Travelingking

Don't just see the world---Experience it!

HowStuffWorks "How does a hippo make its own sunscreen?"

via animals.howstuffworks.com

Michael and I are in Kauai visiting our daughter and adorable 3 week-old grandson and sunscreen is an important topic in this beautiful garden isle! Plus, we hope you'll consider joining us in Botswana, Zambia and South Africa next Spring (2011) where SPF consideration is also a must! So, enjoy this article about how hippos make their own sunscreen!

From animals.howstuffworks.com:

On a sweltering day, when most people are cooling off at the pool or lying motionless under a high-powered fan, Dr. Brady Barr found himself decked out in a 196-pound (89-kilogram) armored suit smeared with mud and dung. In the name of scientific discovery, the scientist was on a mission to collect a wild hippo's sweat before it dried.

You're probably wondering why anyone in their right mind would risk their life by approaching one of the most aggressive and dangerous animals in all of Africa. Considering that hippos cause more deaths than any other animal on the continent, it's a reasonable question [source: Harlow].

But this isn't just any run-of-the-mill sweat we're talking about. This mucuslike secretion -- which initially led people to believe that the animal sweat blood because of its deep red color -- not only helps to control the body temperature of these 5,000- to 8,000-pound (2,300- to 3,600-kilogram) animals, it also acts as a potent sunscreen and antibiotic [source: Hughes, Saikawa].

It turns out that fair-skinned humans aren't the only ones who need to worry about SPF when they venture outside. The two species of hippo -- the common hippopotamus found in central and southern Africa, and the rare pygmy hippopotamus, a smaller species found in West Africa, weighing around 440 to 605 pounds (200 to 247 kilograms) -- structure their days around the harsh glare of the African sun [source: African Wildlife Federation].

The semiaquatic land mammals spend up to 16 hours a day submerged in rivers or lakes to stay cool, venturing out to graze only after nightfall [source: Hughes]. They nibble on their main food of short grasses until dawn, when they return to their refreshing sanctuaries.

While the water prevents the lumbering beasts from getting overheated, it doesn't offer much in the way of skin protection, which is where the blood-red sweat comes in and hippo sunscreen is created. Though it's not technically sweat since it's produced by glands underneath the skin rather than in it, the gelatinous, oily secretions act much the same way but with a few extra perks thrown in.

Join Great Getaways' Michael and Barbara King on Safari!

 

On Safari in Southern Africa 

 

 Barbara and I have had a love affair going with Africa and we want to share some of our best experiences.  To that end we have worked with one of the great Southern African companies – Wilderness Safari and Londolozi to offer a unique experience in safaris – we are traveling to the game parks in Botswana and South Africa and stopping along the way at one of the wonders of the world – Victoria Falls – the “Smoke that Thunders”  We are planning to leave the last week of March 2011 (dates may change a bit to try and insure we have the lodges we want).  The areas of these lodges are rich with wildlife and in Botswana we will probably not see other tourists at all – the lodges are that remote.  Please check out the websites for the properties we have selected – these can be found at the bottom of the email.  We can also help book air and of course you MUST have trip insurance and we can also handle this for you. 

 

Because we are only taking five couples we expect to have a full group within the next 45 day to 60 days..  Please call us with questions or comments – but please – if you can – do not pass up this unique opportunity.

 

Day one arrive Johannesburg – spend evening at Intercontinental Hotel at the Johannesburg Airport (we are met and greeted to South Africa by a Wilderness rep who will assist us to check in at the hotel)

Day two – Meet in lobby where a Wilderness rep will take us to check - in for our flight to Maun, Botswana; arrive in Maun and transfer to Sefofane for light aircraft transfer from Maun to Duba Plains; afternoon game drive at Duba Plains

Day three – full day at Duba Plains where we have sole use of the camp

Day four – after morning game drive and breakfast – transfer to air strip for light aircraft transfer to Savuti Camp; afternoon game drive at Savuti camp

Day five – full day at Savuti camp where we have sole use of the camp

Elephants near Savuti Camp

 

Day six – after morning game drive and breakfast, transfer to air  strip for light air craft transfer to Kasane Airport; then again light air craft transfer from Kasane to Livingstone Airport; clear customs – purchase visa, then we’ll be met and transferred to the Royal Livingstone Hotel and in the evening take a cruise aboard the African Queen – sundowner cruise – on the Zambezi river above the falls.

Day seven – meet in the lobby after breakfast for a private tour of the falls; then collect luggage and private transfer to Livingston Airport; Commercial air flight (South African air) from Livingston to Kruger Airport – clear customs and transfer by light aircraft to Londolozi air strip.  (not sure if we will arrive in time for game drive)

Day eight and nine – spend at the Londolozi Varty camp

A Leopard near Londolozi

Day ten after morning game drive and breakfast – transfer to air strip for flight to Johannesburg (those who are not going to Cape Town)

 End of these services

 

Total price is $10,968 per person plus $1790 internal air fights and air transfers

 

Deposit is 20% of the landed costs and in Africa, since most of the lodges book their rooms 6 to 9 months in advance – with very little chance of rebooking cancelled rooms – the deposit is non refundable.

