Question for those who have been on this Tauck trip already
We are going on our first Tauck Africa trip in October this year (22nd). I had a few questions.
1) Do we need any local currency?
2) I have a neck issue and wondered about how rough the jeep rides will be?
3) Packing suggestions: Anything you took which you found you did not need, and anything that you did not take that you wish you had taken.
4) Any reading material that you did in advance that helped you on the trip.
Thanks,
JP
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Comments
Also I would like to know about how previous travelers to Tanzania handled the plastic bag ban issue.
Jacob, I cannot answer all of your questions since we are leaving on this tour this coming week (our 9th Tauck tour but first time to Africa). What I do know is USDs are accepted everywhere. Bring smaller, newer bills in denominations no larger than $20. I tend to over pack, so I’m likely bringing more than I need. All casual wear in browns, tans, olive green colors; no navy or black. As for plastic bags, we are generally trying to get away from using them. For clothing, we use packing cubes, which are very helpful and keep things organized. For liquids and other such items, we have zippered, reusable plastic cases. All are readily available on Amazon. We’ve not done a lot of reading, but we watched a video “The Royal Tour: Tanzania” as well as the movie, “Out of Africa” about Karen Blixen. I’m sure others can make better recommendations. I hope this helps.
Jan, thank for your response. I hope your trip goes well. I would love to hear from you after your trip to see if you have anything to add.
Our trip begins Oct 22nd, though we plan to depart the US on the 15th to spend a few days in Dubai before joining Tauck.
J
Bring a wide-brimmed hat with a chin strap and one of those hand-held foldable paper fans.
I’ve been using these reusable TSA approved bags for several years because I don’t like finding a ruptured baggie in my luggage.
They are quart size have a zipper and work very well.
Amazon is where I’ve bought mine I think they come two to a package.
Jacob, I recommend looking at all the past posts about K and T, it takes a while but there is plenty of informational about everything you have asked about.
Plastic bags…you can get smaller soft silicone reusable bags also on Amazon. We love packing cubes
We love ‘buffs’ for helping keep the dust at bay….though these days masks are good. We like the buffs for our necks so that the camera and binocular straps are more comfortable . We use ‘Gear Beast’ silicone holders for our cell phone cameras, because with a bumpy vehicle you don’t want to drop your phone on a Lion.
You can’t drink the water or even brush your teeth with it….you can put a washcloth over the cold faucet to remind you or we take a hair tie and place it round the cold tap.
Your wide brimmed hat should have a chin strap.
You remove shoes so you can stand on the safari vehicle seats to take photos
Get used to having little exercise on this trip, you spend hours in the vehicles
I love the book the White Masai and it’s following ones, but maybe better read after you have been
When you are in the safari vehicles, don’t just rely on the guide and driver to spot animals, you need to be looking too.
With so many reports of luggage being delays especially if you take the KLM Flights, I recommended taking at least two sets of clothing in your carry on.
We did a bridges tour of Tanzania and loved it, but… When we got home, I had horrible back trouble after riding hundreds and hundreds of miles on very bad roads. And I never in my life had back problems before. Even went to a local ER at home because the pain was so bad. Eventually got sent for some therapy and after doing it for a while, the pain was gone just like that. One minute it hurt and in the next minute, it was gone. Something in the spine called a facet that can bend and get out of shape. Once that snapped back into place after physical therapy, it’s been fine ever since.
I mention this because you said you had neck problems and just wanted you to be aware .
Jacob- I’m envious; I went on K&T in 7/19 — loved it!! Def in my repeat list. A few more thoughts in addition to the others: bring a fleece jacket or packable puffer jacket for early ams when it can be chilly; bring sunglasses for those bright sunny days; bring bug spray … the laundry was very inexpensive except at the Four Seasons and Fairmont. Very excited for you!
I agree with NancyCohen. Definitely bring a warm jacket. I also brought a pair of light weight gloves and wore them on a few cold early mornings.
In the Serengeti, Amboseli, and Masai Mara the "roads" are unimproved, dirt trails, with many pot holes, deep ruts, and sometimes ravines. Sometimes the drivers will drive off the road and through the very bumpy grassy areas to avoid potholes- I don't know what was worse!
