THE TRIP HOME...
MAY 27–TO JOHANNESBURG
From Mombo, we along with another couple, had the six seater Cessna to Maun, which was on time. One other couple leaving Mombo had a helicopter. Another couple was supposed to have a helicopter also and their helicopter had a problem of some nature, and they had to do a road transfer, which was kind of a transfer from hell, apparently, as they just made it to Maun in time for our flight to Joberg. Maun is a cute little airport, with some shops right across the street from the airport. We were appreciative (at the time!) of the porter who took our bags from the small plane and took them right to the check in line and checked us in for our flight to Johannesburg. Our flight was on Air Botswana and we realized that we DEFINITELY were not at Mombo any more when they served us beef jerky and pretzels on the plane!

When we arrived in Johannesburg, we were again appreciative when we bypassed the immigration line and shown directly to the transfers area. We proceeded directly to the check in line at Virgin Atlantic, at which point we started to panic, as the lady at the counter said something to the effect of “You have checked your bags all the way to London, correct??”... Uhmn, no, we weren’t given that option. At that point, we were cursing the fact that the porter had checked us in at Maun. We had just assumed that we would have to claim our bags in Johannesburg (note for future – you could probably have your bags checked all the way to your final destination, we just did not know or even ask about it). We asked the Virgin Atlantic lady whether we should go back and try to find our bags, but she said that she will take care of it for us. We gave her our baggage claim checks from Air Botswana and prayed for the best. The whole thing didn’t give us a huge amount of confidence, but there’s nothing we can do, at this point, and we were thankful that we were on the way home.

Still distressed abut the luggage snafu, we headed to the pizza place upstairs at the airport, get a couple of slices of pizza, and hope for the best. There was nothing of any real value in the luggage except a couple of souvenirs, but it was distressing none the less. Johannesburg Airport is very confusing, as they don’t announce gates till the last minute. Upstairs at the airport is nice and calm, but downstairs is hell on earth, crowded, noisy and confusing. We bypassed the huge line of folks waiting to board the plane, and approached the ground crew to determine the status of our bags. Thank god we do find our Virgin Atlantic lady from before, they DO have our luggage, which she described to us, and has checked all the way home, so we can relax about the luggage issue anyway.

MAY 27 TO 28–JOHANNESBURG TO LONDON
Our flight to London was virtually full but I did manage to get a couple of hours of sleep, I guess just from the accumulated wear and tear of getting up at 5:30 AM for 10 days. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Smile.gif" alt="" /> Once at Heathrow, we ended up again at TGIFriday’s, which appeared to be the only place where one can get any service at all in a reasonable fashion, for a kind of weird full English breakfast. The gates at Heathrow are not announced until THE last minute, and there is no place that we could find in the general areas that I could sit and be comfortable, so we went in what was apparently a gate area and I was able to actually lay down for about 45 minutes. We kind of got cr*p from the security people, coming back through, but whatever. We then headed to, uhmn, Friday’s again, which has a smoking area for Eric, and a monitor, so that we could watch for our gate to be announced, which they don’t do until past the boarding time printed on our boarding passes. By the way, drinks at Heathrow are EXPENSIVE!! We got one double mixed drink for each of us, and the total was $30!!!! Finally they announced our gate, so we headed there, along with the mass of other people. There has to be a better way to run an airport, as it is very nerve wracking. Plus there are no restrooms by the gates and many gates don’t even have any seats. Heathrow doesn’t get my personal vote for favorite airport of the year, even if it’s the only entrant! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Shocked.gif" alt="" />

MAY 28–LONDON TO WASHINGTON DULLES
Our flight from London to Dulles was virtually 100% full. They served a nice lunch of with chicken w pasta, bread, cheese and crackers, and chocolate mousse type dessert. We watched Oceans 12, and made some notes for the trip report on the laptop. I thought about trying to get some sleep, but it just wouldn’t come. It seemed like the daytime flight was a lot easier to deal with than the nighttime ones, and it seemed not nearly so long. Eric’s parents picked us up at Dulles and took us home to our happy dog, Simba, our OWN PERSONAL lion king! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Smile.gif" alt="" />


OK, down to the brass tacks!!!!!!


