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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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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