We Made It!

We're home! Sorry we didn't update the blog other than first two posts, but Internet access was really difficult to find. It would have been fun to post everything real time, but not much we could do. :( We have so many stories and pictures to share, we'll start posting stuff soon.

This was a life changing trip. Especially our visit to Rwanda. Rwanda is a very powerful, beautiful country filled with kind, resilient, and welcoming people. I wish we would have had more time to spend there, but we'll be back for a second visit!

A few trip highlights of which we'll tell you about more later include: Chris driving our safari truck, cab rides in Nairobi, comparing banana beers in different countries, swarming bees and ants, cheetah madness in the Serengeti, climbing volcanoes, romping with gorillas, and our ever favorite, stinging nettles! Can't wait to tell you more. For now I think it's time to go to bed.

Black Rhino

No time for a long post ... just a quick update ...
Today we saw two of only 26 black rhinos that live in the Ngorongoro Crater. It was a very rare and special experience. The mother and her baby looked like boulders in a field, but on closer inspection, you could see their big twitching ears and the mothers two horns. We really were very lucky to have seen them. We waited an 1.5 hours for the mother and baby to stand up and it paid off! I wish we could post pics but no time. Trip still continues to blow us away. Final note... had banana beer. 10% alcohol. Yowsa.
Good night.

Asante Sana Tanzania

Day three of our safari and so far we're blown away. We are having a private tour for our entire 10 days in Tanzania. It's very unfortunate for our tour operator but it is an amazing experience for us. We have a private guide, Firoz, for our entire trip.

We just finished a three day safari in Tarangire National Park. It's the second largest national park in Tanzania and is home to the largest population of elephants in the country -- 6,000. The terrain and weather is much different than we expected. It's been cloudy and very cool (probably 60 degrees). The terrain is stark, beautiful. It actually reminds us a lot of Colorado in the autumn. I've been wearing pants and a fleece the entire time. I never thought I'd be cold in East Africa in August.

As I said, we are blown away by our experiences so far. We have seen so much wildlife. Here's a partial list of what we've seen: elephants, lions, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, cape buffalo, impala, dik dik, deikur, steenbuck, ostrich, lesser kudu, warthog, oryx, eland, bat-eared fox, black-faced monkey, banded mongoose, white mongoose, water buck, hartebeest, dickens gazelle, hyrax, yellow-winged bat, spotted genet, rhebok, baboon, and cheetah.

The people have been wonderful. We really haven't talked to other tourists, we've really enjoyed talking to local people, learning swahili, and getting a feel for what it's like to live in Tanzania.

It's been a very special experience.

We only have five minutes left on the computer, otherwise this would be a much longer post. Stay tuned for more maybe pics too.

One final thing ... we learned that "coffee" in Swahili means, "slap me." Ha! I'm surprised we haven't been slapped considering how often we ask for coffee.

Until next time!
-Joy and Chris

It's finally here!

I can't believe it. After almost two years of planning and preparing we leave tomorrow morning. Chris and I are both excited and a little nervous. It's surreal, really. We'll post on the blog as much as we can.

Tomorrow we leave S.D. at 8:45 a.m. and fly to Detroit, then on to Amsterdam and finally Arusha. I really really hope we make all our flights. I shouldn't even type that 'cause now I'm jinxing us!

Oh, I just took my first malaria pill. I feel kind of weird, but I think that's just psychosematic. hehe.

Anyhow ... hope to post again soon!!!

Camera

We bought a new camera for our trip: http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665789079

It'd be a shame to just have a point and shoot digital camera when we're going to see so many amazing things on our trip. Chris and I don't know much about cameras, so tonight, we're getting a one-on-one tutorial at the Sony Style Store. Cool!

The camera has a panoramic setting, 20x zoom, super-fast shutter speed and also has a 1080p video record. I will be posting pictures on our blog as well on flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chris_and_joy/

Meet Kibo

We now have a foster elephant! His name is Kibo. Here's a link to his profile:

http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/asp/orphan_profile.asp?N=195

We are very excited to visit the orphanage in Nairobi, although it shall be a bitter sweet experience. It's hopeful to know that there are organizations like the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust that support conservation efforts and strive to protect these endangered creatures. I'm sure visiting little Kibo will change our lives!