COST
All right, I know all of you who are still reading this book (BOTH of you! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />) are curious about what we spent...

What we spent--
Airfare–Virgin Atlantic, Washington DC to Johannesburg, booked through consolidator, $1350 a person
Day room–London, $115
1 night hotel Holiday Inn Johannesburg–@$200
Package price–2 nights River Club, 3 nights Savuti, 3 nights Little Vumbura, 3 nights Mombo, including light air transfers between camps – $11, 840.00 for two (This price included all meals and all drinks, including alcohol, game drives, etc, plus laundry) Please note the distinction below.
Airfare within Africa–Johannesburg to Livingstone–$430 for two people
Maun to Johannesburg–$480 for two people
Tips–about $400 altogether, including tips at all camps and all transfers
Misc cash–souvenirs, some meals and drinks, etc..–$300
Misc charges–Helicopter flight at Victoria Falls, some meals at airports, Underground tickets in London, Bus tour of London on the double-decker bus, meals and drinks at Holiday Inn Johannesburg, food and/or drinks at various airports in transit both ways – about $650 total.

I’ll leave you to add all that up, as I would probably have a heart attack if I did.. Do we regret a penny that we spent?? No way... I would spend every penny of it again, and I really don’t regret NOT spending any money on something specific. The only regret I can think of for the whole trip is that we didn’t get to do the 30 minute helicopter flight at Vic Falls, but that was totally out of our hands. We did thoroughly enjoy the 15 minute flight we were able to take. If we did the trip again, we might well do some things differently, but we have no regrets whatsoever about the trip we took.

Could we have done it a heck of a lot cheaper???? Absolutely!!!! For trips to Africa, one can save a lot of money by using Frequent Flyer miles, if you have enough, by booking shoulder season, as opposed to high season (although our trip was in shoulder season), by booking a pre-packaged tour with a set itinerary, by going fewer days, by staying in less expensive camps, or by going to some other country altogether, as Botswana is THE most expensive country to visit, it appears. Wilderness is also not the only game in town, as there are some other camp operators, but Wilderness has the biggest numbers of camps in Botswana.

Our trip was by FAR the most expensive trip we have ever taken. Other than a three week trip we took to Europe almost twenty years ago, when we spent most of our time bunking with Eric’s parents, it was also the longest trip we have done (15 days altogether), as we generally go on vacation about 3 or 4 times a year, but usually it is only for one week at a time. At the time we booked the trip, we did not think we would ever go back to Africa again and we intended it to be somewhat the trip of a lifetime. As such, we did not worry about pinching pennies. We checked with a couple of travel agents, but we didn’t endlessly price shop or ask five different agents to price the same itinerary, etc., etc. We are just not into that type of stuff. We had heard and read so much about Mombo that we knew we had to stay there, and Mombo is NOT cheap, running about $1000 a person a night. It was worth every penny. We did all Wilderness Camps, and you save 10% if you book all Wilderness camps.

We were NOT interested in doing a pre-packaged tour, of a set itinerary, which undoubtedly would have saved a LOT of money. There are many packages that, for instance, will leave on May 15, you then have 2 nights at Savuti, 3 nights at Little Vumbura, 2 nights at Jao, etc. The tour would consist of maybe 8 or 10 people that stay together for the entire tour. The tour operator picks the itinerary, how long you are in each camp, and your transfers are set ahead of time by the tour operator. We were not interested in having someone else determine our itinerary and especially not interested in being “stuck” with the same group of people for the entire trip. For a lot of those packaged tours, they book out the whole camp, so if we got along with our fellow mates, that would be great, but if we didn’t, look out!!! It could be a lot of money spent for a miserable time. To be sure that you understand what we mean – we planned/did this trip completely and solely at our own discretion and on our timetable, including each individual camp and the number of days that we spent at each camp. There was nothing in our itinerary that was “packaged”, it was completely individualized just for the two of us and us only!

Prices in most camps are cheaper during shoulder season, which is when we went, as opposed to high season. That is NOT true of Mombo, however, which apparently has one price year round.

