Category: 2013 Africa

The Plan

After breakfast bid farewell to your newfound friends before your transfer to Johnnesburg airport for your onward or homebound flight.  FB

How the day turned out

Today is quite a relaxed day to look at the many shops in the arcades around the hotel.  Shops can get boring for some, and they take up a spot in the piano room just ‘sitting’ and reminiscing about the past 3 weeks of total wonderment and enjoyment.  Our departure for the airport is 6:00pm and our flight out of Johannesburg is 10:05pm.  We have a layover in Perth of 4 hours before flying domestic to Melbourne.

There are so many highlights to this trip, from the time we arrived in South Africa until the moment we leave.  Each day when we were on safari, we had breathtaking moments.  The first night watching 3 lionesses so exhausted from eating, they kept falling over.  The next day, watching the cheetah devour the impala and the male lion waking up and giving us a roaring reception, were spine chilling.  The vibrations of the roars came through to the vehicles.  When the elephants crossed the river as one, I felt “we had witnessed a ‘sacred moment of awe’, always to be remembered.  Nature doing its own thing, guided by inbuilt wisdom and an attitude of care.”

Young and older giraffe were so graceful to watch.  Hippopotami were hard to get a full glimpse of, as they were often in watering holes but when they yawned, that was engulfing indeed.  Elephants coming toward you give you the feeling that you are being totally overpowered.  Once on the move, nothing can stop them. Seeing hyenas slink away, tell us that all types exist even in the animal kingdom.  Seeing two groups of four male lions in the first hour of one day, was spine tingling stuff too.

Although we did not see many gardens in our tour, the flowers were beautiful.  It is always hard to pick up birds in the bush, but those we stopped to photograph were exceptional.  We just wish that there were many more flamingos to view.  Their numbers were down due to high levels of salinity in the water.

There were many landscape vistas that will remain in our minds.  Great expanses with wild animals dotted across the plains.  The water flow over the Victoria Falls was down, but they still showed us the power there is in water.  Travelling from ‘The Ark’ to Lake Nakuru was hard work on the back and joints, but there was so much to see that did not resemble other parts of Kenya and Tanzania we had visited.

The hospitality in all countries was very well given and well received, although the check-in staff could learn how to speed up the process. There seemed to be an oversupply of waiters and waitresses ever willing to help.  The food was definitely oversupplied and some of us will wear it for a few more days before we get back to our daily regular exercise routine.  Our drivers were usually able to supply satisfactory answers to our questions and apart from one dangerous bit of passing another 4WD and a truck on a very dusty road, they drove hard but in the main, safely.

To make it all happen, Di, our Scenic Tours Director had everything all prepared and ready to go at each point within each day.  Thank you Di.

All in all, no one has given a negative view of the tour as a whole.  Yes, the roads were rough and long, but that is all forgotten now.  The animals and scenery were worth travelling so far to see, study and enjoy.  We “may not have been born in Africa, but Africa has been born in us.” (Di, our tour Director on the final dinner farewell night.)

Thank you Scenic Tours!

More Travellers Thoughts

Anne S – This trip was a dream come true. It was all about the animals and I never got tired of seeing them.  Highlights?  Elephants crossing the river, and experiences at Thorneybush – up close and personal with the animals.

Kath – Dream come true trip.  Highlights – Cheetahs feeding on kill.  Water crossing of the Elephants was breathtaking, even though one amorous elephant was trying to nearly drown its partner (must have been the juveniles up the back of the pack) .  The Crater was another high light, as well as when the lions were mating.

Val – Absolutely fantastic and everyone must do Africa especially Thorneybush.

Lorraine – Seeing the Big 5 was a major highlight

Anne H – Highlights Elephants crossing & the orphanage

Robyn & John – The Balloon Fight was the highlight as we saw the migration of the wildebeest.  Gave full appreciation of the environment.

