Commentary – What is the significance of 18427?

18427 is the total miles traveled on this trip. To help put this in context, the circumference of the earth at the equator is 24902 miles.

Commentary Camera

Before going on this trip, we were encouraged to get a good camera for the Safari. We have lived in the world of pocket point and shoots for so long we did not even realize what our options were. After conducting a little research, we learned a few things.

You can spend as much as you want to on camera equipment. There are so many add-ons and gadgets you could never buy them all.

No matter what camera or lens you buy there is always a better one for $150 to $200 more.

The digital SLR cameras really do take a noticeably better picture than the point and shoots.

You must read the instructions to understand how the camera works. On the second day of safari, our travel partners taught us how to use the AF (Auto Focus) option on the camera. Our pictures came out much better once we started using AF.

Commentary – Safari

Why fly all the way to Africa to go on safari? I did ask myself that question before taking this trip. The brutal fact is that we flew all the way to Africa to see the Pyramids. The Pyramids are not coming to the US anytime soon and the Luxor in Las Vegas, while fun, just isn’t the real deal. All of the animals we have seen on safari we have seen at one time or another in the United States.

Again, why fly all the way to Africa to go on safari? For all the things you can’t do in the United States. Have you ever seen a pack of lions lay there while you take pictures and then all of a sudden get up, move together as a team, and attack a wildebeest? Have you watched a leopard lay there while a flock of birds walks by and then the leopard pounces in an instant? Have you seen herds of Zebras, Gazelles, Wildebeests, and Warthogs all exist peacefully on the plains? Have you had breakfast with 50+ Hippopotamus in the background grunting?

Initially, the idea of safari to me was about seeing animals, which we did. In the end, Safari was so much more. We were able to learn about the animals, see them interact in ways you just cannot in a zoo, experience luxury camping, and meet some really great people.

Commentary – Cairo, Egypt

Everyone in Egypt is working for tips. It is really bad. It finally got to the point where I had to get a stack of one dollar bills and keep them in my front pocket. This would allow us to tip as needed with ease.

Cairo was very cool. Cairo was also very different. It was not what we expected to see in a major international city. We were surprised by the level of poverty and trash in the city. Something good must be happening in Cairo. The city is packed. The traffic is unbelievable. It was also common to see livestock in the street with the cars. On more than one occasion, we saw small children riding donkeys.

It does not rain in Cairo. We asked a few people about this. The last rainfall was three years ago for about 15 minutes. People went outside and celebrated. If it does not rain, you can do some interesting things. There were parks in Cairo with padded chairs. You don’t have to worry about the seat cushions getting wet. The lack of rain also helps preserve the monuments.

The tax rules in Cairo are interesting. As long as a building is not finished, you do not have to pay taxes on the building. This means that most buildings in Cairo are in a permanent state of construction. The building owners add a new story as they can afford. Once one story is completed, people move in and the cycle continues.

One fun detail, President Obama visited Cairo just a few days before we arrived. Everyone in Cairo really liked Obama and was happy for his visit. Almost every Egyptian we met, said “Obama” at least one time in our conversation.

Interesting Quotes from the trip

From our guide, Henry, in Cairo, “A wise man goes when he can. A foolish man goes when he has to”. This ended up being great advice in Cairo. Sometimes there are restrooms and sometimes there are not.

From our Safari guide, Dixon, in Kenya, “Don’t worry. The lions do not eat while people. The lions only eat the Masai”. The Masai are the locals at the reserve.

The street vendors in Egypt have interesting lines to get you to look at their shops. A few of the best lines were, “How can I take your money”, “Welcome to Alaska”, “Everything is free for you today”, and “I went to school with you in Chicago.”

The “Coca Cola Temple” was the meeting place our group used on the Nile cruise. Almost every site has a set of shops at the exit. The “Coca Cola Temple” was the shop you could buy water and soda.

Home!

We made it. It was an over 48 hour adventure getting home from the Mara Intrepids reserve. We are tired and trying to readjust to east coast time.

Baboon Crossing

While waiting for our flight to Nairobi, we got to see the baboon crossing. All of a sudden, a hundred or more baboons appear and walk across the runway. It was a good thing our flight was delayed.

Masai Game

At the main area, there is a traditional Masai game available to play. Connor quickly mastered the game and even beat a local Masai tribe member.

The White Hippo

As we were heading back to camp, Dixon suggested we go see the “white hippo”. No problem. All of Dixon’s suggestions have been great so far. The “white hippo” was actually a chef. We had breakfast “in the bush”. They had set up tables and a buffet in the reserve. Breakfast was great. There were armed escorts around the site to keep out the lions and leopards. While having breakfast, we heard a good leopard story. A few months earlier, when the staff came to set up the buffet, a leopard was in a tree immediately above the buffet spot with a kill, a gazelle. The leopard was scared off but left the gazelle in the tree until breakfast was finished.

