Expect the unexpected - our African safari

We flew from Reno to Salt Lake City to Paris and then on to Nairobi. With a ridiculously short layover of less than an hour in Paris due to a delayed arrival on Delta and having to change terminals and go through security again, we made our connecting flight with 20 minutes to spare. Would our luggage be that lucky as well? Air France had pulled a switcheroo on us weeks before and had us booked on a charter flight from Paris to Nairobi with an airline called EuroAtlantic. As the time before our trip was short, I didn’t bother to change our tickets. I figured we could just suck it up for eight hours on that flight. The reviews that I read for EuroAtlantic were bad and our experience confirmed that. The meals we were served were terrible - unrecognizable and inedible. But at least we still had premium seats and arrived safely.

We arrived in Nairobi and made it through immigration and then down to baggage claim. We watched the carousel go round and round and didn’t see our bags. Nor were they with the luggage that had already been pulled off the carousel and placed to the side. I looked to my left and there on a little red carpet all by their lonesome sat our two bags which had been tagged “priority”. Our bags had made it to Nairobi! With bags in hand, we went through an additional bag screening before exiting the airport. We had arranged with the hotel for a car to pick us up on arrival. Outside the arrival hall we were met by a personable young lady holding a sign with our names on it who escorted us outside and then to a waiting car. The 20 minute trip from the airport to the hotel was thankfully uneventful with no barricades and no protests.

As Odysseys Unlimited requires that you bring soft sided luggage with no structure for their safari tours, I purchased two 31.5 liter duffels from LL Bean. They were just big enough and weighed 14 or 15 lbs each when fully packed. I had purchased much larger duffels for our two previous safaris but they were way more than we needed hence the new smaller ones. Besides what we wore on the plane, in all I packed for each of us 3 pairs of pants, 4 or 5 shirts, 6 days of underwear and socks, one extra bra for me, one pair of warm pajamas, a sweater, a fleece jacket (worn on plane), one pair of walking shoes, a bathing suit (used once) and a basic medical kit, deodorant, Deet, hand sanitizer and a blow dryer. I packed a shirt and underwear and socks for each of us in my backpack together with meds, documents, passports and minimal toiletries (toothpaste, floss, shaving cream, a hairbrush and comb, toothbrushes and shavers.) Each of our backpacks also had camera gear that weighed more than our duffels when packed. Don’t judge. Photography is our passion and we love/need our gear. Between the two of us we had three camera bodies, a 100-400 mm, a 150-600mm, a 24-70mm plus batteries, memory cards, a small laptop with backup hard drive, an iPad and a cellphone.

With regard to required documentation for travel to Kenya and Tanzania, I obtained visas directly from the Kenyan government website at $30 each. It was easier than the Odysseys Unlimited recommended visa service and way less expensive. The visa for Tanzania was obtained at the border crossing. The Tanzanian visa cost $100 each and required crisp, new US dollar bills (2014 or newer). We also had to have a yellow fever card (obtained from Amazon) and signed by our doctor for the exemption from the yellow fever shot. We also had a letter of exemption from our doctor but it was never looked at. I don’t think they even looked at our yellow fever card for that matter but you still have to have it.

With regard to health, my husband and I had an additional covid shot a month prior to travel. We brought antimalarials with us but our guide assured us at the outset that we would not encounter mosquitos on our trip and he was right. We never saw a single mosquito. We dispensed with taking the antimalarials in Nairobi which I was happy to do as they tend to make me feel sick. We did not drink the water or brush our teeth with it. We were provided with bottled water at all times on the vehicle and at the hotels. No one on the tour got sick thankfully but some had slight intestinal issues. I had come equipped with some over the counter stuff and helped those out who needed help. I was surprised how some had not come prepared for this type of thing. Oh, well. They will the next time. My knee at 3 ½ months post knee replacement surgery was still a bit stiff and sore but I was able to walk on flat surfaces. Stairs were a bit more challenging but I managed. The safari drivers provided a small box for me to step onto as it was quite a high step up to get into the safari vehicles. It worked out. This safari is rated as an easy to moderate tour in regards to strenuousness. There was very little walking involved. Just some stairs and climbing in and out of the safari vehicle. I rate it as easy. I am not a whiner and did not ask for or receive any help other than the extra step into the safari vehicle but everyone was kind and considerate nonetheless.

We had 18 people in our tour group. There were three young women in their thirties traveling with their moms, a spry 82 year old and the rest of us were in our sixties and seventies. The three young women were absolutely lovely and didn’t mind traveling with us older folk. They fit right in. Two in our group were doctors (one an ER doctor and one oncologist) and two nurses with 30 years experience each. One of the nurses was a former army nurse. This was a truly wonderful group that really bonded over two weeks’ time. Some of the group knew each other from previous trips but were not cliquey.

