Follow us on our journey and read about some of the places we will visit.
Tanzania
Jan 07, 2012
Jan 07, 2012
We leave Canada for Tanzania. We fly via Amsterdam, arriving in Nairobi, Kenya where we will transfer by air to Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
Jan 09-15, 2012
 |
| Plains Zebra and Blue Wildebeests |
Jan 09-15, 2012
We're on safari! Our day excursions will take us to many locations where animal viewing should be wonderful.
- Lake Manyara National Park
- Ngorongoro Crater
- Olduvai Gorge
- Serengeti National Park
- Tarangire National Park
 |
| Panorama view of Ngorongoro Crater. |
Zanzibar
Jan 16-19, 2012
Today we fly to Zanzibar where we will stay in the main port of Stone Town. We will tour the town and take a spice island tour. I have a feeling we are not going to want to leave this aromatic island.
 |
| Panorama of Stone Town, Zanzibar from the Indian Ocean |
South Africa
Jan 20-23 2012
We arrive in Cape Town, South Africa. We have a leisure day to explore the city, then we enjoy a wine tour through the vineyards that have made South African wines famous. On our third day, we tour the Cape Peninsula and round off our time in this amazing city with another day to choose our own sights. Weather should be dry and hot - day time temp of 26 degrees.
Jan 24-27, 2012
Travel to Oudtshoorn, in the Western Cape region. This town is famous for its ostrich farms. Then its on to the coastal town of Knysna where we have a morning cruise and tour.
 |
| Ostriches in Oudtshoorn |
Jan 28-29, 2012
We continue along the Garden Route to Tsitsikamma National Reserve (we will pass on the bungee jumping at Bloukrans Bridge) and on to the coastal city of Port Elizabeth. Here we get our flight to Johannesburg. From the big city of Jo-burg we drive north to Kruger National Park. From what we have heard, Kruger is animal viewing refined. We shall see.
Jan 30-Feb 3, 2012
Time in Kruger National Park, then return to Johannesburg where we will catch a flight to Livingstone, Zambia to visit Victoria Falls. It will be exciting to see this waterfalls which is among the world's largest. We are staying at a hotel right near the falls. Ah, the Zambesi River awaits!
Feb 04-06, 2012
Today we drive to Chobe National Park in Botswana. I hope this will be the game reserve where we see hippos. We will drive in an open vehicle and cruise on the Chobe River so I think there will be a good chance. Oh, and we'll see if we can locate the office of the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency too.
Madagascar
Feb 7-20, 2012
Madagascar is the centrepiece of our journey and perhaps the most challenging in terms of travel logistics, varying terrain, and political uncertainty. But the chance to experience this unique country is not one we wanted to pass up. We will see much of this mysterious island during our 10 days.
Many of the towns we will visit are really jumping-off points for hiking in the rainforest and touring across desert and high mountain terrain.
Thailand & Laos
Feb 21-25 2012
Visiting this intriguing country will represent a real culture shift after the wild places in Africa. We fly to Bangkok where we stay for 3 nights. We are hopeful that the flooding that has challenged all of Thailand during the fall of 2011 will have subsided. Wonder what the river cruise on our first evening in Bangkok will be like. We have time to tour on our own in this city before we fly to Chiang Mai in the north.
A highlight in northern Thailand will be our visit to the Mae Saa Elephant Camp and Orchid Farm. The camp is designed to protect the elephants through an active breeding program. The elephants are cared for by mahouts. The elephant activation program includes painting. That's right, the elephants actually paint pictures. Can't wait to see that.