Adopting a Baby Elephant

I'm so excited! I posted on the Tripadvisor Nairobi forum asking advice on what Chris and I could do in our 24-hour visit to the city. A fellow poster informed me that, for $50, I could adopt a baby elephant through the Sheldrock Wildlife Trust. As an adoptive parent, on the evening of our arrival, we can visit our chubby little buddy at 5pm, meet the handler, and put our little elie to bed!! Yes please!!

You might not be able to tuck the little guy in at night, but you can adopt an orphan too! http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/asp/fostering.asp

Tales of the Golden Monkey

Remember that show from the '80s? I don't remember much but I do remember thinking it was pretty cool ... It was a ripoff of Indiana Jones and was only on for one season. I think I need to watch a few episodes on Hulu. Anyhow, I digress, this is not the golden monkey I'm talking about!

We have a free day during our stay in Rwanda. One option for the day is trekking golden monkeys! These little guys are a subspecies of the blue monkey and are found only in the bamboo forests of the volcanic mountain chain that forms a part of the boundary between Rwanda, Uganda, and DRC. Hopefully we'll have pictures to post of these little guys.


Check out this site for more info: http://www.awf.org/content/solution/detail/3509

Safety Precautions

For those of you concerned about our safety while we're in Africa, Chris and I want to assure you that we have researched this trip for more than two years and have taken every precaution to ensure that we're safe.

First, we planned our trip through a travel agent. Usually we plan our own trips, because we love the thrill of exploring new places, but this time we left it to the professionals.

They carefully planned our trip not only to ensure our safety but they've also made sure we go to the best places to view wildlife. We will be staying in very nice lodges and luxury tented camps. We'll be traveling with groups and will have professional guides the entire trip. Fortunately, we will never be in a group with more than 12 people. Who knows, with the economy and the recent swine flu outbreak, maybe we'll have our own personal safari!

Second, our friend Veronique just completed her foreign service training and will be stationed in Niger as a foreign diplomat at the end of the summer. She gave us some excellent advice and is giving us contact information of an American stationed in the Embassy in Kigali, Rwanda. We also registered our trip with the U.S. State Department. If anything happens in one of the countries we visit, the Embassy will know we are there, which makes us feel good. On a side note, it's pretty cool to know a foreign diplomat. Way to go, Vern!

Finally, we continually check the state statement department web site to ensure there are no restrictions on areas we'll visit. We also stay up to date on current affairs in Tanzania and Rwanda.

We are very excited about our trip, and we assure you we will take every measure to make sure we are safe!

Diane Fossey Foundation

We've all heard of Gorillas in the Mist, the story of Diane Fossey, a scientist who devoted and sacrificed her life protecting and studying the mountain gorillas in Africa.

Chris and I will be visiting Rwanda's Parc National des Volcans where Diane Fossey conducted her research. This will be a life changing experience and has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl. I can't wait to share stories of our visit with the mountain gorillas!

Please visit the Diane Fossey Foundation web site (http://www.gorillafund.org/) and see how you can help protect the endangered mountain gorillas. There are less than 700 of these spectacular creatures left in the world!

I Bless the Rains Down in Africa

We're going to Africa. We're really doing it and in less than 3 months. This is a trip of a lifetime and I want to make sure that I share our experience. We leave on August 18 and return on September 2. We will spend 10 nights in Tanzania and 3 nights in Rwanda. We fly from S.D. to Detroit and then on to Amsterdam and finally to Kilimanjaro. We are NOT checking any luggage!

To the left is a map of places we're visiting. I've broken it down into 7 areas:
1: Arrive in Kilimanjaro. Overnight in Arusha to recover from jetlag.
2: 2 nights in Tarangire, the 3rd largest park in Tanzania
3: 1 night at Lake Manyara
4: 2 nights in Ngorongoro Crater
5: 3 nights in the Serengeti
6: Depart from Kilimanjaro to Nairobi and then on to Kigali, Rwanda
7: 3 nights in Virunga Lodge in Rwanda.

I will try and post as much as possible while we're on our trip. Surprisingly, most of the lodges and tented camps where we're staying have Internet access. I hate checking email and using the Internet while I'm on vacation. I prefer to cut myself off from reality when I'm traveling, but I really want to capture every moment of our African experience.

I'll keep posting details as our departure date draws near. The one final thing we need to do before we leave is get immunizations. Ouch. I hate shots. :(