Finally! Itinerary gaps filled…Flying to Africa, challenging…Honolulu/Waikiki, here we come…

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Flying from country to country in Africa is no simple task.  Check out this map illustrating the size of the African continent compared to the US and other countries.

Once we’re situated in South Africa, we’ll continue to search for flights as needed, especially the difficult process of finding our way to Morocco three months later. There’s no such thing as a direct flight from South Africa to Marrakesh, Morocco. Most likely we’ll have to stay in a hotel overnight along the way in order to maneuver in that direction. 

Africa is not comparable to the US where you can fly just about anywhere in less than a day with few layovers if any. These maps illustrate the vast distances.

Booking flights is our least favorite form of research. Overall, we’ve found the research for vacation homes most enjoyable and hotels, second, a necessary reality when a vacation home isn’t practical for short stays.

To have finally filled every gap between now and May 15, 2015, we feel a sense of relief.  One may ask, “Is this when it all ends?” Nope. This is as far out as one can get a commitment for a booking for most vacation homes, most cruises, all flights (330 days or less for bookings), and many hotels.

Over the past few days, in the hopes of freeing our time to begin packing to leave two weeks from today, we wanted the peace of mind knowing that we’d filled the remaining gaps: Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, October 5 to October 16, 2014, a mere 11 months away and, Boston, Massachusetts, USA from September 14 to September 17, 2014, only 10 months from now.

Today, we’ll share the details of our find in Honolulu and tomorrow, Boston, which in itself presented a few challenges based on our needs at that time.

Here is the link to our 11 night rental in Waikiki.  Need I say, we’re thrilled and relieved to have found exactly what we were seeking, at the best possible price, in an ideal location convenient to everything. (These vacation home websites don’t allow photos to be copied making it necessary to follow the link to see the photos).

Researching Honolulu/Waikiki was brutal. Prices are through the roof, especially when including the 13.5% rental tax, resort fees, and in some cases, fees paid to the company listing the property. What started at US $185 a night (it was higher than listed on their site, due to time of the year), the price we paid for our selection, ended up at almost US $200 a night.

The owner of this ocean-view condo has been fabulous to work with so far and based on the reviews we’ve read, that will continue to be the case throughout the rental period. 

With our rigid criteria of having an ocean view, laundry facilities, free WiFi, a lanai, close to buses for sightseeing and dining, the search was frustrating. Most properties with a view were much more expensive. As we were just about ready to bite the bullet and pay more, we stumbled across this property by leaving HomeAway to search this other well-known listing site, AirBNB that we’d casually perused in the past.

Minus a few glitches we experienced in the booking process late last night, we were able to work it out. The time difference between Hawaii and Kenya is 13 hours. Waiting until after we returned after dinner last night made it possible for us to communicate directly with the owner, as he was waking up (on the same day) to assist us in fine-tuning the details. 

The rental is paid in full and we don’t have to give it another thought until the time nears, and we’ll need access information.  Most likely we’ll make those arrangements during our cruise to Hawaii from Vancouver, BC arrives in Honolulu on October 5, 2014. Ah, relief.

Tonight, we’re trying a new-to-us restaurant for dinner at the upscale Swahili Beach Resort.  They’re having their usual Saturday night buffet of local favorites. If the food isn’t great, as it wasn’t last night at another popular resort, the company will be extraordinary as usual.

Kenya…It’s people…It’s differences…

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The recent rain has resulted in the new blooms in our yard.

Living in the US all of our lives and now in Africa for almost three months, we aren’t surprised by the differences in lifestyles. Africa, as we all know is a huge continent with numerous countries, each comparable to the uniqueness of each of the “states” in the US, each possessing their own customs, dialects, traditions, and persona.

From what we’ve learned in this relatively short time in Kenya (spelled Kenia by locals), the country many qualities we find refreshing and appealing. With 18 days remaining until we leave Kenya, we’ve certainly spent more time here than most tourists visiting during a typical two week holiday. (The word vacation is rarely used in many parts of the world, instead referred to as a “holiday”).

Green and lush vegetation surround us.

Life moves at a slower pace, as is typical in most parts of the world, as opposed to the frenzied pace in the US.  One can sit at a table in a restaurant awaiting a cocktail for 10 or 15 minutes. In most cases, the bill (the check) doesn’t magically appear at the end of the meal when our plates are clean and we’ve turned down dessert and after-dinner drinks, coffee, or tea. One must ask for it. Then it may not arrive for another 10 or 15 minutes.

Patience.  It’s a must.  We learned this early on in our travels. Kindness. Also a must. Annoyance and irritation must not be evident. In time, one doesn’t feel it. On occasion, it may be difficult to hide. 

These delicate flowers are as thin as tissue paper.

Locals in Kenya are friendly, much more than we’ve seen in other parts of the world. People walking past us as we walk along the road, always say, “hujambo” or “jambo” as a greeting. We reply in kind. 

There’s an expectation here of a gentle request for assistance. There’s a look of shock on the face of a local if a customer is not satisfied. We’ve learned that it’s not worth squabbling over a small error on a bill. Of course, they’d make the correction but the confrontation is unbearable for them. 

We’ve chosen not to address an error unless it is for a considerable amount which as of yet has never happened. Most often, it’s accurate, more so than we’d seen in our old lives. 

Buds are bursting now after the rain. Hopefully, we’ll see the flowers in full bloom before we leave in 18 days.

They cooperate. They want to please. They are humble. They work hard. Their work ethic is profound. They help one another and outsiders alike. They smile revealing the brightest straightest white teeth, we’ve ever seen. 

Yes, it’s can be dangerous here. It’s evidenced by the tight security which has been beefed up recently after the horrifying attacks at the mall in Nairobi. We have a guard exclusively for these two houses, ours and Hans’ and Jeri’s from sunset to sunrise, seven days a week. Hesborn is here around the clock, a strong, conscientious employee of Hans’ for 14 years. 

