiful. I
didn't have time for a game drive so I can't personally report on that.
This is the most beautiful time of the year in the Delta, warm during the
day and slightly chilly at night. Email contact with both camps is down at the moment, we hope to have it up and running soon"

wheeeee!

uhoh_busted, have a wonderful time and please take lots and lots of notes. There has been very little written on this site about the CC Africa lodges and as I fly out to the same ones a couple of weeks after you get back I shall want to pick your brains about what to see, favoured tents/huts, best guides etc etc.

Have a wonderful time and do take care with all that water around.

I am leaving this Friday night (7/May) to VF and would like to say a BIG THANK YOU to everybody in this board.

I am also staying at CC Africa lodges, hope I can contribute my part when I am back.

Happy travels to all of you.

Bon voyage to all of you leaving soon - uhoh_busted, llee_2003, JackieSun, leopardman. I hope all of your safaris are all that you dream them to be!

Wishing everyone wonderful trips... can't wait to read about them all on my own return.

Kavey- Maybe I'll get something posted by the time you get back. :-D Though I'm not promising. Good luck, girlfriend, and please toast me with a good glass of South African wine at dinner with Selwyn. Here's hoping he takes a photo of you all and posts it as he did last year with Rocco and STD. Liz

Liz - I was really hoping to hear more about your trip - before I leave next week. If you are feeling up to it, would love to get your up to the minute expert advice. :-)

Jackie- I posted two threads that have mostly cautionary things. I won't be posting a full trip report for awhile yet. If I can answer any questions I would be happy to. I know situations change dramatically in a months time but I can certainly relay how things were in mid to late April in the Delta and Linyanti. I'm confident the water is no less, and probably higher and it does affect things. Someone posted a recent update that said the insects were still present, but if only the mozzies are lesser it would be a blessing. The tall grass sounds as though it is still there and I would expect that. Please be careful walking in the tall grass. We weren't warned about snakes and were looking out instead of down. From the time we almost stepped on the cobra, I never looked out again. Only down. Also if you see the water has receded and it is muddy, grab your guides hand to steady yourself or just stand there until someone helps you. You should not be walking in unsafe areas without assistance, regardless of your age or sex. Those tree branches shift with your weight and you could fall. This will probably affect me for a very long time. It is better to be stubborn and demand help than to suffer horribly after by remaining silent. Remember you are required to sign a waiver before you go on a safari and it isn't by accident that you are. I don't want to dwell on the negative, but this was a preventable accident. No one else will tell you about the dangers. I saw others go out on a walking safari after ours, and they were told to just have a good time. No warning about the tall grasses and what they might hold. Liz

Liz, tell me more about the walks and the tall grasses. One report from Savuti where I'll be spoke of sightings of snouted cobras and puff adders. Surely the guides are not asking people to walk into tall grass!!! That is where I draw the line. At Mombo one time there was the frendly gree snake that stayed with us night and day in the tent ... we were told it was a variagated forest snake, harmless ... although I noticed no one volunteered to pick it up and haul it off. Now cobras, that is a nother kettle of fish (well, snakes). Tell me more about what the lodge management and rangers said, especially after your own close call.

Blacktie-
Check the Water, Water, EVERYWHERE thread on down in the next 50. The managers were quite sorry and offered me a muscle relaxer. As I've said here the grass is quite high and even lions are in there. Rather than repeat the whole thing, please try to find that thread for the story. I think some may be weary of my story. I'm just trying to caution folks that it is very dangerous this year in the Delta. I've never even seen grass there, let alone this kind of grass. They just had a rainy year and then the floods are coming which will make it even worse. All things are different, even the flights bringing in supplies and taking out clients. Just remember its Africa and whatever happens, you are on your own. Liz

I think I am next!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

I will start packing today, and thankfully I have had so many injections the last two years, I don't need a single injection this year, only my anti-malaria pills and some Cipro, just in case!!! :)

