Travel

Egypt – 2009

by Kelly on August 16, 2009 · 0 comments

Luxor Temple

We have been discussing a family trip to Egypt for the past couple of years and were able to make it happen this past winter. This was actually Jeff’s dad’s first trip back to Egypt since he emigrated 41 years earlier. In his own words upon seeing the city lights of Cairo during our evening descent, “Cairo…I never thought I’d see her again.“

Egypt holds an incredibly rich history of civilization spanning several millennia from the first Pharaohs to modern Muslim society. The Pyramids and the Sphinx were built over 4,000 years ago, and the Great Pyramid is actually the only remaining monument of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. For several centuries following the decline of the Pharaonic period and before the arrival of Islam, Egypt was predominantly Christian – Coptic Cairo, the oldest part of Cairo, continues to hold much of the history of this period.

Here is our itinerary in which we attempt to fit 4,000 years of history into 2 weeks….and spend time with our family in Cairo.

Feb/Mar 2009

Day 1
Driving tour around Cairo including Shoubra, the town where Jeff’s dad grew up
Dashur and Saqqara – the pyramids here are actually older than the Great Pyramid in Giza

Day 2
The Citadel and Coptic Cairo

Day 3
The Great Temple of Abu Simbel in Aswan

Day 4 to 7
Nile Cruise (Movenpick Royal Lotus)
Aswan High Dam, Temple of Philae, unfinished Obelisk, Temple of Kom Ombo shared by Sobek & Haeroris
Horus Temple in Edfu, Esna, evening tour of Luxor Temple

Valley of the Kings & Queens, Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, Colossi of Memnon, Karnak temple complex, and Luxor Temple again during the day

Day 7 to 9
Sharm al Sheikh (Sinai Peninsula)

Day 10
The Pyramids and Sphinx in Giza
Egyptian Museum in Cairo

Day 11
Day trip to Alexandria

Day 12
Khan el-Khalili market
Bowling in Cairo

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South Africa and Botswana

by Kelly on August 15, 2009 · 0 comments

Botswana

South Africa and Botswana

 

(Dec 2007/Jan 2008)

 

It’s really impossible (for me anyway) to describe the breathtaking scenery and wildlife of Africa, but I hope these pictures – see below – give you a taste of what we experienced on our trip.

 

We started our trip with two red-eye flights, finally arriving in Johannesburg, South Africa on December 26 (yes, we spent Christmas on a plane).  We spent one night at the Saxon Hotel.  The Saxon was the home of Nelson Mandela after he was released from prison, and it was here that South Africa’s former president edited his autobiography, “The Long Walk to Freedom”.

We left Jo’burg the next day to travel to the Tswalu Desert Reserve, a private game reserve located in the Kalahari Desert in the Northern Cape of South Africa. We spent three nights at The Motse, Tswalu’s main game reserve accommodation.

Wildlife in Tswalu: lions, white rhino, giraffe, cheetah, buffalo, baboons, zebra, hyena, wildebeest, ostrich, dung beetles, meerkats, warthogs and many different types of antelope and birds.

On December 30, we departed Tswalu to travel to Cape Town, where we enjoyed the waterfront, Table Mountain, and the Cape of Good Hope.  We also spent a day in the Cape Winelands set below the dramatic range of mountains called the “Hottentots Holland.”   We toured Stellenbosch, the second oldest town in South Africa after Cape Town.  Stellenbosch is also the center of the local wine making industry and is surrounded by hundreds of vineyards.  We also drove through the through the Franschhoek Valley.

After celebrating the new year in Cape Town, we traveled to the Okavango Delta in Botswana. This was probably the most anticipated portion of our trip as the Okavango Delta is known as the predator capital of Africa.  We spent four nights at Chief’s Camp, a bush lodge situated on Chief’s Island in the Mombo Concession of the Moremi Game Reserve which is a national park.  The wildlife wonder freely about Chief’s Camp and so guests are not permitted to walk around the camp at night without an escort.  The baboons actually felt quite at home on the roof of our tent, waking us up during in the early hours of the morning with their guttural hoots and shouts.

Wildlife in the Okavango Delta: lions, elephants, hippos, buffalo, giraffe, cheetah, baboons, zebra, hyena, wildebeest, ostrich, jackals, warthogs, monitor lizards, cobras, and different types of antelope and birds.

Africa is a special place – we would return in a heartbeat.

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