Author Topic: The Depths of Africa: Something Fishy's Insane Off The Beaten Path Adventure  (Read 36323 times)

Offline Something Fishy

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Just how crazy was this trip? 13 days, 15 flights, 12 countries, 7 Covid tests, 26 passport stamps, 6 visas, 2 major customs snafus, 1 border bypassed completely...

From the 7th least-visited country on earth, to the backroads of Malawi where many people have never seen a white man, to the jungle canopy walkways of Ghana, to better-known places like Zimbabwe and Botswana - a whirlwind of a trip that left me exhausted and on an absolute high.

Here's what the final insane itinerary looked like:

Motzei Shabbos: New York-Munich.
Sunday: Munich-Lisbon; 1 night Portugal.
Monday: Lisbon-Accra-Sao Tome; 2 nights Sao Tome.
Wednesday: Sao Tome-Accra; 1 night Ghana.
Thursday: Accra-Addis Ababa-Nairobi; 1 night Kenya.
Friday: Nairobi-Lilongwe; 3 nights Malawi.
Monday: Blantyre-Johannesburg; 1 night South Africa.
Tuesday: Johannesburg-Victoria Falls; 2 nights Zimbabwe/Zambia/Botswana/Namibia.
Thursday: Victoria Falls-Gaborone-Addis Ababa-Dublin-Washington-New York; sleep for 8 days.





Losing myself in Sao Tome:




Snorkeling in Lake Malawi:




Pigging out in Johannesburg:




Lion cubs in Botswana:




On the brink of Victoria Falls in Zambia:




To be continued....
« Last Edit: October 13, 2022, 02:17:47 AM by Something Fishy »
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Offline Luvtotravel

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unreal. anticipation mounting...
Don't wait for the perfect moment; take the moment and make it perfect.

Offline yitzgar

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Wait, you couldn't get a video of the top of the falls while standing at the bottom?

Offline ushdadude

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waiting for this to be translated into yiddish

Offline Yehoshua

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Wow, so interesting. I can't wait to read it.

Offline ExGingi

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waiting for this to be translated into yiddish

Williamsburg style or YIVO style?  ;D
I've been waiting over 5 years with bated breath for someone to say that!
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Offline chff

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Offline EliJelly

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SF, you have a week from this dramatic trailer to post the first segment, otherwise we'll pull the likes!

Offline ExGingi

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I've been waiting over 5 years with bated breath for someone to say that!
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Offline Dan

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Re: The Depths of Africa: Something Fishy's Insane Off The Beaten Path Adventure
« Reply #11 on: September 21, 2022, 03:43:50 PM »
yum!
False advertising. It's better than in Italy.
Save your time, I don't answer PM. Post it in the forum and a dedicated DDF'er will get back to you as soon as possible.

Offline jj1000

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Re: The Depths of Africa: Something Fishy's Insane Off The Beaten Path Adventure
« Reply #12 on: September 21, 2022, 04:00:59 PM »
False advertising. It's better than in Italy cholov yisroel.
FTFY

Which is not what the sign says... So... I'd say it passes.
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Offline ExGingi

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Re: The Depths of Africa: Something Fishy's Insane Off The Beaten Path Adventure
« Reply #13 on: September 21, 2022, 04:01:14 PM »
False advertising. It's better than in Italy.

Italy has any decent kosher places?

I have fond memories of the Pizza I had in Nice about 27 years ago. Was the best I had, though it has been a long time and I might have had some other good ones since.
I've been waiting over 5 years with bated breath for someone to say that!
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Offline Kobe Bryant

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Re: The Depths of Africa: Something Fishy's Insane Off The Beaten Path Adventure
« Reply #14 on: September 21, 2022, 04:15:24 PM »
To be continued in 7 business years.

Offline Sam 77

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Re: The Depths of Africa: Something Fishy's Insane Off The Beaten Path Adventure
« Reply #15 on: September 21, 2022, 04:37:06 PM »
Italy has any decent kosher places?

