Anyone else booked this trip?
I've just booked for the one starting Fri 9th Sept... is this the same date you go?
Susan :-)
Hello all,
I'm booked on the trip that flies from Heathrow on Wed 7th Sept and so starts in Nairobi on Thursday 8th. Does that sound like either of your trips...???
I booked last year and can't believe how quickly it's coming round!
Joanne
hi
mine flies out on fri 9th from the UK and starts in Kigali so not the same one...
Susan :-)
Hello again,
Have just checked with Exodus and the departure dates on the Departure Lounge forums are dated as at the day that the land only part of the trip starts. So it looks like I'm on the same trip as Rachel and Matthew.
Am getting a bit nervous about being fit enough for our gorilla mountain trek - but s'pose there's 5 months to go still :) Am enjoying buying all the gear though, although wearing my new superdooper pretzl headtorch is freaking my dogs out!
Anyone else on the group flights?
Joanne
Hi Susan - we (Jools and Mike) are flying out from Manchester on 9th September to Kigali as we have got to go a day earlier to get a flight - wondered if you are booked on the same one i.e KLM1072 at 0600hrs from Manchester to Amsterdam then on KLM563 to Kigali at 1010hrs. Really looking forward to the trip and need to make sure all our innoculations are up to date next month. Anyone got their antimalarials yet? Just wondered what kind they are currently recommending as I don't really want to 'start the day the Larium way' again.
Would be good to hear from you or anyone else on the same trip.
Jools
Just booked this last month and can't wait to go. If you don't want to take Larium Malarone is a good option just a bit more expensive. Doxycycline is another alternative but can cause photosensitivity reactions - I get a rash in the sun with it. A good website for advice is fitfortravel.nhs.uk.
Elaine
Hey Jools. yep we're on the same trip but doesn't sound like the same flights, lthe flights exodus got me are with Kenya airways so leave Manc at 16.00 on fri 9th (not sure when the London flight leaves) then get the 21.00 flight from Amsterdam to Nairobi which gets in to Kenya on the saturday morning at 06.35. Apparently this is a similar time to the London flight arriving so I'll meet up with the rest of the trip in Nairobi airport and we'll all fly on to Kigali together. souns like I've got one extra change than you if you're going direct to Kigali.
Only just really started thinking about the trip after someone on my facebook booked a hol to Kenya which prompted me to get into gear. Think i have all my jabs apart from yellow fever (cheapest i can find it is through nomad travel - £55 minus 10% exodus discount & no consult fee which a lot of other places charge.
as for malaria think i'm going to get Malarone - cheapest i can find it is through travelpharm £2.65 per tablet so works out about £56. The malaria tablets i had for India last year are no good for Africa cos the mossies are apparently resistant to it - little buggers! Plus they made me feel really ill for a good 2-3 weeks when i got back to the UK - every one of the symtpms of malria /reactions to the tablets which meant lots of lovely blood tests at the docs! Don't fancy Doxycycline cos I'd be devastated if I had a reaction & had to cover up in the sun.
another tip - I have emailed tom at exodus re. currency and he apparently he reckons it is best to take US $ over with you not sterling as they are easier to convert etc
Are you from Manc or just flying out of Mcr airport? I live about 10 mins fro the airport so ideal for me - having an extra stop in Amsterdam is worth saving the hassle of getting to London to fly from there.
really need to start practising with my camera too as snapshots are about my limit but would love to get some cool piccies of my own.
7 weeks to go now - anyone got any tips they want to share??
Susan :-)
Hi Susan Good to hear from you. We used to live in Cheadle Hulme which was right underneath the glidepath but now live further up the motorway in Wray a small village about 10 miles from Lancaster.
I spoke to Diana from Exodus today - she has been on this trip and confirmed that all visas can be obtained at the entry points to the various countries - so think we will go for those rather than sending off twice for Kenyan and Ugandan visas.
We seem to be really lucky here as we go and see our practice nurse at the local doctors and we get all our innoculations/tablets free of charge - it doesn't seem right as normally you would have to pay for a prescription at least - but it does save alot of money.
We are thinking that we will go for the Doxycycline as we have had them before when we went to Thailand - the only ill effect we had was because we started taking them first thing in the morning before eating anything - once we had established the problem we took them after breakfast and didn't have any photosensitivity either.
Think we have got most other bits sorted - yes US$ seem to be the best currency to take.
Thanks for getting back to us- look forward to meeting up in Kigali ......28C today ...twice as hot as here ...phew!