Please understand that what we got for our money was NOT a camping experience, even though we technically stayed in “tents” everywhere except at River Club and the two hotels at the beginning. Apparently the requirements for companies to have concessions in that area of Botswana include that the ENTIRE camp has to be capable of being demolished in 48 hours. Looking at Mombo, one could hardly imagine that possibility, but one of the guides gave a talk one afternoon and said that Mombo could be demolished in 48 hours (although it would take 500 men to do the job! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Smile.gif" alt="" />) Our guide took us by the site of the former Mombo camp, which was just one KM away from where Mombo is now. They moved the camp and significantly upgraded the facilities at Mombo in 2000. There is basically no evidence now that the camp was ever there at the old location.

There are NO TV’s, radios, telephones, internet, etc, at any of the bush camps, BUT the camps where we stayed all had flush toilets, hot and cold running water, and regular showers in the rooms and swimming pools in the common area. However, since there is no heat in any of the tents and the water is mostly heated by solar power, not many folks were brave enough to take a shower first thing in the morning, meaning at 6 AM when they first wake you. The camps we stayed at all had indoor and outdoor showers, and we normally took our showers outdoors. The rooms had wonderful comfy beds, deluxe linens, with thick duvets and bed warmers, and huge thick fluffy towels. Lighting was 12 volt lights, and was generally very adequate, except at Savuti, where the bedroom lighting was particularly dim. We were able to charge our camera batteries and laptop directly in the room at all camps, except at Little Vumbura, where we sat at the bar and drank and worked on the computer, as the batteries charged.... Life is rough.. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Smile.gif" alt="" />

Each camp provided free laundry service, shampoos, bug repellents, bath soaps and hand lotion, and various sundry supplies, at no extra charge. We got lovely full meals, with 3 course dinners, all the alcohol we could drink, campfires either in the evening or morning each day, pretty much anything we wanted was provided. All this, with two game drives available each day, jam packed with excitement! If this is camping, sign me up!!!

RECAP

..... ON GUIDES...

We were very lucky with MOST of our guides... We had a very nice guide at River Club, Raphael, who did our walking tour of the falls. He knew his stuff, he made sure we had a good time, and he was an excellent driver, as he drove like a bat out of h*ll the last morning, to get us to our plane, after our helicopter flight was late. I’m sorry, I didn’t write down the name of our water guide for the mokoro at Little Vumbura. He was very competent, even though I was nervous with the tippy little boat. We also took an excellent sunset cruise at LV, with Wilson and Lehti, as we had a good time, and we had some nice company. We also did a game drive with Wilson and Lehti. Lehti is a regular guide at Little Vumbura, although he seems to be fairly new, as he didn’t seem to know the area real well. Wilson was on loan from Wilderness Safaris and he helped Lehti with directions and sightings, etc. The two of them made a nice combo, and we enjoyed our one game drive with them.

At Savuti, I think we hit the jackpot with Thuto at Savuti, as we just loved him. We really just hit it off with him and our game drives were a joy. It still amazes me, to think of Thuto, driving with one hand, leaning over out of the jeep, looking at tracks in the road. A good guide truly is talented!!! Thuto loves his job, he loves Africa, and all it’s animals, birds and plants, big and small, and his joy in his work is infectious. Plus he made sure we had FUN, which was lovely. We are not staid people in our everyday lives, and we enjoy having fun when we are away on vacation. We are not interested in sitting quiet and staid and still as a churchmouse. We just had a wonderful time with Thuto, enjoying the animals, enjoying our mates in the jeep and enjoying AFRICA! We laughed, we bounced like heck over the rough ground getting to this siting or that, we joked with him, and we felt we truly made a friend in Thuto and in our friends from Germany. For our first camp in Africa, we felt we were truly lucky, as we truly just let Africa come to us, enjoying everything she had to offer, from her birds to her animals to her fantastic sunsets!

Thuto, in particular, understood very well camera angles and suggested some rather spectacular pictures, including the picture we have of the huge herd of zebras at the water hole. Thuto was a photographer himself and a couple of times during our drives, he said that he wished he had brought his camera along. If they don’t already, I think it would be a good idea if Wilderness required all their guides to take a one day course in photography, to help them understand the issues and the requirements for good photography.