We had three safari vehicles and were split into three groups of six. Our tour guide mixed up the groupings when we changed hotels so we got to know all of our fellow tour members really well. We swapped seating on the safari vehicles often so that no one was stuck in the back or monopolized the front. This was entirely voluntary and with consideration for the others in the vehicle. We had water in the vehicle at all times. The vehicles were like vans with a pop up top. Everyone had a window. I felt a little cramped because of my knee but chose seats where I could stretch my surgerized leg out. Most people stood on the seats to photograph the wildlife when the pop up top was open but I only chanced that a couple of times due to my wonky knee which was fine as I could photograph from the window.

At the outset of the tour in Nairobi, we visited the Karen Blixen (of Out of Africa fame) estate and a giraffe center where there were endangered Rothschild giraffes that we could hand feed from a walkway at the giraffes’ head level. It was interesting to visit the Karen Blixen estate having seen the movie eons ago and having visited her home in Denmark in 2019.

We had a long six hour drive between Nairobi and Ambroseli National Park in Kenya with comfort stops along the way. The road was a narrow two lane paved road crowded with semi tractor trailers as this is a major transportation route. Passing those trucks was a bit hairy and I held my breath each time. We were told to buckle up in the vehicle and we did but shoulder harnesses would have been good as well. I was relieved when we left that road and traveled on the secondary roads that were bumpy at times although the drivers did their best to minimize the bumps.

The hotels were all very nice as were the meals. We stayed at the Fairmont The Norfolk (Nairobi) at the beginning and ending of the tour, the Ambroseli Serena Safari Lodge (Ambroseli), the Lake Manyara Lodge (Lake Manyara,Tanzania), the Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge (Ngorongoro Crater) and Sarova Mara Game Camp (Masai Mara, Kenya). The nights at the Ngorongoro were cold as it is at elevation but hot water bottles were placed in our bed at turndown and we were perfectly warm all night. The hotels are fenced in or safe to wander around except for the Serengeti Serena Lodge but monkeys, baboons and mongoose were all over the place. At the Serengeti Lodge, you are escorted to and from your room by hotel staff after dark and in the early morning before dawn. When we first got to our room at the Serengeti lodge there was a Cape buffalo grazing 20 or 30 feet away from our room. Lions had also killed a wildebeest one evening just outside the driveway entrance to the lodge and were busy munching away on it in the morning. The last time we were there in 2016 zebras were drinking from the pool. There was nightly entertainment at a couple 9f the lodges similar to a mini Cirque de Soleil. The acrobats were amazing.

We toured five parks - Ambroseli, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti and the Masai Mara. Some parks were better than others in terms of wildlife but that can be the luck of the draw. You never know what you are going to see. We did see a lot more lions this time around including a mating pair and more leopards and cheetahs. We did not get to see the wildebeest crossing the Mara sadly but again that is luck. We also did not see a rhino. Rhinos are difficult to see. We only saw one once in the Ngorongoro Crater in 2016 and it was really far away. The roads in the parks are rough dirt roads and very bumpy. There is a lot of dust kicked up into the vehicle on safari even with the windows closed when you are moving because the pop up top will be open during the game drives. If you don’t wear a scarf or a buff over your nose and mouth, you will get all that dust into your lungs.

We did the hot air balloon ride over the Masai Mara. My husband and I and another tour member climbed into the balloon basket when it was on its side as I and another woman had knee and back issues . After we were in the basket, the pilot inflated the balloon with hot air and the basket righted itself. At that point the rest of our group climbed in. At the end of the ride, I had help climbing out. The cost for the balloon ride was $960 for the two of us. We did not see much from the air but that is again luck. After having done the balloon ride over Cappadocia I found this balloon ride disappointing. But if I hadn’t gone I would have felt that I missed out on something. After the balloon ride we were fed a full breakfast with champagne which was nice.

