Will it fit?

 YES IT DID!

The packing restrictions are pretty specific.  44 pounds total including designated duffel with a pretty heavy wheel base, back pack, and jacket!  Yes, I can't sneak stuff aboard in my famous suitcase jacket this time.   I don't think they add the bag weight when they weigh you in to board the Cessnas.  But we will all know if they say ---total weight is...I will let the others think I maxed out my luggage weight when in truth it is only at 27.5 pounds including boots and shoes and toiletries in my OAT bag and less than 10 pounds in the backpack.  That includes tablet, general electronics, and books.  A book to read, a guidebook, one to use as a journal, and the African Safari Journal I bought. I still have to add the cameras, their batteries, chargers and cases.  So as long as they are 7 pounds or less, I am good to go!

It wasn't hard at all.  I did not even need to use my compression bags.  The wardrobe is pretty low key.  Several pairs of convertible pants, shirts, a jacket, a fleece vest, and underware, of course.  No need to bring things to dress for dinner although I do have specific pants I bought especially to wear to tea at the watering hole.  Everyone will be in the same boat, or jeep, so to speak, so no one will be offended if they see the same clothes for several days.  And, if they are I will not invite them the next time I go!

I also have in my bag some things with which to barter.  I thought the reference to bartering in the villages meant that you could haggle about the price but Susie, who is experienced, assures me that it is used in the true sense of the word.  We can trade.  So I have some baseball hats that Susie's husband had collected and were never worn.  I also brought pins to trade.  They will be easy to carry on this old lanyard and might be really appreciated.  Many are related to the Olympics one way or another.

 

Money maybe?

Speaking of money many of you are curious just what a trip like this costs. I am sure there are less expensive ways to do it but I expect a spectacular, first class experience.  The bill for tour itself, including air and all accommodations, all meals at the camps and some meals in the cities, a three (3) night pre-extension trip to Karongwe River Lodge and a two (2) night post extension to Victoria Falls, also includes our day tour to Soweto and another to the Stellenbosch Wine Region. The bill was $11,600 each.  Yes, each!

We included the extensions and tours at the time of booking in April of last year so that they were added in from the beginning.  Therefore we saved some money!  As long as we paid it off in cash a full year prior to our travel date we each saved over a thousand or 10%.  A regular bargain.  Of course an investment like this required some travel insurance.  That would be far too great a loss to take in case of accident or illness.  That was an additional $600 each.  The required inoculations came to about $300, not covered by health insurance.  And then there were the Visas.

Both Zimbabwe and Zambia demand Visas from U.S. citizens in order to enter the country.  These we sent away for between our other travels and the fees came to $232 USD for each of us. Interestingly, the entry to Zambia is only $25 USD.  You may pay at the time your plane lands or your vehicle gets to the border.  However all agencies, including our State Department, advise against going this route.  It costs a lot more but getting it in advance assures you access.  The Zambian Customs Officials might find a fault in your paperwork.  They sometimes just don't show up for work and therefore cannot issue a Visa. You may have to wait for days at the border.  Our group sure isn't going to wait with us!  Or they may be there and decide that since you are a rich American you can pay more, way more!  Bribes are an ordinary way of life.  So getting the Visa in advance is sort of like travel insurance as well.  Upon entry everyone will pay $15 USD more.

I wish we could have also included the gratuities.  I believe I explained in an earlier post that Vitalis, our Trip Leader is expecting a hefty gratuity.  Our daily guide and driver, and the guide with the gun will each expect a daily tip.  Those taking care of the 'cabins' are tipped as is anyone who handles your laundry. That is a service I don't expect to make use of, not something I usually require. Of course, every porter who handles a bag and any restaurant servers in the city also are to be tipped.  USD is routinely accepted, except in Zambia.  So for that location we will need to do a money exchange on site.  