There are guards 24-hours a day at the locked entrance gates to this neighborhood for the perhaps 10 private homes, each of which is gated in itself as well. Everywhere we go, there are security guards; at the entrance to the strip mall where we shop, at the ATM machine at Barclay’s Bank, where we get cash, at the entrance to the Safaricom store where we purchase “scratch-offs” to top off our data SIM cards.

Pretty little flowers, many I’ve never seen.

It’s an oxymoron. Safe and not safe, making it easy for one to get careless. But, not us. Carelessness is not for us.

And then, there’s the taxi situation which is unique in itself. We’ve learned not to call Alfred until a half-hour prior to the time we’d like a ride. Otherwise, he’ll always appear way too early in an attempt to please. On only a few occasions another driver appeared in his place when he was too far away to get to us on time.

Most often, after dropping us off the restaurant, he waits in his car while we dine, his choice, not our request.  As soon as we realized this after we first arrived, we decided not to let his waiting us affect our dinner or the time we may choose to spend before or after. 

The variety of colors are appealing to the eye.

We call him when we’re ready to go.  If he gets another call while waiting for us, surely he can go.  If he’s far away when we call to say we’re ready to leave we’ll gladly wait.  Most often the wait is less than 15 minutes.

Once he was late to take us grocery shopping. After waiting for over 30 minutes, we called. He’d fallen asleep in his car. It was OK. We weren’t bothered in the least. If it had been a dinner reservation, we still wouldn’t have been bothered. No one would mind if we were late for our reservation. They’d kindly seat us anyway, making no mention of our tardiness or the possible loss of our table. 

The most unusual aspect of our taxi experience, that surely would annoy most patrons, is the fact if we take a long time having dinner, Alfred calls us (on the local phone Hans loaned us for our time here) asking when we’ll be ready to go.  We always laugh when this happens. If we’ve had our dinner, we ask for the bill and move along to accommodate Alfred. It’s cooperation, a common aspect of life in Kenya.

Alfred grocery shops at Nakumatt also. He has a plastic card that provides him with points in order to get money off future grocery purchases. On our second trip to Nakumatt, he handed us his blue card, asking us to give him the points for our purchases. We did. Now, we ask him for the card each time if he’s distracted by security when he drops us off at the store. He waits for us there also, parking across the street, waiting for our call. 

All of these flowers are in abundance in the area, thriving in the heat, humidity, and soaking rains.

He has a newer car with AC.  He never turns the AC on.  We don’t ask.  We open the windows, although it results in extremely hot air blowing in our faces. Early on, we negotiated with Alfred for KES $1000, US $11.72 round trip wherever we may go in Diani Beach, as much as a 20-minute drive one way and other times only a drive of one or two minutes. We pay the same amount wherever we go.

Taxi drivers in Kenya don’t usually receive tips, as explained to us by Jeri who is from Nairobi. But, we give him tips, varying from KES $100 to $500 depending on how long the drive. He’s appreciative.

These pods have continued to dry out. 

Aside from the many great experiences we’ve had in Kenya, we’ll always remember the simple lifestyle and its people. Although we’re never sad to leave one location to travel to another, we treasure the memories we’ll carry in our hearts and minds forever. Thank you people of Kenya. Asante.

Flight from Maasai Mara to Diani Beach…Also, Tom’s photos…New safari photos…Please scroll to the end…

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As our final safari came to an end, a sudden burst of rain surprised us on our return drive to camp. During the entire time we’d been in the Masai Mara, we’d seen only beautiful billowy clouds.  After raining for less than 10 minutes, this rainbow appeared, quickly disappearing. Tom captured this photo. It was goodbye for us, a final indication of a perfect adventure that we’ll carry in our hearts forever.

Moments before the rain, Tom captured the clouds rolling in at precisely the right moment. This was shot with an extra camera we carry with us, a US $100 Samsung.  Wow, Tom!

Flying in yet a smaller plane on the return flight to Diani Beach, we find ourselves seated behind Edwin, our sole pilot. With no wall or divider between us and Edwin, this single-engine 12 seater plane feels like the “real deal.” At this point, a 4 or 5 seater won’t be much different.
 
I won’t go as far as saying that I’ve conquered my fear of flying in small aircraft but at least this time my heart isn’t racing, my mouth isn’t dry and I’m not watching the clock agonizing over how much longer until we’d land.
 
Instead, I’m writing with exuberant anticipation of sharing more details in writing of these past exhilarating days, the writing in itself a divine blessing in its ability to divert my attention away from the 2-hour flight.
 

Today at 1:00 pm, Anderson drove us to the tiny landing strip from Olonana making a stop along the way to pick up our pilot Edwin who was having lunch at a nearby lodge.  Chatting with Edwin on the remainder of the 20-minute drive provided me with a modicum of comfort. Why?  Was it due to the fact he was breathing, coherent with his wits about him? Perhaps.

After 15 minutes in the air, we landed at another landing strip to pick up seven more passengers. As their multiple bags per person were being loaded into the equally tiny luggage compartment, I began to wonder not only about the weight of those bags but also of the people carrying them. Only I would think of this.

The plane leaned to and fro as they positioned themselves on board. Tom moved up to sit next to me. A friendly young man sat across from us, cheerily making conversation. All we ever heard before the engine started up again was, “We never got to see The Big Five.” Tom and I smiled at each other, knowing our experience may have far surpassed that of others without Anderson at the wheel.

Once we were airborne again, fast and furiously I started making notes on the notepad app on my smartphone to aid my memory in the multitude of amazing experienced we’d have in a short 3 days. Three days we’ll never forget.  Three days ingrained into the essence of who we really are, who we’ve really become, somehow to be changed forever.

Not to sound too romantic or melodramatic, visiting Africa, with all of its hardships, has made me feel as if I’ve come “home.” I doubt that I’ll ever understand the “why” of this profound awakening. But, the “why” doesn’t matter.

