doohickey

We will do the Tanzanian northern circuit.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all the people who have contributed valuable information (whether you know it or not!) that aided our decision on safari company, itinerary and lodging.

DH and I will do a private safari and stay entirely in Thomson's tented camps - Nyumbas. My husband is an avid amateur photographer so that will be a focus - pun intended I am also sun sensitive so having a 4WD with a pop top was crucial. Here is our itinerary:

March 7 Leave US
March 8 Arrive JRO via AMS, overnight Ngare Sero Lodge
March 9 (Sunday) Go to church in Arusha then drive to Tarangire to begin safari
March 10 Tarangire
March 11 Short visit to Lake Manyara NP enroute Ngorogoro Crater. Lunch at the camp then an afternoon game drive in the crater
March 12 Morning with some Masaai then another afternoon game drive (we may transpose this.)
March 13-16 Serengeti in two different locales (also our 15th wedding anniversary there!)
March 17 Fly to Zanzibar via Arusha and stay 3 nights at Ras Nungwi
March 20 Quick visit to Stonetown then hop over to Dar for the afternoon and evening. Dayroom at the Slipway. Fly out that night for the US.

I hope to pay everyone's generosity forward by writing a trip report within a month of our return. It'll have some stuff that hasn't been covered much or at all on this forum to my knowledge, namely:

1. More information about what it's like to stay in Thomson nyumbas.

2. Going to Sunday morning church services in Arusha (we plan to attend the Greek Orthodox church there.)

3. Traveling with a CPAP unit. I have UARS, a sleep disorder, and must sleep with one of these things hanging off my head or I don't get much deep sleep. If I travel without it I'd be miserable - and so would DH! Thomson has agreed to provide a fully charged car battery for me every night to power my unit. In fact, each company we consulted said they could accomodate me on this which is a wonderful thing for all those folks out there with sleep breathing disorders. An inability to provide a car battery, even if we chose a lodge (so many of them have power failures or overnight shutdowns) would have been a deal breaker for any outfitter we consulted.

Safari companies that we contacted for this trip were Thomson, Kiliwarriors, Ker & Downey and Unique Safari. Thomson and Ker were neck and neck but Thomson won our business in the end. Part of the reason we decided to go with Thomson is because they came within our budget and were very perceptive and responsive about what kind of safari experience we wanted. Truth be told though, Ker & Downey dropped their price below Thomsons once I told them we'd decided to go with another company. The agent at Ker, too, was very perceptive and responsive and we may well have gone with them if they'd dropped their price before we committed to Thomson. Kinda got me a little peeved we didn't get their best price right off the bat... There's a lesson in there to make sure you get each company to sharpen their pencil to the breaking point before you commit to one.

I'll probably have some questions now and then of all you good folks out there as the next three months goes by (I'm sooo stinking excited!) We haven't decided yet whether to take along our spotting scope. I suppose it'll come down to weight and room in our duffles the day before we leave.

Thanks again everyone!

-doo

ShayTay

Congratulations, Doohickey! You'll love Tanzania.

I'm no electrical expert, but you'll want to make sure that your CPAP machine will work with the voltage from the batteries. You'll also need an adaptor plug. When you fly, I assume you're carrying on the CPAP. If so, you'll need to pull it out of your bag and put it in its own bin when going through TSA Security, just as you do with a laptop. My Mom uses one and I know this rule from flying with her.

atravelynn

Have a great safari. Several aspects of your trip are a little different from what we've seen in the past so your feedback will be helpful.

doohickey

Thanks ShayTay and Atravelynn!

ShayTay thanks for your tips about the CPAP. I have indeed gotten an adaptor and even tested it on my own car battery to make sure it works. It did - yay! I thought I'd better make sure it worked before we committed to going

I, too, have had to pull the unit out at the TSA checks here in the US of late. Despite the hassle it's actually a good thing because the last time the TSA did all the pulling and checking they broke a component!

I carry a copy of my Rx for the unit in its case in the event someone unfamiliar with it challenges my ability to carry on medical equipment.