Normally, when I travel, I rely on my ATM card that is attached to a travel account which does not hold a large amount of money and is attached to no other banking that I use.  I feel secure in using it that way in case of theft.  But in all four of these countries we have been warned away from using any banking services.  Exhorbitant fees would be the lesser of two evils.  ATMs routinely keep your card and do not return any cash for that little extra privilege!  

So now we have surely been set up as everyone there must know that we are carrying cash, and quite a bit.  I have several envelopes of new bills that Katie at my bank laboriously kept aside for me.  Only bills that are not even slightly dirtied or torn and are issued after the year 2000 are acceptable.  I have placed the required amounts, as much as possible, in separate labeled packets and will space them out as much as I can in my carry on and on my person.  We have also been warned not to leave anything in our rooms, I must look up the special name for these lodgings as it continues to escape me, so we will be carrying not only cash, but tablets and cameras everywhere we go.  Not sure how comfortable those Range Rover rides will be with all of that going along.

So the money we saved definitely went right back into the necessities of the trip itself.  Glad we could do that.  Also, having paid for it a year ago makes departure much less stressful.  No worries about a bill when I get home.  And if you know me, you know I might now do extra things just because it is a lot of money on an already expensive trip.  All I have to do now is relax, survive a nearly 16 hour flight, and enjoy!

African Safari Preview

It is just under a month until I set out for a four country African Safari. I was able to get our flights changed to non-stop at no extra charge.  This will save us about ten hours of travel time compared to what the OAT (Overseas Travel Adventure) original schedule was.  Since the trip to South Africa, I am told by my pilot friend, is the longest non stop in the world I think cutting out the extra hours is a good thing.  Imagine, the longest possible!  My pilot friend is the father of the girls I babysit most weeks. He is the one who was the technical adviser on the film Flight so I guess he would know!

I am writing today from my new Asus so that I can get used to using it.  It came with a full version of Office 2013 so I think now I will be able to write in Word offline and then cut and paste into here when I have internet.  And I don't think that will be often.

I will soon post an itinerary here and hope to encourage friends to sign up as actual followers.  I think I have to delete the email notifications but will have all that in order soon, particularly before I set out on this animalrific adventure.

I also hope to be able to post a lot of pictures.  I will have two cameras with me, as yesterday I ordered a new one from Amazon.  Just now my phone dinged me to let me know my package will be here by 8 p.m. tomorrow evening. Lately things have been coming so fast that there is no time to build up anxious anticipation. And I really think it will be here by ten in the morning.  The last few deliveries arrived by way of a van labeled The Last Mile.  It is a local service that has apparently been nominated by Amazon to enhance delivery, particularly on more costly items, like this new camera.

The camera is a Nikon S9700 in a cheery and easily identifiable shiny red finish.  It has the GPS ability like my favorite camera but also is internet capable so that pictures can be uploaded instantly.  I would think the best use of this feature would be to let my Facebook Friends and you know that I am alive and well and have not yet been eaten by a lion!

He doesn't look hungry, does he?

The good thing is that I have time to learn to use it.  I also ordered extra batteries as I know that using GPS, and I am sure also the internet, sucks up battery like the juice was unlimited and free!  I also know that the tented camps have limited hours of electrical use and that it is provided by generators. recharging the batteries may be iffy. I also am not sure if in the middle of the famed Kalahari desert there will be excellent  internet available.  We will find out and, if you are patient, I will do the best I can.

I really enjoy writing, particularly now that there are not a lot of people around with whom to talk.  So I appreciate you reading this, and at least pretending to enjoy it!  So, as I soon will be saying in Botswana - Ke itumtes.  Thank you.

Welcome to Ultimate Africa!

That was the heading on the email I received! Welcome to Ultimate Africa! from our Trip Leader, Vitalis.  Yes Vitalis!   Of course, immediately, into my head popped "a little dab'll do ya!" but that is the wrong man's hair care product!  Our trip leader is Vitalis Chipunza, a 42 year old member of the Shona tribe of Zimbabwe. He is a husband and father of two teenagers and a three month old baby.

