This question occupied my thoughts for a week trying to figure it all out. Understanding the thinking of Sherlock Holmes, I went to deductive reasoning to eliminate the scenarios that were not logically possible. First, who would really know what bag Steve left his camera equipment in? Since all bags look alike, we did have three exactly the same roll along bags with the bright pink zip ties. So, how could any of the baggage people from Entebbe to Kilimanjaro know we had a bag with camera equipment in it? continue reading
Lense On! is a photography platform bag to stabilize a camera and lense in a safari truck situation and sports photography where there is extremely limited working space requiring a fast set up and take down.
This invention would have never been created without a need. When my husband and I started going to Africa, we were ill prepared to take sharp, interesting photos. This was the time BD, Before Digital. It was difficult to deal with film, but we soon found it very difficult to balance the camera and lense without a tripod or monopod. There is not room in most safari trucks for a tripod, so we did invest in monopods. This in itself was a move in the right direction, but proved not to solve the real problem. With a camera and big lense screwed onto the monopod when the truck is in motion, the whole set up became unwieldy. Where do we put it? There was no choice but to hold onto everything on our laps. With the monopod extended sticking out of the truck, the situation was not ideal. Bigger cameras and lenses became more of a problem. continue reading
March 17, 2009, Tuesday
Today is St. Patrick’s Day, but you wouldn’t know it in the bush. It’s just another day. The early wake-up call came so early after such a long day before. The good news, you can always go out later than intended or not at all. That is pointless for us, since every moment is an opportunity! We eventually climbed into the truck around 7:00 am. There wasn’t much going on this morning. Some lionesses were rolling around with their cubs in the grasses. Others were playing a little game of ‘keep away’ with a bit of skin from the previous night kill with a group of hungry black-backed jackals. We watched the game for a while and laughed at all the jackals’ strategy. The lionesses won, naturally. continue reading
How to be smart before and after you go on safari.
There is always a beginning to a story. The Blonde sent in the name and address of the Husband to the cruise lines to get him interested in something other than sports!! She filled in every information card with his name and address she could get her hands on. Soon, the new mail started arriving in numbers. He just couldn’t imagine why he was getting all this attention from cruise lines. (The travel agent must have done this.) He would read anything that had his name on it.
March 16, 2009, Monday
The day from hell arrived in the chilled darkness. We got up in a foul mood, headache included. I was so mad that I did not even wear clean clothes or take a shower. I put on what I had worn the previous day. Since Steve had none of his bags, he had no shaving bag or even a toothbrush. (I guess an extra toothbrush should be in the bottom of my purse!) We all put back on yesterday’s clothes. Steve was also in a rotten mood. Thankfully, he had put all our travel documents in his shoulder bag, but he left his medications in his roll along. We should have all sat down and cried. Little did we know that this was just the beginning.
March 15, 2009, Sunday
The birds were up before we were. It was time to leave this camp. We finished our last minute packing, checked under the beds, bathroom, and all shelves and bins for overlooked items. Satisfied that we had not forgotten anything, we left for breakfast. I knew that this day would be extremely long, so I tanked up. We were taking our private charter from that grassy airstrip back to Entebbe. We would fly from Entebbe, Uganda to Nairobi, Kenya to Kilimanjaro Airport, Tanzania. We would be picked up by our same transfer men from Far Horizons and taken back to the Entebbe International Airport. Always remember, TIA. Something will happen in Africa, you just never know when or what will happen. This is the beginning of the disaster that I want everyone to avoid.
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March 14, 2009, Saturday
By the time we spend several days in the same camp, a certain routine sets in. Many camps deliver tea or coffee to your room with the wake up call. Some camps deliver the call over the cordless phone, or in person. We have found that the coffee just has too much ‘hair’ and the tea isn’t what we like. We end up bringing our own tea and Splenda. I even bring my own salsa packets! It was pretty chilly to wake up in a cold, black tent in the morning, although they do give you a flannel coated hot water bottle to snuggle up with at night! I kept my socks on! Packing the carry bag and prepping the camera equipment the night before is the best idea. I always seem to forget something if I don’t. We went down to breakfast, and found a huge set up! I was a buffet of all kinds of breakfast things, plus eggs to order. (In Africa, eggs are eggs. You will eat a lot of them. You won’t want any after you return home for a long time!)
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March 13, 2009, Friday
Today was the reason we go on safari in Africa, to photograph the animals. Our wake up call and tea arrived before sun up. As we had done on so many safaris before, we were trying to figure out just what kind of an environment challenge we would be up against. We did not know what kind of jungle or weather we might encounter. continue reading
March 12, 2009, Thursday Afternoon
The whole walking tour sounded intriguing if it wasn’t too long. Bennie picked us up at the bottom of the 99 steps with our guide, a very gentle local woman. We chatted while we drove a short distance to where we were to visit. We stopped in a fairly rural area where there was a small village. Even though we were paying for this tour, it is always wise to ask about taking photos. Once you get that straightened out, you can proceed with the fun! continue reading
March 12, 2009, Thursday Morning
The boat ride back to Entebbe was thankfully uneventful, but not entirely dry. The sides to the boat were down and tied. I’m convinced Lake Victoria is never smooth. Back on shore, we were reloaded into the truck and taken to a private airstrip for our charter to the Gorilla Forest Camp in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda. continue reading
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