Tuesday - August 13, 2013 - Time to game drive!

Finally!  We are headed for the bush and our reunion with Dani and Marius du Preez!  We have been anticipating this reunion for a very long time!  Texting and emailing has been problematic, and we are hopeful they will be at the airstrip when we arrive on a Cessna from Dar.

Reunion!!!  Happiness is seeing dear friends and then sharing great adventures with them!!!

As usual with this dynamic foursome, we hit the ground running and started game driving immediately!  Lion, elephants, and more right out of the gate! 

That night we stayed at Sunset Mountain Lodge.  Great food, great staff, and great sunsets, but a bit tired facilities. 

Enjoy!

Cheri & John

August 11, 2013 - Addis Ababa, Ethopia

Phew - we got our boarding passes to Addis Ababa, but no luck on the boarding passes from Addis to Dar.  Yikes!  Sure hope there is an agent and someone speaks English there!!

We flew on the worlds oldest 767, but made it!!  I think it may have been older than me!  It had a projection system for the safety video.  Needless to say, the seats weren't too comfortable and sleep was elusive. 

We arrived and exited the plane on the tarmac.  Good news, there was a bus for business class passengers and they took us to the right terminal.  Bizarrely, the flight to Dar went from the domestic terminal even though Tanzania is a different county.  When in Rome....

We got into the terminal and looked around....no agents in sight.  OK...breathe!  Ah, there is a business class lounge.  In we went and lo and behold, we got our boarding passes here, so are set for the flight to Dar Es Salaam!  Yeah!

The business class lounge was a picture of world travel....

People from all cultures were there and we had a good time people watching.

Before we knew it, we were on our way to Dar. We arrived in Dar without issue and cleared customs quickly since we had our visas.  Our driver was waiting with a sign!  Off to the Hyatt and a shower!

We highly recommend the Hyatt Kilimanjaro in Dar.  It is an amazing place with incredible food.

Enjoy!
Cheri & John

August 10, 2013 - Paris Bound

One good thing about being in NJ for a day, we had time to research Paris and make a plan.  There are some great websites out there that helped us alot!.  http://parisbytrain.com/ is a great one that has pictures and everything.

This time, we boarded the plane and it was clear they were going to fly!  We made it safe and sound to Paris!  We got in early (7sish) and went to see the sights.  They offer a metro ticket that allowed us to ride the subway and get transport to and from the airport all on one ticket.  

Once we got to Notre Dame, we got of and began exploring.  They have a hop on hop off Seine tour (Batobus) - so we opted for the boat instead of the bus. That was a great way to see Paris.  It goes to all the major sights and it was a glorious day!!

We are headed to Ethiopia tonight and hoping to get our boarding passes for the next leg.  Ah but no luck on the boarding passed from Addis Ababba.  

 

Stay Tuned for more

Cheri & John

August 9, 2013 - On the road again!

We had been planning this adventure to Tanzania with Marius and Dani du Preez for nearly 3 years.  The time was finally here to make our way to Africa!  We had secured frequent flyer tickets months ago....all that was left was to get on the plane and get there!

 

Well, every adventure has it's bumps along the way.  This time it's getting out of the US.  It was a rough weather day from the start and we left home extra early.  Good thing we did since the thruway was flooded and we had to find our way through cow country to make it to Newark.  Phew...we finally made it 5 hours after we started, but with time to spare.

So, we decided to wait and eat on the airplane....then off to the gate.   The flight was to take off at 7:15 PM.  Great, should be fed and asleep by 9!  Not!!  The departure time began to slip and slip.  OK, 8:35 PM boarding time...better late than never.  We boarded the plane and we waited, and waited.  The pilot came on and said that there was a maintenance issue with the plane and they were waiting for a part.  Time ticked by and he was back to say they brought a Continental part not a  United part....all in all four hours elapsed before he announced that we all had to leave the plane because the crew had timed out!

Into the chaos we went....off the plane and directly to customer service while calling United on my phone.  We got a very nice agent who said oh dear...the flight from Istanbul tomorrow has already cancelled!  The only way I can get you in is via Paris and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia!!!  And, I can't get you there until Monday PM via 2 overnight flights.  She said, "I'm sorry, it's the only way in".  Ouch - take it!

We stood in line and got a hotel and meal vouchers!  Great - the Double Tree.  Once we got to the hotel it was 11:45 PM and room service had just closed along with the gift shop....no sleep shirt, no dinner.  Take out here we come...estimated to arrive at 12:30 AM.

OK, time to be sure the flights got booked right....I log into United to find they rebooked us coach for the two overnight flights....I don't think so!  We had business class tickets.  So - on hold for 50 minutes and counting and praying!  The second two flights are on Ethiopian Air.  Yikes!

Eureka!!  Confirmed business class!  Now we will have a day in Paris...so will try to see if we can see some sights.  Will also work out how to get to Ruaha without inconveniencing Dani and Marius too much more!!  1:30 AM and it's way past time to sleep.

Stay tuned...
Truly yours from Newark NJ!
Cheri & John