Hi,
I’m interested in doing a desert trekking trip and am looking for recommendations for guides who can organize camels, food and navigation. Any suggestions?

Hi all,

I'm hoping to visit Patagonia in December/January for just under a month.
Can anyone advise if it really is a bad idea to trek Torres Del Pain solo or is it just cautious advice?
I've trekked in the Himalayas solo a few times and thoroughly enjoyed walking without guides.

Also is it still required to book camping grounds before you enter the park? Can they be booked online before I arrive in to Chile/Argentina?

One last question :) Is there a preference on visiting Patagonia from the Chile side or Argentina side ?

Happy travels to all.

My husband and I visited Africa for the first time in June/July 2019 - 2 weeks in Kenya and 1 in Uganda - and were gobsmacked by the experience. We started with 3 nights in an Airbnb in the Lang'ata neighborhood of Nairobi with visits to the Kazuri Bead Factory, Karen Blixen Museum (we read ‘Out of Africa’ as we traveled), the Giraffe Centre, the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage, Maasai Market, and our son's Africa Regional Medic Mobile office plus an early morning safari in the Nairobi Nat'l Park.

Next we headed out on a 4 day adventure loop toward Nyeri (west of Mt. Kenya), then through Aberdare National Park to Sanctuary Farm on Lake Naivasha: horses, early morning birding, elephants in the forest, waterfall hikes, walking among herds of giraffe, zebra, wildebeests, and antelope, evening campfires, a birding/hippo boat trip, hiking/biking in Hell's Gate Nat’l Park, and climbing the Mt. Longonot crater on our way back to Nairobi (I booked Airbnb places for those stops, too).

Then we flew to the Maasai Mara and back, splitting our time between the Basecamp Explorer’s Wilderness Camp and Eagle View in the Naboisho Conservancy - 2 walking safaris, a community visit, lots of amazing game drives including a 12 hour one in the reserve. We saw every animal we expected, some we barely dared hope for, and a few we’d never heard of. The highlight day after day was sitting - sometimes for an hour or more - watching family interactions: lions, hyenas, giraffes, baboons, elephants, cheetahs.

Next we flew from Nairobi to Entebbe Uganda and flew from there to Kasese for chimp trekking in Kibale Nat’l Park and community and swamp walks in nearby Bigodi (Kibale Guest Cottages), a drive down through Queen Elizabeth Nat’l Park with a boat trip and stay on the Kazinga Channel (Queen Elizabeth Bush Lodge), then further south through the Ishasha Sector (spotted a tree climbing lion) and to Buhoma for an awesome gorilla trek in Bwindi Impenetrable Nat’l Park (Buhoma Community Rest Camp). We flew from Kihihi back to Entebbe where we stayed at the same Airbnb place coming and going (Jane Goodall’s former office), then back to Nairobi and home.

The weather was coolish in the mornings and warmish during the day, breezy sometimes, a few overnight rains and one good drencher at the end of our last full day in Uganda. We were well prepared for mosquitos (permethrin clothes, ultrathon repellent, and this plug in gem: https://www.travelbugban.com/ ) and either there were very few mosquitoes anywhere or these worked like magic; I suspect the former.

We printed forms and obtained East Africa visas on arrival in Nairobi; as cancer survivors in our 60s we chose yellow fever exemptions instead of the vaccines and were asked for proof entering Uganda.

We traveled carry-on only, easily under the weight limits for small planes. I took the ‘olive green and khaki’ color recommendations seriously, adding a few items to comfortable, wicking travel clothes we already owned. We layered light fleece jackets, stuffable down vests (also make great plane pillows), and light goretex jackets for warmth and rain/wet brush protection. We wore tennies and birks sometimes and beloved light, waterproof hiking boots on the planes (for space and weight considerations) and on hikes and treks in both countries. Headlamps, a small but comprehensive first aid kit, iPad minis for connectivity and reading, good quality sun block, tiny stowable waterproof backpacks, and these great waterproof, pocket-friendly sun hats were also packing wins. https://www.rei.com/product/894435/sunday-afternoons-ultra-adventure-hat

We loved every place we stayed and were impressed by every guide from the young man at the Karin Blixen Museum to our gorilla trek ranger Meddie who helped habituate the first families in Bwindi in the early 90s. I researched using the Rough Guide for Kenya and Bradt Guide for Uganda plus online reviews and forums. I developed my own itinerary including lodging for both countries and booked Airbnb places for just over half the nights; they were all fabulous and I’m happy to share specifics if anyone is interested.