We will ride off into the sunset in style this year, meeting the other two couples whom we are travelling to Italy with about an hour before our ride picks us all up for the ride to LAX. It will be champagne and strawberries & cream for a little celebration before being picked up by a limo for our ride to the airport. :)

Although this is by no means a "fancy" trip, why not have a little fun with it?! :)

The most luxurious part of this trip my very likely be my final night which is being spent at Chichele Presidential Lodge and then the Business Class flights from London to Joburg to Lusaka and back. Otherwise, it will be 3* to 4* hotels in Italy and very good lodges, but not in the Singita category in Zambia. However, I do expect to have a blast and cannot wait to share my experiences in the Lower Zambezi National Park and South Luangwa National Park.

I have 11 nights to photographically capture some wild dogs, my goal for this year! :)

Hey Rocco,
I'll be keeping my fingers crossed you:
A)do get to see wild dogs and
B)get lots of pics of them.

I'm sure I don't need to tell you to have a great time 'cause we know you will.

Looking forward to getting your trip report along with some great pics upon your return.
Enjoy!:)

Roccco, have the best trip ever! I look forward to hearing all about it upon your safe return and hope to see some pictures online. It will be fantastic if you see Wild Dog...fingers crossed for that and many other wondrous sights.

Roccco, have a wonderful time. I'm going to Italy next summer so I'm very interested in your trip report! Hope it is all you imagine and more.

Divewop, Girlpolo and Cronen,

Thanks for the kind words. Three more sleepless nights (after tonight) and then I am off.

Besides the time on safari in the very beautiful South Luangwa, and the reputedly very beautiful Lower Zambezi, I am most looking forward to 24 straight days without working, as if I do much work anyhow! ;)

Thinking back, last year, all I had for my Southern African holiday was two nights in Joburg at Michelangelo, five nights in South Luangwa at Kafunta, four nights in Cape Town at Twelve Apostles and three nights in the Sabi Sand at Vuyatela.

So, while I will not spend any time in Joburg or Cape Town this year, I will have three more nights on safari this year compared to last year, and instead of six days split between Joburg and Cape Town, I will have 10 days in Italy.

My only regret is that I do not have at least one night (preferably two) in Joburg at Nelson Mandela Square (formerly Sandton Square). It would have been nice just to be able to regroup after 11 nights in the bush, and to enjoy some fine dining at the many excellent restaurants in Nelson Mandela Square, as well as enjoying some shopping. Aaaahhh, a nice half day spa treatment at the Michelangelo Hotel would be very nice at the end of 11 nights in the bush, for both scaredtodeath and I.

Oh well! :( At least I will have the opportunity to spend ample time in the South Luangwa (7 nights in different areas of the park) and I won't be rushed in the Lower Zambezi, spending four nights at Kulefu Tented Camp.

Satellite phone should arrive by Wednesday, I have more digital camera batteries than I know what to do with, I have more than enough Memory Sticks for the digital camera, I am expecting more accessories for the camera to arrive by Wednesday (although when I order on EBay, I never know what I am going to get) and I will start packing tomorrow night.

Work this week is going to be difficult and I will be out the door by 2:30PM on Thursday.

It all seems kind of surreal, like, okay, I wanted to go to Zambia, and now I am going to Zambia. Still a little amazed at how that al works! ;)
Glad I chose Zambia and not Disney World, Niagra Falls or the Grand Canyon. I must say, I think I would have been disappointed had my brain shortcircuited and I started picking the most popular American destinations! :)

Oh, for crying out loud...can't I just move my watch forward three days and just leave tonight???!!! :)

Rocco, curious which limo service you use to the airport? The one we used to use has gone downhill. With all of us hoping you'll see wild dogs, you can't go wrong. One person mentioned they are very smelly - I want to hear from you if that's true...

Clematis,

Unfortunately, the other guests could not appreciate the nice send off that I had in mind, and everyone is finding their own way to the airport. Something about Pasadena not being anymore convenient than West Hills. And so I am reminded why I didn't go out of my way with Italy and instead booked a guided tour. Trust me, with better-travelled companions, I could have planned a knock-your-socks-off itinerary in Italy, but with this group I saw nothing but potential conflicts, so I didn't want to be bothered. Too bad, since Italy, if done right, has the potential to be an awesome trip in and of itself.

