“the Big One”! World Cruise on Sojourn

[SLSD]

I've enjoyed your photos and videos Shark B8.  

 

Are all other cruises going to seem too brief after this one?  

[galeforce9]

Where’s next on the itinerary @shark b8?   Looking at the sojourn Africa journey west coast 🤔

[shark b8]

6 hours ago, SLSD said:

Are all other cruises going to seem too brief after this one?  

 

Haha, yeah, I’ve wondered about that myself.  We really did just decide to pull out all the stops on this one, and I have no plans to quit cruising any time soon, so I don't quite know the honest answer to the question, we haven't found ourselves in this position before.  Pretty sure we’ll adapt just fine, one way or another.  😇

[shark b8]

4 hours ago, galeforce9 said:

Where’s next on the itinerary @shark b8? 

 

We do one last game drive tomorrow morning here in Etosha/Namibia, fly to Walvis Bay (in a wonderfully small light plane) to rejoin the ship, and then there are 5 sea days before the next port.  As a vaguely general rule we like port days more than sea days, but the last 10 days/2 weeks have been pretty action-packed, up and about before dawn every morning, bouncing around in land cruisers, so I’m looking forward to some lazy self-indulgent time off, to recharge the batteries and heal the lower back.  Will also be able to begin to edit the 3 trillion MB of photos and vid I have, to winnow down to the good stuff, to share with all you good and loyal readers. 

 

Anyway, to answer the question, we sail out of Walvis Bay and next make our way to the three sub-Saharan countries, Benin, Togo and Ghana (another major “draw” for us, for this cruise).  Then on to Dakar in Senegal, the Gambia, the Cape Verde Islands, the Canaries, and Morocco.

 

We hear tell that the Captain will endeavor to sail us through the so-called “Null Island” area of the ocean, where the Equator and the Grand Meridian intersect, thus with 0.00 as all longitude and latitude numbers.  Seems that serious seafaring-type folks regard this as a very nice feather in the cap. 

 

 

 

 

 

[florisdekort]

17 hours ago, shark b8 said:

We hear tell that the Captain will endeavor to sail us through the so-called “Null Island” area of the ocean, where the Equator and the Grand Meridian intersect, thus with 0.00 as all longitude and latitude numbers.  Seems that serious seafaring-type folks regard this as a very nice feather in the cap. 

 

 

 

 

 

At 4:30 am apparently. As there’s nothing to see I think I may sail through it asleep 🤣

[shark b8]

7 hours ago, florisdekort said:

….. I think I may sail through it asleep 🤣

 

Oh yes, for sure.  By that point I will have finished (I hope) reassembling lower back vertebrae in the correct vertical order left over from the game drive land cruisers, so unless there’s a parade, fireworks, a marching band, and 4:30AM Indian Market Dinner…….. zzzzzzzzzzzzz.

[shark b8]

We’re back aboard the Mother Ship.  Have been on safari now for 8 of the last 9 nights.  I guarantee that tonight, for a change, I will not be setting a 5:30AM iPhone alarm for tomorrow.  Matter of fact, I just put the door hanger in “We’re relaxing, please come back later” mode, and gorilla-glued it to the outside of the door.  

Edited April 30, 2023 by shark b8

[shark b8]

“Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey”.    A grand night’s sleep, and I’m not (too) ashamed to admit we woke up at an hour that starts with double-digits.  😬

 

Hard at work editing and compressing, lots of stuff to come.  (No kills unfortunately….or fortunately, depending on how you look at it)  So a word to the wise - if you don't much care for African wildlife, or if you’ve already OD’d on what has already come before, you might consider going on sabbatical from this thread for 4-5 days.  (And might I be so presumptuous as to add….if you really don't like African wildlife, there’s a distinct possibility that there’s something seriously wrong with you.  Seek help. 😉)

Edited May 1, 2023 by shark b8

[shark b8]

These three little ones were having a grand time splashing about in the water, as little ones will.  

 

 

 

 

 

[shark b8]

But then, one of them realized that his Mom had already left the river and was close to disappearing into the brush.  (Is there anything cuter than a baby elephant?!)

 

 

 

 

 

[shark b8]

As promised.  Seriously folks, if you haven't done it, this is one of the great travel experiences, and I wouldn’t say that lightly.  “Breathtaking” doesn't even come close.   Ask for Pilot Don, and tell ‘em Sharky sent ya.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[shark b8]

And after the Victoria Falls stuff, this was the view from the table at our lunch place.   Nearby there was a zip line thing, one young lady was strapped in and ready to go….and then put her hands up and said “nope”.  As it turned out, there was someone who did it, but it was an odd kinda thing - You jump off the platform, zoom out over the canyon, and then, just sorta sit there stopped, as another guy on the platform furiously pulls on the rope, to reel you back in.  Don’t think so.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[shark b8]

The accommodations in Botswana.

 

 

 

 

[shark b8]

When we did the Serengeti five years ago, we saw this behavior (quite a ways away), and our guide said it was as close to “fighting” as giraffes get. But these two, according to this guide, were just adolescent males being playful with each other.