Feb 27-29, 2012
Today we fly to Luang Prabang, the old royal capital of Laos. This very old town draws visitors to the Haw Kham Royal Palace Museum and the Wat Xieng Thong temple. The magnificent wats and the early morning walk of the monks in which they collect alms from the local people speak of a rich religious tradition. While we are Luang Prabang (which is located on the Mekong River) we will get our first view of that river with a day's cruise.
 |
| Victoria Falls |
Today we drive to Chobe National Park in Botswana. I hope this will be the game reserve where we see hippos. We will drive in an open vehicle and cruise on the Chobe River so I think there will be a good chance. Oh, and we'll see if we can locate the office of the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency too.
 |
| Baby elephant on the shores of the Chobe River |
Madagascar
Feb 7-20, 2012
Madagascar is the centrepiece of our journey and perhaps the most challenging in terms of travel logistics, varying terrain, and political uncertainty. But the chance to experience this unique country is not one we wanted to pass up. We will see much of this mysterious island during our 10 days.
 |
| Ring-tailed lemurs |
Many of the towns we will visit are really jumping-off points for hiking in the rainforest and touring across desert and high mountain terrain.
- Antananarivo (the capital city)
- Antsirabe
- Ranomafana National Park
- Manakar
- Toliara
 | |
| Beach at Toliara |
Thailand & Laos
Feb 21-25 2012
Visiting this intriguing country will represent a real culture shift after the wild places in Africa. We fly to Bangkok where we stay for 3 nights. We are hopeful that the flooding that has challenged all of Thailand during the fall of 2011 will have subsided. Wonder what the river cruise on our first evening in Bangkok will be like. We have time to tour on our own in this city before we fly to Chiang Mai in the north.
 |
| Wat Chiang Man, the oldest Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai |
A highlight in northern Thailand will be our visit to the Mae Saa Elephant Camp and Orchid Farm. The camp is designed to protect the elephants through an active breeding program. The elephants are cared for by mahouts. The elephant activation program includes painting. That's right, the elephants actually paint pictures. Can't wait to see that.
 |
| Elephant at work on a canvas |
Today we fly to Luang Prabang, the old royal capital of Laos. This very old town draws visitors to the Haw Kham Royal Palace Museum and the Wat Xieng Thong temple. The magnificent wats and the early morning walk of the monks in which they collect alms from the local people speak of a rich religious tradition. While we are Luang Prabang (which is located on the Mekong River) we will get our first view of that river with a day's cruise.
 | |||||||||
| Monks collecting alms at dawn in Luang Prabang |
Vietnam & the Mekong River
Mar 1-12, 2012
The beginning of another month will see us flying to Hanoi. Move over Jane Fonda? This is a different time and place, but it will be interesting to see this city so many years after the Vietnam War. We do some sightseeing and then we travel south to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), that other city that figured so prominently in the nightly news of the 1960s.
From Saigon we embark on our river cruiseship, the ms Amalotus for 7 days' journey on the Mekong River. Can't helpbut think this will be an amazing part of our trip. We travel upriver, but have the opportunity to take short excursions into the smaller waterways to see village life and fishing methods.
 |
| Our cruise ship on the Mekong River (image from Amalotus website) |
Cambodia & Angkor Wat
Mar 12-15, 2012
The ms Amalotus will take us into Cambodia; we disembark in Phnom Penh. We will transfer to Siem Reap, home of the outstanding temple complex of Angkor Wat. We have 3 days to explore the temples and the town of Siem Reap. Maybe we will have time fora bicycle tour around the rice paddies in the countryside.
 |
| Angkor Wat as viewed across the moat |
And before we know it, we will return to Bangkok, Thailand for our onward flight to Hong Kong. Our last destination.
Hong Kong
Mar 15-19, 2012
We wanted one more destination before our final flight home to Canada. What could be better than a stopover in Hong Kong? This city-on-steroids will present us with a very different kind of jungle ... a jolt of high-test urban life before we board an Air Canada flight for home.
 |
| Skyline of Hong Kong from Victoria Peak. |
Images are from Wikipedia and used under the terms of Creative Commons licenses.
Reproduced here with gratitude.
Best wishes for an exciting adventure! I look forward to your posts.
ReplyDeleteGo well and safely.
Sounds amazing! I will be following your blog for sure...
ReplyDeleteSafari njema!
Anxiously awaiting pictures of lions, tigers and....gorillas, oh my.
ReplyDelete