We encountered one pothole that looked like a shallow puddle, only to find out after we got stuck and had to be pulled out by a truck, that it was a deep pothole! Another of our vehicles also got stuck in the same hole! Before that driver gave up and called on the radio for help he had everyone get out (in the mud) to reduce the vehicle's weight!
If you are being seen by a spine doc, you might want to ask him about it and see what he says. He might suggest a neck brace.
The husband of a forum regular was medevac'd due to back problems, maybe she will weigh in. I believe he actually had hip problems, but needed to been surrounded by pillows and firmly braced in the back of a vehicle for the fairly short but uncomfortable and painful ride from the Four Seasons to the airstrip.
As others have suggested spend some time reading past posts and threads- click on the East Aftica category list at the right side of this page then select Kenya & Tanzania.
We did a bridges tour of Tanzania and loved it, but… When we got home, I had horrible back trouble after riding hundreds and hundreds of miles on very bad roads. And I never in my life had back problems before. Even went to a local ER at home because the pain was so bad. Eventually got sent for some therapy and after doing it for a while, the pain was gone just like that. One minute it hurt and in the next minute, it was gone. Something in the spine called a facet that can bend and get out of shape. Once that snapped back into place after physical therapy, it’s been fine ever since.
I mention this because you said you had neck problems and just wanted you to be aware .
On our first K and T tour, there were far more rough roads than there are now., the roads outside the parks and even the ones to the hotel were all just dirt, now many of those are paved. Back then, there were more drives to different lodges, now they fly. I remember one road was paved but had massive rocks strewn all along it for miles. My husband said women should be aware they will get ‘safari boob’ yes hung on to mine for dear life. Please take this in fun and don’t flag me, it is true. I kinda miss those drives, the scenery was so beautiful along the way, we saw lots of baobab trees which I love and stopped for animal sitings.
We did encounter one ravine like Alan describes and shows the pics. Our vehicle got stuck. The men were asked to get out. One woman, yes the one who always dressed to the nines on the rides and dripping with diamonds, started screaming that her husband would get attacked by a lion. She screamed and shouted, but the vehicle managed to get out. When we got back to the lodge, everyone was at the bar, the woman went back to her room, she was in a state. She had been annoying everybody. When we told the Tour director what had happened, she tried to be professional and be serous, but she quickly went to the bathroom and we could hear her screaming with laughter..it was Rachel Alan, remember her from your England tour years ago. We had her on our K and T and then on our Elegant South Africa, we were really fond of her. She told us about leaving a spade outside of her place and the next morning found it chewed to bits from hyenas. Ah…can’t wait to go back to Africa…
@Jacob_Plotkin You definitely don't need local currency. Small bills work best, and for markets I found $5 bills to be most needy. For any purchases you make with charge, including hotel bills, make sure to have them ring it with local currency to get the best conversion. I concur with the comments here already. I'd only add one thing regarding your neck issue. On my trip, someone passed on the balloon ride since they had a back problem and were concerned about what a rough landing might do. I have no insight on that, but just offer it as food for thought. Enjoy your upcoming trip.
It sounds as if wearing a neck collar just in case may help anyone concerned about injury
Thanks sevenseas, I forgot to mention the balloon ride. That has the potential to do serious damage if the pilot mis-judges the rate of descent or the wind picks up and you have a hard landing. The balloon trip is scheduled for very early in the morning when the winds are nil and still. As time goes on the wind can pick up and all sorts of things can happen on the landing. The pilots are skilled and will usually land early before the wind gets above limits, but if the wind picks at the last minute before you have landed, the landing can be hard. After touchdown the pilot will release a large flap that dumps the hot air from the balloon, if the wind catches the partially deflated balloon before you exit the gondola, in can cause the gondola to tip over and be dragged on its side over the bumpy terrain for a little bit. In years past all dangerous activities like this were marked with an asterisk and a caution that said participation is at your own risk or you were provided a waiver to sign. I'm not sure what they do now.