P.S.  Between Lyn and myself, we came home with over 3000 still photographs and 8 and a quarter hours of video to edit.  If any of our followers wish to receive the finished DVD (hopefully within 3 months) please send us an email to video@ytj.com.au.  Any contributions will be given to the Olmalaika girls refuge in Maasai Mara, Kenya which was featured in the following post of a few days ago. http://yarratraveljunction.com/group-tours/2013-august-africa/130826-masai-mara-national-reserve/

Salutation and final words

Lyn and I would like to say to all our fellow travellers, “It was quite evident from your experiences that you all enjoyed this trip; some say, ‘The best so far’.  We are happy to have organised and shared this time with you and that the memories of this trip will stay with you as highlights in your life.  Nature is so wonderful and when we share it, we can feel so uplifted and renewed.  Thank you for putting up with the many ‘donkey trails’ we travelled.  They were ‘enduring’ but how can you see such wonder without putting up with discomfort, sometimes?  Recover well and share your experiences with your friends and relatives who could not come.  Thank you again!”  Lyn and Colin.

The Plan

This morning enjoy your Included Scenic Enrich exclusive farewell bush breakfast and game drive before boarding your Included flight back to Nairobi.  On arrival in Nairobi connect with your flight to Johannesburg.  On arrival in Johannesburg you ail be transfered to your luxurious hotel situated in the heart of Sandton’s shopping district.  HB

How the day turned out

What’s a bush breakfast in Kenya.  Before we could found out, we had to have our bags out at 7:30am for a 8:00am departure for, I guess, something that we all were not expecting.  We climbed the hill behind the Lodge in the 4WD expecting that we would have some sort of ‘box’ to eat out of.  Turning a bend, we got a view of what we were in for.  An outside breakfast looking out over the great Maasai Mara plains and National Park.  Who could top what Scenic Tours have done for us; silverware and all the cereals, fruit, and hot breakfast cooked on a BBQ.

The sunshine ‘made it’ very special.  We had a table for each 4WD group together with our drivers. It was buffet style but the surroundings made it.  Just such a magnificent view from a mountain top in a game park reserve with zebra and gazelle feeding close by.

It’s not a good idea to get too close to a zebra.  One of our group thought it was great to take a photo of a young zebra that was wandering around the resort back in Livingstone.  The young one’s mother came up from behind and gave Robyn a good biff from behind and Robyn ended up on her back.  Lucky she was wearing a scenic backpack to break her fall.

We spent a good 90 minutes for breakfast in such wonderful surrounds and a great way to end a fantastic visit to Africa.

The last 14km to the Keekorok airport is the last we see of bull dust, but we still get dust in our ears.  The airstrip is a dirt strip but can take the Dash 8, which we fly in, on to Wilson’s Airport, Nairobi.  At Wilson’s, we are met by our suitcases and given the opportunity to repack for the transfer to Nairobi International Airport for our flight to Johannesburg.  It is a bit of a long process as things haven’t been rebuilt since the recent fire which destroyed the main buildings.

On arrival into Johannesburg, we have a coach transfer into the city to the Michael Angelo Hotel – rated 5 star like all the other accommodation we have had on this Scenic Tours Grand African Safari Tour.

Senior Moments/s

Earlene was washing her hands in the bathroom when she noticed John washing his too.  Sorry John – wrong room. ( I bet he din’t use the urinal.)

The hotel laundry staff couldn’t find Lorraine’s lost bra.  She told the staff, while lifting her precious ones, that her boobs will miss them too.  They apologised profusely and didn’t charge her the laundry bill.

Thoughts on the venture

Lorraine.  Fantastic!!!!  Thorneybush was the best – could get very close to the animals.

Travellers thoughts

Leo – The Elephants crossing the stream in Chobe National Park were something hard to believe.

Ken – Seeing the animals in the zoo is one thing but in their natural habitat makes it all worthwhile.

Steve – Making new friends on a trip makes the whole event more worthwhile

Julie – My first balloon ride was fabulous.  I am not real good with heights but I never felt unsafe.  The view was well worth-while.