So, now, I will probably just have one of my parents drive me to the airport, or schedule a luxury sedan (about $20 more than a taxi) for the airport transfer.

After reading the latest trip reports and longlingly daydreaming about returning to Africa, I am eager to know who is next on the list to journey to the great continent.

While we were just there in March, it seems like forever ago, and now I have to live vicariously through all you guys until we plan our next trip.

In keeping up the tradition, who's next?

Leaving tomorrow morning - June 7th. Can't wait. Can't think. Can't sit still. The kid who was going to mow our lawn while we're away just bailed - so scrambling to find another.

Been lots of places, this feels bigger for some reason. South Africa, Botswana, Zambia - I don't know why. It's not the distance. Maybe it's all those Saturday afternoon Tarzan movies or maybe Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom?

Maybe I'll figure it out when I'm there.

Favor,
Have an absolutely wonderful adventure.
I'm sure once you get there, you'll realize all those documentaries and Tarzan movies you've watched cannot hold a candle to being there in person.
Don't forget to give us a trip report upon your return. Enjoy:)

Thanks divewop. :-)

... tick, tock, under three ... tick, tock! Lariam onboard. Packing list made.

Seven days to go! Then off to Tanzania and Kenya!! The daughter will literally get off the school bus (from last day of junior year of high school) and climb into family vehicle for short drive to State College airport to begin the journey. I think the three of us are ready. Will be sure to post report and pictures.Dick

Dick

Can't wait to read feed back from you and see photos as we are probably going to do the same trip.

Have an awsome time

Jules

Dick, I'll be off to Kenya, Tanzania and Zanzibar in 18 days! Same here, our daughter will be out of school and the next day flying to Nairobi.

I am so excited, but wondering how many of you, when you've told people where your going, got intense reactions? People either swoon, wide eyed, wishing they could be packed in my duffle or look at me wide eyed in horror. Why would I ever go there? I never seen such extreme responses to a vacation.

I will admit as excited as I am, I'm also nervous about it. Anyone one else have first timer jitters? We hit a few bumps, first wire transferring, and now dealing with yellow fever shots. My tour operator evidently went on vacation or somewhere and didn't inform us, so we had to write to the company and they immediately responded, but....it isn't booking a cruise, that's for sure! I myself find that the process of getting there and planning can in a way be just as fun. I'm interested in you pictures and trip report.

Well Rocco- I don't know you, but Happy Travels. I'm off at the end of summer, but back over to Bangkok/Singapore. Was in Ghana during the winter and will be there next winter. I'll also leave from LAX. It would be great if all of us could meet up one day. I don't know how many folks are from L.A. county,though.

Cronen,
We too encountered extreme reactions upon planning our first trip to Africa. And even though our first trip was somewhat of a "fiasco" I saw what the continent has to offer.

I think that anyone who travels to places "outside the box" usually does get mixed reactions. When people find out about my love for diving with hammerheads(among other shark species) I get the extreme reactions there too.

I also found that most animal lovers and those who appreciate the outdoors and what is left of the wilderness are those who wish they could pack themselves in the duffel bags with you. (Got any room left?);)

Even though I am fortunate to be able to travel to other places, nothing excites me more than planning my next trip to Africa. People ask why I want to go back again and again since there are so many places in the world. I tell them that everyone has a place that touches their soul and I have found mine. I don't need to look any further.

I know you will have a great trip. It is genuinely a remarkable place.

Message: Cronen, the reactions have been quite the contrasts. Some "how can you travel with the world security so uncertain" to "wow, what a great idea". The Discovery channel and similar ones have added quite a bit to knowlegde of our friends so they can relate a bit to places when we discuss the trip. We just thank the Good Lord as to being blessed with the resouces to travel and to take family members along. You have a great trip and also looking forward to reading your posts.
Dick