Howabout this for a plan...

[JakeR]

Hi Guys,

Well, on Saturday i depart for my epic journey. For one month I will be travelling around Kenya and South Africa.

Here's the itinerary I was sent the other day...

Hi Jake,
Great to hear from you. I will be at the airport to meet you. Please tell
me what airline you are coming in on. The weather right now is warm and
sunny, and hot in the afternoons. I have quite an itinerary planned. Please
make sure you bring no more than one carry-on bag that you could run with -
not a large suitcase. The reason is 1/ it is easier to travel with just a
shoulder bag and nothing else, 2/ if you check anything into the hold, you
will add an hour or longer of waiting for it in Nairobi when you arrive,
and 3/ you run the risk of it being stolen or opened and items stolen from
inside it. I cannot emphasize this more strongly.

[snip!]

Make sure the shoes you wear have hard
souls for the garden and the bush - sneakers or trainers are no good
because thorns go straight through them, and there are big acacia thorns
everywhere. That said, you will not need heavy boots as it is too warm for
them out here.
The game plan is as follows: meet you (friday) at the airport. Then
breakfast in the garden, and out to Wilson Airfield to take off at 10 am
for the Kilaguni game lodge for a five-star lunch overlooking the waterhole
and a walk (saturday) in the southern Tsavo game park. This will involve
you and i and a friend who is learning to fly who needs to get up and get
some navigation experience. It will afford tremendous views of the east
african plains, including the great Mount Kilimanjaro which we will pass
by. It will give you a very interesting taste the savannah bush country, as
well as plenty of discussion with the game scouts who will escort us on the
walk. We will be back by 5pm. Then, formal dinner at the Muthaiga Club. On
Sunday, a garden bbq with friends to enjoy the birds and monkeys. You will
make the fire etc. On Monday we will visit the Nairobi national park for a
game drive and a Masai-escorted riverside walk with other Rollnicks who
live in park(this part is a joke, he means babboons ) , and the gazelles. With luck we will see hippos, crocs, vultures, eagles, elephant and giraffe, cheetah, lion and various buck.
Tuesday, visit and lunch at the UN headquarters in Nairobi. Wednesday, a
visit to the Tigoni tea and coffee plantations outside Nairobi with friends
and possibility of a horse ride or walk as you like. Thursday and Friday,
open days. On the weekend of the 16th we will drive for two days out to
Lake Nakuru National Park, the world's greatest flamingo breeding site, and
overnight in the game lodge there. There is no need to bring mosquito
cream, soap, etc., because we have all that and the right stuff. It is now
dry season here so no need to worry about malaria.
Make sure you have your visa before you leave, and your medical certificate
which you should show them at the airport. They require a yellow fever jab
which is good for 10 years. It is also very prudent to get an anti-tetanus
shot too, and anything else they advise. I have a spare cell phone here, so
just bring your chip.
Bring your licence because you will have to drive Jo around.
She is moving with crutches at the moment and will need help from you to
carry things and so on. She sends lots of love and looks foreward to having
you. Cant wait to see you.
Lots of love and some rhino s***. Roman

HE'S OFF!!

After much planning and much anticipation and many problems it seems like i am actually about to leave. Jeez, it still feels like i've got lots to do. So many things to arrange, so many problems to solve. Howabout that then guys? Looks like im gonna have a few stories to tell when i get back!

One of the reasons im going out there is to see if i can arrange an internship in the U.N. Im lucky enough to have family in working for the U.N. in Kenya (my uncle) so im planning on taking full advantage of it. Im sure that would go down well on the C.V.

Yes, i am actually jumping up and down on my seat right now. This is all independant of anyone else. Just him, and his friend, and his plane.

Crikey.

Don't know what else to say really, im sure i've illusrated my excitement effectively.

Cheers Guys.

 

[JakeR]

And that reminds me...INSURANCE!

 

[Goose]

Lucky bugger!

 

[Toddy]

Lucky bugger!

Kind of says it really, doesn't it?

Have and excellent time Jake; have adventures and scary moments and lots of fun and come home in one piece to gloat about what you got up to while we faced the rigours of a wet and windy autumnal UK with no mozzies, lions, acacia thorns......
All the best,
Toddy

 

[tomtom]

Hay Jake it sounds brill mate, i have two friends who are from SA and they are going back home round december im hoping to go out and see them some time next year!
im sure you will have a blast mate.. just remember to bring your stories and photos back here!

 

[HuBBa]

This will involve
you and i and a friend who is learning to fly who needs to get up and get
some navigation experience

Oooh! That might entail a crashcourse in survival aswell (sorry m8, couldn't resist that one. the bashing can start now

Good luck and we're all insanely envious of ya.