This bewildering sensation encompasses me, leaving my knees weak and my heart filled with an indescribable familiarity that I’ve chosen not to question.

Tom although less poetic than I, in these past days has exuded a peaceful resonance in his voice and a loftiness in his step, that I have witnessed on occasion. And that smile on our faces, not intended for a photo op, seems to have a mind of its own, making our faces hurt after a long day.  (And today, October 18, 2013, I can’t stop smiling as I transpose that which  I wrote on the plane now, a full 10 days ago).

All I know is that bouncing around in an open-sided Land Cruiser over the bumpiest roads I’ve ever traveled, driving through creeks and riverbed for almost 8 hours a day, occasionally stopping to “check the tire pressure,” fearless in the tall grass, I never questioned for one moment why we were doing this. For this short period in time, I belonged to the bush, to the wild, and to nature more than I’d ever felt before.

As my fear continued to diminish over the occasionally turbulent return flight, I realized that if God forbid something unforeseen occurred, I’ve lived a full life at 65 years old. I’ve loved, I’ve been loved, I’ve failed and I’ve succeeded but most of all, I’ve learned more about myself in this past year of travel than I’d ever learned before.

Life is fragile but we are strong…and with my strong and brave partner at my side, I’ve pushed myself to reach for my dream, some of which I only recently allowed myself to realize.

To realize a lifelong dream of Africa, in the bush, on safari, enmeshed in its culture and its people;  I feel free, I feel grateful, I feel fulfilled.

Thank you, Maasai Mara.  hank you to the most amazing guide on the planet, Anderson. Thank you Camp Olonana.  Thank you, Kenya. And, thank you, Africa.”

Most of all, thank you to my husband, for not only “stepping outside the box” but “leaping outside the box,” and for your courage, love, and compassion to make this dream come true.

The cloud darkening the sky moments before the rain fell.


Also, thank you, Tom, for killing that disgusting poisonous thing I spotted on the wall in the bathroom at 6:00 am this morning with nary a complaint and for eating tuna out of the can mixed with mayo, a few slices of cheese, and a sliced tomato (which you hate) for dinner last night when our propane fuel ran out when we were only halfway through cooking a pork roast, again without complaint. 

Tom was excited to see this plane and get a shot. It’s an 80-year-old, DC3 with obviously, new engines and props, commonly used in World War II. I said, “Thank goodness we don’t have to fly on this oldster.”

And thank you for helping me with literally everything including putting on my shirt when my bad shoulder has been painful since we returned, after taking over 600 photos on safari. And, for lighting that problematic green coil thing 10 times a night to keep the mosquitoes from biting me as we spend each evening in our outdoor living room. Thank you, my husband, my partner, and my friend.   

 Arriving at the landing strip, this tiny plane was the only one in sight.  Then I knew this was Edwin’s plane and we’d be flying in it. 
Edwin prepared for takeoff while I was sitting behind the empty co-pilot’s seat. For the first leg of the flight, it was just Tom and me on the plane with Edwin. Tom sat behind me so he too could look out the window.
Approaching the landing strip to pick up seven more passengers.
 Control panel of the single-engine plane.
 A breathtaking view from the plane.
 This was a body of water.
 As we neared the body of water.
 As we flew over Diani Beach the smoke from burning clouds the view. In Kenya, there’s no ban on burning often resulting in noxious fumes filling the air.

More safaris photos below…

A termite hill we saw on the way to Tanzania, possibly 4 or 5 feet tall.
More of the Retired Generals hanging out together.
These cheetah shots were taken from afar after a group of 3 had a successful kill.  Notice the bloody face.

Hard to see from the far distance, these 3 cheetahs are devouring their kill which we witnessed from a distance, occurring so quickly, we couldn’t get a shot.

 On our way back to camp on the last night, for the first time, we spotted these mongooses which are known snake killers.
The King of Jungle never disappointed, continually offering an opportunity for close-ups and the opportunity to observe his/hee playful antics and instinctual behaviors. Thank you, lions.
 Thank you, dear readers, for sharing this journey with us.

Day one, safari…Beyond our wildest dreams….

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Anderson, our safari guide took us on an unplanned 90-minute safari rather than wait at the airstrip for another couple to arrive on a later flight. This was one of the first photos we took along the Mara River.  Our tent is located on the banks of the river where the hippos will awaken us with their hysterical morning calls. We couldn’t believe our eyes or our ears
Anderson referred to this ostracized male cape buffaloes (one of the Big Five) as Retired Generals. They lost the battle for dominance and are forced out of the herd to fen for themselves for the rest of their lives. Kind of sad.  He gave us a nice pose, hungry not only for vegetation but also for attention.
I love warthogs. They are funny, actually quite friendly. Vegetarians, they amble around for the tiniest morsels. They are delightful to watch.  Please pinch me! I can’t believe we are in the Masai Mara. We missed the Great Migration by one week. We’re not at all disappointed with what we’ve seen on the first day!

As we write and post photos, we make a valiant effort to take our readers through the step by step process of following our journey each step of the way.

After our experiences today, we are tempted to get right to the safari, as we know many of you’d prefer. Our arrival in itself was an adventure all of its own, not a story we could easily forgo.

So, in light of this, today, we’ll tell the story of our arrival at Camp Olonana of Sanctuary Retreats, an over a two-hour flight on a tiny rickety old plane including notes and photos from the flight and to whet your appetite for the treasures of safari a few of our photos from our over first four hours on safari on the first day.

Without a doubt, we’ll be posting photos every day, perhaps twice a day. There’s no Internet connection in our tent. In order to post, we have to sit in the lobby of the main building of the camp.  With six hours a day on safari, the slow connection at the camp (not surprising), we’ll have no choice but to continue to post photos after we return to Diani Beach with a better connection.

