Staying at Rydges International Airport gave us the maximum amount of rest for the long journey ahead. The 9.50am flight required an early checkin plus we had duty tax to collect and the American Express Lounge to enjoy breakfast, all worked like a dream. Sitting upstairs on the Qantas A380 was a new experience and made for a very comfortable flight, all 14 hours of it. There was a 3 hour layover in LAX which was plenty as they now have an automated custom system as do Australia. A brisk walk of 1 kilometer to terminal 6 and we were on the final leg with Alaska Air to Anchorage another 5 hours on a full flight arrriving at 2.30pm. Who said there is a slump in air travel ?
Our transport to the Quality Suites Historic Downtown accommodation had us collected and delivered in no time for our 3 night stay. The staff at the hotel was not exactly the friendliest, however we weren’t there to see them. After a quick walk around town it was time for a little nap before we ventured out dinner. Anchorage is a like a small town and a little spread out and appears to have more parking lots than shops. We stumbled upon Simon & Seafort’s which is apparently the best restaurant in the place, the bill certainly attested to that. My old mate Speed told me I had to try the Halibut cheeks which I did and they were sensational, known locally as poor man’s lobster, not going on the price though. A late start the next day had us down to The Brewhouse (another great restaurant) for lunch before a 1 hour trolley bus tour of the highlights of Anchorage. On day 2 we went on a 2 hour Segway tour of town, that was a hoot, completely out of the comfort zone. On our 2 days in Anchorage we managed to gain a lot of information for our upcoming adventure and climatise however it was hotter than I anticipated.
Trolley Bus Tour
Unfortunately this was not a very pleasant experience dealing with this character. I have never been treated with such contempt in my life and to top it off it cost me a load of money. I would definitely not deal with this organisation again.
This year we are off to The Cook Islands. So far so good, Gorm picked us up on time at 12 noon for the short trip to Port Macquarie for our 2pm flight to Sydney. We arrived into Sydney on time and were soon on the train to the International Airport. One flat price of $5.80 per trip. The beauty about departing Sydney on Saturday afternoon is the smooth run through the airport. We were probably the first to check-in for our flight and were offered The Lounge at a small charge. We grabbed it with both hands and headed straight there. The area had just been refurbished and the food and service were outstanding. We have a 6 hour flight ahead of us and will need a little kip on the way over as we arrive this morning into Raratonga at 7.20am. Then we are off to the markets for the morning and then on the 3.30pm flight to Aitutaki arriving at 4.20.
After our 1 hour flight we were met by Joseph, our guide for the next 3 days. We crossed the “Smelly River” named because of the smell of sulphur in the water, over slippery rocks and high banks either side.It wasn’t long before we happened onto a Leopard down by a dry creek bed. The word got out and before no time there were 18 safari vehicles there, unfortunately most of them too late and we felt very lucky to have spotted it. We were warmly greeted by the camp staff and shown to our well appointed safari tent overlooking the Telek River. The altitude of the camp is 2500 meters with easy access to many varieties of animals and close by to the Mara River Crossings. On our first drive we saw a Hippo walking around out of the water (which is unusual) and a pride of lions and ended with a beautiful sunset before heading back to camp for drinks around the campfire.
Friday 9 August
Early start for the 90 minute bone shaking drive to the hot air balloon launch pad. David our pilot soon had us aloft and we had a great view of a lioness eating her overnight kill, many wildebeest and a baby giraffe. A hearty champagne bush breakfast followed before we headed back to camp via the Mara River to witness a spectacular crossing. Once again we were very lucky and arrived just before it started. Ros had a lovely afternoon watching the comings and goings on the river crossing near the camp. It was an extremely hot day which was rolled down by a gully raker late in the afternoon.Meals are a very enjoyable event meeting people from all over the globe. Food was delicious, plentiful and washed down with a great variety of the best wines and beers.
Saturday 10 August
After breakfast we were collected by Christine our new guide from Naboisho Camp.
The drive to the airports are a mini game drive and this time was no exception. On the way we spotted amongst many animals, a massive African Rock Python crossing the road. This did delay us a fair bit so our driver received a call from the airport to see where we were. The was there so it was a mad dash to the plane where we were driven straight to it, no security or baggage checks, just straight on board. The only way to fly. There were 4 on board and the hour flight was very smooth with a young guy at the controls. The airport was very busy when we arrived and we were met by our new guide called Moses. On our way to Rekero Camp we were lucky enough to spot a leopard. The camp is situated on the Telac River with great viewing of a crossing just down stream and an altitude of 2500 mtrs. The Mara is known as home to the cats and we were not disappointed. We saw Rhino, Hippos, Cheetahs, Lioness with cubs and the male as well. You very rarely see the male with the others, only at feeding and mating. The lioness does the killing and looking after the cubs. There were also plenty of Zebra, wildebeest, Giraffe, Elephants, Antelopes, large birds like the Malibu Stork,Secretary Bird, Egyptian Geese and the clean up crew which include Jackals, hyaenas and vultures, to mention a few.