Jools
Hi all, Looks like some of you are on the same trip as mine. I'm flying from Glasgow to Heathrow on 8th and staying with friends. ....hopefully we'll all join up somewhere. I've got malarone (almost everyone had that last year in Peru and they were fine..we all took them during eveing meal). Taking lots of bird photos for practice and really looking forward to the trip. Must get in some hillwalking in August and sort out what clothes to take. Any hints on plug adaptors for camera/phone?
David
wow Jools can you get yellow fever free too? i get all jabs free but was told this one you have to go to specialist clinic for and it costs!! can't get malaria free either. it's actually £2.25 a tablet not 2.65 still a rip off so if anyone know anywhere cheaper to get it then let me know. hmmm i'm torn about whether to get doxycycline as only read the bad bits, might do a bit more research and see if i can't save myself a small fortune!
david - pretty sure you're on my trip so same one as Jools & Mike. i looked up plugs yesterday and they are the same as the UK so no adaptors needed.My camera takes batteries - got a new one at xmas and opted for batteries after major trauma's not being able to charge camera or phone in the beach huts in Goa last year. so am taking lots of spares. Ive got a "power monkey" which is a cool travel adaptor which you pre-charge so you can just plug into phone/camera for a boost even if you're in the middle of nowehere.
Think i finally have all my gear sorted but a bit uncertain about what sort of clothes to take? Anyone know? i'm thinking shorts and strappy tops for daytime (neutal colours as read you shouldn't wear bright colours) and combat pants for night (have got various fleeces to hopefully combat the cold)
are you all planning on doing the balloon trip? I'm not sure at $450 per person
i found some useful tips on this forum for a trip a while back from a guy who lives and works out there - worth a read: http://www.exodus.co.uk/forum/post/gorillas-and-masai-mara-26-dec-09
"Camping?! Ok fair enough. Lake Nakuru is about a 4 hour drive from the Mara if you go the direct route over the mountains, but via Nairobi I have no idea. Anyway with the roads as they are you might just as well be on the moon. Be prepared for long spells of bumpy, rough driving. Saying that if your route keeps you to the main highways some of the roads are now pretty good so not all bad. Lake Nakuru is mostly famed for it's flamingo's and hippo. It's pretty dry and hot that time of year although expect it to be colder near the lake so something warm for the evening might be advisable and of course mossie repelant. I often see tourists here come out in the evening still wearing sandals and t shirts. The best thing to do if you want to avoid being bitten or annoyed by mossies is when the sun goes down wear something which covers your wrists and ankles ie socks and a long sleeve top as these are the areas where the blood is nearest to the skin and the areas the mossies like to go for. Other top tips - bring a hat for the sun, a torch for the dark (having a good torch on me has saved my life at least twice since being here) as it will stop an animal in it's tracks when you shine the light in it's eyes should your paths unexpectadly cross plus and especially if your camping a head torch would be a plus. As for tips - the average daily wage here is 250 shillings per day / 4000 per month which is around £2.20 a day £35 per month so gage what you give accordingly. Your driver will be amoung one of the richer Kenyans you may encounter as he tends to clean up on the tips front as people often aren't sure how much to give. I have heard of drivers telling their clients how much they expect ie Ksh1000 per day etc which is way too much but how are you to know. Also when he stops at diffent 'view' points or tourists shops he's getting a kick back for all of those stops by the people selling the souviners - they call it a brake fee. Rough guide for telling how crooked your driver is is how big his belly is! Honestly it seems a bit stupid but it's true. Have you ever seen a skinny African politician? The bigger the belly the more you need to watch out. Other than that make sure you have some strong imodium tablets with you and if you do get a bad tummy don't suffer in silence as that is one thing this country is good at - sorting out tourists food poisoning. If you do need or want to buy anything try and get a 'local' to buy it for you as you can expect to pay aprx 10 times more if you're white. Haggle for everything and don't be afraid to walk away as 500 yrds down the road there it'll be again. Beer wise; I recommend Tusker Malt - it's smaller, in a green bottle but way better than normal Tusker and if they have it Savanah Dry which is a lovely local brewed cider. Don't be tempted to try other local stuff like maratina or kenya kane - you'll go blind. Have fun and let me know where you are staying when you get to the mara."
