YOUR trip of a lifetime

[princesss]

SAFARI!

Okay, so, sub Saharan Africa has been my dream trip since I was 7. My 2nd grade teacher had driven all over Africa for a year with her husband, and when she showed us the pictures, it was the first time I really understood that there was a real world outside of the US. Everywhere else seemed like make believe until that moment.

So (not that I've thought about this for the past almost 20 years) I would go to Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and maybe Botswana. Drive along the coast in S. Africa and visit wineries around there, hot air balloon ride over the Masai Mara during the Great Migration, see Victoria Falls, go to Zanzibar, do a night safari in Kruger...

Yeah. I don't really want to buy a house anytime soon, so instead of saving for a down payment, once I get surgery paid for and my emergency cushion back up, this is what I'm saving for.

 

[justginger]

Everyone has such great ideas! It's a lovely thing to daydream about, isn't it?

My top three contenders are:

1) Antarctica. $$$. No, more like $$$! It would be an amazing experience though - one of our coworkers went twice over the last two years and says it is indescribably wonderful.

2) Safari. Three weeks on safari in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda. The Ngorongoro Crater, Masai Mara, Serengeti, and trekking to see the mountain gorillas in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Parc National des Volcans. Followed by a week on the beach in Zanzibar.

3) Chile. I've been daydreaming about the Lakes District and Terra del Fuego for years.

Big decisions to make. I think 1) is out. DH is known to get seasick and doesn't want to be medicated for weeks on end. Fair enough. So it's really down to 2) or 3). 3) was going to be the BIG trip. I was saving it for when we get long service leave - after being at our workplace for 10 years, we get an additional 12 weeks of paid leave, on top of our normal 5 weeks/year. So 17 weeks of travel time, that was going to be our big South America trip. However...what if we have a 2 year old at that time? Then what? I think it may be a case of saving the best for another trip, when we have more time, more money, whatever...and then it just never happens. I don't want that to be the case.

I'm pretty keen on safari too though...the more I research, the more exciting it seems. Talk about first world problems!

 

[Polished]

DH is known to get seasick and doesn't want to be medicated for weeks on end

Then I won't recommend what we did. lol. We took Pigglejam (kombi van) on the ferry that stopped off at the Shetland islands, Faroe Islands before going on to Iceland where we spent a couple of weeks. I loved arriving at these places via the sea, it was spectactular and gave a whole different perspective. Although the trip was rough and I found it easier being up on deck and simply looking out over the Atlantic. Things of the land somehow seem trivial when you're completely surounded by swirling sea. Iceland was wonderful, I loved the drama of waterfalls, geysirs, hot springs, hot lava from a still smouldering volcano and parking next to a glacier to spend the night, the food and the woolly natural jumpers. My mother came from Iceland and it was great to catch up with relatives still there. My daughter went over there in her gap year before uni a couple of years ago and saw my mother's sister. It was quite moving for us as my mother has died and I was well chuffed she got to spend time with her 86 year old Aunt. I was also thrilled she caught up with my father's (who has also died) brother, in Cheltenham, England, who was 97 years just months before he died, but that's another story. Hey, you could go to Iceland sometime via a plane!

I'm sure you would enjoy a safari, justginger. My brother and his wife were in Nairobi on a posting and on our way back to Aus we stopped in on them. They were living in luxury! We went on a safari at Masai Mara where we stayed in tents and were taken on bus tours to see the animals. I don't know how those drivers know where the lions with their cubs are in the undergrowth but they unobtrusively drive you right up to them and the animals didn't seem to notice us (we're clearly not as interesting as they are) or care about our presence. We met a couple of young Australian women who had been working in Africa who we enjoyed the experience with. They called me "Sunshine" as one of them had asked the other if she knew what my name was, and she had replied that she didn't know but that her husband calls her "Sunshine". Aah travels, it's making me nostalgic.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi

Natasha,

You made me laugh by your question about the location of my vacation choices. Last night I was thinking about what I wrote and though Oh darn , I forgot to put Turkey in there. Truthfully, I didn't look at a map and if overland is how I'd have to go, then overland it is. Iran has a rich culture, I plan to buy a persian rug,(which is against the law), and I want a feel for the country.

Turkey is really the most interesting historically to me. It is the crossroads for east and west. What history there! Yrs ago you were afraid to go to turkey, but now it is talked about a lot more. Yes I do want to visit Muslim countries as I am ignorant of them.

So if you could plot out for me Moroco, Turkey and Iran, I would become more educated on the subject of where that dream trip is located. LOL

Annette

 

[natascha]

Hi

Natasha,

You made me laugh by your question about the location of my vacation choices. Last night I was thinking about what I wrote and though Oh darn , I forgot to put Turkey in there. Truthfully, I didn't look at a map and if overland is how I'd have to go, then overland it is. Iran has a rich culture, I plan to buy a persian rug,(which is against the law), and I want a feel for the country.

Turkey is really the most interesting historically to me. It is the crossroads for east and west. What history there! Yrs ago you were afraid to go to turkey, but now it is talked about a lot more. Yes I do want to visit Muslim countries as I am ignorant of them.

So if you could plot out for me Moroco, Turkey and Iran, I would become more educated on the subject of where that dream trip is located. LOL

Annette

I wouldn't recommend over-landing especially considering the issues since the Arab Spring. You could overland Turkey to Iran since they have a neighboring border but flying would be better.

Here is a map showing the different locations. A trip visiting Spain and Morocco would be very doable since from the south coast of Spain you can actually see the coast of Africa and their are several ferry's crossing that stretch. You could also do a day trip to Gibraltar which is an English colony on a rock between Spain (has a road to Spain) and Africa.


Turkey is a wonderful destination although some parts are completely filled with tourists. It is a very popular charter destination for Europeans since it is hot with lots of beautiful beaches and it is cheaper than Spain or Greece. My mother fiance is originally from Turkey and has a vacation home there. The food is really yummy and the people are really warm and friendly. Oh and the hamam's are incredible.

I think a trip visiting both Istanbul and then maybe a week further South to relax on the beach would be an amazing vacation. There is so much culture, history, shopping, etc that you could fill the entire 4 weeks.

I have a couple of friends from Iran but unlike Turkey and in less measure Morocco, Iran is not really a popular tourist destination for Europeans. But from what I hear it is quite nice but very hot.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

Natasha--Thank You. You put everything in perspective for me. It is a dream and now I will know how to get there.

Really,
Thanks

Annette

 

[justginger]

Annette, we just spent 2.5 weeks in Turkey and it was incredible! I've been to a fair few places now and it's at the top of my list of favorites. The people, the food, the landscapes - all amazing. I posted some of my photos in the ATW forum. I would encourage everyone to visit, it was just wonderful.

We purchased a Turkish carpet that was handmade near the Iran border, but clearly of Turkish design - the shop we were at had plenty of Persian choices though. Perhaps it is legal to buy Iran-made but from a Turkish retailer?

Crossing the border, by all accounts I have heard, is very easy and straightforward from Turkey to Iran. I would not suggest going the opposite way back into Turkey though. I've read many accounts of contraband items being put onto traveller's packs and customs takes hours with lots of questioning and searching. Turkey does NOT want to acquire a militant Islamic reputation from crazies coming over the border. As a country they are very accepting and tolerant.