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12/12/2024

Day 9 was our last day on Safari before we head back to Nairobi for our international flights home. Our morning game drive was ALL about lions. In all we saw 49 of them (and one cheetah), including a pride of 15 females that I spotted from the car and alerted our guides too (apparently I have a new job 🤣).

We watched a young male devour the insides of a huge eland. I won’t post the video but if you’re interested in what the inside of an eland looks like, lmk. 😬

We found another pride with 2 small cubs, cooling off under a tree. I’ve been practicing using my camera through the binoculars since the zoom on my 13 mini is non-existant. I think they turned out pretty cool.

On our way back to the lodge, we passed by the lion with his eland, and watched a standoff between him and a pack of hyenas. It was incredibly fascinating to watch, and the adrenaline rush is something the images can’t capture. Thank goodness for the car bar to help take the edge off!

After returning to our lodge, we were treated to dinner and a show at the specialty restaurant, and es**rted back to our rooms. At least one of my travel-mates was glad for their es**rt when they saw a lion on the lower trail by her room.

All in all, a pretty amazing last day. Tomorrow begins the long journey home. I’ve just woken up for the day and won’t be home in California until Friday afternoon. 😵‍💫

12/11/2024

On Day 8 while driving from the airport to our next hotel we had an up close encounter with a Masai Giraffe, totally unbothered by us, living its best life in the Serengeti national Park. With more to come on our afternoon game drive, we are acutely aware that time is running out on this incredible experience.

As our trip nears its end, I’ve been reflecting on how fortunate we have been to witness the natural world around us, untouched by humans. We are the ones in the cage, as it should be. I don’t think I can ever go to a zoo again.

12/10/2024

On Day 7 we descended from the rim at 8100ft, into the ngorongoro_crater basin for a full day game drive. It did not disappoint! We got up close with 2 male lions using our car for shade and a family of elephants out for a stroll along the road. We saw dazzles of zebras, confusions of wildebeests, bloats of hippos and leaps of gazelles.

We were treated to delicious bush lunch with a variety of salads, gazpacho, beef, chicken, tuna and even Indian Ocean lobster, a first for me (I have to say I still prefer cold-water lobster with big claws, but the tail was delicious). While I was lounging in one of the daybeds, finishing my champagne, a zebra stopped by to say hi.

Back at the ngorongorolodge we went for a leisurely swim before dinner where we were greeted by a buffalo I named Ferdinand, who, just like his namesake, ‘liked to sit just quietly and smell the flowers’. Don’t be fooled… these buffalo have the most human trophies, as my safari director George put it. Ohhh Myyy!
micatosafaris

12/10/2024

Thanks for supporting Bucket List Holidays as a top engager and making it on to my weekly engagement list! 🎉

Ray Grasshoff, Janelle Feldstein, Shelley Snowdon, Ivan Sutherland, Brittany DuCharme

12/09/2024

Day 6 was a travel day as we left Kenya and headed for Tanzania. As we were driving out of the camp to the airstrip we came across our first Black Rhino. It was a short encounter as we had a bush plane waiting for us, but we were promised there’s a greater chance of seeing them in our next stop.

So we carried on to the airstrip where we were met by our two female pilots (heck yes!!) who flew us past Mt Kilimanjaro to an airstrip near the Tanzanian border. We had a 30 minute drive through rural areas and town centres along the main road to reach the border crossing. Lucky for us it wasn’t busy and were through fairly fast, then kept driving to the airstrip nearby to board our flight and drive the Ngorongoro Crater.

We finally got some much needed downtime and visited the pool, where we were greeted by a super vivid rainbow! Thanks to my new friend Pasindu, we were able to capture the moment!

12/08/2024

Another camp we visited was andbeyondbateleurcamp, where all rooms overlook the maasaimaranationalreserve. The hotel is stunningly beautiful with colonial antiques everywhere. There was even a National Geographic magazine from 1945 in my room! It will be hard to top the charm of this place!

12/08/2024

On Day 5 we woke up early for a hot air balloon ride over the Masai Mara, followed by a champagne breakfast, then set off on our first game drive where we spotted our first male lion. On the way back for lunch, we happened upon 2 male impalas fighting for dominance, and then were treated to a bath drawn by my fabulous butler at bateleur.safari.camp. What a treat! The night ended with a bush dinner prepared by our chef.

12/07/2024

A major part of any travel advisor FAM (familiarization) trip, is visiting hotel properties and conducting site inspections. This is a video of the room at Loisaba Tented Camp, one of The Elewana Collection properties we visited in Loisaba Conservancy in Northern Kenya.

12/07/2024

Day 4 we spotted the endemic Homo sapiens. The Masaii village we visited was fascinating. We were greeted by the chief’s son, treated to a welcome song and a jumping competition, then we sat down with him to learn the traditions of village. He es**rted us into the village, showed us the huts they live in, and then we were treated to a song from the women.

12/06/2024

Day 3 we had another up close encounter, this time with a mama elephant and and her baby. We had been busy watching zebras when they came upon us. Mama let us know she was with her baby, then crossed the road and headed off. I wonder what we’ll encounter next!!

12/05/2024

Day 2 was action packed! Bush plane to loisaba_conservancy, lunch and check in at our tent camp, hiding from bloodhounds who protect the community from poachers and find missing children, elephants, giraffes, impalas, kudus, dikdiks, hornbills, superb starlings, oryx… But this moment, the last before we ended the day and headed back to the camp for dinner was EVERYTHING!