In the first 90 minutes, we took almost 100 great photos. This afternoon we took hundreds more.  Bear with us, you’ll see most of them over the next week. As a matter of fact, we can’t wait to share them.

For now, we’re pooped and at 8:02 pm have yet to eat dinner. Soon, we’ll stop for dinner which ends at 9:30 pm. We’ll be going out on safari for a breakfast picnic at 6:30 am. We’ll be back with more photos tomorrow afternoon.

______________________________________________
Traveling to the Masai Mara by plane

Our tiny 19 seat plane. Yes, I know, it could have been smaller.
The plane was fueled by using a hand crank typically used in WW2, according to Tom’s recollection of history.
View from the plane after leveling off.
Yes, that’s Mount Kilimanjaro, as viewed from the tiny single engine plane.
The inside of the plane was so small, it was difficult to get a good shot maneuvering around the other passengers, since we were on the opposite side.
This pristine lake was like a mirror.
Muddy rivers.

I’d never flown on a small plane. Oh, yes, opportunities were presented from time to time. But, I always dismissed them without a moment’s consideration.

Only recently, I’d begun to feel more at ease flying in commercial jumbo jets after the long flights we’ve tackled in this past year. I’ve had no desire to tackle the puddle jumper concept.

This appeared to be some type of horse farm.  Look at the reflection of our plane on the ground! What a sight!  I couldn’t believe we were inside that tiny thing!

When we’d decided to travel the world almost two years ago, I anticipated that it was time to let go of some of my irrational fears. As we planned our itinerary, I contemplating a few of the rational fears realizing it was time to let some of the fears waft away.

More muddy rivers.

With a torn shoulder injury escalating during the planning stages with no desire to have surgery to remedy it, I decided to forgo more physically challenging events and settle for combatting some other fears which included flying in small planes.

After three takes off and three landings, we finally arrived to meet our guide, Anderson who’s lived in the Masai Mara region all of his life. What a guy!  We loved him the moment we met him!

This morning as I sat in my confining worn-out seat which included a number of tears and lumps in the rickety 19 seat plane, I found that I needed a diversion more distracting than reading mindless drivel on my phone.

My knees still a little wobbly from the flights.  I was thrilled to be on the ground, meeting our guide Anderson for our time in Onolana.  At that point, I knew I’d have be less fearful on the return flight.

Instead, I began to write on the “legal pad” app on my smartphone hoping to divert my attention from my usual overthinking, worrying, and speculation.

Tom was engrossed in a book on his phone, oblivious to any concerns, mine or his, occasionally looking my way, thrilled that my nails weren’t digging into his hand.

A person could spend a lifetime trying to analyze why one has such fears and others do not. Never having to combat small plane fear in the past leaves me with little interest or inclination to pursue answers at this point in life. Thinking I could bypass the necessity of facing it, I now knew the time had come in our travels to face a simple fact: either we get there in one piece or we don’t.

This is one situation I cannot control. There’s no going online and researching an answer, resulting in a bullet point list of myriad possibilities to consider, ultimately sharing those in a post.

All I could do is fly on the little plane with a determined attitude, saying a few prayers, while hoping this old beat up prop plane will make it safely to the Maasai Mara and the necessary two additional stops along the way resulting in three “ups and downs” until we arrived.

A half-hour into the two-hour flight, Tom alerted me to stand up to walk to the front of the plane to take a photo of Mount Kilimanjaro. I did. He did.

This, dear readers, is why we do this. The excitement of that which we had an opportunity to behold allayed my fears and I felt at peace. 

We’ll be back with many more amazing photos of our safari, the fabulous resort, the outstanding food, the flawless service, and smemorable experience that fulfills a lifelong dream.

Power outage for over six hours yesterday…Thank goodness its back on…One day until safari…

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Our soft sided bags for the tiny plane.  They said no shaped hard bags.

Yesterday, we were imagining what it would be like getting ready to leave for safari with no power after it went out at 9:45 am, not returning until 4:15 pm. We also wondered how we’d shower and get ready to go out to dinner last night if the power remained off. There would be no hot water.

Our laptop batteries were dead. Our smartphones were charging when the power went out and wouldn’t last through the night enabling us to read our books.

We couldn’t watch movies on the laptop. All the food in the freezer and refrigerator would go bad and we’d have no ice. Plus, the danger of home invasions greatly increases when there’s no power.

There’s always monkey families along this stretch of road.

Need I say that we discussed our options if the power didn’t come back on by 5:00 pm:

1.  Go out to dinner, staying out at late as possible.
2.  Return to the house which may possibly still in the dark.
3.  Go to bed, no reading, a habit that hard to break, one we’ve acquired without having a TV.
Or…
1.  Get a cab, stay in a hotel overnight with AC for a night, free WiFi, dinner, and breakfast the next day (All the resorts have generators), returning on Friday, hopefully with power or,
2.  Pack up all of our safari luggage, get a cab to stay overnight both Thursday and Friday nights, leaving for the airport at 7:00 am Saturday morning.
Or…
1.  Tough it out, stay in for dinner making something easy while its still light, tuna salad on a bed of lettuce with a side of coleslaw. Nuts for dessert.
2.  Play Gin by candlelight until bedtime

This one was more interested in picking at the grass than noticing us stop to take a photo.

What did we actually do?  We played Gin for 6 1/2 hours.  Tom slaughtered me!

At 4:15 pm the power returned. We made the tuna salad anyway. And, when the power came back on, we began charging all of our equipment, had dinner in the outdoor living room, watched a few shows we’d saved on the hard drive, headed to bed at 11:00 pm with no bugs in the mosquito netting. Once again, we were content.

Tomorrow morning, we’ll be heading out. You’ll hear from us by the end of the day on Saturday (depending on where you are in the world) when hopefully, we’ll have arrived in one piece and early enough to take a few photos to post, provided we have the promised good Internet connection in the Masai Mara. 

