May 2 Tour - South Africa, Zambia, South Africa
Hi gang! It is "Queen Karen" here. Absolutely exhausting going to and from South Africa, an extra day is really important on each end. Although the Westcliff Hotel in Johannesburg is beautiful, it took over two hours to get there because of traffic after dealing with lost luggage for 1 hour and I thought the Tauck connections back to the airport were too tight for such a long commute back and ended up paying for my own transfer back. Tauck chooses not to assist you in this situation.
Tour is awesome. I am one of those who chooses NOT to do everything. Sometimes rest works for me. Long days but starting in a different timezone is always good.
The best day is the day you get to The Khwai River Lodge. Can you believe an air safari, river safari, and land safari in one day???? The Khwai River Lodge is the highlight location. I could spend many more days at this spectacular location. Accommodations are topnotch, guides are wonderful. Flying around Africa in small planes is great.
Wonderful trip. Loved Cape Town shopping at the Watefront and the visit to Cape of Good Hope. Cape Town Tour weak. Shark watching is a bit rough and extremely smelly. And, for me, the dust of the Kalahari was intense. Strongly recommend bringing your own goggles and mouth coverings if you are at all sensitive to such things. Early May saw 91 degree days in the Kalahari, very warm. And let Tauck know if you use a breathing machine.
Kalahari is the place where you have no electricity, but WAIT, there is a charging station no one tells you about. (You are never without power for those electronic gismos - meaning there may be no internet, but there is power.) And trust me ladies, life without the hairdryer is very possible because it is too cold in the morning to take a shower! Afternoon during the hot siesta time is when you shower.
Watch those pounds on the luggage. Keep it at 44. And you do need the fleece jacket, a mouth scarf, gloves, a sweater or two (getting mine washed was a trip highlight), more long pants than the 4 I took along (more pants less capris and shorts) and plan on getting your laundry done only about twice, the second because it took 2 days and they will not wash underwear.
Food appearance and taste weren't up to my standards. The tented camps (remember the strong British influence, they think whiskey is scotch) are not big on American whiskeys and bourbons, hard to find. The Royal Hotel at Livingston had some really bad steaks. Do not try to order American. And if you do not eat lamb or seafood, make it clear at the beginning of the tour. We find many trips to Africa/Asia/Europe feature lamb as one of two meal choices often.
But it was still the trip of a lifetime, although Tauck recommends a different trip for "extreme" animal viewing (lots of animals in Kenya and Tanzania). We saw a few of everything, including wild dogs and cats which are hard to find in Africa. My list included Vervet Monkey, Chacma Baboon. Spotted Hyena, BandaBuck. Lion, Leopard, African Elephant, Burchell's Zebra, Warthog, Hippopotamus, Giraffe, Cape Buffalo, Springbok, Kudu. Waterbuck, Red Kechwe, Tssebe, Impala, African Fish Eagle, Brown Snake Eagle, African Hobby Falcon, Red Billed Franklin (the flying chilli pepper), Grey Hornbill, Ground Hornbill, Giant Eagle Owl, and the Lilacbreasted Roller. The guide booklet provided at Khwai is really helpful to keep track of your sightings!
Great group of fellow travelers. Miss the Southern contingent already!
Will post site of Charlie's photos when available.
Tour is awesome. I am one of those who chooses NOT to do everything. Sometimes rest works for me. Long days but starting in a different timezone is always good.
The best day is the day you get to The Khwai River Lodge. Can you believe an air safari, river safari, and land safari in one day???? The Khwai River Lodge is the highlight location. I could spend many more days at this spectacular location. Accommodations are topnotch, guides are wonderful. Flying around Africa in small planes is great.
Wonderful trip. Loved Cape Town shopping at the Watefront and the visit to Cape of Good Hope. Cape Town Tour weak. Shark watching is a bit rough and extremely smelly. And, for me, the dust of the Kalahari was intense. Strongly recommend bringing your own goggles and mouth coverings if you are at all sensitive to such things. Early May saw 91 degree days in the Kalahari, very warm. And let Tauck know if you use a breathing machine.
Kalahari is the place where you have no electricity, but WAIT, there is a charging station no one tells you about. (You are never without power for those electronic gismos - meaning there may be no internet, but there is power.) And trust me ladies, life without the hairdryer is very possible because it is too cold in the morning to take a shower! Afternoon during the hot siesta time is when you shower.
Watch those pounds on the luggage. Keep it at 44. And you do need the fleece jacket, a mouth scarf, gloves, a sweater or two (getting mine washed was a trip highlight), more long pants than the 4 I took along (more pants less capris and shorts) and plan on getting your laundry done only about twice, the second because it took 2 days and they will not wash underwear.
Food appearance and taste weren't up to my standards. The tented camps (remember the strong British influence, they think whiskey is scotch) are not big on American whiskeys and bourbons, hard to find. The Royal Hotel at Livingston had some really bad steaks. Do not try to order American. And if you do not eat lamb or seafood, make it clear at the beginning of the tour. We find many trips to Africa/Asia/Europe feature lamb as one of two meal choices often.
But it was still the trip of a lifetime, although Tauck recommends a different trip for "extreme" animal viewing (lots of animals in Kenya and Tanzania). We saw a few of everything, including wild dogs and cats which are hard to find in Africa. My list included Vervet Monkey, Chacma Baboon. Spotted Hyena, BandaBuck. Lion, Leopard, African Elephant, Burchell's Zebra, Warthog, Hippopotamus, Giraffe, Cape Buffalo, Springbok, Kudu. Waterbuck, Red Kechwe, Tssebe, Impala, African Fish Eagle, Brown Snake Eagle, African Hobby Falcon, Red Billed Franklin (the flying chilli pepper), Grey Hornbill, Ground Hornbill, Giant Eagle Owl, and the Lilacbreasted Roller. The guide booklet provided at Khwai is really helpful to keep track of your sightings!
Great group of fellow travelers. Miss the Southern contingent already!
Will post site of Charlie's photos when available.
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Thank you so much for your feedback. I have reported your comments regarding the transfer, traffic in Jo'burg, and food to our Product Management Team.
Best,
Emily
Nice thought, probably the wrong audience. No, I will not spoil the surprise for others.
I know we had a lot of consternation on our tour about hair dryers. But I do know that Khwai had electricity except for 11 to 4 at night so you could use it there. They even had Internet. And the Kalahari....... There is no electricty in the tents so, I guests that would be a no. And honestly, it was so cold in the morning that the last thing on your mind was a shower or hair dryer.
I also am a hair dryer, curler fanatic, but I just found some hats. Almost everyone wore the Safari hat all the time. Worry more about goggles and something to cover your mouth and gloves for in the morning and you will be fine.
Who knew we could all be so weird about this. Must be an American thing!!!
Thank you for your post. I am very interested in seeing (Prince?) Charlie’s photos. We want to do this trip in 2014.
In regard to your mention of mouth coverings, what sort of covering did your group use? Was it the type that is used during flu season?
None of us were really prepared for this, so we simply had the scarves that were provided by the lodge in the Kalahari. I would have preferred to take something more lightweight since the heat of the day was intense. I think one person in our group did have the throw away doctor kind of things. Just saying, it is a good idea and so are the goggles for the ATV tour.
Pictures are posted:
My husband Charlie took over 4000 photos and has posted the best 100 pictures of our group tour. ENJOY!
https://picasaweb.google...er=0&feat=directlink