We started out one cold morning in San Francisco with Emirates Air driver dropping us off at the airport. 16 hour later we arrived in Dubai with an overnight stay before continuing on to Nairobi Kenya. Our arrival in Nairobi was greeted with a broken skyway and departed by stairs to the asphalt ramp.
Really un-organized and was not looking forward to coming back to this same airport the next day.
Only bright spot to this arrival, was able to sit on the nose wheel of a Boeing 777. Getting a closer look at what a marvel this aircraft is...
After an overnight in Nairobi we head back to the airport before dawn, only to wait all day for a broken airplane to get repaired.
We finally made it to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania in the late afternoon. Arriving eight hours late and enduring a long customs check-in, we found our driver still waiting for us. Our driver turned out to be a Maasai warrior and waiting all day focused is in his blood. He later told us he was planning on waiting all night in the airport parking lot if needed...
Our first safari day was a drive from Kilimanjaro to Ngorongoro crater. We stayed in a unique safari camp two nights overlooking the crater. These huts look rustic but are very elegant.
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| (Not shown is a nice wood burning fireplace to the left) |
This is the inside of one of the 12 huts. There is a main hut building for dining and socializing with the remainder huts scattered about. Getting ready for your safari, wake up call consist of a gentle call thru the door and leaving a platter of coffee and tea. When returning you are surprised with a hot water bubble bath, covered in rose pedals. They send you off with food and drinks each day and are there to greet you every time you return with warm towels and smiles. This place deserves an extended stay...
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| Dining Area |
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| Bar |
This is picture looking back onto the huts. This path leads down, toward their other camp.
At night buffalo and elephants roam the grounds eating the grass and dropping fertilizer.
For security a guard is standing by your huts at dark to escort you to and from the main hut for diner. Just wave a flashlight out your front door and they come a running...
Our first day down in the crater we experienced a fine selection of animals. See below
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| Zebras, They never look at you... |
After driving down in the crater you are required to stay on the trails. You travel in converted trucks with roll-up windows. You will see pictures of the truck below to give you a better idea of what we lived in for five days. I think the Crater park fee was $400.00 each time we entered for the two of us.
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| Hippos trying to even out their tan lines |
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We waited three hours for this girl black Rhino to get close enough to get a picture with a 560 mm lens. Yes that's right, she was still far away. You wonder how we know she was a girl? (not posted, we have pictures of her peeing)
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| Hippo's mud bath spa |
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| Hyena with a Wildebeest head |
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| Young Thomson Gazelles cleaning their horns |
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| A Wildebeest sit-in, protesting the great migration |
Toward the end of the day we spotted that Rhino pictured above and take a look at how many trucks rushed over to where we were. We never saw any more of this traffic jam mess the rest of our trip at other parks. But will have to say; this park is a perfect place to see all the big five and others in one afternoon. Great place to have your first safari!
On our third day we drove to the Serengeti park passing little, dressed-up Maasai boys, jumping up and down along the road side. Hopping we would stop to take their picture.
Of course for a $1.00 fee .
We are taking our time and doing game drives along the way.
Of course for a $1.00 fee .
We are taking our time and doing game drives along the way.
Out in the middle of nowhere is our mobile tent camp and this will be our home for the next four day.
Once there, we only ran into a truck once in a while and was happy about that. But we did pick-up an infestation of flies that would never leave us alone...
Once there, we only ran into a truck once in a while and was happy about that. But we did pick-up an infestation of flies that would never leave us alone...
No thrills here with all food cooked over a fire or heated in a small oven, powered with a generator.
If your looking for a nice long shower, forget it. You get a four gallon canvas bag of warm water pulled up over your tent. So gravity will feed the water into your tent.
Sounds like fun, doesn't it...
If your looking for a nice long shower, forget it. You get a four gallon canvas bag of warm water pulled up over your tent. So gravity will feed the water into your tent.
Sounds like fun, doesn't it...
Even without hot water and electrical power, this place was top-notch in service and cleanliness.
Over the next four days we drove the plains, woods and rivers in search of animals.
This was the middle of the great Wildebeest migration and we found
hundreds of thousands of them everywhere.
We were told this is where all the flies are coming from and tell us it gets a lot worse during birthing season...
We were told this is where all the flies are coming from and tell us it gets a lot worse during birthing season...
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| Impala |
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| Wildebeest on the great migration |
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| Young female lioness surveying the area, boy watching... |
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| Playing hide-and-seek with a friend below |
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| Masai Giraffe looking for greener Acacia leaves |
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| Young cubs playing hide and seek... |
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| I know, I know, I want to make a joke too about a Hyena getting ahead in life... |
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| Helmeled Guinea Fowl |
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| After eating breakfast, heading back to pride for a nap |
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| New Life Continues! |
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| Cheetah posing in the flowers for us |
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| Very young male having breakfast |
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| A Typical Maasai Hut made of straw and mud, called a BOMA. |
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| Breakfast out on the Serengeti plains with out tracker "Savanos" |
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| Vultures in the trees out in the Serengeti (Picture does not represent how beautiful and striking it was) |
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| Steenbok getting ready to run |
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| Mobile Camp Staff |
We are leaving the Serengeti and flying off to the Masai Mara in Kenya, staying at Mara Plains Camp.