Last night while getting ready for bed in the bathroom, there was a huge lizard sitting atop the light fixture above the mirror. Tom tried to move him along with a too-small dustpan to no avail.  He took off to return a short while later but finally was gone this morning. It was the biggest lizard we’d seen in Kenya thus far. 

Talk about an “outdoor living room.”

We’ve packed everything except our drying laundry. It was on the clothesline overnight and it rained in buckets. Most likely, Hesborn washed it again this morning and again, hung it to dry. With today’s good breeze with slightly less humidity, we might get lucky. 

We printed our e-tickets for the tiny plane on our portable printer. We’re charging all of our equipment and bringing all required cables, chargers, and adapters. Everything on our list is included.

Again, we reminded ourselves that these roadside shops/homes don’t ever have electricity. 

Tonight, we’ll eat in having leftover tuna salad, fillet mignon, and coleslaw; easy, quick, and delicious. I’ll set the alarm on my phone leaving it under my pillow and by 7:00 am tomorrow morning, we’ll be on our way to the tiny airport down the road. 

If we don’t get to see the Great Migration since it moved on, we are totally accepting of this fact and won’t allow ourselves a moment of disappointment. Once we start taking photos, we’ll be on cloud 9.

They say the drive from the tiny airport in Masai Mara in itself is an adventure!

See you soon from “the bush.”   

Noisy night…Packing for a safari…Two days until safari…

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The noises at night are rather entertaining, sounds we’ve never heard in our lives, hard to pinpoint, persistent, and seemingly unwieldy. They’re not gentle sounds. 

One sound is eerie that I mentioned in a past post. It sounds like the music from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Click here for the scene from the movie with the five-note sound.

We don’t hear it every night, only two or three times a week. No one knows what it is nor do they question it. When I first heard it the second night here, I couldn’t help but wonder what it was. It continued until dawn. 

It began last night it began at dusk, finally stopping when I awoke at 6:00 am. Oddly, at this point, I almost welcome the peculiar familiarity of this sound among the many other sounds of the night.  

Perhaps, these sounds are in preparation for the new (to us) sounds that we’ll be hearing outside our tent beginning on Saturday night.  How exciting!

The packing has begun for our safari. Most would think, throw some khaki pants, shirts and boots in a duffel bag and we’ve got it covered. Not so quick!

There’s more to it for us.  Here’s our list:

  • Epipens for possible bee sting
  • Tylenol PM (just in case)
  • Malaria pills
  • Business cards
  • BugsAway pants, shirt, hats
  • Underwear & tee shirts
  • Pills cases for everyday pills
  • Bug lotion
  • Boots
  • Socks
  • Shoes to wear when not on safari (boots too heavy)
  • Sunglasses
  • 2 cameras + cords
  • 2 laptops
  • Chargers: laptops, cameras, phone, MiFi, Hotspot
  • MiFi and Hotspot
  • Smartphones (for books to read)
  • Toiletries (bare minimum)
  • Clothes to change into at night if dining in the dining room during bad weather.  If dining in the bush, we’ll wear BugsAway clothing
  • Plugs and adapters for 220 (which we use everyday)
  • Binoculars
  • Waterproof parkas
  • Passports, Kenya visa, ID

There isn’t one item on the above list that we can exclude. Plus, it won’t be as if we’re at a hotel where we can buy supplies in the gift shop. We’ll be in a tent with a nearby lodge.

All the above does not fit in our one duffel bag. We’ve added two cloth bags for overflow We were instructed not to bring any suitcase-shaped bags, even if soft sided. In the small plane there’s no overhead compartments and everything needs to be neatly tucked away.

Tomorrow, we’ll take a photo of our packed bags to share here. Hesborn will return our dry laundry tomorrow with a few items to top off the bags. 

At this point, we haven’t decided if we’re going out today or even out to dinner tonight. We have produce to use before we go (waste not, want not) and plenty of steaks on hand if we decide to dine in. I have accounting work to update today and will be content to sit in our outdoor living room, ice tea in hand, my guy only steps away and something exciting to anticipate.

The power just went out again. I’d better hurry and post this or my laptop will run out of juice. That’s life in Kenya.

Booked our flight to Mpumalanga, South Africa for November 30th plus required one night hotel stay…

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OK, we get it. Pronouncing Mpumalanga is challenging. Here’s a link to a site that will pronounce it using a computer-generated voice. Tom and I practiced using this app several times and I believe we now have it down.

How annoying when travelers are unable (or unwilling to take the time to figure out) as to how to pronounce where they are or where they’re intending to go. As we’ve traveled, we’ve made an effort to familiarize ourselves with the names of local cities, establishments, and basic greetings.

Here in Kenya, “jambo,” a Swahili word, is the standard greeting with many meanings as indicated in this link. It’s so easy to go overboard using a certain local word, hoping to endear ourselves to the locals.  From our humble perspective, moderation is the key, as is the case in many aspects of life, not always easy to accomplish.

(At the moment, as I’m writing in our outdoor living room, there is a peculiar sound in the ceiling above my head. It sounds as if a creature is biting into the wood beams, but we’re unable to see it. This has been occurring over the past 30 minutes. Hmm…).

Today will be a busy day for us. Soon, our driver Alfred will appear to take us to a local G4S/DHL store to inquire in person as to their willingness to accept a package of supplies we’re shipping from our mailing service in Nevada.  

Hans kindly offered to have us ship the box of supplies to his PO Box. But, with the high risk of theft throughout the local postal system, we’d prefer having the package sent to an actual package shipping service, where more security will be in place. 

Once we meet with the staff at the nearby G4S/DHL location, our minds will be at ease. It will be interesting to see how much we’ll be charged for them to hold the box for less than one day. When we’re notified by email that it has arrived, we’ll immediately contact Alfred to take us to pick it up. 