A happy meeting - I knew that Odysseys uses the Leopard Tour Company for its Tanzania safari drivers. I asked our guide George if it was possible that our driver Daniel from our 2016 Tanzania tour would be our driver. He said he couldn’t request certain drivers but he would see if Daniel might meet up with us in the Serengeti. Even though it’s been eight years since we last saw Daniel we still remember him fondly. He is like a big teddy bear who gives the best hugs. He is so smart and funny and has eyes in back of his head for spotting game. We just loved him and our time with him in 2016. By coincidence his cousin Richard was our driver in Tanzania this time around. On the chance that we might see him, we picked up a little gift for him in Arusha on the way to the Serengeti. Imagine my surprise when I walked out of the ladies room at the Serengeti Lodge after breakfast and there was Daniel waiting for me with a big smile on his face and a big hug. I had told everyone in our group about Daniel and they were all happy to meet him as well. One of the young women in our group asked him for a hug, too, and he obliged. We met up with him in the evening at the hotel bar and we bought him a beer and reminisced. He said he remembered us but who knows after so many years and so many tours. But he was very gracious and kind as usual. He told us his parents had died of covid within weeks of each other shortly before the covid vaccine became available in Africa. And he had been out of work for two years with three kids and a wife to support. I was so sad to hear this that I wanted to cry for our friend. But he said they are doing well now and his oldest will be going off to college soon. Daniel says he might get promoted to tour director. I hope so as I can’t think of anyone more suited to the job. The next morning when we were leaving the Serengeti, Daniel told his cousin to take good care of me because I was their “other mother”. I was so touched. This has to be the best part of our trip.

Now for the bad stuff. The first or second night of the tour my husband got up in the middle of the night and when he came back to bed he missed the bed and accidentally sat on his eyeglasses which were on the nightstand smashing the frames and dislodging one of the lenses. He managed to cobble them together in the morning and treated them gingerly and they survived until we got home.

In Ambroseli my camera decided to malfunction. A safari is where you want to try and take some hopefully good photos and this happens. I figured out a workaround and was still able to use it but it was a pain in the neck. Each night we were searching the internet for a solution and sent an email to Nikon hoping they had a solution but they didn’t. We finally figured it out when we got home but still don’t know why it started acting up. I hadn’t changed any menu settings. Maybe it was just gremlins.

We were driving from the Olduvai Gorge to the Serengeti Gate on a very narrow dusty road. When two vehicles passed each other on the road, the kicked up dust reduced the visibility to zero. Part way to the Serengeti our driver stopped suddenly and said “We have to go back. There’s been an accident.” Two vehicles that were behind us on the road had collided head on. There were three serious injuries. The drivers were not injured because they had airbags that protected them. Were the injured wearing seatbelts? I have no idea but knowing the inside of the safari vehicles I could see how someone sitting in the first row of seats could get hurt in a collision in spite of seatbelts. Two of the injured had serious head injuries and one of them was a 13/14 year old boy. Our tour members who were medical professionals rushed to render aid but with no tools and just their expertise and some clean water that we had in our vehicles.

The young boy was unconscious and having seizures and the other guy had a serious head wound which they bound up with a white t shirt and applied pressure to stop the bleeding. There was also a lady with some kind of neck injury. At one point the two drivers got into a physical fight and bystanders had to pull them apart. Tensions were high and everyone was upset. Our ER doctor accompanied the victims to an ambulance and then to a hospital. When he finally returned to us he wasn’t sure either of the head injuries would survive. But by some miracle and whatever aid our tour members rendered they survived. The young boy was transferred to a hospital in Paris and his father sent our ER doctor a photo of the boy awake and alert but with a big gash on his forehead. These people were lucky we were there as there was no other medical help around.

Then we were doing the four hour drive from the Serengeti to the airport to fly to the Masai Mara when a kid in one of the villages that we passed threw a rock into one of our vehicles completely smashing the window. Luckily no one was sitting there as the seat belt was broken otherwise someone could have been seriously hurt. The drivers had some clear packing tape and stopped to create a makeshift window.

In Nairobi, we had arranged for a car to take us and another couple to the airport at night. We were almost to the airport when we were stopped by security and our two friends were made to exit the car and go into a building. We had no idea what was going on. Why were our friends taken away? How long before they would be released? We had a few tense minutes until we saw our friends exiting the building. We were so relieved to see them. No one had told us this might happen. It was apparently routine security but in the dark of night when you are alone in a foreign country it was scary. My friend was shaken and said she was scared. We then proceeded on our way to the airport, through two more security stations at the airport and then hugs goodbye and we were off to our gates for our flights.

On our final day in the Masai Mara one of our friends suggested that we each pose for a photo as our favorite animal. What a clever idea! I posed as a monkey. My husband posed as a vulture and I was his prey on the ground. One of the young women draped herself over a fence railing and posed as a leopard. Another couple teamed up to be a giraffe. What a hoot! We had some time before we left the hotel for the flight back to Nairobi and were dancing the Macarena with the pool staff. We were such a fun group.

We had a few chances to shop while we were on tour which to me was a waste of time as I am not a shopper. I don’t want or need any more stuff. But some people are shoppers so I understand the reasoning of the tour company for these stops. I did buy our friend Daniel a gift as I mentioned and a small gift for my sister-in-law.

