Kent's first report from Kenya

To be certain we can plan the best trip for each of our clients, we at AAC travel to Africa several times each year to visit a variety of accommodations and to get the latest information. Kent is presently in Kenya visiting the top wildlife areas and various lodges. He's had an interesting start to his trip. Without further ado, here's the latest - straight from Kenya!

I have been on safari so many times. I can pack for safari in my sleep. I could practically fly there myself if I needed to. But things were very hectic before leaving this time. Work was hectic. My wife Kelly was out of town and I had our two small boys on my own. My dad had surgery...

Now it's 6:15 a.m. in Lewa Conservancy and the sky is turning shades of orange, pink, yellow and blue and my troubles have washed away. Emerald spotted wood doves are calling, "work har-der, work har-der, work har-der." It's another beautiful African dawn and I am enjoying the strong coffee with hot milk that was delivered to my tent a few minutes ago.

Yesterday was a good safari day. Lewa Downs, as many people still call it, is a 64,000-acre private conservancy just north of Mt Kenya in central Kenya. It is home to the largest concentration of black rhinos in the world and boasts more than 110 rhinos after also counting the white ones. It has three subspecies of giraffe and more than 20 percent of the world's endangered Grevy's zebra. The reserve also has abundant elephants, lion, leopard, plains zebra, buffaloes, and cheetah (our group saw three brothers on a eland kill).

Being a private reserve, guests can enjoy game drives, night drives, horse and camel-back rides and walks. This afternoon, we went on a great game walk through the rolling hills, plains, and valleys of Lewa. We saw elephants, bushbuck, impala, zebra and buffalo, but not too close. We hiked a tall hill for stunning views and a sundowner, then drove back to camp for a piping hot shower and a delicious steak dinner. All in all, it was a good day.

In addition to Lewa safari camp there are other more upscale accommodations - Lewa House, Sirikai, and Lewa Wilderness Trails. For more info on Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, visit their website. You can find a sample Kenya safari itinerary including a Lewa visit here.

Pre-Safari Tips

1. Read your itinerary carefully, paying close attention to the dates before booking your flight! When you reserve your flights, have somebody else double check them, or have us book them for you.
2. Pack a week or so before your safari. That way you won't be rushed and forget anything important like your camera battery. It also gives you time to buy last-minute items.
3. Pack really light. Besides having to comply with baggage weight restrictions you really don't need all that stuff anyway.
4. Check that your passport is valid for six months after your arrival date and that there are several blank pages left.
5. Bring comfortable shoes. I have ditched my sturdy hikers for a pair of comfortable (and stylish!) cross trainers.
6. Bring Ambien or another sleep aid and take it right away if you wake in the middle of the night.
7. Read up on your destination before you go. It will enhance your experince.
8. When flying, ask about upgrades or the availability of better seats. I upgraded to 'enhanced economy' on British Airways from London to Nairobi for about $150 after asking at the transfer desk. It was a "last-minute special."
9. Bring an elastic exercise band. They are small and light, take up very little space in your bag, and enable you to work out in your tent.
10. Bring snacks. They are nice to have on long flights, espeially if the meal is particularly bad. Be sure to finish them before checking in to your first camp however; you don't want to keep food in your tent!

Passport Rate Hikes Proposed: Renew Now!

If the State Department gets its way, US passport fees will be going up in 2010.

Currently it costs $75.00 to renew an adult passport, but under the proposed hikes the rate would go up to $110.00, a 47% increase.

Fees for a first-time adult passport are slated to rise from $100.00 to $135.00.

Want to add more visa pages to your passport? Currently this service is free, but under the proposed new schedule it would cost $82.00.

If these fee hikes do pass, expect a rush as people try to beat the deadline, which could result in longer processing times.

Our advice is to check your passport's expiration date now. Depending on how much time is remaining, you may want to renew now as opposed to later.

Also note that many countries in Africa require that your passport have at least six months of validity from the date you enter the country. You definitely do not want to get turned away at the gate for having a passport which is about to expire!

Kent's Family Counts Down to Safari!

As we get closer to our departure dates for our family safari to Tanzania (Kelly, the boys and Grandma Bev are leaving 10 days after I am), we are scrambling to finalize last minute details such as what to bring and how many bags we can take. (What is the baggage weigh allowance again?) I now realize why so many clients call days before their departure with last-minute “urgent” questions about suitcases, packing, visas and more. Of course now, there’s the added question of the Swine Flu. I figure it’s best to get out of town before it gets too serious.

On the baggage question, we are testing three new bags on this trip. In addition to two old ones (a true duffel for me on Kilimanjaro and an old 2nd-hand Eddie Bauer duffel that we’ve had for years), we’ve picked the new bags from the high, medium and low price ranges. All of these bags qualify as carry-ons and are about the right size for keeping within the strict weight limits of most small plane flights in Africa (33 or 44 pounds per person). They are:

• Eagle Creek 22-inch Hovercraft model, purchased from Magellen’s via the link on our website’s Safari Shop. It cost $224 plus shipping and weighs 7 lb 6 oz with 2900 cubic inches of storage. We also bought the slightly less expensive 22-inch Load Warrior but returned it because we liked the Hovercraft’s pockets better.
• The Swissgear Zurich 22 inch wheeled duffle. It has a 10-year warranty and was purchased from Target for $89. This is a true rolling duffel in that is can be packed down. We don’t know the total capacity and can’t find it anywhere on the internet, but it looks about the same as the others.
• A Samsonite 22-inch wheeled duffel. This bag looks cheap and only cost $49 from a variety of sources. We don’t have high hopes for this one, but we’re be happy to be pleasantly surprised. It has a 3-year warranty and weighs just 3.5 lbs with 3100 cubic inches of storage.

The other things we’ve been thinking about for our upcoming family safari to Tanzania include seat belts, vegetarian meals and flight upgrades.

Seat belts: We have been wondering whether we need to bring the boys’ booster seats (bulky when you are bringing small bags) for the driving part of our tour. We have confirmed that while some vehicles have shoulder straps in addition to lap belts, some just have lap belts, so we are going to forgo the booster seats. If need be, we can use other things to boost them up there.

Vegetarian meals: You’d think after having been with Kelly for more than 10 years I would remember to order her vegetarian meals. Not so. But I’m rewriting everyone to confirm these, which are very doable even in the most remote camps.

Flight upgrades: We used miles to get business class seats for Kelly, the kids and Grandma. I have a lot more flying to do. For that reason, and to try to coordinate somewhat with their flights home, I booked some very reasonably priced tickets on United, Swiss Air and Kenya Airways. Now that the time is fast approaching for me to get on the plane, I realize I want business class too, so I contacted United about a travel agent upgrade. What was I thinking? Did I really expect that United (the airline for which I am a very frequent flyer, and the airline whom we book many flights with each year) would really give me an upgrade from economy to business class? When pigs fly…I’m in the middle of the bus.

Well, that’s it for today.