Earlene – Animals, animals and more animals, all doing their own thing, naturally, and I have video to prove it.

Darleen – The baby monkey I saw just after it was born, and the roar of the Lion on the 3^rd day at Thorneybush.

The Plan

Enjoy another day at Masai Mara National Reserve.  FB L D

How the day turned out

We have a long safari today as we hope we can see the migration of the wilderbeest.  Lunch will be out in the National Park amongst the wild animals.

We drive down to where the Lodge entrance road joins the main road and there in front of us, is a lioness wandering across.  Frantically, we grab cameras to shot and film but it is hard to get good photos of her.  She is off up the hill from where we came.

Within 15 minutes, we come across a group of 4 male lions resting near a small shrub and looking as though they had just had a meal.  Each of them keep looking in the same direction as if, “something is going to be moving soon and we must chase it.”  They let us photograph them, without putting out their hand for money, for 15-20 minutes.  Moving away, we find a zebra carcass a few 100 meters away – ah, left over lunch.

This park is very large with plains as far as you can see.  But there are many animals, somewhere.  Within another 30 minutes, we come across another 4 male lions walking along a stream bank.  Many 4WDs come to view these majestic beasts as they move.  They are very close to us and they fill the video monitor without it on full zoom.  We watch as they find a spot to take a drink before moving to a quiet spot out of view.

As I said earlier, our safari today is set on watching the migration.  This takes place down near the Tanzanian border.  We travel for a couple of hours through many large herds of wilderbeest making their way towards their new eating zone at the completion of their migration.  It is getting near mid-day.

Coming to a bridge across the Mara River, without looking in any direction, we can tell that this is one of the spots where the beasts come to cross the river, during their migration.  The stench from the bodies of the wilderbeest is over powering as vultures sit on the carcass of many animals that have not made it across to dry land.  In the main, they have broken a leg or two or just drowned while making the hazardous crossing. That’s the way nature cares for itself.  No, we are not going to see a crossing in full swing.  A pity but that’s the way things happen here – there is no timetable.

We drive further on and find a tree, out in the middle of nowhere, to have our prepared box lunch.  A fantastic African landscape is before us.

We have a long drive of an hour and a half, back to the Lodge for a free period before dinner at 7:30 tonight.

Yesterday, a group of 6 took an early morning hot-air balloon ride across the Maasai Mara and Steve has written about the ordeal for us.

“The day began at 5:00am as we set out from our Lodge.  15 minutes later, the group arrived at the balloon’s launch site, eager to get air born.

“A basket to hold 8 people was laying on its side and we were loaded aboard like 8 bottles of vintage wine ready for cellaring.  As the gas burners were ignited, a roar, not unlike a male lion, filled the morning air.  In a few moments of being dragged along the ground, we became air borne.

“When the roar of the gas burner stopped we were gliding silently over the plains at 8 knots and 80 meters above the ground.

“As we drifted over the plains, our height varied from as little as 2 meters to 150 meters, depending on the direction our pilot wished to take us.  On one low descent, our basket clipped the tip of tall grass.  A ground owl took off in shear panic.  We then climbed up to 300 meters to see the full expanse of the migrating wilderbeest and zebra.  On descending, we spotted 3 cheetahs strolling across the grasslands.

“Another burst of the gas burners took us on a steep climb near Lookout Hill for our last views of the mass herds on their endless travel around the grasslands of the Maasai Mara National Park.  The silent drift was only broken by noises of the migration, a truly wonderful and memorable one hour of life, sadly coming to an end as we descend for our landing and champagne breakfast that awaited us.  We resumed our position as vintage bottles of wine and hung on awaiting our inevitable return to reality – thump!”  Thanks, Steve – Great stuff.

We are sad tonight as we think that tomorrow is the start of our journey home, for we have had a great safari around 8 game parks starting in South Africa, and on to Zambia, Botswana, Tanzania and Kenya.  “Ya gotta do Africa”.