Our guide at Mombo was Alex, who was a lot more quiet than Thuto, but he was an excellent guide, in terms of his knowledge of the animals, and skill in tracking them. He had a quiet kind of humor that we enjoyed also, and we enjoyed his work very much. Looking at the Mombo website after we got home, I noted a picture of Alex and several mentions of him in guest notes as their guide, so I suspect he is one of their best guides, if not the best. He understood camera angles and the function of good light in making a spectacular picture and he would move the jeep to ensure a better picture. One day we happened to have a private drive, and he knew that we wanted to see rhino, and so we set out for a LONG way off the road in search of rhino. We searched a long time for rhino and finally we were successful, due to his tracking skills. He also dealt very well with some rather difficult folks in our jeep (NOT us!!!! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />), with a nice sense of composure. At Mombo, in particular, I noted that the guides seemed to have even more contact with the guests, and helped out with making sure that the guests had everything they needed, even at the meals. Alex did have a bit of an accent which made him a bit difficult to understand sometimes, especially if one was stuck in the 3rd seat, as we were at the end. Thuto was very easy to understand. We had some contact there at Mombo with Thompson also, and we think that we would have truly enjoyed him also, as he had a lovely sense of humor.

We were not impressed with the game drives at Little Vumbura, which I know was partially a function of the fact that we saw very few animals there, compared to Savuti and to Mombo, which of course is somewhat unfair to the guide. Our main guide there at LV was K (or Kay??). I suspect his name is actually a long African name which Americans can’t get a handle on, so they just call him K. He had been a guide for around 20 years, and he actually did seem fairly skilled at finding animals, compared to the other guides, but his accent was very thick and he seemed to ignore totally the niceties of taking pictures.

I understand that some other camps use both a driver and a spotter in their jeeps. For the most part, Wilderness does NOT do that. We did see a spotter and driver in the jeep for Little Mombo, along with 6 guests. I suspect that it was a group of 6 together and that’s why they all went together, along with a spotter in the jeep. Having only done this trip, I don’t really know whether it significantly affects the driver’s ability to find game or not, to not have someone else spotting for you also. One would think it would, but I don’t know. Just speculating, I suspect Wilderness doesn’t do it as people don’t tip both people?? I don’t know.


RECAP ON FOOD AND DRINK!!!-

I personally drank only bottled water and brushed my teeth with bottled water everywhere we went, and drank maybe two drinks with ice in them after we left Johannesburg, although I did eat salads almost everywhere. Bottled water was available with no problem everywhere, including in the jeeps during game drives. I think that probably there would have been no problems with the water from the faucet, as Eric used the water from the faucet for brushing teeth and drank many drinks with ice and neither one of us had any stomach problems at all. All the Wilderness camps that we stayed in were all inclusive, as far as food and drink, although the listed information says that only “local” alcoholic drinks are included. As far as liquor was concerned, they carried most of the regular liquors. We didn’t see any “Tusker” brand rum! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" /> Beers, they seemed to have only local brands, although Eric enjoys local brands, so that was not a problem. I drank mostly wine and what I had was fairly palatable, mostly South African wines, which I had no problem with. The last night at Savuti, I asked for champagne and they produced one, which we weren’t charged for. I have no idea what brand it was, as I didn’t look. We were not charged anything extra for anything we ate or drank, which was good. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Smile.gif" alt="" />

The meals were generally NOT gourmet–although Mombo’s food was significantly above the level of the other camps. In most camps, there is basically one or at the most, two choices of an entre for lunch and dinner, but if you don’t like the selection, they will try to find you something else. Meals in the bush generally consisted of a quick muffin or cereal at around 6 AM, stop during the game drives around 9:30 or so for coffee or tea and a cookie, a brunch around 11 or so (with eggs to order, and various luncheon items, including meats, salads, fruits, cheeses, etc)., afternoon tea and snacks (which varied from cookies to pizza) around 3:30, sundowners with snacks in the jeep during evening game drive, then dinner around 8 PM. We ate ALL the time!!!! They served really lovely breads, muffins and rolls, which I mostly avoided, since I had been on the South Beach diet before the trip, but I couldn’t NOT have the lovely cookies that they served on the game drives, particularly the Mombo cookie! I don’t know what they have in that cookie, but they are the BEST! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" /> I considered it quite good that I only gained 5 pounds during the two weeks. I think that was partly a function of the schedule of having to get up around 5:30 or 6:00 every morning.. Most camps had a specific menu for dinner, with maybe one option, but if you have special dietary needs, check with them at the camp when you first arrive. They are very willing to try to accommodate special diets, but you have to understand, they are in the middle of the bush, and they can’t just hop out to the local Giant Supermarket to procure a different option for your dinner.