Friday 9 Aug – Up at 4.15 for our 1 1/2 hell ride to the balloon launch pad. It lasted 75 minutes over the plains where we had a birds eye view of a lion feasting on a wildebeest, a giraffe and her baby to mention a few. After the mandatory champagne breakfast we traveled via the Mara River and right on kew witnessed a crossing. It started with 2 wildebeest plunging off a 50 foot cliff to survive and then swim the river. The others found an easier way and they all made it safely across, much to everyones excitement. We arrived back to camp in time for lunch. Ros spent the very hot afternoon under trees overlooking the comings and goings of the crossing near camp before a gully raker cooled us down and freshened the place up. On the dive that afternoon we saw a Rhino crossing over the plain, a Cheetah that just killed a little Thompson Gazelle and a lone lioness with 3 little clubs. By this time it was very late and she was looking for a safe camp for the night.
Saturday 10 Aug – We woke to elephants feeding on the other side of the river then not long after that a Leopard walked along the river bank. Breakfast was had on the lawn overlooking the river while a bunch of mongoose cruised by. The parade never ends. Christine arrived at 10 to take us to Naboisho camp which took 3 1/2 hours. The road was very rough and we passed by many Maasai villages. We arrived for a late lunch and time to catch our breathe for our afternoon game drive which also turned out to be a sundowner as well. We spent a fair bit of time watching a pride of lions play and generally resting before the nights activities. The next morning it was an early start to catch up on the lions and came across then feeding on a wildebeest. The males had already eaten and were on there way to rest for the day much to the horror of all the gazelles and other prey in the general area. It was Ros’s birthday and we went to the camp fire to watch the sun go down and had drinks with the manager as most of the camp were still out on their afternoon drive. As we were heading off to dinner with everyone else we were headed off back to our tent for a special birthday bash, complete with champagne and cake, it was beautifully done. Ros was very touched by the whole event and we had a great night. Unfortunately we are at 35000 ft on our way back home and am unable to upload pics, I will however do it when we arrive back home.
Another early start. Most days in the bush start around 5.30 to 6, in order to catch the animals munching on their overnight kills. A nice casual trip to Amboseli turned out to be a hell of a day. The road was a mess most of the way and took 8 hours. We were very warmly welcomed at one of the best places we had stayed, to be told that we were leaving on our first game drive in 1 hour. It lasted 2 1/2 hours which made it a big day. Very cold and plenty to see, our guide Joseph was fantastic and made a long day very worth while. The next day 2 more drive starting with a bush breakfast and a trip to a Maasai village. Our last day finished with what is known as sundowners. This is where they take you to the highest and most scenic spot to watch the sun go down over a few bevies, very congenial.
Ros and another member of our party with Maasai women
Ros with Maasai women after she had a little dance lesson
Maasai hut made out of twigs and cow manure
Bargaining a reasonable price for our desert treasures
Mother and baby having lunch
Cheetah resting after a kill. They have explosive speed on a pursuit and take a while to get their breathe back
Communication in this part of the world is at best, hopeless and a part of the trip which had more adventure to talk about. After an email to the boss at Rawandair about our treatment at Jo’berg and the lost bag, we were treated to the business lounge at Kigali before we boarded our flight to Nairobi in business class. On arrival we were picked up by our driver and taken to the hotel. The trip to the hotel took 2 1/2 hours in peak hour, a trip any other time would have been 20 minutes. The hotel was in the middle of town and under heavy security with large gardens and a country feel about it. The next day we were picked up by Ken to take us anywhere we wanted to. We visited Karen Blixen’s house (Out Of Africa) before the bead & pottery factory and then a lovely lunch. Dinner that night was with out travel agent from Nairobi with his mum and brother, who owned the restaurant. Saturday 3 August – Nairobi to Ngorogoro Crater. The day turned out to be an epic trip. Late departure out of Wilson airport for Kilimanjaro we were met and whisked through customs and escorted to our waiting plane for Arusha. We were the only passengers on a 12 seat Cessna with a local at the wheel, who started the take off on the taxi way. It was the best roll start I have ever seen. The flight was short and on arrival we were transferred on the tarmac to our final flight to Lake Manyara. The pilot was this gorgeous 23 year old German woman called Hanna, the plane was choka and she dropped us in on a dirt uphill strip like a true professional. Our guide Samson picked us up for the 2 1/2 trip up to the Crater. The roads were horrendous and as it was late in the afternoon we were meeting all the traffic coming out of the crater. There were many near misses. We finally arrived at Lamala our first of many tented nights. A few drinks around the fire before the whole camp dined on one big table. The next morning was an early start and we were the first into the crater. We had breakfast with the hippos and were fortunate to see a Rhino very close. It was not as good as we expected but was still very enjoyable with plenty of animals. That afternoon we did a bush walk with a local Maasai ranger.