Early Morning in Kenya

On our last day at Mara Intrepids we spotted a hippo walking back to the water. The hippos come out at night and quickly go back to the water during the day. As an option, you can take a hot air balloon ride at sunrise. To get to the balloon on time you have to wake up at 4:00 AM. We decided to pass on the hot air balloon ride.

Lions … Part 3

We came across two male lions just lying in the field. Dixon commented the lions looked full and probably had a kill yesterday. The lions did not seem bothered by us at all. They just sat and rested. After a few minutes, one of the lions stood up and started walking toward the car. Remember, there are no windows and no roof on this car. The lion kept walking and eventually stopped behind the car. He was resting in the shade.

Cheetahs

After finding the “big five”, we decided to look for Cheetahs. Dixon drove us to the north end of the reserve. All of a sudden, Dixon stopped the car and pointed. There was a family of Cheetahs right there. It was a mom and three children. We watched the cheetahs for quite a while. The kids would play and the mom would watch. Cheetahs actually teach their young how to hunt.

Lions … Part 2

We were cruising through the plains and noticed some lion tracks. Dixon commented that they were lion tracks. We looked at the surrounding area and noticed a lion standing on a large piece of wood. It was amazing. The lion stood there and kept looking for food.

Dixon

Our game driver, Dixon, was the best! Dixon has been driving for over 20 years. Dixon was able to find everything we wanted to see, educate us on the animals, and make some amazing breakfast settings. The driver makes a huge difference on safari. We were the only car during our stay to see all of the “big five”.

Breakfast on the plains

On our second full day of game driving, Dixon game us the same option as the first day. We could combine the two morning drives into one long drive. This was an easy decision. This day, Dixon drove us into the middle of the plains, stopped the car, and we had breakfast right there. We were surrounded by animals. The zebras got closer than any other animal. They would watch us and we would watch them. Fortunately, there were no lions nearby.

Termites

And we thought Florida had a problem with Termites. We kept driving past these huge mounds and finally asked Dixon what they are. Termite mounds was the response. These mounds are everywhere. The lions and cheetahs use the mounds to get a better view of the land.

Wart Hogs

Have you seen the Disney movie “The Lion King”? After spending time on safari in Africa, the creators of this movie must have come over for quite a while before making the movie. The wart hogs are some of the funniest animals. Anytime a car comes near, the wart hogs will start running. They have short legs but run and run. We tried for days to get a picture of something other than a wart hog’s back end. Dixon finally positioned the wart hogs home between it and the car. The wart hog had no choice but to move near us and let us take a few photos of the front side. This picture was actually one of the more difficult of the trip.

Zebras

This was a surprise. We did not expect to see any Zebras on the trip. Zebras migrate with a group of other animals across Africa. The “great migration” was not supposed to start for another month. We were lucky enough to see some of the scouts for the herds. It was like seeing a mini migration. The zebras appeared to be very well fed.

Giraffe

There were lots of giraffes. The giraffes were frequently in groups. Baby giraffes are actually quite large. One of the more interesting details about the giraffes was the birds. Each giraffe could have several birds on it. The birds were eating ticks and cleaning the giraffes. We actually got to watch one bird clean the back side of a giraffe after, well you know what. We had to have a picture of that. Look closely and you can see the bird where it should not be.

Elephants

We saw lots of elephants. We saw male elephants. We saw female elephants. We saw baby elephants. We saw elephants together and alone. We saw elephants eating and we saw baby elephants playing.

We learned that elephants are eating machines. A single elephant eats 600 pounds of food per day. This means that a single elephant can clear a field of grass.

Breakfast with the Hippos

On our first full day of game driving, Dixon gave us an option. We could combine the two morning drives into one long drive and have breakfast in the bush. What a great idea. We spent about three hours game driving and finally stopped. Dixon walked us to the river and showed us the hippos. There were at least 50 hippos in the water. We watched the hippos for a while and the spread out our blankets and had a wonderful box breakfast. During breakfast we could hear the hippos swimming in the background. It was really amazing.

The Cape Buffalo

This is an “old general” as Dixon described. He has been cast out from the herd and lives on his own. There are only two kinds of animals Dixon would leave the engine running for Cape Buffalos and Elephants. These Cape Buffalos are so used to fighting to survive on the plains of Masai Mara, they instinctively just fight anything that gets close.

We asked Dixon what he would do if a Cape Buffalo charged. His reply was “to push the gas and go quickly”.