RECAP ON WHAT WE SAW

Many of the websites and books focus on what are called “The Big Five”. The Big Five consists of Lion, Elephant, Rhino, Buffalo, and Leopard. I’m sure someone knows where that designation came from, but I don’t. Lion, elephant and buffalo are pretty easy finds at most camps in Botswana. Depending on where you are within Africa, rhino and leopard can be difficult or close to impossible. We saw all of the Big Five, although we only saw rhino at Mombo, and we didn’t see any leopard or buffalo at Savuti. We saw 4 of the 5 at LV and all 5 at Mombo, of course. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Smile.gif" alt="" /> I was particularly keen to see cheetah, since they were my favorites before I left home, and we were happy to see them at Savuti 3 times, and at Mombo once. We were able to see wild dog at Savuti, which many people do not get to see, so we counted ourselves lucky there. We also saw caracal, which is a very nocturnal animal, so that was very nice. One of the other animals that I really enjoyed seeing also was the sable antelope at LV, which is really a beautiful animal. I just wish that we had been able to get a little closer. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Sad.gif" alt="" /> For the big cats, in particular, we were able to get AMAZINGLY close, many, many times, which still surprises me now.
What special memories!!!! We of course saw all the ‘standard’ animals, like impala, wildebeast, kudu, baboon, giraffe, red lechwe, and two of my BIG favorites, zebras,
and warthog! We saw HUGE herds of zebras at Savuti and a huge herd of buffalo at LV. This report has somewhat given short shrift to birds, which is kind of a shame, as we saw some really fantastic birds, with the most spectacular being the Fish Eagle
and the Lilac Breasted Roller
, both of which are very lovely. I personally just loved the zebras, as I found their coats so interesting, and my affinity for warthogs has been noted here before. I don’t know, something akin to Kermit and his song “it’s not easy, being green!”..
Warties found a real place in my heart, along with all of Africa. So often, I wanted to pinch myself, as I felt like I was in the middle of National Geographic, and if I didn’t watch out, I would wake up! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Smile.gif" alt="" />

EXPECTATIONS—
We were very lucky, I think, because our expectations were high regarding this trip, but we had no specific expectations, since we hadn’t been to Africa before. At Savuti, they hadn’t seen the Savuti Boys cheetahs for 6 weeks before we arrived, yet we saw them our first game drive. We saw a caracal at Savuti, only the second time this year that Thuto had seen a caracal. At Mombo, they hadn’t seen rhino for over three weeks before we arrived, yet we saw them during our three days there. We met a couple at Savuti who said that this was their FIFTH trip to Africa, and they still had not seen a leopard. They were obsessed with seeing a leopard. They spent at least one whole game drive at Savuti searching for a leopard, without success. We saw that couple 3 days later at Mombo, and they had FINALLY seen their leopard, and they were happy. One morning as we were setting out for a game drive with Alex at Mombo, he said to us “Let’s see what’s out there!”... Kinda reminiscent of Captain Kirk of Star Trek! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Smile.gif" alt="" /> And Africa is like that—you have to let her come to you. Botswana, at any rate, is not a zoo–they can’t call up a leopard or a cheetah or a rhino for you, just because you want to see one. You have to let it happen–enjoy her birds, and her scenery and her sunsets and her animals---big, small, and in between, common and unusual–and let the magic engulf you. And if you’re very lucky, you’ll get to see all god’s creatures, great and small also...