Shona is the largest single tribe in Zimbabwe, making up about 70% of the population of that country.  We will have to learn later if the tribes overlap into various countries.  I imagine they do since there were not borders when the tribes were formed.  He loves being a tour guide because he started his first job as a river canoe guide on the mighty Zambezi.  I immediately think of another probably poor reference - Katherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart in The African Queen.  Can't you just see her mopping her brow as the finish the rapids?

Mr. Chipunza is 'very honored' to have me traveling on his trip as a solo woman.  Hmmm.  No, we won't go there!

He goes on to describe the school we will be visiting and suggests gifts to bring.  This is not an unusual event.  I have been to elementary schools in China, Russia, the Ukraine, Romania, Egypt and India.  The tour companies support schools and take you to visit.  It is supposed to give you a taste of real life.  It gives me a reassurance that we may complain about our school systems but we have some of the best systems in the world and finest teachers.  It is also, I think, to give us a feeling that the huge sums of money we spend on these trips is not selfish but doing good.  I think that the benefit to the country may be disproportionate to the benefit to the tour company.  I also do think that tourism, however, brings a in a major portion of the GNP of many of these places and provides good jobs for lots of people!

It is suggested to bring useable gifts to the school.  Susie bought construction and notebook paper we are giving and I have bought USA flag pencils.  You would think cash would be always welcome as it is in other countries but not here.  Cash is too difficult for the people here to exchange as there are no nearby banks.  A donation to the foundation can be made on the Grand Circle Foundation website. OAT is part of this agency.

When we go on another day to visit a home and be immersed in a Day In the Life of a family we will also take gifts.  These will be purchased in the nearby village and again be necessities: sugar, flour, cooking oil.  I wonder if this family is visited weekly by different tourists and has a vast storeroom of basic commodities or if they share them with other families in the village.  If they share, do they do so as gifts or sell the stuff.  Or maybe different families are visited on different tours.   In other countries we have always a tour of the home and land and then a small meal.  In Russia it was unforgettable as it was 8:30 in the morning for our group, and the breakfast included a variety of homemade vodkas!  These meals, in each country, have always included the local brew and a lesson in the right way to toast the health of the guests and hosts! We then have placed some cash in a little bowl near the door as we left.  The family never would be standing right there but would be nearby hugging all their new friends goodbye.

Vitalis goes on to tell about the camps in which we will be staying.  Here are a few photos of  what we might expect in the way of accommodations.

Karongwe River Lodge

I would take this whole trip just to use that bathtub!

Will our campfire look like this at the lodge       ... or ...                       like this?

The conditions at the lodge are  going to affect your enjoyment of this blog. Africa had no FDR to bring them Rural Electrification so the lodges and camps operate on generators.  These do not run 24 hours a day but apparently somehow switch to something called a "central inverter."  We can charge batteries "on rotation."  Unfortunately, all my cameras have specific ones not good old AA's that I could lug along by the carload.  Charging will be an integral part of this journey for me.  The tablet has to be recharged regularly, so to prevent any loss of my memory, good old paper and pen is going along for the ride.  Internet will be available, I am sure, only when we are in the cities of Johannesburg and Cape Town and probably at the Sprayview Hotel at Victoria Falls.  So you will have several days adventure sometimes to binge read.  Please keep in mind that the oldest posts are at the bottom and newest at the top.  Probably good to read in order as you would be wondering why I am in a cast, if you read that I am, and it is several days earlier that the elephant stepped on my foot!

Vitalis confirms my greatest worry.  We have to be honest in telling our weight for the Department of Civil Aviation before boarding the planes so that they can balance the distribution to prevent flight disaster.  I knew I should have stuck to my diet!  He also said that despite the few hundred dollars we have spent on inoculations and the fact that the camps provide insect repellant we should bring 100% Deet along for use in Zambia as protection against the Tsetse-flies!  We used to joke about them because of the funny name and now I will be fending them off.