I was gonna try to get set up to use it on the int'l flights but then I realized I'd be too embarrased. I'll just sleep long and hard once we land in TNZ

-doo

Patty

Have a great trip! I'm looking forward to hearing about the Thomson camps.

atravelynn

Don't be embarrassed if it will make you more comfortable.

doohickey

Oh, thank you, atravelynn for the advice. It's just that my unit has an integral humidifier and so must be kept absolutely stable and level. If we were flying b-class this might be more do-able but I don't see how I can possibly do this with all the people knocking about in coach and still maintain some sort of discreetness about it all. If I put it on the drop down tray in front of me I'd still want to drape a blanket over it and my head. I'd feel a little too self-concious about it to do it! And then there's the whole where-to-plug-it-in thang

atravelynn

The lack of plugs might thwart the whole thing. You could ask the airline about plugs just to keep your options open.

I travel with a safari vest so full of stuff I look like the Michelin tire character. That's somewhat embarrassing too.

But whatever is with me cannot get lost or misplaced for days.

Congrats on the 15 years. Great way to celebrate.

doohickey

Ohmigosh...we just got seat assignments for the first two legs of our flights. Makes us feel like we're on our way!!

Just had to share my excitement with folks who understand

atravelynn

You'll have to post other milestones such as picking up the malaria meds from the pharmacy, your first packing trial run, etc.

doohickey

We'll post other milestones for sure

In the meantime, I have a question for anyone who's flown AMS-JRO on KLM. The tin for that flight is an MD-11. Seating in coach is 3-3-3 (yuk!) My husband and I are choosing to seat aisle across from one another on this leg. However, the seat chart shows the rows are not aligned from row 23 back yet the res. agt. told me they are. Can anyone tell me which is correct - the chart or the res agt?

Thanks!

Bill_H

<b>the seat chart shows the rows are not aligned from row 23 back yet the res. agt. told me they are. Can anyone tell me which is correct - the chart or the res agt?</b>

As I recall, slightly out of alignment ... this site is usually accurate ... http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/KLM/KLM_MD-11.php

Bill

doohickey

Bill_H : Thank you so much for the seatguru.com recommendation! I'd heard of that website but had never gotten around to checking it out.

Thanks to the link you provided my husband and I were able to change our aisle-across seats to a row that was perfectly aligned and didn't have restricted underseat storage. Yay!

-doo

doohickey

Just an update

Our duffles and visas are in hand.

I picked up my Malarone and Cipro the other day.

Next up, tetnus shot (my last was 9 1/2 yrs ago.)

We're about 6 weeks out and I'm starting to twitch with excitement.

And I keep the fires stoked through some great pix of Tanzanian parks and Zanzibar on my work computer's desktop background. Tee-hee!

-doo

ShayTay

Enjoy your safari! What a very special wedding anniversary you'll have!

doohickey

Just thought I'd post an update; gosh, there's still so much to do and now we're just under 4 weeks out.

DH and I have gotten all our meds and innoculations: Tetnus boosters, YF, Malarone, Cipro, etc.

I still have to get a new pair of glasses before we go since I've had a new Rx for months and haven't gotten it filled yet (will take my current pair as a backup.)

I've still gotta go shopping for some more summer clothes - it's a good thing the spring catalogues are coming out now!

Our pooch-sitter is all arranged for our dog ZeeZee.

I'm thinking about registering with the state dept. on their website as a visitor in TZ but that is something I've never done in all my int'l travels because I've always thought it a bit big-brotherish.

Any suggestions or questions? I'm so stinkin' excited!

Thanks!
-doo

ShayTay

I've never registered with any embassy while in a foreign country. Don't worry about it. Thomson will do a better job of tracking you than the Embassy would.

atravelynn

I've never registered, but what's the downside? If there really isn't one, then why not register?

patlanta

I'm already looking forward to your trip report. We considered Thomson's for our E Africa safari but ended up going with another outfitter based on schedule. Now we're looking at a family safari with youngsters and Thomson's has a good reputation for children's activities.

Enjoy your adventure, and be sure to let us hear from you.

Dana_M

doohickey - Your trip is quickly approaching. Have fun with the remaining preparations. It will help pass the time, and you'll be on your way before you know it.