SLIDESHOW!!
Most of the reason why this final installment took so long to post is that I wanted to have the slideshow done, to post with this final section. I have divided the slideshow up, somewhat like the report, with different sections for each camp, Savuti, Little Vumbura, Mombo, etc, and with one slideshow for Savuti camp and a different one for animals we saw there etc. I also did some extra folders for babies, head shots, birds, etc. I thought about doing a warthog slideshow, but figured I’d be the only one looking at it! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" /> I’m not entirely happy with it, but I could monkey with it for a year or two and not be entirely happy. Except for LITERALLY two or three shots, NONE of the shots has been cropped, none of them lightened or enhanced or had the colors adjusted on them. The Nikon D70 is truly a really smart camera! Here’s the link to the slide show. Africa slide show

Summary–
Wow, how could one summarize a trip of a lifetime??? Wilderness Safaris has a slogan that says “our journeys change people’s lives”. And for us, for the memories and the pictures and the experiences and the friends that we made, I think this journey truly did change our lives, and most assuredly for the better. As I said at the beginning of this epistle, we didn’t want to see cities, we wanted to see animals, and that we did!!! I think because Eric and I deal so much day to day with people, we’re happy to get away from dealing with people and what people have wrought in this world, and happy to see places that have been created not by people, but by the animals that surround us. We loved the wide open plains, particularly at Savuti, and the sense of wonder and LIFE that instills the African bush with so much promise and so much joy. It was a journey that exceeded our expectations, in so many ways.

As I said earlier, when we were at Mombo, the BBC was doing a news show on Botswana and they interviewed us, as well as everyone else that happened to be staying at Mombo at that time. They asked us if we had any words of advice for people considering a trip to Africa. My advice was “Do it now.... Do it now...” If you do and if you enjoy your journey only 1/100th as much as we did, you too will have a journey of a lifetime..........

FINIS....



Carol & Eric

What can I say, Carol?! How about WOW!!! I devoured every last word of your Africa trip report. I swear I even got misty eyed when you told about the song that they sang when you arrived at camp!

Thanks for all the detail, I loved it!

Tell Eric I'm dying to see some video! I have broadband, just throw a link out there!

Amy--glad you liked it. Not sure when Eric will get the video up, as he has to put together a new computer for me, and some other assorted things! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Smile.gif" alt="" />

Carol and Eric,
Amazing. Thank you so much for a wonderful trip report. You are so lucky to have had such an experience.
irina

Irina--thanks. It was truly wonderful. You guys should try Africa some time! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Smile.gif" alt="" />

Carol and Eric: I never use the word...but your trip reports and pictures are truly Awesome! Thanks for putting so much time into everything so we could all enjoy your trip. Laura P.S. Since the flying banana bird and the flying chili-pepper bird are so obviously related, does that mean they live together in the sausage tree? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" /> L

..actually, never saw any birds in the sausage tree! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

Glad you liked the report..

Carol & Eric
Thanks so much for all the time & effort you guys put into this trip report <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />. I'm sure your memories will last a lifetime!! I know I could never do such a trip but it sure was fun to enjoy your adventures!!
Sugarae

Sugarae--you are correct, our memories from this trip will surely last a lifetime!!! We are so glad to be able to share it with all our friends here on TTOL...

Carol & Eric,

Truely amazing and awesome trip report and pics. The insight, the detail....the passion of your trip comes out in your writting! Thanks for the time and effort. For those of us that may never experience such a trip seeing it through your pictures and your report.....thanks so much <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/thanks.gif" alt="" />
map

Map--glad you enjoyed it!

It was great meeting you in BVI! Hopefully will see you again next time! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Smile.gif" alt="" />

Carol,

It was great to meet you as well..maybe next time that guy standing next to you will be there to! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Wink.gif" alt="" />
ciao <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Cheers.gif" alt="" />
map

Yeah, I hope so! I'll drink to that! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />

Carol,

and I'll SECOND that gesture but will have to wait until
after 5 tonight <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Cheers.gif" alt="" />
ciao <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />
map

Excellent, excellent, excellent! Have enjoyed every word and picture. What a wonderful experience. Thanks for sharing your trip of a lifetime. It was worth the wait!

Carol and Eric,
I cannot tell you how much I have enjoyed reading your reports. What a trip of a lifetime. I have always wanted to experinced Africa, and I did it through the two of you. Hopefully, some day my husband and I will make it there.

