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All Things EARTH... part 2

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By CCHelp ,
in Cruise Fashions & Beauty

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alidor

alidor

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MJC - we just came back from Tanzania about 3 weeks ago and your pictures are bringing it all back.   What an amazing trip!  We took our daughter, son-in-law, and 2 grandkids and we just loved it!   Post some more pics when you get a chance!  So very much enjoying them!

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MJC

MJC

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Alidor, we had the most amazing time too! We stayed three nights each in Tarangire, Karatu (for Ngorongoro and Lake Manyara), Lake Ndutu for the southern Serengeti, and then up to Seronera for the central Serengeti.

 

At our first lodge we were one of only three couples. At the second we were one of two. At the tent camp we were the only guests. It wasn't until we got to Kubu Kubu that we saw a number of people, and even then they were only half full.

 

I loved it. I loved it so much!!!

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laurspag

laurspag

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Happy Birthday, Melody!!  It looks like you had a wonderful dinner and dessert.

 

Margaret, I'm truly awestruck by your photos.  I don't even know where to begin...I feel like I've opened a magazine or something.  I know I am very naive about trips such as this, but I think I just assumed that being able to see so much wildlife would be very hit or miss,.  Based on your pictures though, it seems like there was an abundance of nature and animals for you to take in.

 

Part two of my naivete would be what I saw of your accommodations.  Your tent looked so nice, and then there is that bottle of wine, etc.  It just looks so inviting.  I'm so happy that you were able to experience Africa, and maybe this is something I will be able to experience someday as well. 

 

How did you feel about the length of the trip?  I often think about that.  One of the things about cruising to Alaska is that I want to feel like I have a good amount of time to experience it, so we are hoping to hold off until we can plan for a 9 day.  I got to thinking that with your trip, my first thought would be about all the traveling time, and how much is an ideal amount of time to be able to experience this well? 

 

Anita, you have shared some stories regarding your wedding, but I don't recall the particular details you have mentioned as having come up previously.

 

Right now, between ceremony and reception, we plan on having a few things out such as a veggie and fruit trays for the guests, and the beverage station (water, sweet tea and lemonade) will be ready.  They have a deejay, so they will be playing in the background while the guests wait for the wedding party and bride and groom to finish pictures.  I wanted to make sure they were taken care of. 

 

I didn't really think much about doing something different for the buffet, as far as tables being called.  That is an idea to think about.

 

Sally, I think you mentioned about not having separate flowers for the ceremony.  We planned to keep that fairly simple.  No final choices have been made, but I understand there are some natural willow arches on the ground, and I believe they will be married in front of one.  Other than the bridesmaids and bride carrying bouquets, we aren't decorating outside.   We do plan to have flowers on the table, and I visited the florist on Monday.  The roads were still very messy from the storm, so I went with my husband to discuss pricing because the florist is so close to us, but I told my daughter to stay home and we plan to reschedule the visit with her to finalize.

 

There were no real surprises with those costs.   I sat down before we went and estimated what I thought we should expect to pay for the bouquets and so on, and I estimated very close to what the florist said. 

 

Our weather has been so strange.  First a snow storm, then sub-zero temps.  Yesterday, we had freezing rain.  Then we had rain.  Today it went back and forth between rain and snow.  I think we are supposed to be getting more snow this weekend.

 

I have to look at those pictures again Margaret.  They are just beautiful.

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Ginster1

Ginster1

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Happy Birthday Melody!  I hope you had a great day. 

 

Margaret, I’m just in awe of your pictures!  Wow, they are just beautiful. I’ve never considered going to Africa until I started reading about your trip and now that I’ve seen your pictures I think I need to add it to my list. How long were you away?  The tent cabin looks comfortable. And the wildlife plentiful. 

 

-Ginny

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awhfy

awhfy

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Margaret, those pictures!  My favorite is the leopard in the tree, amazing shot. I love the treehouse accommodations, so Swiss Family Robinson. What an amazing adventure you had. Melody

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MJC

MJC

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Just a quick post about CLOTHES 🙂

Here are some nice colors for fleece. I especially like the coral (and you thought I'd say the blue).

https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/122026?page=bean-s-sweater-fleece-full-zip-hoodie&bc=12-27&feat=sweater fleece-SR0&csp=f&searchTerm=sweater fleece

 

About how long we were away:  Since we went a roundabout way on FF miles, we had two travel days at the beginning and end, and if you count January 1st (which we didn't really because we left at midnight), we were gone for 16 days. We did full day game drives for 11 days (sometimes with a siesta at lunchtime). In fact, though, we saw animals for 13 of the days because we did see things along the way when in transit and sometimes arrived in time for an afternoon game drive at the new place.  Three of the transit days were in either a preserve or a park so there was a lot to see. I had reservations about the six whole days in the Serengeti, but it turned out great. The three days in the south were about the great migration, Ngorongoro Crater, and Lake Manyara, each of which was very different from the other. Then in the north the specific sightings were much more spread out, so there was a lot of driving in between locations with more waiting and watching, like at the hippo pools and when watching the big cats.

 

It was interesting to see the other tourists, the variety of ways people were traveling and what they wore. That is a whole post of its own. There are plenty of folks who do the classic 7 day safari and limit their experience to a specific locale, and they get to see plenty. The traveling around within Tanzania takes time because the distances are so great, and there are no highways in the parks. I am very glad we did it, though.

 

The indoor picture with Mark and the wine is at the only permanent lodge we stayed at, Kitela Lodge near Karatu. It was very beautiful and was a walled property so we could walk back to our cottage at night alone. It was the equivalent of a high end resort hotel but with individual cottages and planned meals. Beautiful gardens, beautiful pool, excellent food. For the three days we were there, when we returned from our drive we would have a cold beer overlooking the gardens, then swim in the pool before dinner. Very civilized.

 

I will have to post some pictures about our tent experience. Very different from Kitela Lodge but what a wonderful place for some very specific reasons.

 

Laurie, I think I had expectations more like yours about the animals being more distant and having to track them down (that was only really true for the leopards in trees). I bought a camera with good zoom for that reason. In fact we were surrounded on all sides at times and if you sat quietly in the road they would literally pass right by, if you reached out you could touch them. When the lion came so close to us I moved to the other side of the vehicle away from the open window. He was giving me the eye. 🙂

 

The two times the zoom was necessary were for shooting birds, and for seeing the black rhinos who were a great distance away (very endangered).

 

In the preserves we could go off-road, and that is when we followed a cheetah and saw it hunt a hare. We also saw a gazelle and baby immediately after it had been born. We also did a night drive one evening, very interesting. There are rabbits with short front legs that hop like kangaroos. Still didn't get to see an aardvark, though. 🙂

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MJC

MJC

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It really was a trip of a lifetime. Truly incredible every day.

 

Kim, I can't thank you enough for all your wonderful advice.

 

Being a cruise and fashion site, I'm in a quandary about how much I should monopolize this thread with a safari day by day. Perhaps a park by park would be better? You guys lmk.

 

Laurie, it's fun to read about all the wedding plans. I had an indoor winter formal wedding that had to balance a lot of competing interests so I can't add anything very helpful, but it's fun to picture what you're talking about. I look forward to seeing the photos this summer!

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