Going from park to park is mostly done with Cessna Caravans operating out of gravel strips.
This camp is located on a little river in the private reserve with Hippos living below your tents. Another wonderful place with only six tents and service like you were staying in the presidential suit at the Ritz.
The camp provided diner for us one night right out there on our deck, serving us course by course. We didn't want to ever leave....
See below of just a few of the pictures we took at this private reserve. Speaking of pictures, would you believe we took over 2500 pictures each day between the both of us? Yes data card storage was a constant problem I was fighting throughout the trip. Some of this was self induced because we wanted to keep all pictures, saved in two different places in case something got damaged or lost. Have a much better plan for the next safari...
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| Eland starting to run away |
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| Mating bites (pictures after this get very sexy, so not shown) |
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| Secretary bird stomping a Puff Adder snake (we took a look at the poisonous snake after it killed it ) |
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| After mating, looking for his smokes |
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One day we asked our guide to track a Leopard and that’s just what
happen. We followed this female Leopard from its wakening, right through hunting
and feeding with her cub.
Searching for this Leopard took an hour and a half. Some Baboons squawking by the riverside gave her away. We refused to leave her side and the camp found us and brought us out breakfast and lunch.
I didn't really need the food, our guide stocked the vehicle with wine and cold beer so I was good...
Got back just in time for a late dinner.
What a thrilling day that was….
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| The moment right after she caught a baby wart hog |
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| Bring it back to her little boy cub |
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Male Topi letting us know this area belongs to him |
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| A Drive at sunset |
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| Little baboon getting scolded by Papa |
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Three Cheetahs watching a heard of gazelles
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| Little Baby taken a ride on mom's tail |
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Baboons do not like to get wet
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| Ever wonder what a Hippo's pelvic bone looks like? (Our guide picked one out of the weeds for us to see, then gently placing it back) |
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| Male Leopard just passing through, I kinda wanted to hook him up with that great little girl hunter above... |
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| Another breakfast out in the field hot cooked to order. I know their holding a Wildbeest head but that was not on the menu this morning. |
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| After the feeding this is her little boy cub |
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| Dalia in deep water. While were here, take a look at that side of the vehicle, our guide bolted on two platforms for us to lay our cameras on. Really cool and he even provided bean bags for us to use. He felt sorry for us when he saw our ten pound cameras. |
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| Nothing goes to waste |
Safari stuff on land is over but our trip is not. Keep on reading below...
The sights you see when all your camera gear is packed away...
We flew out of the bush on a Cessna Caravans to the coast of Kenya; to a port town called Mombasa.
This is where we picked up the Ship, called the Silver Cloud. It had a passenger count of 160 for this voyage with lots of familiar employees we got to catch up with over the next 16 days.
The voyage will be sailing down the east coast of
Africa, stopping at the islands of Zanzibar, Tanzania - Mayotte and a
couple of stops in Madagascar. We will visit the north end of Madagascar Nosy Be / Komba and
down south to Tulear.
Rest of the trip will visit the countries of Mozambique and
South Africa. After preceding south, visiting Maputo in Mozambique things starting looking a lot more civilized.
Richards Bay was a nice harbor that looked more like a camping site with
pleasure boating and jet-skiing.
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| Durban is one of the main shipping ports |
Durban, South Africa is a midsize city that they are very
proud of their sport stadiums.
Port Elizabeth, South Africa is know for being close to safari camps and that's where we flew out to an elephant camp.
We ended up in Cape Town, South Africa for a few days before flying back to San Francisco,
See below for pictures at our port stops along the way going South, down the east coast...