We also made a brief visit to a Maasai village on this tour. Our guide said he thought this nomadic way of living would end before too long. We visited a Maasai Village before on our first trip to Africa so this was a repeat for us albeit a different village.

All in all despite the mishaps, etc. this was a good tour but one of the craziest I have ever done. It was just an unfortunate series of unexpected events. And I would go back to Africa in a heartbeat.

Holy cow! Riveting reading! Thanks for posting. One question: were the cars involved in the accident not part of your OU group but part of some other tour group? Just curious because of the airlift to Paris.

I agree with above, fascinating and well written! Hope your knee is healing well.

Hi Valerie,

The vehicles involved were not part of our group but one of the vehicles was from the Leopard Tour Company that OU uses. Leopard Tours is a big outfit with 200 plus drivers I believe. The injured people were French hence the transfer to a hospital in Paris. The boy’s father sent a picture of his son in Paris to our ER doctor and said thank you. I think when the boy got to the first hospital they gave him steroids to reduce the swelling of his brain. Our ER doctor intubated him on the way to the hospital. When the ER doctor left the boy and the other guy at the hospital he said they were both “circling the drain.” Some of us tried to fashion a cervical collar for the woman using baseball cap bills but the woman said that was hurting her so they stopped.

I’m with Valerie! Holy cow! You are an intrepid traveler! Glad you are home safely. Thank you for posting this most interesting trip report.

Thanks, min. I am doing better every day. Healing takes longer when you are older. I am very determined to get past this.

I hear you on the taking longer to heal as we age! And determination and grit can make all the difference IMHO.

Thanks, Pam. This was the most eventful trip we have ever done. Sometimes stuff just happens and you have to trust in providence. We were so fortunate to have people with medical training with us to help the injured.

Thanks for this detailed report, Mary.
It was very enjoyable and a little hair raising to read!

Wow! I must say I felt like I was reading a novel not a trip report. May your next trip be not so riveting.

Thanks, S J and BethFL.

What a trip!! Your Instagram photos are breathtaking and I’m glad you got through everything OK.

Mary, I was sitting here scrolling through the forum on my way to bed, and saw your post. I started reading and could not put it down. Now I’m hoping I will be able to get to sleep, because it has just got me riveted. What a trip! It sounds like it was pretty wonderful, though, and I can definitely see why you would want to go back for that. Thanks for a wonderful read!

And I agree with Patty. Your Instagram photos are breathtaking!

What an adventure for sure. Having done 2 safari’s in Africa, I agree with going back in a heartbeat. We also missed the river crossing, but yeah, it’s wildlife so no predicting. I am curious that you chose a safari vehicle with others. I’m a very amateur photographer, but on our first safari, every time I was about to press the shutter release button, invariably someone would shift/move in the vehicle resulting in less than sharp photos. Next time, we did a private vehicle, and the results were much better!

Goodness! I think this definitely qualifies as an adventure! And I think of the coincidence in having doctors and nurses in your group when encountering an accident like that. What a blessing for the injured people!

Oh. My. What a trip. A safari has snuck into my travel horizon, so this was really valuable reading, thanks!

Thank heavens for the ER doctor in your group. Glad your knee held up, if not your camera.

Wow! Thanks for your very well-written trip report about your adventure!

Thank you for sharing - what an amazing adventure you had. Taking a safari is on my bucket list. And I hope you don't mind being followed on Instagram, your photographs are spectacular and my feed could use a bit more beauty in it.

Thanks everybody.

@CWSocial I hope you book that trip to Africa. Over three safaris there, I can attest that it is always a thrill. You never know what you are going to see or what will happen. It’s like the Forrest Gump proverbial box of chocolates. We have stood on the very edge of a hippo pool watching the hippos emerge en masse from the forest and partially submerge themselves in the water; elephants tussling with each other like little kids in a small pond; encountering a female elephant in the road who proceeded to press her face against the front of our vehicle while we all held our collective breath; watching the aftermath of a Cape buffalo kill by a pride of lions over two days with the lions having their fill and then the hyenas and vultures warily having their turn under the watchful gaze of the lions; encountering a baboon who charged at a fellow tour member who was holding a bag of cashews which ended with the cashews being tossed and the encounter ending peacefully with the baboon literally stuffing its cheeks; taking a shower outside our room with a monkey curiously watching from a branch above my head; canoeing and stopping to give an elephant the right of way; mating ostriches with a flurry of feathers worthy of a Vegas showgirl; green boomslangs weaving their way through the ceiling of a grass hut shelter looking for mice. I could go on and on. I encourage you all to go and witness this spectacle. This was the first trip we he have ever taken with so many things going awry. It was unusual.