Ostrich

Did you know there are ostrich in Africa? I thought this was an Australia thing. There are quite a few here. We saw both male and female ostrich.

Thompson Gazelles

Small, cute, fast, and lion food! These are everywhere. The gazelles appear to be friends with all animals except the ones who eat them.

Lions … Part 1

We learned a lot about lions. The female lions hunt and bring food to the pride’s male lion. Young male lions are cast out at an early age and have to hunt for themselves until they are ready to challenge the pride’s male lion. The lions at Masai Mara basically ignored the Range Rovers. The lions would lie on the ground, sleep, and generally seem disinterested in any activity going on.

After watching a group of female lions for a while, one of them got up and slowly started walking away. A few moments later another lion got up and walked away. Within just a few minutes all of the lions were up and walking away. Then we realized what had happened. A lone wildebeest was near. The lions were slowing making their way in a spread pattern toward the wildebeest. They stalked the wildebeest and then were spotted, unfortunately for the lions. The wildebeest bolted and lived to see another day. Watching the lions hunt was amazing.

The Big Five

While at Mara Intrepids, we went on Safari! Safari in 2009 consists of going on photo shooting rides in Range Rovers. The goal of most first time Safari adventurers is to see “The Big Five”. The Big Five are Lion, Leopard, Black Rhino, Elephant, and Cape Buffalo. The Big Five are famous because each of them is deadly in their own way. We were very fortunate and were able to see all of the Big Five during the three days we were at Mara Intrepids.

We were assigned a driver, Dixon, for us and one other couple. The five of us rode with Dixon each day. On the second day of the trip, Dixon was able to find all of the Big Five in one day. Our car was the only car to see the Black Rhino during our stay. Thanks Dixon! You are the best.

Monkey Attack!

At 2:30 AM on our first night at Mara Intrepids, we were all woken up by a crash on the top of our tent. Next, we heard footprints outside. Then, something kept hitting the top of our tent and rolling down. We did not know what it was. The site generator was off so we could not turn on the lights. We just decided to stay in the tent and try to go back to sleep. We asked about the noises the next day. We were told it was likely a monkey and a mongoose.

The second night the attack occurred at 3:30 AM. The third night the attack occurred at 1:30 AM.

About Mara Intrepids … Part 3

Each day follows the same schedule and it works.
- 6:30 AM – Morning Game Drive
- 8:30 AM – Breakfast
- 1:30 PM – Lunch
- 3:30 PM – Afternoon Game Drive
- 7:30 PM – Dinner
- 9:00 PM – Bed (at least that is when we went to bed. It is amazing how tiered you get when it is really dark outside and there is no television.)

About Mara Intrepids … Part 2

Mara Intrepids is in the middle of the Masai Mara national reserve in Kenya. This is no Lion Country Safari. The entire compound is surrounded by an electric fence. This is required to keep the lions and other animals out of the compound. You are not allowed to leave the compound on foot without an armed escort. In the three days we were at Mara Intrepids, we saw two male lions, one leopard, and an elephant right outside of the electric fence.

About Mara Intrepids … Part 1

Staying at Mara Intrepids is a first class luxury safari experience. We “camped” in tents. The tents had hardwood floors, electricity, and a full private bathroom. Was it camping? Well we were in a tent without heating and cooling so that counts right?

When you sign up for a luxury safari at Mara Intrepids this is what you should expect.
- Gourmet meals breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
- A staff willing to help with any request you have.
- Well experienced safari drivers. Ask for Dixon, he is the best.
- A morning wakeup visit to your tent. There are no phones. The person who wakes you up will bring your choice of coffee, hot tea, hot chocolate, or all three. We chose all three.
- A heated fuzzy water bottle in your bed at night. This is delivered during dinner. If you have never had a fuzzy water bottle in your bed when it is cold outside at night you just don’t know how wonderful it can be.

Getting to Mara Intrepids … Part 3

One more detail … this was our second red-eye flight of the trip. Our flight left Cairo at 12:25 AM. Once we were on the plane, we learned we had a 45 minute layover in Khartoum, Sudan. The flight was full for both segments. The passengers on the flight were interesting. Most of the passengers were wearing United Nations or some type of police uniform. As civilians, we were definitely, in the minority.

Getting to Mara Intrepids … Part 2

Range Rovers! This is the vehicle of choice out here. You are greeted by a group of Range Rovers, hop in the one for your campsite and you are off.

Getting to Mara Intrepids … Part 1

I asked the travel agent what type of plane we will be taking to the game reserve? She said every time she has been to Mara Intrepids, it has been on a jet. Sure. I believe that now. It was a one hour flight on a single engine plane with one stop before ours. Both landings were on a gravel runway. The flight was a lot of fun and we got to see Kenya from the air.