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| Zanzibar main port |
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| Zanzibar open Market Place |
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| Zanzibar, was known for the Sultans slave trade |
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| Zanzibar- The sultans palace hangout when he was not selling human contraband |
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| Zanzibar |
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| Dzaoudzi, Mayotte a French Island |
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| Dzaoudzi, Mayotte a French Island |
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| Dzaoudzi, Mayotte a French Island (stuff on their face is the scraping of bark from the Sandlewood tree, made into a paste) |
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| Dzaoudzi, Mayotte a French Island |
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| Dzaoudzi, Mayotte a French Island |
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| Nosy Be / Komba, Madagascar (that's a tea plant he just cut on the right) |
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| Nosy Be / Komba, Madagascar (pounding coffee) |
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| Nosy Be / Komba, Madagascar, waiting for mom to come back |
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| Nosy Be / Komba, Madagascar |
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| Nosy Be / Komba, Madagascar (female Lemurs are black) |
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Nosy Be / Komba, Madagascar
(this is the way they live in a village with no running water or electricity. I know she looks like a model....) |
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| Nosy Be / Komba, Madagascar (the local ferry with our ship in the back round) |
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| Tulear, Madagascar (Baobab tree) |
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| Tulear, Madagascar |
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| Tulear, Madagascar (gathering straw to make one room houses they sell for $30.00 American. And that's delivered) |
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| Tulear, Madagascar |
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| Tulear, Madagascar |
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| Maputo, Mozambique |
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| Maputo, Mozambique (you can see our ship in the back round) |
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| Maputo, Mozambique |
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| Maputo, Mozambique (this is that famous steel house) They couldn't believe tourist were coming back to Maputo. We had a local TV crew following us from place to place, asking for interviews and posing for pictures. |
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| Maputo, Mozambique (they love their dictator) |
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| Harbor pilots arrive in style for South Africa ports (picture taken from our front balcony) |
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Shakaland Zulu Chief , South Africa
(it takes 11 cows to buy a wife, we could not come to any agreement with the chief so no sell that day) |
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Shakaland Zulu Village, South Africa (these un-married woman usually go topless, but those pictures could not make this blog)
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Shakaland Zulu Village, South Africa
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Shakaland Zulu Village, South Africa
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Addo fly-in Elephant Park, South Africa (Sitting between their spine bones is the only way to ride them. This is not for everybody, the other couples in our group after sitting on them declined the rides )
Don't look down, its a long way.., Just FYI: while the guide above was giving Dalia a ride, his little son electrocuted himself at the crew quarters. One of our fellow guests was a doctor and tried to revive him. A local pilot flew him to the closest hospital, but he did not make it. We all felt terrible but did not speak their language to provide remorse. |
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Addo fly-in Elephant Park, South Africa
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Addo fly-in Elephant Park, South Africa (when you throw the food in their mouth they bring there head down fast. YOU NEED TO STEP BACK QUICK.!
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Addo fly-in Elephant Park, South Africa
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| Cape Town, South Africa |
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| Cape Town Water Front, South Africa (a very nice place to stroll, like Monterey, CA) |
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Cape Town, South Africa (Our ship was parked so close the hotel restaurant, you could throw muffins to the ship)
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Franschhoek, Stellenbosch,, South Africa (Mandela's second prison)
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Franschhoek, Stellenbosch, South Africa (they got some very nice vineyards not to be missed)
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Franschhoek, Stellenbosch, South Africa
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Franschhoek, Stellenbosch, South Africa
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Franschhoek, Stellenbosch, South Africa (I know its hard to see but this vineyard has all the workers pathways are done in brick)
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Near Boulders Bay, South Africa |
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| I was taking a picture of the changing rooms, really I was... |
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Boulders Bay, South Africa |
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| Cape Town, South Africa (botanical gardens) Afrikaans at their best. |
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| Cape Town, South Africa |
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| Cape Town, South Africa |
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| Cape Town, South Africa |
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| Cape Town, South Africa (locals protesting the Afrikaans rules to have all houses painted white) |
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| Cape Town, South Africa |
I guess the adventure is almost over and it is time to get to the airport for the nine hour flight to Dubai; three hour layover, before the 16 hour flight to San Francisco. I know it sounds like a lot but Emirates made the trip very enjoyable...
I am not even going to talk about the seven month old baby girl crying her whole way to San Francisco in the seat in front of us....
At least I had a good time serving drinks in business class on our Airbus A380.
All in all, through the highs and lows, I will put this trip
down in the top three we have ever done. Visiting these countries and living with
the locals is a memorable experience we will not soon forget.
Political corruptness did show its ugly head in some of the countries and we found it interesting how everybody works with it. Even in Cape Town, they are planning a succession from South Africa. Will have to wait and see how that turns out...
China government knows their cycle is about done providing goods at a reduced labor cost. We see them making big inroads in Africa, getting themselves well established for the next emerging labor market. IMO, If a few countries could form a united union, Africa could explode in trade exports...
We did not run into many Americans over the whole month and felt a little out of place. But the people of Africa are friendly and will go out of their way to help you, making you feel comfortable everywhere we went.
A mater of fact, we are planning on going back 2016...
I am not even going to talk about the seven month old baby girl crying her whole way to San Francisco in the seat in front of us....
At least I had a good time serving drinks in business class on our Airbus A380.
Political corruptness did show its ugly head in some of the countries and we found it interesting how everybody works with it. Even in Cape Town, they are planning a succession from South Africa. Will have to wait and see how that turns out...
China government knows their cycle is about done providing goods at a reduced labor cost. We see them making big inroads in Africa, getting themselves well established for the next emerging labor market. IMO, If a few countries could form a united union, Africa could explode in trade exports...
We did not run into many Americans over the whole month and felt a little out of place. But the people of Africa are friendly and will go out of their way to help you, making you feel comfortable everywhere we went.
A mater of fact, we are planning on going back 2016...