 

Does NOT include:

  • INSURANCE (Mandatory)
  • STAFF GRATUITIES
  • ANY NEW GOVERNMENT TAXES, LEVIES, FUEL OR INDUSTRY INCREASES BEYOND OUR CONTROL
  • VISA FEES WHERE RELEVANT – VISA FEES MUST BE PAID IN U.S.DOLLARS (ZAMBIA)
  • INTERNATIONAL AIR (U.S. TO SOUTH AFRICA AND RETURN), DEPARTURE TAXES NOT INCLUDED IN TICKET PRICE
  • ZAMBIAN INTERNATIONAL DEPARTURE TAX OF $25 PER PERSON AND $8 SOUTH AFRICA DEPARTURE TAXPER PERSON
  • ANY ITEMS OF PERSONAL NATURE.

 

 

Here are the websites for the camps and Royal Livingstone Hotel

 

Duba Plains – www.dubaplains.com

Savuti Camp – www.savuticamp.com

Londolozi – www.londolozi.com

Royal Livingstone - www.royal-livingstone-hotel.com

 

 WE HAVE A THREE NIGHT EXTENSION TO CAPE TOWN, A FOUR NIGHT EXTENSION TO CAPE TOWN AND THE STELLENBOSCH WINE COUNTRY; A TWO NIGHT EXTENTION IN JOHANNESBURG; AN EXTENSION TO THE SEYCELLES OR TO MOZAMBIQUE – PLEASE JUST REQUEST THIS FROM US.

 

Sincerely,

Michael & Barbara 

Michael and Barbara King

Email michael@greatgetaway.com or barbara@greatgetaway.com for details

 

 

 

Can you name Africa's Big 5? Why are they called the Big 5?

From Wikipedia: “The phrase Big Five game was coined by big-game hunters (people who kill animals for sport) and refers to the five most difficult animals in Africa to hunt on foot. The term is still used in most tourist and wildlife guides that discuss African wildlife safaris. The collection consists of the lion, the African elephant, the Cape Buffalo, the leopard, and the rhinoceros, either the black rhinoceros or the white rhinoceros. The members of the big five were chosen for the difficulty in hunting them on foot and not their size.”

Below are some photos Michael took of the Big 5 on various recent safaris:

How the Swamp Became a Delta

In the mid 1970's Dave Herbert, managing director of African Travel, was in New York City calling on travel advisors to promote his safari camps in Botswana. As luck would have it, Dave stayed at a hotel that was the temporary home to several show dogs awaiting their time to prance around the ring at a prestigious dog show. Adding to the "voices" of the canine guests, the hotel was across the street from a fire station. When the fire trucks roared out of the station, the dogs greeted the noise with a canine chorus.
 
After a day of promoting Botswana, Dave returned to his noisy "home" tired and frustrated. He reached for the phone and called his business partner in South Africa. In between barking and fire sirens, Dave explained to John, his partner, the gloomy situation. "I had called on a very prominent gentleman and suggested he send his clients to Botswana. The travel advisor rudely replied, 'I'm not going to send them to some swamp!' I don't know what we're going to do!" For a few moments the phone was silent (except for the occasional tones indicating several more dollars have been used on this long distance call). "John, are you there?"
 
John cleared his throat and slowly said, "Then we won't call it a swamp; we'll call it a Delta."
 
Ever since that day people have referred to the Okavango Swamp as the Okavango Delta (some people still call it a swamp----oh well!). Funny, the difference a name makes because I love the Okavango Delta---the people, the animals, the flowers, trees, and yes, the water which we maneuver by mokuru (a canoe-like craft). I was eager to go to the Delta in 1999 and have been there again for 2 weeks last year. If you had asked me if I wanted to go to a "Swamp," I know I would have said, "Thanks, but no thanks!" So, in this case "a rose by any other name" brings visitors!

Visit the location of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency's next case!

 

Alexander McCall Smith has nothing on the King family! Michael, Josh and I visited Eagle Island Camp in Botswana in January, 1999. Two weeks ago Alexander McCall Smith, author of the series of books, No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, visited Eagle Island Camp for the 3rd time in 2 years. Read what our friends at African Travel wrote:

 

                        Two weeks ago everyone at Eagle Island Camp was abuzz with excitement as they welcomed Alexander McCall Smith – author of the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency – for a three day stay. This was his third visit to Eagle Island Camp in only two years, a place that has surely captured his heart and it is also the place where the first lady detective will be traveling to solve a crime in his next book. He was lucky enough to witness a lion kill just a few yards in front of him while on a game walk. The also visited the neighboring Noxa village which he says will be featured in his new book.---courtesy of African Travel

 

Beat your friends to the punch---scope out Eagle Island Camp and write your own bestseller! There are some amazing special offers available, so contact me today to begin your safari to Botswana! travelingking@gmail.com or via Twitter @travelingking1!

 

FYI---The photo of the young man in the mokuro is our son Josh, who was 9 years old at the time, and now is 20! He’s been to Africa 3 times with us and has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro with Michael (the 2nd photo was when he was 16!).

   
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