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Just got home...hope this helps
I just got home from the Kenya and Tanzania trip. AMAZING! I thought I would share a few things that I would have liked to have seen all in one place.
Hotels:
All provided the following: shampoo, lotion, soap, hairdryer, bathrobes.
Not all provided conditioner.
All had wi-fi. some places the strength was better than others
Clothes for gamedrives:
I packed 4 pairs of pants (I got them all from Athleta and Columbia...i had black, olive green, and grey), t-shirts, and long sleeved button downs.
I did not pay much attention to what colors we were "supposed" to wear or not wear.
I wore sneakers for all of the game drives. Many people on on tour did. I never felt like I needed hiking shoes or hiking boots. Sneakers were fine.
On the days I wore a hat, it was a baseball hat, not a safari hat. It worked for me and I never wished I had a different hat.
Other packing notes:
I packed a few hoodies and a puffy coat. I was happy to have them all. It was chilly in the morning.
I packed a bandana and used it more to keep my hair out of my face.
I wish I had packed a few more non-gamedrive clothes. Towards the end of the trip, there are a few afternoons with nothing planned where there is plenty of time to shower and change before dinner. At both the Four Season and the Fairmont properties I wished I had a sundress or maxi skirt to wear. I felt a little under dressed in my safari clothes.
Other tidbits:
The spa at the Four Season was fantastic. I got a massage and my mom got a facial. We were both very happy
I got ice in my cocktails. i never had any issues.
The roads are very bumpy...i wore nothing but sports bras on the drives
There was one couple on our trip whose luggage was delayed a day. when they did receive it, things had been stolen out of the there suitcases. plan accordingly.
Both my husband and I packed enough to get through half of the trip before we needed laundry done. I admit I was a little nervous to send our clothes since so much needed to be washed on delicate and/or dried on low. We had no issues at all. Everything came back the same size and in great condition!
It was an absolutely amazing trip! Hope everyone loves it!
Hotels:
All provided the following: shampoo, lotion, soap, hairdryer, bathrobes.
Not all provided conditioner.
All had wi-fi. some places the strength was better than others
Clothes for gamedrives:
I packed 4 pairs of pants (I got them all from Athleta and Columbia...i had black, olive green, and grey), t-shirts, and long sleeved button downs.
I did not pay much attention to what colors we were "supposed" to wear or not wear.
I wore sneakers for all of the game drives. Many people on on tour did. I never felt like I needed hiking shoes or hiking boots. Sneakers were fine.
On the days I wore a hat, it was a baseball hat, not a safari hat. It worked for me and I never wished I had a different hat.
Other packing notes:
I packed a few hoodies and a puffy coat. I was happy to have them all. It was chilly in the morning.
I packed a bandana and used it more to keep my hair out of my face.
I wish I had packed a few more non-gamedrive clothes. Towards the end of the trip, there are a few afternoons with nothing planned where there is plenty of time to shower and change before dinner. At both the Four Season and the Fairmont properties I wished I had a sundress or maxi skirt to wear. I felt a little under dressed in my safari clothes.
Other tidbits:
The spa at the Four Season was fantastic. I got a massage and my mom got a facial. We were both very happy
I got ice in my cocktails. i never had any issues.
The roads are very bumpy...i wore nothing but sports bras on the drives
There was one couple on our trip whose luggage was delayed a day. when they did receive it, things had been stolen out of the there suitcases. plan accordingly.
Both my husband and I packed enough to get through half of the trip before we needed laundry done. I admit I was a little nervous to send our clothes since so much needed to be washed on delicate and/or dried on low. We had no issues at all. Everything came back the same size and in great condition!
It was an absolutely amazing trip! Hope everyone loves it!
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Comments
I feel a baseball cap is not the ideal type of hat, it does not provide enough protection from the harsh sun, plus, unless you use a clip on your shirt and hat, it could easily blow off. From experience, the tsetse flies are definitely attracted to the blues and blacks.