I have fond memories of the Pizza I had in Nice about 27 years ago. Was the best I had, though it has been a long time and I might have had some other good ones since.
Try Tuscannini frozen pizza. They say it tastes just like Italian pizza.

Offline Something Fishy

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Re: The Depths of Africa: Something Fishy's Insane Off The Beaten Path Adventure
« Reply #16 on: September 29, 2022, 10:30:32 PM »
It all started with a phone call in the fall of 2021. A friend, who's come on a few of my trips in the past, had a simple request.

"I want to go somewhere weird. Somewhere people have never heard of. And get as many countries as possible, but to actually do something in every one, not just connect. I want to see culture. And maybe go diving? I've never done that before. And I need to wake up and see the ocean from bed in least one location. And a place where they have really good coffee. Oh, and elephants! Gotta see elephants."

Not a big ask, huh?

"And wait - remember that I'm not vaccinated."

Well this should be fun...

He certainly came to the right guy. I started with a core idea, added a bunch more, shifted everything around some 300 times to account for flight schedules and Covid testing requirements and availability, and ended up with an absolutely epic - and totally batty - itinerary.

Flights finally booked and organized (I would actually be flying JFK-MUC-LIS instead of my friend's EWR-LIS):




This innocent-looking spreadsheet gave me migraines all day and Kafka dreams all night:



It's clearly not final, and we ended up needed to get tested in Ghana and South Africa as well.

The fact that many of the places we were going to had essentially no tourism infrastructure didn't help things, but with a bunch of research and local contacts I eventually got everything hammered out. Flights were booked, guides and lodging were lined up, plans were given their final shuffle, and off we go.
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Offline AsherO

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Re: The Depths of Africa: Something Fishy's Insane Off The Beaten Path Adventure
« Reply #17 on: September 29, 2022, 10:40:12 PM »
Thanks Something Fishy! Amazing, can’t wait for next installment!
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Offline Yehoshua

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Re: The Depths of Africa: Something Fishy's Insane Off The Beaten Path Adventure
« Reply #18 on: September 29, 2022, 11:05:47 PM »
It all started with a phone call in the fall of 2021. A friend, who's come on a few of my trips in the past, had a simple request.

"I want to go somewhere weird. Somewhere people have never heard of. And get as many countries as possible, but to actually do something in every one, not just connect. I want to see culture. And maybe go diving? I've never done that before. And I need to wake up and see the ocean from bed in least one location. And a place where they have really good coffee. Oh, and elephants! Gotta see elephants."

Not a big ask, huh?

"And wait - remember that I'm not vaccinated."

Well this should be fun...

He certainly came to the right guy. I started with a core idea, added a bunch more, shifted everything around some 300 times to account for flight schedules and Covid testing requirements and availability, and ended up with an absolutely epic - and totally batty - itinerary.

Flights finally booked and organized (I would actually be flying JFK-MUC-LIS instead of my friend's EWR-LIS):




This innocent-looking spreadsheet gave me migraines all day and Kafka dreams all night:



It's clearly not final, and we ended up needed to get tested in Ghana and South Africa as well.

The fact that many of the places we were going to had essentially no tourism infrastructure didn't help things, but with a bunch of research and local contacts I eventually got everything hammered out. Flights were booked, guides and lodging were lined up, plans were given their final shuffle, and off we go.
That makes planning a trip like this either a huge headache or a fun challenge. Clearly you though or it as a challenge. Thanks, and can't wait to read the rest.

Offline aygart

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Re: The Depths of Africa: Something Fishy's Insane Off The Beaten Path Adventure
« Reply #19 on: September 29, 2022, 11:37:30 PM »
And I need to wake up and see the ocean from bed in least one location. And a place where they have really good coffee. Oh, and elephants! Gotta see elephants."


IIRC you left out the AND NO BIRDS!!!!

Feelings don't care about your facts