Susan :-)
Hi Susan - cannot believe that its only a short while to go. We have had our yellow fever - yes we did have to pay for that one £25 each but the doxcycline was pretty cheap. We are also taking the oral vaccine for cholera as my daughters friend came back from Kenya with it so we thought better to be safe than sorry - we are having to pay for this but have not had the bill yet.
Yes shorts and strappy tops and high factor sun cream for daytime sound good - the tips re the Masa are good especially for what to wear in the evening. I am taking a couple of light fleeces and also my North Face quilted gilet - very light, warm and used it last year in Nepal as a pillow while trekking. Maybe even a light cagoule incase its cool early mornings /late night safaris.
Have got a new 8GB card for my camera so hopefully have enough Gb's now - your 'power money' sounds interesting - will have to have a look for one. Went up to the South Lakes Wildlife park the other weekend to get in some practice with with my 1.4 converter and was very pleased with the results. Looking forward to getting out there for real now
See you all very soon now.
Jools
well, can't belive it's 2 weeks tomorrow. Yeah the power monkey is pretty good but i think mine is knackered so going to rely on lots of spare batteries. don't think i'llbe using the mobile much - not going to be much signal out in the masai mara!
i've got a light waterproof jacket and have got some waterproof over trousers in case it rains whilst we're trekking to see the gorillas - somone recommended taking them on a thread i looked at on trip advisor.... at this rate there's going to be no room to pack any "normal" clothes.
looking forward to it, shame there's nobody else from our trip on this thread but i guess we'll meet soon enough
Susan :-)
Hi Susan, Jools,
yes...shame no-one else has logged in. maybe because we're all flying different flights. Did some photographing at Edinburgh Zoo yesterday, some good results. I have a 2.0 convertor but was a mistake as I get better results from 70-300 lens thrn zoom in, as long as I get a steady shot. I'm taking 4 batteries and 5x 8gb cards which should allow for bits of video too. David
Hi Susan - you mentioned waterproof trousers - I asked Tom if he thought gaiters may be a good idea for the trek and he thought they would - so we are going to take those instead of the trousers but I guess either will do.
Hi David - just wondered what camera you have and do you shoot on RAW as that seems like a hell of a lot of GBs.
Hi Rachel - good to hear from you. Just wondered what flight you are on as we all seem to be on different ones so far. We are having to leave Manchester in the early hours of the 9th and arrive in Kigali in their evening so have an extra night there before the main body of the trip are due to arrive on the 10th. C U soon! Jools
hya, I have a nikon D5000 but I don't use RAW. I had 3 x 8gb in Peru and used most of it...just erring on the safe side and allowing for losing something. I usually forget that the camera can do movies, and there may be more opportunity for movies in Africa (ballon flight etc).
Good idea about waterproof trousers....will help in keeping creepie crawlies out.
David
Jools - we're on 8pm flight from Heathrow on Wednesday 7th. See you soon!
Rachel and Matt
hi all
I just found this link on another thread, usefu reading - especially for you serious photographers
http://www.bearaway.org/wp/2010/05/21/wild-gorilla-photography-tips/
Susan :-)
Hi guys, looks like I will be joining Rachel, Elaine and Joanne flying from Heathrow Wednesday night.
Can't wait, looking forward to meeting you all
Mark
Hi Susan - Thanks for that link - definitely good to know these details in advance - will take my camera for a walk in the woods and get Mike to pose gorilla like to test out these tips. Have just spent a stressful day "helping" my daughter who was the photographer at the wedding. Thought I would just be carrying her equipment but NO ....I was having to photograph the groom being picked up in a Lambourgini, the guests arriving at the church and was sat on the steps of the pulpit through the ceremony taking photos at the appropriate moments .....No pressure then! Well I took alot of shots but I reckon the gorillas will be a piece of cake after that...not!
See you soon and anyone else booked to start Kigali on the 10th Sept.
Jools
glad you found it helpful. some useful info for me on there about the walk as I badly sprained my ankle last week whislt at boot camp. not good timing:-( it's healing ok but i've ordered myself a walking pole to be on the safe side in case i struggle in the muddy/uphill terrain with my weak ankle!!
see you later this week Jules, Mike & David (and anyone else reading who starts in Kigali too)
Susan :-)
Susan :-)
Hi, I.ve got US dollars plus got some kenyan shillings at the bank. I usually then have debit and credit card for backup. Susan hope the ankle is ok. If its any consolation I've done something to my knee and taking a knee support thingy. See you all somewhere in Africa. David
Hello!
Just booked this trip and so excited! Anyone else going on these dates?
Rachel and Matthew