It was good to farewell Victoria Falls, we had seen most of the attractions and we found the Zimbabweans the unhappiest of the people so far. We meet more people from Rovos on the flight to Jo’berg and finally farewelled them. The hotel was right at the airport and very handy for our overnight stay. The airport was very confusing and as we had an early start the next morning with taxes to claim we had a dry run before dinner. The next morning it was up at 5 for the long haul to the gorilla camp in Rwanda. We arrived without my luggage which had most of our cold weather hiking gear in. We were an hour late and we had a 3 1/2 road trip to the mountain. The lodge was fantastic and we were pampered like never before, to the point that every time we entered our beautiful cabin the fire had just been lit. The afternoon talks in the lounge around the fireplace were very interesting with everyone swopping stories from the days activities. The next morning with borrowed clothes we set off early in search for the mountain gorillas. Unfortunately there was a little rain at the start but fined up for the main event. We spent over an hour with them before the trek back down and back to the lodge. After dining out dressed in some of Ros’s clothes, the bag arrived that night just in time for our next leg to Nairobi. Sorry about the photos, but could not upload with shaky reception for Wi Fi here overlooking Mt Kilimanjaro.
We’re in Nairobi at the moment and heading off to Ngorongoro Crater today so here is a quick update of trip so far. Wi Fi has not been very good. Back to the Rovos. Life on board the train was one big party sharing our time in one of the 3 lounges talking eating and drinking as we chugged along at 60km/h. We arrived into Kimberley mid afternoon where we were shown over The Big Hole, a diamond mine started by De Beers years ago. The next day we arrived into Pretoria and were transferred the stopover hotel, which was in keeping with the style of the train. We then took an afternoon tour around the city visiting the memorial of the battle of Blood River with the Boor Trekkers, historic buildings and the Union Buildings which is the local Parliament House. Back for a fireside dinner and the end of a big day. Pretoria being the hub for Rovos meant that we were blessed with the presence of the man himself, Rohan Vos. There was a working steam locomotive at the platform for everyone to see and photograph before it steamed off and hauled the train up to the station. There were peacocks walking around the station which really set the scene and local guys wheeling luggage up the platform with the old barrows dressed in period uniforms. There is no detail missed in the Rovos world, a truly great experience. Fortunately we were upgraded to a deluxe cabin for the 2nd leg which meant a lot more room. The next day we stopped off at cattle station which had been in a family for over 100 years. They breed prize Bos Indigos cattle which was all explained to us and then a mini game drive around the property. We saw giraffe, water beast, impala, ostrich to name a few and then had drinks by a large dam in anticipation of seeing the animals coming down for their afternoon drink. We were the only ones drinking that afternoon. The rail line in very rough in Zimbabwe and it was a rough night on the train. Next day up early to spot animals as we passed on the edge of Hwange National Park. Unfortunately poaching is still a problem in the area and there wasn’t a great deal to see except for the occasional droppings of elephants. We arrived into Vic Falls at 3.30 and checked into the Llala Lodge where we could hear the falls and see the mist from the terrace restaurant. A quick walk around the town trying to dodge the hawkers whom we discovered a new strategy called The Special Sunset Price. US10 would buy you 5 wooden carvings of “The Big Five” which you wouldn’t sell for 50cents in a garage sale. Of all the people we meet on this trip the Zimbabweans were probably the less helpful and content with their lot. Next day we had a 20 minute helicopter ride over the falls and then walked down to the falls and spent most of the day there and had lunch at the Rain Forest cafe. Dinner that night was at the opulent Victoria Falls Hotel where we meet up with some of our intrepid travellers off the Rovos.
ing the river while a bunch of mongoose cruised by. The parade never ends. Christine arrived at 10 to take us to Naboisho camp which took 3 1/2 hours. The road was very rough and we passed by many Maasai villages. We arrived for a late lunch and time to catch our breathe for our afternoon game drive which also turned out to be a sundowner as well. We spent a fair bit of time watching a pride of lions play and generally resting before the nights activities. The next morning it was an early start to catch up on the lions and came across then feeding on a wildebeest. The males had already eaten and were on there way to rest for the day much to the horror of all the gazelles and other prey in the general area. It was Ros’s birthday and we went to the camp fire to watch the sun go down and had drinks with the manager as most of the camp were still out on their afternoon drive. As we were heading off to dinner with everyone else we were headed off back to our tent for a special birthday bash, complete with champagne and cake, it was beautifully done. Ros was very touched by the whole event and we had a great night. Unfortunately we are at 35000 ft on our way back home and am unable to upload pics, I will however do it when we arrive back home.
RosandDensTravels 