In order to arrive in Mpumalanga, Kruger National Park, South Africa, the route was tricky. Here’s what we settled on which was the least amount of waiting and flying time at the best possible price.

11/30/2013 – Departure   1 stop
Total travel time: 8 h 55 m
custom air icon
Mombasa
Nairobi
1 h 0 m 
MBA  11:25am
Terminal 1
NBO  12:25pm
 
Kenya
Airways 
Economy/Coach
Layover: 3 h 35 m
custom air icon
Nairobi
Johannesburg
4 h 20 m 
NBO  4:00pm
JNB  7:20pm
Terminal A
 
South African
Airways
Economy/Coach (W)
| 
12/01/2013 – Return   Nonstop
Total travel time: 0 h 45 m
custom air icon
Johannesburg
Kruger National
Park
0 h 45 m 
JNB  11:10am
Terminal B
MQP  11:55am
 
South African
Airways  Operated by 4Z/SOUTH AFRICAN AIRLINK
Economy/Coach (L)

With the 7:20 pm arrival in Johannesburg, South Africa at 7:20 pm, and the next day departure to Mpumalanga, Kruger National Park, we could either hang around the airport for almost 16 hours or stay overnight in a nearby hotel.  We opted for the hotel, taking the complimentary airport shuttle in the morning. 

The one-way fare for both of us on all 3 flights is a total as follows:

Traveler
1: Adult
 
$613.67
Flight
 
$375.00
Taxes & Fees
 
$238.67
Traveler
2: Senior
 
$613.67
Flight
 
$375.00
Taxes & Fees
 
$238.67
Expedia Booking
Fee
 
$14.00
Total: $1,241.34

(By the way, I am the above referenced “Senior” being 5 years older than Tom. Obviously, I wasn’t awarded any benefit by disclosing this fact.)

Our seat assignments, not stated here, were established when we were directed to the airline’s website.  Luckily, we’re able to sit together. This trip will be considerably shorter than the long flight from Venice, Italy to Mombasa a mere two weeks ago today. How the time flies (no pun intended)!

The cost for the one night’s stay in a highly rated hotel was US $117.66 after a 50% discount provided to us from Expedia.com. Add another US $125 for meals and tips for a grand total US $1484.00.

Considering the distance is over 2300 miles from Diani Beach, Kenya to our destination, this fare is not unreasonable. We’d actually budgeted US $1500 for this leg of our journey.

Soon, we’ll make further arrangements for a driver to pick us up at the Kruger Park/Mpumalanga airport to be on our way to our new home in Marloth Park, located on the edge of Kruger Park. 

At times, we’ve been asked, how we can begin planning the next leg of our travels when we recently arrived at a particular location?  It’s actually quite easy for several reasons:
1.  It takes our minds off of it, freeing us up to fully enjoy our current location.
2.  It ultimately saves us money, when the lowest fares usually sell out first.
3.  It allows us to sit together.
4.  It enables us to select flights in time frames that are most appealing to us.  Some of the options for these flights required a 5:30 am departure.  With the International requirement for arriving at the airport no less than 2 hours before the flight, choosing such a flight would result in our losing an entire night’s sleep.  Also, we consider the check-in time for the upcoming location to avoid waiting for hours to get into the property.

Overall, advance planning translates into “stress reduction.”  With the situations that occur for which we have no advance warning, we’ve avoided creating chaos, of which Tom and I are adamantly opposed.  Chaos avoidance is the crux of making our worldwide travels as seamless and stress-free as possible.

And still, regardless of our best efforts and intentions, stuff happens.

Off we go on our stop at the package store after which we’ll grocery shop. We’re having Hans and his lovely wife Jeri over for dinner tonight. Gee, I wish I had some linen napkins!

Our safari to the Maasai Mara is booked!…Photos, rates and information today!…

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The lodge at Sanctuary Olonana where we’ll experience our first safari.

Possessing the knowledge that we’ve finally booked a safari not only puts our minds at ease, but creates a sense of excitement that is indescribable. After all, this was the reason we came to Kenya.

Our hope is to see The Great Migration.  If it has moved on and no longer in the area by October 5th, we’ll accept this and enjoy our safari of the abundant wildlife in the revered Maasai Mara.

Three weeks from today we’ll be heading 10 minutes down the road to the Diani Beach Airport to board a prop plane holding anywhere from 18 to 40 passengers for the 2 1/2 hour flight to the Maasai Mara where upon arrival, we’ll be greeted by a representative from our chosen safari camp, Sanctuary Olonana. We’ll be escorted to our tented quarters for a wealth of experiences during a short action-packed three days.

Of course, we’d have loved a longer stay. Unfortunately, the cost is more than we ever imagined we’d be willing to pay, slightly over US $5000, all-inclusive including airfare. We’d hesitantly budgeted US $4000 only to discover the options were very clear: either “rough it” sleeping in cots in tents or go, first-class, in a luxury “tent” that is comprised of all the amenities one could possibly desire.

We’ll go on 2 game drives each day, one in the morning from 6:30 am until lunchtime and another in the early evening from 4:00 pm to 6:30 pm.  Often, meals will be served in the bush, as we and the other guests feast our eyes on the surrounding wildlife.

We chose the latter, not with the intent that we “deserved it,” but more so, based on a desire for more creature (us creatures) comforts that we so willingly forfeited in many ways in order to accommodate our new lives traveling the world. Now, almost a year later, we’re looking forward to this treat, so befitting our love of nature. 

Many people have flinched when we’ve mentioned our limited interests in old buildings and ruins. We’ve seen our share in this past year and, rightfully so, enjoyed it all.  My gosh, the Panama Canal and Petra were life-changing experiences for us.

Most of these photos were from the Sanctuary Olonana website. For more information click the link.

