anyone on the July 31st Tanzania, Kenya & rwanda?
Getting excited as almost a little over 100 days away;) We are from Charlotte? anyone on this tour?
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Getting excited as almost a little over 100 days away;) We are from Charlotte? anyone on this tour?
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I'm on this Safari. I'm traveling solo. Live in Los Angeles. So, so excited. First time safari for me.
I have been on Botswana & South Africa/zambia tour back in 2013. Real excited for this too!
My hubby and I will be on this trip and we are super excited
We are from Texas and this is our second Africa trip with Tauck. we did Botswana, Zambia and South Africa in 2019 for our 25th anniversary.
My husband and I are also on this trip. We arrive 7/29. We are from Illinois and Az you can guess when we are in each place. lol. We are very excited as this has been on our bucket list. This is our first Tauck tour but we have been to S. Africa 4 times as well as Zambia. Looking forward to meeting you.
Just back from the Mountain Gorilla Safari: Kenya, Tanzania & Rwanda trip that started on July 9th. You are in for a fantastic journey. It was absolutely incredible, a trip of a lifetime. One tip on the gorilla excursion. I turned 80 years old on this trip. Though my wife and I had been working hard to get in shape for the walk to where you meet the gorillas, we were concerned whether we could handle all the walking. Our Tour Director recognized that we might have difficulty with all the walking that might be required, and suggested an alternative. We could hire a "sedan chair" that would be carried by additional porters to carry us to the area where our assigned gorilla group was located that day. It wasn't cheap. It cost $200 to rent the sedan chair and $15 each for the 8 porters who would carry you. They work 4 at a time, and alternate the carrying. So it cost us $320 each for my wife and I, but I have to say it was worth every penny. They did a terrific job to make us comfortable, and also were very attentive in holding our hands to make sure we didn't trip over anything in the dense jungle as you make the final walk to approach the gorillas. They cleared a path with machetes. Suddenly, we stepped out of the jungle to a spot that was 5 feet away from a big silverback, who was munching away on leaves and tree stems. He ignored us, and just kept on eating. Finally, he scooted right past my wife, brushing against her leg, as he moved to another spot to continue eating. Then we moved around to see other members of his group, including a number of juveniles and a couple of infants clinging to their moms. They all were 10 feet or less away from us. We spent an hour with this group. It was unbelievable. I'm glad that our tour director made it possible. You will have a different tour director on your tour, but if you are concerned about whether you can make the walk, which can be strenuous even though Tauck requests the easier walks for its clients, ask your tour director to arrange a sedan chair for you. Don't miss the gorilla walk. It definitely is the highlight of this journey. Our tour director told us he was not doing the next tour, so you will have someone different. Now when I say "sedan chair," it is more like a hospital litter. You are lying down, though they prop up your head with pillows. Here is a photo of us.
I pity the Tour director if they get an entire group of people who want to be carried. There will not be enough porters.
Probably not likely that the group will consist of a whole bunch of old farts, like us. We had a small group of only 13 people. Seven were younger and healthier than us.
On a related subject for this particular tour and any other Great Migration tours this summer, be aware that the temperatures were surprisingly cool this month in Kenya and Tanzania. Daytime highs were in the low 70's and morning temperatures were around 50 degrees. Our tour director had warned us in advance to bring extra layers of warm clothing which could be shed as the day progressed. I'm sure glad we got that info. I packed shorts and short sleeve shirts, and didn't end up wearing any of them. You are on or near the Equator, but it wasn't as warm as we expected. The natives were all wearing jackets.
Those are normal temps. You have to factor in that you are at a high elevation that keeps temps cooler especially at night.