None game drive clothing. When we took the K and T tour, a while ago, we did not stay at the Four Seasons or The Mount Kenya Club, so we did not need any dress up clothes, there were no free days, just more game drives. I think the itinerary changed due to some clients asking for downtime.
As to tsetse flies- I don't think anyone encountered any during our safari- maybe it was the time of year, but a few folks tempted fate by wearing dark colors with no problem- you pays your price and takes your chance.
Safari clothes fit right in at the Four Seasons- everyone there is on safari. The tour has changed since 2015- you spend one less day/night at the Mount Kenya Safari Club which regularly has a few guests who are not on safari and may wear something more dressy in the evening, but you'll be fine if you wear them as long as they aren't soiled. Besides, the second night at Mt Kenya you dine "in the bush." Gone is the down-time, unless you skip a scheduled activity- Ol Pajeta, William Holden Wildlife Education Center, or the spinners and weavers.
The 2016 and 2017 departures have an extra day in the Masai Mara to make up for the one less day at Mount Kenya. I haven't counted to see if there is a difference in the total number game drives, but that it is hard to do anyway- you really can't base it on the game drives mentioned in the published itinerary- you need to consider the trip from Ngorongoro Crater to the Serengeti as a game drive- the portion inside the park, especially near the Four Seasons was a full blown game drive on our tour, but not listed in the itinerary as such. Though much shorter, the same goes for the trip from the Masai Mara airstrip to the Fairmont Mara Safari Camp. There is a free afternoon there, but your TD might arrange an add-on game drive for those interested- ours did and a fair number of people availed themselves of the opportunity to see animals again.
I wish they would forget about nighttime game drives- we didn't see anything special, nothing we didn't see in the day time. We only had one night-vision scope per vehicle. Unless you are the person with the scope or happen to be looking where the driver is shining the spotlight (which can also affect the night-vision scope), you will not see a thing. Photography is all but impossible. And it can get downright chilly!
Thanks Brook! Now all we need is for folks to learn how to use this forum and do searches. Between the "Before You Go" and posts like yours, most questions people ask have already been answered!
On K&T our main, truly night game drive was in Ol Pajeta, a small preserve near the town of Nanyuki (Mount Kenya). It was extremely disappointing from an animal sighting standpoint.
Between traditional game drives (1 nighttime) and waterborne safaris, you should have plenty of opportunities for animal sightings. If you include the train ride/dinner, walking excursion, and the visit to the meerkats, I count 11 "game drives." I see "walk with lions" is no longer on the B,SA & Z itinerary. I wonder if Tauck has a substitute or surprise? Is "walk with rhinos" new? I will be interested in your review.
p.s. Are you going to spend the night on the Pans? Will you wear your usual "sleeping attire?" : )
Dottie, when are you going in September? We will be on the September 10th K&T Safari.
We are going the week after you, on the September 17 trip and are just making our final payment. This is our third Tauck trip but first to Africa. Hope you have a great adventure. We are getting very excited. I have been through the previous forum posts and appreciate all the great tips.
Lots of great advice from all! Brook - thanks for taking the time to share.
People in my group in Tanzania Aug/2014 lost hats that did not have a strap (pain in the neck to stop and retrieve). I admit that I felt odd (tourist-y) getting the Tiley hat - but was happy to have it once there. To each his own! (I will be lucky enough to use it in SA soon!)
And tsetse flies were real and really attracted to the dark colors - but were not a problem every day... we had one bad drive where even our guide was desperately trying to avoid bites. But like home, I am sure there are all sorts of conditions that effect things like that.
Happy Trails!
We will be on the September 20th!
Pat, this thread is over a year old. You might want to see if there is a more current one or start a new one.
I wish Tauck would drop the BBC EARTH publicity, it is really overrated and we have taken more than one. Just having it makes people feel disappointed. I can't believe I am saying this about the BBC, BUT IT REALLY IS THE WAY Tauck has been marketing it as something so special. In Costa Rica, there was a wonderful How to Use Binoculars lesson from one of the local guides that was nothing to do with the BBC. Those who were inexperienced found it extremely helpful.