But now, we’re getting closer to the core of our passion to travel the world, as so clearly illustrated in many of our posts.  We love Life; animals, people, and vegetation, most assuredly, a mutual obsession consisting of the perpetual reveling in the Life that God (or your chosen belief system) placed on this earth for us to nurture and to respect. 

For us, dear readers, this passion is the basis for our sense of ease living a life without roots or a home to call our own. 

We are truly residents of this earth surrounding ourselves in an environment that amid nature, creates a sense of “home” wherever we may be.

In the event of rain or if we simply want to be inside air-conditioned comfort, the lodge at the camp provides indoor activities, a bar, and a restaurant.  Our living quarters will be lavish private tents on the banks of the Mara River, overlooking families of hippos splashing and snorting in the water.

Thus, a safari epitomizes the essence of why we are here in Kenya and why in less than 3 months, we’ll be living on the edge of one of the largest animal sanctuaries in the world, Kruger Park,  South Africa, again exposed to the elements, scary bugs included, seeking to satisfy this endless quest to savor Life to the fullest. We’re infinitely grateful that we’ve found a way to incorporate these experiences into our lives before advanced aging prevents it.

As mentioned in yesterday’s post, all of our criteria have been met by booking at Sanctuary Olonana. By reading the above, perhaps it makes sense as to why we willingly paid this substantial amount for this leg of our journey.

This is a typical interior of one of the permanent tents, outfitted with full bathrooms, electricity, free WiFi, and mosquito nets.  We always share one bed when there’s two, using the other for our “stuff.”  Of course, we’ll be bringing our laptops, two cameras, binoculars, and other digital equipment, writing here each day with many photos.

Now, with the full amount paid in advance, we are able to let go of thoughts of the cost, resting assured that we’ve absolutely made the right decision.

In reviewing the details of our upcoming stay at Sanctuary Olonana we’ll be ensconced in our private well-appointed tent along the banks of the Mara River in the Maasai Mara (various ways of spelling) where the 2 million wildebeest travel to feed before their journey back to the Serengeti in Tanzania. From the veranda in our tent overlooking the river, we’ll be witness to the hippos living and playing, a prospect that in itself, takes my breath away. This fact alone was a huge draw for us. 

Hopefully, we’ll meet (but not too close) Mr. or Ms. Rhino while in the Maasai Mara.

Sitting on verandas has provided us with some profound viewing this past year, as we sit on one today, in awe of the endless flow of wildlife and vegetation on which we feast our eyes hour by hour, day by day.

Hopefully, The Great Migration is positioned in a location enabling us to witness their masses. If not, we’ll certainly be excited to see the famous Big Five: elephants, hippos, lions, tigers, and water buffalo (which may be a different 5 animals, based on varying opinions) and other wildlife indigenous to the area.

Neither of us is into spa treatments.  Tom is too ticklish to relax long enough to enjoy it and I don’t want to turn my brain off in order to stay acutely aware of every moment of our surroundings.  Just not our thing.
A short time ago, Tom announced a baboon walking gingerly on the security glass shards atop the stone wall in our yard.  Grabbing the camera to turn it on wasn’t quick enough to get a shot. Going forward, there will be many more photos to follow.

Ah…Technology fails us…Life goes on…

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Tom engaged is power lounging in our outdoor screen-less living room while searching for future cruises.Tom’s not naked. He’s actually wearing shorts.

We were unable to post yesterday.  Neither of our MiFi devices were working (weird coincidence). Now with one back up, and continuing to work on the other, we have a connection. 

Refusing to further bore our readers with ongoing Internet connectivity issues, we’ll share our other experiences since our last post on Monday. 

Although very hot and humid, these flowers against the blue sky was refreshing.

On Monday, Tom was able to watch the Minnesota Vikings game airing on Sunday, using the separate WiFi device we borrowed from Hans, our kindly landlord, who recently also loaned us a cellphone in order to be able to call for cabs. Thanks to Hans for his ongoing assistance in many ways.

If I recall correctly, these flowers also grow in Hawaii, where we’ll be in 15 months.

As it turned out, watching the game on his laptop with a relatively clear connection resulted in the use of approximately one gigabyte out of eight gigs installed into the alternate WiFi device. 

At the cost of US $45 for eight gigs of data, each game will cost US $5.63 in addition to the US $169 he paid NFL.com for the football season at an average cost of US $16.25 per game.

The small white flowers grow within these larger bougainvillea.

As much as he enjoys  watching the Vikings, we surely don’t flinch at the cost. But lately, we’ve seen a number of “must have” expenses increase, making us a little wary of how much it may cost us after all is said and done after living in Africa.  We may have to cut back on a few things.

Shards of glass are embedded into the top edge of this stone wall protecting our property from intruders climbing over the wall.  Surprisingly, this enchantingly noisy bird lighted atop the glass seemingly comfortable.

Finally, on Monday the final bill arrived in my inbox (along with charges on a credit card) for the rental car in Italy. We’d read reviews warning us of possible “up” charges and surprises when renting a car in Italy, making us skeptical to rent cars in the future, preferring the much less expensive option of using cabs.

Aren’t these breathtaking?

Brace yourself for the total for two and a half months of the smallest and one of the cheapest cars Budget Rental had available at US $3294.47!  With the addition of the unanticipated 21.5% VAT tax and service fees, it proved to be almost US $1000 more than we’d anticipated!  Ouch!

The wide array of colors of the flowers in our yard in Kenya is a feast for the eyes.

If we called a cab as many as 3 times a week at US $12 including tip per trip for our remaining 11 weeks in Kenya, the grand total would be US $396, almost 1/10th of that which we paid in Italy  It’s a no brainer. There again, live and learn. We’re learning not to feel trapped without transportation.

To think that the blooming season has just begun is exciting.  With rain off and on these past few days we expect more blossoms to appear shortly.