Tammy, we had no problem taking photos from the vehicle. The driver stops long enough for everyone to get some good shots and there wasn’t a lot of movement in the vehicle. We got plenty of good photos even with my camera acting up. You can see some of our photos on our IG page.

Thanks @CL. I am glad you are enjoying the photos..

Thank you for the amazing trip report!

Mary, I see in your profile you are going to India and Nepal soon. I hope you find time to write a trip report for that one too!

Great report. I was in Kenya many years ago and enjoyed a brief, low cost safari for 3 days. It was a thrill for me. Now you make me want to go back—minus the excitement of the accident of course. Glad your knee held up.

1. Wowzers, what a great trip report. We're in the midst of trying to figure out when, where, and how.
2. Is there a link to your photos that I'm missing?
3. Were others in your group glad that your knee might make you the slow one if the lions looked up at got the munchies? ;).

Thanks, Patty.

Thanks, Allan. You can find the link to our photos in my forum profile. LOL! Yes, I would have been the one to get eaten.

Mary-

What a fantastic trip report! I read this aloud to Jeff- he loved it too. We are both always excited to see your instagram photos, but the stories make them so much better. Of course, he is the better photographer between he and I but as he doesn’t participate here, he is really glad to hear the story behind them. Thanks so much for sharing.

I know the knee has been a struggle, and here’s to hoping it’s all sorted by your next trip- can’t wait to live vicariously through you!

Someday we will make it to Africa- I’m hoping sooner than later!

ETA (I somehow erased this when hitting submit)
Don’t apologize for gear weight when it’s that important! Your photos are professional quality and some gear is worth the weight for sure!

Thanks, Aimee. I love your husband’s photos, too. My husband is also a better photographer than me but I managed to get some really good shots on this trip as well. About half the photos of this recent trip posted on IG are mine. As long as one of us gets a good shot it doesn’t matter. We don’t compete with each other. Carrying all that gear is a bit of a pain though especially as we are getting older. I found a workaround for the next trip for my gear, etc. I am using a rolling Delsey under seater for my stuff to carry on board. I might be able to take some of my husband’s stuff as well. We’ll see how that works out.

Really fantastic report. Thank you for sharing the ups and downs of doing a safari trip. Your pics on IG are gorgeous!

@MorganMurphy This was our third safari. The first two were uneventful other than wonderful animal encounters. I would not want anyone to think that going on safari is anything but great.

What a great trip report. Thank you for sharing, Mary.

I was just thinking about my recent trip report on my African safari (https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/africa-trip-report) and the things that went wrong. I did mention the canceled flight, but I neglected to share two other things that didn't work out the way I would have wanted.

First off, I got sick. Twice. Vomiting and diarrhea. After the second time I came to the conclusion that it was a reaction to the chloroquine I was taking as anti-malaria medication. Both times it happened one day after taking the weekly dose. So I stopped taking it. So far, I haven't gotten malaria. (There were really very few mosquitos where I went.)

Second, we got stuck in the sand in the desert for 2 1/2 hours. We were heading to Reteti Elephant Orphanage in northern Kenya. Our driver didn't have four-wheel drive and he attempted to get us there on a "road" that was dirt and sand. At one point we crossed a dry river bed. He said, "This is the hard part." And immediately after he said that, we got stuck. It was hot and we had water bottles but nothing extra, and we had no idea how long we'd be stuck there. We finally got a hold of our friend who lives in Nanyuki, and she got a hold of the people at Reteti, but it took several hours before they came and towed us out.

I think expecting the unexpected (which is an extremely kind way of saying "expect disaster to strike at any moment") is an important guideline to follow on all trips, but some trips definitely provide more opportunities for the unexpected to happen!

Wow, Lane! You had an adventure, too. We were taking the daily antimalarials. They won’t prescribe the weekly pills here in the US because they can cause psychotic incidents. But the daily pills made me sick to my stomach after a week and I felt like I had the flu so choose your poison I guess. I can’t imagine being stuck out there without sufficient water. We have had flat tires in the bush and had to get out of the vehicle while the driver and guide were changing the tire and could hear a lion roar not too far away. It’s always an adventure, isn’t it.

What a trip report! I was glued from start to finish. Such a great adventure even with the mishaps. I’ll be sending links to your report to friends who are eager to take an African safari in the near future. Many thanks for this!

Thanks, luv2travel. Hopefully it doesn’t deter them from going to Africa. This trip was out of the ordinary.