As a side note, we know that you spent time at the Dove's Nest and our paths were suppose to cross. Unfortunately, Mason's father became ill and passed away. We had to cancel the trip. But, Emile and Suzy are holding our deposit until we can make it. We leave for Belize, taking our two teenage daughters, on 7/15/05 for one week.

Hopefully, sometime we can meet you and hear more about your trip.

Karene and Mason Scott

Glad to hear that you enjoyed the report.

I remember that we were supposed to meet up at the Dove's Nest. Wasn't sure what happened. Sorry to hear about your husband's father, as I lost my dad about a year and a half ago, and it still is very raw sometimes.

Hope to see you in SXM sometime soon!

Carol and Eric,

It's Saturday morning, and I just finished the Finale! Thank you both for putting in the time and effort of the report and pictures! It is amazing and thanks for sharing it with us!

Wayne--You're welcome! have a great weekend!

Carol and Eric,

Thank you so much for writing such a detailed and informative report. We are even more excited now! We are heading to a few of the camps you went to, so it was great to get all that detail. We go in November and I'm sure we'll have some more questions for you before we leave.

Thanks again, and the pictures are fantastic!

Ask away!! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

You will have a fantastic time. We are just now considering which pictures we are going to print as 4x6 prints, then comes the hard job of the blowups!

And I still have the video to do yet. Got to get started on that, as you would not believe some of the video, and I just don't take video all of time, so we ONLY have 6 hours of video. Some people were running 10+ hours of video easy. So make sure that you have the video tapes and the memory card and/or backup solution before you ever walk out of the door at home and know how the backup solution works, etc. Could go into that a whole lot more, so don't be afraid to ask, as there is no dumb questions with regard to Africa! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

Thanks to both you guys for a great 'triplog' re: Africa. As you know we are seriously considering going in the next 12 months....have been doing my due diligence....but your input was the BEST so far. We are also considering the Amazon....which appears to be interesting but not nearly so upscale as to what is available. Perhaps we could have an AMAZON segment on TTOL as well.

Holly-ask away!! And please do a trip report upon your return! We didn't think that we would have any desire to return, when we were booking this trip, but we think that we probably will return, not next year, for sure, but maybe in a couple of years.

Richard--for the Amazon, have you considered a cruise, for at least part of the trip?? There are some seriously wonderful cruises that go up the Amazon!

Honestly, the genisis of the Amazon thought process began with my Brides finding out about a rather nice Oceanic Cruise liner that goes from Rio to Manaus. Tres Chic and all that....but then I learn that to really see the 'hinterland' one must travel well beyond that point. Most of what I have found so far is a tad.....'rustic'......as in ....."your state room will be cooled by gentle breezes off the Amazons waters"......that kind of got her attention.....being that the temperature is going to be a subtle and humid....98!

Richard--I think there are some smaller, really upscale ships that go fairly far up the Amazon, but I presume that you have checked those out?

Am checking.....actually we are both somewhat rugged....but she heard a horror story from one of her friends( a tri athlete no less).....and that has made her somewhat more cautious than normal. Apparently, her friends 'boat' nearly sank ,,,,bilge water everywhere on deck, diesel fumes galore, 72 hours without sleep,etc etc etc.All for the paltry price of 4800 per person for 5 nights. Am sure it was an anomaly....but who knows.

Wow, sounds like a really bad trip! Suggest that you talk to a cruise travel agent if you are seriously considering an Amazon cruise. If you need a recommendation, check out the TTOL sponsors page, for our personal cruise travel agent, Bonnie Buchanan!! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" />

Carol, your trip report was extremely informative, I enjoyed it tremendously. The pictures told much more than words. Seeing pics of the camps you and Eric stayed at gave me insight into just how comfortable that you were. Maybe someday i will be able to make this trip. I also appreciate your detailed explanation of the financial expenses. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/thanks.gif" alt="" />

You're welcome. It is very hard to put into words what the camps looked like, and we found that there were very few pictures of the camps anywhere, except on the website of Wilderness, and sometimes those kind of things can be very deceiving, when it is from the company. The Wilderness camps were extremely comfortable, and in the case of Mombo, luxurious!