People who want to do the mountain gorilla excursion should be aware that there is an option to be carried by porters if they are unsure whether they can do the walking. I would have hated to have missed the walk with gorillas. It was the highlight of the trip. I don't expect that many individuals who want to book this tour will have a need for the extra porters. On our trip, there were actually 4 individuals who opted for this service. Initially, the authorities did not want to have more than two persons at a time on any single tour going out that day using the sedan chair option, but then they changed their minds and decided to put all 4 in one group with some other walkers. They also made sure we were on one of the groups that was closer to a particular gorilla family. The porters have an organized group with uniforms and patches identifying them. They seemed to welcome the business. They were very attentive and helpful throughout our tour. I doubt that there would be a problem finding enough of them, nor do I expect that there will be large numbers of individuals requiring this service. Again, I just wanted to make users of this forum aware that there is an option available for them if they want to sign up for the gorilla tour and are unsure whether they can make the trek on their own without assistance. We had no problem handling other aspects of this tour package, and did not impact any of the other members of our tour group. The Tauck tour director did do a nice job of having a personalized birthday cake for my 80th birthday, which I celebrated on this trip.
We are now going on this tour next year.Originally booked for this June but my husband had to have cardiac problems resolved and postponed.Jonmacks your post is helpful to know there is an option if you cannot climb!We both are very fit;workout with spinning,weightlifting etc. My husband is also back to his full workout schedule.We are hoping to make the trek without being carried but will make use of it if needed!
Do not assume this option will be available to you without talking to Tauck first. I feel John was lucky to get this, who knows how many other people have the same idea of the ten groups heading out that day
At our stage and age in life we understand that nothing is a guarantee.We hope to continue on our fitness journey hoping for the best.
Is it really an option or actions the tour director took to avoid a possible catastrophe? At some point, Tauck needs to start saying, “no.” My opinion.
Tauck makes it clear that this is a level 4. There will be at least 80 people making the climb every day. Maybe a private contract in advance is the best way to ensure you have the 4 porters each you might require.
I know John was being generous with his information but I feel this has opened up a can of worms to invite people who maybe might not be suited for this tour.
I agree. I can’t imagine Tauck wants this to be the new norm for either this trip or any other very active one. I’ll end it there.
There is always a pair or two who are less mobile than the rest of the group in most of the tours we have taken.Gorilla hike is a huge attraction and if some people want to see they should have the opportunity specially if they have travelled all the rest of the tour. Agree with British that Tauck could add this option ahead of time to make sure proper resources are allocated and available.This would only promote the tour attraction for people who may be marginal in their ability who do not want to take any risk of injury!Most of us tend to over estimate our abilities anyway .
Tauck makes it clear this tour is a 4 and 4. When we took the tour, there was an additional hike down into Oldupai Gorge. You should have seen how worried our Tour Director was when she saw some could not do that very easily. I should think Tauck are under no obligation to definitively provide extra resources for those who maybe should not be on the tour. I think John was really lucky.
In addition to the three of us from my group, there was also another individual from a different group who did the sedan chair option with us that day. The walk with the gorillas segment was the only part of our overall tour that was strenuous. We had no problem handling the other daily activities. For our age (78 & 80), we are in good health. We exercise 6 days a week at our local health club. When we booked this tour, we fully expected to be able to walk to see the gorillas. Having the ability to be carried by porters enhanced our experience with the gorillas. From what I understand, the average daily income in Rwanda is about $5 USD. Hiring porters for $15 contributes substantially to the local economy in that community. Large numbers of these porters show up regularly each morning looking to be hired, and depend on this income. Visitors are encouraged to hire these porters. They even make it possible for disabled visitors to enjoy seeing the gorillas. It is not cheap to have porters carry you to the gorillas. I don't think Tauck will be inundated with customers for this tour who want to use this option. I think the concern might be that potential customers for this particular Tauck tour might not be able to handle getting in and out of the vehicles, and slow the group down. That was not the case for us. We had no problem handling other aspects of the tour. I am not suggesting that Tauck promote this particular option to be carried, but I do think it is helpful to know that is available when needed for a better gorilla trekking experience. The gorilla trek was the major highlight of this tour for us. I would hate to have missed this amazing experience. We had actually booked this trip 5 years ago, but it got cancelled at that time because of the COVID pandemic.
