by Editor | Oct 1, 2007 | Products, Simon and Baker Travel Review, Travel Luggage
The Eagle Creek ORV (Off Road Vacation) Gear Bag was everything I ever hoped for in a duffle bag! Compact enough to meet airline carry-on requirements, it also managed to hold everything I needed to take along on two-week African safari. Its oversized, three-sided top opening and its two internal zip-up divider panels made packing a breeze. Contents were neatly stowed, readily visible and accessible. It stayed put even when the bag was tossed from the hold of a small airplane into the back of a land cruiser, and then taken on an hour-long rocky ride. The exterior organizer front panel kept my travel documents and reading material close at hand. Two interior zipped pockets were fitted into the top flap of the bag. One was lined with heavy plastic, making it an ideal place to store toiletries. The bag was lightly padded for optimum contents protection.
by Editor | Sep 1, 2007 | Florida, North America, Simon and Baker Travel Review, United States
What do you do when a 450-pound animal that moves better, faster and far more gracefully than you do races directly at you at (seemingly) the speed of sound? If you’re participating in a Natural Dolphin Swim at Dolphins Plus like we were, count yourself lucky, make sure your hands stay tucked away and keep swimming as fast as you can. We felt lucky because sometimes the dolphins find visitors uninteresting or the sea mammals are not in the mood for company and ignore visitors swimming in their salt water pen. This means all the effort and excitement to see the dolphins is wasted when they just stay in a corner or swim away making it difficult to enjoy the unstructured swim. In our case, the three dolphins in the pool enjoyed playing with us, making our swim a success.
by Editor | Sep 1, 2007 | Florida, North America, Simon and Baker Travel Review, United States
We arrived at Tranquility Bay, a family friendly waterfront property in Marathon, late in the afternoon on a Friday in September tired from driving and a day of fun activities. The reception area was refreshingly cool, small and bright. A smiling attendant greeted us and in a jiffy we checked in. A cheerful staff member accompanied us to our suite on the far side of the property.
by Editor | Aug 1, 2007 | Simon and Baker Travel Review
Lucy’s Legacy Details Features Other Exhibit Review Audio Tour I especially appreciated the downloadable exhibit audio podcast, which was very informative and easy to use. I kept it on my player for future reference. It was available at no cost from the Houston Museum...
by Editor | Jul 1, 2007 | Africa, Lower Zambezi, Simon and Baker Travel Review, Zambia
Located downstream from Lake Kariba on the northern bank of the Zambezi River, the Lower Zambezi National Park is the most recent of Zambia’s parks. Established in 1983, immediately across the river from Zimbabwe’s world famous Mana Pools, it is still an area of mainly untouched wilderness. The park stretches for 75 miles (120 kilometers) between the Chongwe River to the west almost to the confluence of the Luangwa River to the east, and extends 20 miles (32 kilometers) inland to the Zambezi escarpment. Although the park covers an area of 1,580 square miles (4,092 square kilometers), the spectacular backdrop of the steep escarpment acts as a natural barrier to most species, concentrating most of the game’s activity near the edge of the river.
by Editor | Jul 1, 2007 | Simon and Baker Travel Review
Chiawa was my idea of what Eden should be: outstanding creature comforts, superb organization, spectacular views and constant game activity! Nestled under a lush canopy of riverine forest in the heart of the Lower Zambezi National Park, the Chiawa Camp blended so unobtrusively into its surroundings that elephants and buffalos routinely paraded within feet of my tent on their way to the river. Guest accommodations consisted of eight tents on raised wooden decks under thatched roofs. The tents were spread out across the property, set sufficiently apart to give a feeling of peaceful seclusion. All were positioned to enjoy a sweeping view of the massive Zambezi flowing a mere 100 yards away.