When your guide says “stay very still” and a lioness walks right towards you, getting close enough you could have reached out and touched it… Those are the moments I am here for! Thanks micatosafaris

12/04/2024

The other thing we did on day 1 deserves its own post. We took a humbling drive through Mukuru one of Nairobi’s slums to learn about the incredible work micatosafaris is doing for the community there.

Through their charitable arm, America Share, they find the Harambe Centre Library and Computer Lab, a safe place for children in the slum to read, study and learn. We met a man named Stephen who shared his story with us, showed us where he had lived in the slum, had explained how he’d benefited from the community center, and was now working for Micato and about to graduate college.

Micato’s 1 For 1 Commitment means for every Micato guest, one more child from the slum can afford the uniform and supplies required to attend primary school, and their scholarship program takes it one further, but allowing guests to sponsor a child to attend private school, allowing students to board outside the slum and truly focus on their education.

After that we visited huruinternational, another initiative funding access to education for girls by providing them with period products, so they don’t miss a week of school every month. They are training local women to work in their factory and funding their government licensing so they can jobs elsewhere, and most importantly, making it possible for young girls to stay in school, focused on their education.

We are so lucky to have been born into our circumstances and it was a truly humbling site to see. I hope you will consider donating to one or both of these organizations.

https://www.huruinternational.org
https://americashare.org

12/04/2024

We hit the ground running on day 1, meeting micatosafaris founder, Mrs Pinto, then headed to sheldricktrust where we learned of their conservation efforts and watched as they fed the 22 current elephant orphans they currently house. Did you know it can take up to 8 years for them to be released back into the wild?

We also met Raha, a baby rhinoceros who was found injured after being attached by hyenas. They performed multiple surgeries, most recently 2 weeks ago, to heal her in hopes of one day reintroducing her back to Nairobi National Park.

Late we visited the giraffecentre_, the only giraffe breeding centre in Africa to learn about the critically endangered Rothschild Giraffe. When the centre was founded in the 80’s, only 130 Rothschild Giraffes lived in the wild, and now there are over 1000. *Not pictured, the pregnant mama, Daisy, that I was feeding nearly head-butting me as she licked my face. 🤣

If you would like to help support these causes, more information can be found here:

https://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org
https://www.giraffecentre.org/fundraise/

12/02/2024

Took my first steps in Africa! Yes, I had champagne at the airport before boarding, yes I upgraded to Business Class on the last leg, yes I was in transit for 55.5 hours (and that doesn’t count the 8 hours from when we left the resort in Fiji to the airport). Am I exhausted, I guess… am I excited, heck yes!! Bring it micatosafaris!!

(And yes, that is an Air Canada plane behind me) 🇨🇦

12/02/2024

Remember that very long day? Well, it’s still going. After arriving in SFO, I swapped suitcases and am on my way to Kenya for a luxury safari with micatosafaris, courtesy of travelleaders Luxury Leaders Alliance. I spent last night with an overnight connection in Zurich, so I got out and visited the local Christmas markets.

12/01/2024

Day 7 was a very long day. We boarded our tender to the ferry on Nov 30 at 1:30pm Fiji time, killed some time at the Sheraton in Denarau, drove to the airport, killed some more time at the lounge, and arrived at SFO 20 hours later, Nov 30 at 12:30pm California time!!

Thanks for tagging along on this adventure! If you want to book a trip of your own, let me know!!

11/30/2024

Heading to the ? You can now apply for an !

Starting January 8, 2025, an will be mandatory to visit or transit through the .

Make sure to apply before your trip and to travel with the same passport used in your application.

Learn more and apply now: https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/united-kingdom

11/29/2024

Happy clients getting their first taste of African Safari! Thanks for trusting Bucket List Holidays with your epic holiday!!

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On Day 8 while driving from the airport to our next hotel we had an up close encounter with a Masai Giraffe, totally unbothered by us, living its best life in the Serengeti national Park. With more to come on our afternoon game drive, we are acutely aware that time is running out on this incredible experience. As our trip nears its end, I’ve been reflecting on how fortunate we have been to witness the natural world around us, untouched by humans. We are the ones in the cage, as it should be. I don’t think I can ever go to a zoo again.

Day 2 was action packed! Bush plane to loisaba_conservancy, lunch and check in at our tent camp, hiding from bloodhounds who protect the community from poachers and find missing children, elephants, giraffes, impalas, kudus, dikdiks, hornbills, superb starlings, oryx… But this moment, the last before we ended the day and headed back to the camp for dinner was EVERYTHING! When your guide says “stay very still” and a lioness walks right towards you, getting close enough you could have reached out and touched it… Those are the moments I am here for! Thanks micatosafaris

Day 7 was a very long day. We boarded our tender to the ferry on Nov 30 at 1:30pm Fiji time, killed some time at the Sheraton in Denarau, drove to the airport, killed some more time at the lounge, and arrived at SFO 20 hours later, Nov 30 at 12:30pm California time!! Thanks for tagging along on this adventure! If you want to book a trip of your own, let me know!!

Bucket List Holidays partners with The Luxury Collection at Marriott International to offer exclusive amenity offers with over 500 different hotels, tented camps, yachts and more. https://luxurygrouphotels.com.

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