 

[JakeR]

Thanks guys, it certainly will be one to remember. If i can actually get past the airport that is!

Oooh! That might entail a crashcourse in survival aswell

Thanks for the confidence booster there! I'll certainly be taking some kit with me up in that plane, just to be safe (r). i suppose i have to expect some bashing, it's only fair

I then, after a week, head south to Cape Town for a few days, then drive north to Oorlogskloof, for a few days wild camping, then drive south to Cape Town, catch up with a few old friends. And THEN....wait for it....BACK to Nairobi!

:jumpingupanddownonthespotsmilie:

 

[Goose]

if you just take hand luggage what are you going to do with your sharp stuff?
I mean on the flight out.

 

[JakeR]

Here's a picture of Oorlogskloof

And Lake Nakuru National Park

 

[Stuart]

Have a Good one Jake, your Uncle sounds like quite a character heed his good advice about only taking a shoulder bag, you'll enjoy yourself far more if you only carry what will fit in a small bag you can run with.

 

[JakeR]

Cheers Stu,

Yeah, im taking a 35l rucksack with me for the whole trip, but it's going to have to go in the hold unfortunatly, because it's too big and heavy to go on the plane itself, will also have a knife inside. He warned against it because it causes delays, but there's no way round it. I have work stuff with me for Kidzpositive that i need in cape town. So it adds weight.

Stu, my uncle never actually grew up! He manages a very nice job (much to the amazement of the whole family), but he certainly is an eccentric. My father is not impressed with the idea of flying with him, but, what an oppertunity! A fully grown boy flying a plane, uh-oh.

 

[Ed]

It sounds fantastic Jake. Don't forget to take loads of pics

See you when you get back

Ed

 

[jamesdevine]

Good Luck Jake and enjoy it. I known will from what Adam has told me a the pic he has shown it's a bueatiful country with alot of friendly and interesting people.

As stated about you are on lucky sod.

James

 

[JakeR]

Thanks guys, i shall take a journal and lots of pictures. Just to rub it in a bit when i get back.

 

[Povarian]

Sounds fantastic, I'm sure you'll enjoy the experience. I was at Kilaguni in 1992, and the flamingos on the lake nearby were wonderful. Also it's funny how none of the nature/wildlife documentaries mention the huge pong generated by large heards of wildebeasties.

 

[JakeR]

mmmmmhh...nice

The photo's look unbelieveable, it's a case of it not quite sinking in until im actually there.

 

[Rhapsody]

Blimey! Sounds like a bit of a romp, doesn't it? Hope you have a fantastic time, and don't get eaten by any hippos (they do that you know... and if they don't then they probably should!).

 

[Stuart]

35lt should be small enough to take on the plane as long as it doesn’t exceed 7kg, I regularly carry a 35lt on board. remember that anything you can fit in your pockets or in a belt pouch does not get weighed, and can be put in the bag later.

any item that I am taking with me which cannot be carried on the plane (knife etc) I put in a large cardboard box, like a small tv box. fill it with padding and put your knife and anything else which is prohibited as carry-on in the middle of it all, tape up the box Thoroughly, write the destination address and return address.

the overly large box serves two purposes, firstly it makes it easy to find at the other end, and it wont fit down the conveyer belt easily so you can ask if you can take it to the 'oversized' check-in. (you can also request this for any bag if you say that it is very fragile) any items check in via the oversized check in are wheeled out to the plane and loaded by hand. in my experience because of this they are less likely to get damaged or sent to the wrong place.

when you arrive at your destination cut open the box, discard it in the bin and move the items within into your bag.

don’t put anything in the box which you couldn’t lose and not worry about or which wont fit into you bag at the other end

 

[JakeR]

Cheers mate.

Good advice Stuart! Is it safer to ask for it to be wheeled on as oversize luggage? Does it cost more?

Thanks mate...

 

[Stuart]

Cheers mate.

Good advice Stuart! Is it safer to ask for it to be wheeled on as oversize luggage? Does it cost more?

Thanks mate...

it passes though fewer hands that way so there is less oppotunity this end at least, your cant do much about the other end, and it will be put though an X-ray machine in front of you when you check it in at the oversized area so you can watch to make sure there are no problems.

provided that it isnt massivly oversized (just go for a box that would be slightly arkward to fit on the convayor) and it is light, which it will be if it only has a knife in it, it shouldnt cost you any extra.

if you mark it as fragile you can ask for any luggage to be checked in via the 'oversized' check-in. they will look at you funny though if you try to argue that the Contains of your rucksack is fragile (why did you pack it in a rucksack then?) so put the sack in a carboard box.

I dont know if cardboard boxes marked fragile are less of a target but I should imagine that the throwers are to busy throwing anything marked fragile on the ground repeatedly and driving over them to spend any time rooting around the contains