Also, taking a cab reduces the risk of carjacking, which apparently, is of a serious concern in Kenya, less so in Diani Beach but not unheard of.  In the US, only 30 minutes from our old home, driving was also dangerous at night in certain areas with possible carjacking and the risk of stray bullets. Is there anywhere in the world free from risk?

Could Mother Nature be more perfect in creating this well shaped Hibiscus, a common flower in many warmer parts of the world.

Yesterday, as we visited the local Internet store to purchase more data for the SIM cards, armed guards manned the doors, letting us in after thoroughly checking us out. Passports are required to enter. Also, armed guards wander inside and out of the local grocery store where we shopped once more. Plus, armed guards are situated at the entrance to the little strip mall where the grocery store is located. Passports are also required in order to purchase grocery items.

The brightness of the yellow in these flowers is not a shade I’ve seen before.

Last night, happy to stay in, we made a fabulous dinner of boneless chicken breast sautéed in olive oil and butter, breaded using egg, cream and coconut flour. With side dishes of fresh green beans, slices of a huge, perfectly ripened avocado (US $.30) with a giant salad, it couldn’t have tasted better.

We fired up an episode of one of Tom favorite shows that we’d download, “Who Do You Thank You Are?” to watch during dinner, dining at the huge glass and burl table in our outdoor living room. Later, we moved to the sofa to watch another show while munching on nuts. A perfect evening to say the least.

All these flower photos were taken in our yard.t

At night, here in Kenya, we both wear our Africa clothes from sunset on. With food on the table at dusk, the mossies love joining us for dinner, us being the best thing on the menu. By wearing our BugsAway pants and recently added BugsAway short sleeve shirts, adding a pair of closed shoes, its only necessary to use bugs spray on my hands, arms and ankles. Tom, seldom gets bitten.What’s the deal with that?

Tomorrow, more about the trip to the stores with a variety of exciting critter photos we were lucky to shoot!

Dreams of Africa…Now a reality…22 hours later…

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This is the view I’m facing as I’m sitting on the veranda writing now.  More house  photos will follow tomorrow after we get all of our un packing done and out of the way.
 It’s hard for us to believe we’re finally in Diani Beach, Kenya for the next three months, the longest of any of our stays thus far in our worldwide travels. Planning this leg of our journey over 18 months ago, it’s surprising we’re finally here.
Sorry this is blurry but there was a sign posted saying “no photos from the ramp” of the ferry boat necessary to get from Mombasa to Diana Beach.  The number of people on this ferry was astounding. Quickly, I took a shot with no time to focus. The government doesn’t charge people for using the ferry boats, only for cars.

After only a few hours of uncomfortable sleep on the plane, I should be napping with Tom right now, who never dozed off once during the many hours in the air. Soon, I’ll awaken him to take his shower so we can go grocery shopping in our new village.  Hans, the next door neighbor and owner of our house, kindly offered to take us grocery shopping in a few hours. 

With no decent food (or within my guidelines) during our 3 flights, we’re looking forward to a homemade dinner tonight. Turkish Air, although a very safe feeling airline with newer aircraft, free food and drinks with exemplary customer service was lacking in the food department.  I’d carefully requested my special meals only the have them bring me all the wrong items.  Hopefully tonight, I can drag myself into the small galley kitchen to tackle some chopping and dicing.

Animals are seen walking along the busy roads, much to our delight. Taking photos while moving fast through crazy traffic this morning, made photo taking a challenge.  I did the best I could as our shuttle driver, Peter, who’d waited for us at the airport for almost 3 hours in the middle of the night, made his way through morning rush hour traffic.

Although from Germany, Hans speaks fluent English. How odd that we can finally speak to someone other than each other who knows what we’re saying!

Tomorrow, I’ll write more about the house itself and our immediate surroundings adding a number of photos. For now, all I will say is that I’ve never heard so many sounds of different varieties of birds singing at once. Will that be a treat to wake up to tomorrow morning after a good night’s sleep! 

Locals walking along the unpaved roads to get to work.  This photo was between 6:00 and 7:00 am this morning, as were the other street photos.

Flying long distances simply isn’t fun, although we tried to make it fun. With a four hour layover in the packed Istanbul airport that eventually turned into seven hours with delays occurring on the upcoming 6 1/2 hour flight, our 3:15 am arrival, turned into 6:00 am. I must say, we never were grumpy and we never complained. That, in itself makes the experience tolerable.

Many locals rode motorcycles and bike, weaving between the fast moving cars and trucks on the two lane narrow road.  Animals are everywhere.

Going through security three times was seamless this time around. A security officer in Istanbul questioned my carry on bag of our one year of prescriptions but let us go through when I pulled out the prescriptions. She never looked further into the bag. 

This type of little shacks, some homes, some shops, lined the highway before we reached the Diani Beach area where suddenly the landscaped changed into row after row of oceanfront resorts, high end homes and condos.

Not surprisingly, even after all we gave away, one again we had to pay a hefty sum for our overweight luggage, not a result of too many bags but due to the weight of the bags. 

Goats, a common source of food among the locals, littered the highway as we zoomed by.

In Venice, before boarding the plane, Istanbul Airlines charged us Euros $1000, US $1324 (after negotiating) after they required that I dump 3 kg (over 6 pounds) of stuff from my bag. I had packed all of those vitamin bottles we’d hauled in a separate duffel bag many months ago into my solitary clothing bag. Of course, I’d be overweight.  We’re contemplating a future course of action, which will be easier to think about after we’re rested.

Hesborn, our delightful houseman, has been running around the house, ensuring everything is in order to our liking. Each day, he’ll go back and forth between ours and the owner’s house tending to all household tasks. He’ll do all of our laundry, make the bed and do all the housecleaning.  Wow! That sure will spoil me!

So, folks, off we go to buy groceries and to create a semblance of order in our new home. Its a totally different life from that which we’ve known so far in our travels and we look forward to embracing it’s differences, its culture and it people.

Back tomorrow with more photos.