For Kenya I used Robert Muhuhu of Sojourn Safaris who provided a wonderful driver David, a cooler, and Land Cruiser for the Nairobi Nat’l Park safari and the adventure loop. The Mara/Basecamp bit was a complete package including everything but alcohol and tips. In Uganda Wyclef of Gorillas and Beyond arranged the trekking permits, flights, lodging, and guides, drove us, and became a dear friend. I recommend them all highly - great communication and attention to detail. This trip had a lot of moving parts and everything went like clockwork thanks to these organizations.
https://www.airbnb.com/
https://www.sojournafricasafaris.com/
https://www.basecampexplorer.com/
http://www.gorillasandbeyond.com/

You can check out my blog posts with photos here:
Kenya: https://hopefulistinotherplaces.blogspot.com/2019/07/kenya-uganda-junejuly-2019.html
Uganda: https://hopefulistinotherplaces.blogspot.com/2019/07/uganda-july-2019.html

My photo collections are here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/staceyholeman/collections

I'm glad to answer questions. HAPPY TRAILS!

hi all,

We're off to Kyrgyzstan next week. We haven't made an exact plan but are likely to visit Son-Kol, Issyk-Kol and then do some treks from Karakol and Jyrgalan (probably day treks or 1/2 nighters). Two questions we need to sort before we leave:

1. Altitude - how high are the main couple of treks in those areas? I suspect most are 3,000-4,000m? Thus, we need insurance up to that altitude?

2. Accommodation - are a lot of the good treks relying on us having our own tents/sleeping bags or is it easy to stay in yurts/homestays most of the good places? We don't really want to spend the money or take the weight of a good sleeping bag but if people suggest the best treks need it (or that yurts get cold at night) then we may need to consider it

We've never been to the area and have no idea what to expect to be honest. I've done some semi-hard treks before (The W in Torres del Paine and Everest Base Camp) but don't think we'll do anything tougher than that. I don't want to rule out amazing routes but really we're happy to do whatever we can within our capabilities/budget/time - sorry that's probably a bit vague.

Peter

After two nights in Tozeur, we headed across the salt flats (Chott el-Jerid) to Douz. The road across the salt flats is amazing. It was great to have our own vehicle so that we could stop wherever and whenever we wanted.

In Douz, we grabbed lunch and then booked a 4 x 4 excursion – on the spot through the 20 Mars Hotel – for a couple of hours into the fringe of the Sahara. Douz did not seem like a town where we wanted to linger. It seemed like two separate towns – the tourist zone and the regular town - neither were particularly attractive. So we decided to move on.

We drove about an hour on an unwaveringly straight road to the Berber village of Tamezret, perched on a mountainside with a western view of the endless Sahara along the horizon. We used Tamezret as base to explore the surrounding area. We stayed for two nights in two different small hotels: Dar Ayed Tamezret and L’Auberge de Tamezret. Both are highly recommended; both provided breakfast and dinner.

From Tamezret, we made a day-long loop though the mountains and down to Tataouine. Stopped a various ksour; lunched in Tataouine and then headed back, though Matamata, and barely making it to Tamezret by dusk.

The next day we headed north from Tamezret along the eastern side of Tunisia. Unlike the western section, one you leave the Matamata area, the terrain flattens out. The landscape of the eastern corridor is far less interesting and less colorful than western side. But you can make good driving time with long stretches of multi-lane roads. There appears to be roads under construction to link Tataouine to the east coast superhighway.

Midway and midday, we stopped at El Jem. You cannot miss the colosseum: it is in the center of the city of El Jem. Like Dougga, it is one of the premier Roman sites in Tunisia and should not be missed. Unlike the Rome colosseum, you can tour the rooms and passageways underneath the colosseum’s floor. Be sure to walk a few blocks to the El Jem archeological museum: more extraordinary mosaics but with better signage and none of the crowds of the Bardo.

After El Jem we continued on to Kairouan, and stayed for the night. The medina is easier to navigate than Tunis’ medina, and is more residential than commercial: easy to walk around without getting lost.

On out final driving day, we headed back to Tunis but this time we stayed at one of the beach-side suburbs in La Marsa. It was definitely not beach weather but we wanted to be tour the sites around Carthage, which is a few minutes’ drive from La Marsa. What’s left of the ruins of Carthage is disappointing, but its location must be seen. You can understand why it was so strategically important when you gaze out from all of its hilltop sides. The museum is currently closed for renovation – not sure for how long. But take the time to walk (10/15 minute downhill walk) to the shore and to the Antonine Baths. These are the most extensive ruins in the entire site. Again, we used BOLT to get a taxi to and from the site. We stayed in the town of La Marsa, not along the beach, at the small but elegant Dar Ennassim – a lovely place to spend our final night in Tunisia. It was within walking distance to several restaurants, shops and gelatarias. It was also only a 15-minute drive to the airport to return the car the next day.

We loved our 10-day excursion around Tunisia. Like most trips, we wished it could have been longer. The weather in southern Tunisia was perfect in December: sunny to partly sunny every day with high temperatures in the 60’s F (15-20C) and lows in the 40’sF (5-7C). Not beach weather but perfect weather for exploring the desert south. In Tunis, we ran into two days of on and off rain and wind. But as we drove south, we left the rain and clouds behind.

By driving, you can cover long distances on well -paved roads in a relatively short amount of time. Trains and buses are more difficult to arrange if you want to travel to as many areas as we did. If we had a few more days, the driving times could have been spread out over more days, and we could have lingered longer in towns. We could have also booked an excursion into the desert. We have done that in two other desert countries, so there wasn’t that strong need to repeat it here. That will have to wait for another time.