The last night at each camp, the local guides and staff will perform traditional songs and dances for our entertainment.  We are expected to reciprocate!  I hope our group won't be depending on me for this.  Although this might be the perfect opportunity to bring out the old favorite family story that begins, " 'Twas a dark and stormy night, and three men sat around the campfire."

July 17, 2014 

Just over two weeks until I take flight.  Perhaps not as gracefully as a Broad-Billed Roller that we will be trying to spot near the Okavango Delta.  We may hear it first with its “snarling k-k-k-k-k-r-r-r-r-r sound,” especially since they seem to perch high up in the trees in families of a 100 or so!  I am learning this from another Amazon purchase, The African Safari Journal.  It is the companion to the guidebook I bought a year ago. 

This trip is the most expensive investment I have made in travel.  Therefore I want to maximize both the enjoyment and the possible educational enhancement by buying even more stuff!  I needed a wardrobe consisting of lightweight long sleeved shirts and convertible pants.  I couldn't find the kind that zip off but did find ones that roll up and button.  Everything is in tan or the Army green shade of khaki.  I want to blend into the background. 

Susie advised that I take comfortable stretchy corduroys to do double duty.  She recommend a style from Land's End that I got on sale at the end of the season.  They will work as lightweight but warm slacks for sitting around the campfire and then tucking ourselves in beneath the mosquito netting to sleep.  We may even need them when we leave camp for the first game drive of the day - the Sunrise Drive.  Hard to believe that corduroys would be needed in Africa but we will be way south as they are coming out of winter and going into spring.  Remember February in Atlanta!

Today I started breaking in new boots.  Someone that I know who has done a similar trip advised on boots as the best footwear for jumping into and out of Safari vehicles.  The only boots I had that were not fashion footwear were my steel toed boots from my Horticulture days.  Super heavy, and with a total baggage allowance of only 44 pounds including carry on, I searched for weeks for a sturdy but lighter weight version. 

I also bought two new cameras, a DSLR that isn’t going to really work well for the trip.  Advice from the experts was that if you brought a camera with interchangeable lenses you would need to change them inside of plastic bags.  Since I  mostly used an auto setting I decided the heavy, bulky, unfamiliar camera was not a good choice.  As a matter of fact, I may sell it.  So if you need a good camera at a good bargain, let me know.   So the Nikon S9700 was the next big ticket item on the shopping list.  I am learning to use it now and I think it will be really effective. 

There are three books added to my travel bookshelf.   Two are pictured above.  I would have bought a fourth – DK Top10 Johannesburg – but it doesn’t exist.  Actually, there are no guides to what, henceforth, I shall call Jo-Burg, like the locals do.  Apparently, even though it is perhaps one of the best known cities in the world, there is not much to make it a genuine tourist destination.  It is, however, the jumping off place for one of the three capitols of South Africa, Cape Town.   

We do land at Jo-Burg as our first stop and then move right on again to keep going out to the first of the lodges and camps.  We  return there toward the end of the trip to go to the place of greatest interest in the city – Soweto.  The name of this district is an abbreviation for South West Township.  We are going on the optional day excursion to visit this place and to walk along Vilakazi Street.  This ordinary street has a remarkable claim to fame!  I learned about it playing trivia and find it fascinating!   

From Jo-Burg we also venture on to Cape Town, S.A. at the very end of our trip.  The African Penguins will be here and the tip of Africa – the Cape of Good Hope!  I will have been, during the course of 17 months, to the southern most points of each hemisphere!  I am so very lucky to have these opportunities and to not be afraid to claim them!   

Our last day in Africa before we fly home is also going to be filled with an optional full day excursion to the Stellenbosch Wine Region where we will enjoy some tastings and then lunch at a winery.  If I sample enough perhaps I will sleep well on the very long flight home!