Johnmacks appreciate your comments.We are lookin* forward to our trip next year.Just like you we both trail in our fitness center 5 days a week ; consider ourselves quiet fit not disabled! But having the option of porters available is attractive to us; if it helps the local people ,I am all for it!
https://www.google.com/gasearch?q=gorilla trekking in Rwanda videos&source=sh/x/gs/m2/5#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:be2a564c,vid:u_swpeP2pjY,st:0
This second video is very much like the terraine we encountered. It’s a cute video. There are many out there to give you the idea of what to expect.
https://www.google.com/gasearch?q=gorilla trekking in Rwanda videos&source=sh/x/gs/m2/5#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:82dec8c6,vid:c472zg9k5vU,st:0
Yes, a wonderful experience
This gorilla was really relaxed on our recent gorilla trek.
On several occasions the gorillas just got up and walked past us, brushing against our legs. You can't get any closer than this. Never felt threatened. We were just part of the scenery.
I noticed that the Rwanda gorillas were going to be featured on GMA this morning so I recorded the segments. It shows Robin Roberts in Rwanda. You can see how breathless she is walking at 8000 plus feet, how tricky the trail is and that it took 1.5 hours to reach her particular gorilla group. In the second segment, it shows some of the beautiful countryside and the impact that tourism has had on improving the people’s lives. The Ellen Degeneres center just had its foundations when we were there. Interesting, most of the tourists they get are Americans.
I saw that segment this morning and was in awe. The gorillas are so docile! It was interesting how the guide made “gorilla noises” to let the approaching ones know that the humans posed no threat. My heart was racing just watching the clip.
And how wonderful not to see entitled Americans being carried through the jungle.
Well, this entitled American is very thankful to have recently had the same experience as Robin Roberts. Her segment on today's program accurately reflected our own recent experience with the gorillas not even two weeks ago. She must have been there around the same time we were there. And, as she so accurately pointed out, this gorilla tourism greatly benefits the local community through these dollars spent there by entitled tourists, such as myself. And I gave a lot more additional dollars to the local porters than your average tourist! Not sure why I shouldn't have had the opportunity to have this once in a lifetime experience just because I am 80 years old and had some physical limitations that might have otherwise kept me from walking all the way without assistance. Maybe we should do away with handicapped parking spaces for entitled seniors, too. As indicated by the photos I added to this forum subject, I couldn't believe how close we were to these gorillas, and how they just walked right past us as if you weren't even there.
I think this trip looks amazing and to see how close you get to the Gorillas is awesome. I will have to look for the GMA story to see it.
I look at the porter option this way. If someone went on this trip expecting Tauck to go out of their way to hire porters then I could see a problem with that, but if the porters are readily available, then good for the traveler and good for the porters. As long as it’s not delaying or hindering the flow for the others on the tour.
I also think that if I did this trip, it would cost me almost $30k, not including air, as a solo traveler. What if I twisted my ankle getting in or out of the jeep during the safari portion that would have made it impossible to do the trek to the Gorillas. If the option to be carried via Porters was available if that scenario happened, then it would be worth the cost to not miss out on what would probably be a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Tauck always notes they do not make special accommodations for people and they have to be able to walk certain distances, but I’ve been on a few tours where they will call a cab for some to go back to the boat instead of having them walk back to the bus and the TD paid for it.
Jonmacks - I enjoyed reading about your trip and could tell how excited you were to experience it.
Given the poverty in Africa, I'm sure they get lots of workers who would love to be porters. And many Americans are generous and add a tip to the amount charged. Porters probably make more than many of the other workers in the area.
I expect that the porters have a policy of rotating through the clients so that they all get some work. Of course, some of them will wind up with clients that are quite heavy while others may get very small clients. Just luck of the draw.
If ten people in one group wanted to be carried, I'd bet they would find the equipment and porters to do it.
Only 8 people per group. So 96 people per day can do this trek. Hopefully if you are less able you get to be in the group that has the shortest trek.