You typically climb aboard the gondola while it is laying on it side and lay on your back in an "astronaut" position. As the hot air pulls the balloon up, it will right the gondola just before lift off. The normal landing position is standing upright in the gondola, but it can also end up like in the first photo, with the gondola tipping over and being dragged along.
But again, we don't know the details of your neck condition, so strongly suggest you talk to your orthopedist.
Jacob we did our balloon ride in Tanzania in July. We had some trouble taking off but thankfully finally made it up. I was on the bottom section of the balloon, remember it’s on its side. Every time it hit the ground while trying to get upright is quite a jolt. You are holding the ropes and keeping yourself held up from the side of the basket but it still jerks a lot!
What is it with the flags! May I ask why I was flagged for posting pictures for Jacob to see the bags I use?
If you figure this one out you'll get a medal. The same question has been asked by lots and lots of forum users.
Welcome to the crazy club Terrye
I guess I need to read the forum rules will I be blocked if I get too many flags?
No you will not, The person who is flagging needs to read the rules
Contribute your knowledge of tours and if you deviate now and again, so what, people don’t have to read what you write.
Jacob_Plotkin HI. Happy Monday
I did this tour about 5 years ago.
Here are some answers, from "my" experience:
1) Do we need any local currency?- no, if you're going to the street market maybe, but not at the Cultural Art Center and not at the hotels, credit cards are okay at both. Do take some small denominations of US dollars. $1, $5, $10.
2) I have a neck issue and wondered about how rough the jeep rides will be? I was worry about that too, I have a lower back problem.. depending on the terrain, specially on wet season, it could be rough, but Oct. still fairly dry , so it shouldn't be an issue.. Still during the wet season, they go slow through the tough areas.
3) Packing suggestions: Anything you took which you found you did not need, and anything that you did not take that you wish you had taken. This one is tough.... packing is something personal. I travel always like Elizabeth Taylor.. so maybe I'm not the best person to advise on this subject.
Things that I didn't used- the Hat , came back with several T-shirts I never used, The safari Eddie Bauer safari jacket...
4) Any reading material that you did in advance that helped you on the trip.
Nope. I watch some Youtube videos, read everything I could here in the Forum , I did check the tourist websites for both countries, also TripAdvisor and left the rest to be surprise!
Hope this helps.
Terrye - there is some sort of nutcase(s) who gets off on random flagging. Mostly posted pictures. British & AlanS seem to be a favorite target. He/she/it/they/them is irrelevant to this forum and should be considered as you would a gnat or a mild case of the sniffles.
No Terrye you won't get banned unless you try selling something and even then I think it takes a lot. There's someone who keeps coming on with some weird reference to student accommodation that I've actually reported to Tauck multiple times which is different than a spam flag. It requires you to give a reason. Person still keeps popping up.
Someone said and I agree that the photos get flagged because they take up room in the thread and possibly cause download delays for some. Often at the bottom of the screen there isn't a Home button and I find if I just back up it doesn't mark the latest comment as read.
I have to go to the top and hit Home. If there are a lot of pictures that can take awhile. Doesn't mean anyone should stop posting them and the vast majority of us enjoy them. Sideways ones are a challenge but most of us have had it happen so no criticism of that. It's harder than it should be.
Terrye Hi.
)
No body cares about the flagger- don't worry- he/she/it! born as/ became it... it's a looser.
Does anyone on this trip take malaria prophylaxis? Is it needed?
Jacob, we began our course of Malarone today—we are leaving tomorrow. If you have an international travel clinic near you, I suggest you pay a visit. You will get great advice on what is needed for this specific trip. We got vaccinated for typhoid and yellow fever and received our prescriptions for malaria prophylaxis as well as a prescription for azithromycin antibiotic (just in case). Being a mosquito magnet, I would much rather take the malaria med than potentially contract malaria.
We always take it. There are tons of threads on this subject on the forum. Read the literature on Malaria and talk to your travel doctor, then only you can decide what you want to do.
A dear friends granddaughter went on a mission trip last month to Uganda she quit taking her malaria meds because they made her sick. She just got out of the hospital here. She spent 10 days in ICU and probably has not heard the last of that horrible disease it is like the energizer bunny of diseases it just keeps coming back. Take your meds!