The next stop …

We are at the Cairo International Airport waiting for our next flight. Our flight departs at 12:25 AM to Nairobi, Kenya. We do not know if we will have any access to the Internet. If we do not, postings will have to wait for a few days.

Khafre’s Pyramid

Connor found a great place to climb on the Pyramid for a picture. Enjoy!

The Next Secret Tour

After the camel ride, we wanted to walk around the Pyramid. On the backside of the Pyramid, there are three Pyramids for the Pharo's wives. We met another “site watchman”. After the secret tour at the Great Pyramid, we were not interested until he said he would let us climb the Pyramid. Not the big Pyramid, but one of the wives Pyramids. We were hooked. Connor and I climbed halfway to the top. The “site watchman” showed us the path along the blocks. It was great.

Camel Riding … Part 2

It is still surprising to see just how tall the camels are. You really don’t expect them to be so tall when you think about riding them. After our first try, it was time to try again. We found a camel vendor at the scenic overlook. The vendor was going to give me a camel ride from the overlook to the smallest of the three Pyramids. Ok, no problem, it doesn’t look that far. And then things got interesting ...

Instead of the vendor walking the camel to the Pyramid, he passed me off to a small boy, probably 8 years old. We found a camel, hopped on, and we were off. The ride started out just fine.

About halfway to the Pyramid, we stopped. The boy walked up to another camel that was tied to a rock and happily eating something. The boy whipped the camel and pulled at its rope. The camel was not happy and growled at the boy. This upset my camel. Here is the scene, we are in the middle of the desert, an 8 year old boy is whipping an angry camel and holding the rope to my upset camel at the same time. All of this occurs while I am sitting 23 feet in the air (probably 8), on top of a camel.

The second camel finally goes to the ground and the boy hops on. Then the boy ties my camel to the back of his very angry camel. Somehow this does not seem like a good idea. We eventually made it to the Pyramid. A successful ride!

The Secret Tour at the Great Pyramid

The travel guides advise you not to interact with the locals at the attractions. If you do not, you will miss out on so much. We let one “site watchman” reel us in at the Great Pyramid. We had a great time.

I got to climb down into one of the Queen’s Pyramids and see the burial chamber. I was the only one there. It was very cool. We were shown the excavation area where the housing for the Pyramid workers was. The guide then proceeded to take about 60 pictures of us in a variety of funny poses. We spent about 45 minutes with this person. When we were done, out came the hand. Prices for access are higher at the Great Pyramid than in Luxor or Aswan but it was still very much worth it. We all walked away laughing and smiling.

The Great Pyramid

We found some steps leading up the Great Pyramid. We climbed the steps until they ended and then we climbed just a little more. It was a very public place and the tourism police decided to say something about it. We were whistled and asked to go down. We did, there we no problems, but we got this really cool picture.

The Pyramids … Day 2

The first time we saw the Pyramids, we were on a day tour. Our guide was very good, informative, and showed us quite a lot of Cairo in one day. However, we wanted to spend more time at the Pyramids. Today we have what is called “a day at your leisure” before we catch a 12:30 AM flight to our next destination. I am not sure why all of the fights here are at such ridiculous times but they are. Oh well. This is part of the adventure associated with traveling.

On day 2 at the Pyramids, we did it our way. There was no tour. We just hired a car for the day to take us exactly where we wanted to go and to stay as long as we wanted to. Today was a fabulous day!

Tours are fine. Sometimes they are the best way to see sites. However, if you are willing to go it on your own, you have the opportunity to experience so much more. You do take more risks but you also get a chance to see things the typical person on a tour does not.

The Cairo Bazaar

This is where you go to haggle over trinkets and look at all of the stuff for sale. You can find statues, clothes, water pipes, and food. Our guide showed us the entrance to the bazaar and waited in a tea house for us to finish shopping. Almost immediately, I noticed someone following us. After two or three shops, we immediately went back to the tea house and asked the guide what was going on. The guide explained, the follower was part of the tour and they do this since the blast a few weeks ago.

Blast? What blast? We thought Cairo was one of the safest cities in Africa. We introduced ourselves to the guard and had a good time wandering the streets of the bazaar. It was weird having someone follow you. After a while, you do get used to it.

Later in the day, we asked our guide more about the guard. The guard was an employee of the Egyptian government. Since the N1H1 virus and the blast, Egypt is working to ensure nothing else happens to the tourists. Our earlier understandings were correct. The Egyptian economy is based on tourism. If bad things happen to tourists, bad things happen to the Egyptian economy.