Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM)

In November, I spent 2 weeks visiting friends in Cairo. Just before I arrived, the long-awaited Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) opened the majority of its galleries as part of a “limited access”  program “to test site readiness.”  This museum has been a loooong time coming. Conceived as a Hosni Mubarak vanity project back in 2002, … Read more

Bateleur 3: On foot in the bush

On Sunday we finally got to go walking! As noted in earlier posts, safari operators are very strict about keeping visitors inside camp boundaries, where staff can keep a watchful eye on animals wandering through and manage visitors to avoid conflict. (It’s the critters’ home, after all – we are the ones in need of … Read more

Bateleur 2: The wind did not deter us

On Saturday morning, our first full day in Bateleur, we left the camp at 5:40 am tucked up with blankets and hot water bottles. (It was very cold and windy.) I was dressed in almost everything I had packed: both silk and 32 degree leggings under my pants, with similar layering on top. I bought … Read more

Idube to Bateleur

On Saturday morning, we took our last game drive at Idube. (Turnover at the camps is built around late morning departures for departing guests, and early-mid afternoon arrivals for new guests.)  We rounded the bend out of the Lodge’s driveway to find the wild dog pack waiting on the road leading to the dam.  Other … Read more

Idube 4: So many species!

Thursday was our last full day at Idube.  At dawn, we headed out to the site where we had seen Tsaya the leopard stash her kill on the previous day. We passed a beautiful new (to us) species of antelope, Waterbuck, en route. On arrival at Tsaya’s kill site, we found two hyenas, an adult … Read more