 

 

 

 

 

[tjcox9]

56 minutes ago, shark b8 said:

When we did the Serengeti five years ago, we saw this behavior (quite a ways away), and our guide said it was as close to “fighting” as giraffes get. But these two, according to this guide, were just adolescent males being playful with each other.

 

 

MG_6489.MOV 6.65 MB · 1 download  

 

 

 

 

We saw the same type of playful behavior between to young males in South Africa a few years ago and were also told that it is just kids being kids.

 

Love the baby elephant videos and the heli videos from the falls. Thanks for taking us along with you on your amazing voyage!

[galeforce9]

@shark b8 A few questions if you don’t mind please?  
 

As the ship is now heading up the coast of Africa, would you say on this section of the voyage that port or starboard is better?  Can you see the coast in transit so far?  May be you could answer in a week or so.  I presume starboard cabins get morning sun for the most part.  

 

if it’s at all possible, it would be good to learn about excursion options from Namibia to Cape Verde please.  I appreciate this would be time consuming though it’s a pity seabourn cannot share. 
 

I’m really looking forward to your reports based on what you have already shared.  
 

Thank you 

[cruiseej]

5 hours ago, shark b8 said:

Is there anything cuter than a baby elephant?!

 

Hmmm… it's hard to rank the cuteness of baby animals. Baby penguins? Okay, they look cute but don't do much. How about a baby fur seal? 

 

[shark b8]

14 hours ago, galeforce9 said:

…would you say on this section of the voyage that port or starboard is better? …….if it’s at all possible, it would be good to learn about excursion options from Namibia to Cape Verde please.  I appreciate this would be time consuming though it’s a pity seabourn cannot share.

 

For me, the port/starboard thing is always almost completely immaterial, although I’m sure there are exceptions, different people have different preferences and priorities.  The sailaway from Sydney is surely one of the best, and a veranda facing starboard would be, by far, the best (for the view of the Opera House) - but on those occasions most everyone wants to be out on the pool deck or the Sky Bar deck, champagne flute in hand.  When just doing basic sailing to the next port, we are almost never in sight of the coast, obviously when sailing into or out of a port, that changes.  Certain ports will be nicer to see from your veranda than others, but which side faces the pier and which side doesnt, often isn’t established until the Captain is in contact with the port authorities. And for the (tender) calls where the ship is anchored away from the pier, it frequently just gently rotates so that the view changes.  

 

Next on the schedule are the three smallish sub-Saharan countries, Benin, Togo and Ghana.   The shore excursions are typically general “highlights of the area”, might include historical sites, marketplaces, and sometimes there are cooking-excursions, for those interested in the local cuisines.  Looking further, similar “highlights” tours in the Gambia and Dakar, Senegal - in these cases, there are also almost always visits to shrines or monuments or other historical sites related to the slave trade.   Same with the Cape Verde islands, appears to me most of the tours are generalized “highlights” tours, most all of them seem to include visits to local fish/vegetable/art markets.  Seabourn does have a page where you can peruse shore excursions, although they obviously can’t update it every time a tour is added or canceled for every single specific cruise - but it might give you some insight into the general direction of the tours for specific areas.   https://www.seabourn.com/en_US/shore-excursions.html

 

 

[shark b8]

 

 

 

[shark b8]

When we flew from Cape Town to Chobe National park for the second of the three overland safari trips, it was in a nifty 8-seater Cessna.  The passenger area was no more than 4 feet high, but that just underlined the authenticity of the whole thing.

 

 

 

[florisdekort]

16 hours ago, galeforce9 said:

@shark b8 A few questions if you don’t mind please?  
 

As the ship is now heading up the coast of Africa, would you say on this section of the voyage that port or starboard is better?  Can you see the coast in transit so far?  May be you could answer in a week or so.  I presume starboard cabins get morning sun for the most part.  

 

if it’s at all possible, it would be good to learn about excursion options from Namibia to Cape Verde please.  I appreciate this would be time consuming though it’s a pity seabourn cannot share. 
 

I’m really looking forward to your reports based on what you have already shared.  
 

Thank you 

The ship is almost always at least 12 miles out to sea so that it’s allowed to take in fresh water and discharge waste water. 12 miles is too far out to see any land.

 

[shark b8]

Seemed like the propeller wasn’t going very fast, but it all worked out OK.  😉

 

 

 

[shark b8]

Re that pic a few posts ago, with the zebras and wildebeest:  we are told there is a distinct symbiotic relationship between the two, which explains why they are so often seen together.  The zebras have excellent eyesight but poorer smell/hearing, and the wildebeest have exactly the opposite - so by pairing up in numbers, they increase their collective ability to sense when danger is near.  Also, zebras tend to feed on the tallest grass, allowing the wildebeest to feed more easily on their preference, which is the shorter stuff underneath.  Mother Nature rules.

[PSahoy]

Really interested to read your posts as you wind up the coast to Ghana, Togo, Senegal etc. Considering that specific itinerary SB 1/25. But enjoy soaking up your 5 days off as I enjoy the continuing wildlife shots. That wildebeest is looking at you kid.

[shark b8]

Last night at the Colonnade: