Grey Power March 2017

44
NZ GREYPOWER MAGAZINE » MARCH 2017
A spectacular wildlife
adventure in Kenya and
Tanzania
Following three brilliant
African Safaris in recent
years, all of them sold out,
we’ve put together another
stunning 21-day itinerary.
Wanna come with us – and eyeball
Africa’s untamed inhabitants
up-close? Well, here
to tempt you terribly and urge you say
“YES!” are more of John’s travel-diary
memoires:
I kept thinking, “PINCH ME – I’M
DREAMING!” as our open-top Land
Cruiser took us down 2000 feet, through
zig-zaggy bends, dusty potholes and early-morning
mist to the crater floor. The
remarkable Ngorongoro Crater, a World
Heritage Site, has been called the eighth
wonder of the world – the biggest intact
volcanic caldera on the planet and the
largest zoo on earth. It encases one of
the most picturesque settings we’d seen
on our safari, and an animal population
so used to humans that you can almost
“reach out and touch …”
Back up the track a bit we’d been
stopped at one point by a young bull
elephant who was in no hurry to move.
Then, down on the flat, we spotted a
lonely black-maned lion who appeared
to have an urgent appointment off in the
distance.
It was hard to know where to point my
camera that glorious morning as hyenas,
warthogs, buffalos, baboons, gazelles,
zebras and the ever-present wildebeests
just kept coming.
And you should have seen the BIRDS:
an ostrich having a bad-hair day … a
flock of pink flamingo with their heads in
the sand … a saddle-billed stork with its
stripy red-and-yellow beak … a ground
hornbill sporting a scarlet, turkey-like
neck … a gorgeous crowned crane, looking
like she’d stepped out of a salon …
and an ugly marabou stork with a weird
pink airbag hanging beneath its chin.
But then we spotted the rhino, headdown
in the scrubby grass.
With their battering-ram bodies,
knobbly knees, thick armour-plate skin,
tiny swivelling ears, and twin nosehorns,
these two-to-three-tonne monsters
look utterly prehistoric – and when
they glare at you with their beady eyes,
they look quite scary.
So, are they dangerous? Well, yes.
They can charge you at 45kph, and poke
large holes in you where you least need
them. And while their eyesight may be
lousy, they can hear you loud-and-clear
– and smell you long before you can
smell them. Which is why we kept our
distance.
But this big fella wasn’t bothered. He
seemed happy to let us ooh-and-ahh and
click our cameras forever …
Join John Cooney and his wife Robyn to
experience the next Midlife Madness on
Safari
PHOTO CREDIT DREAMSTIME.COM
FEATURING THE MAGNIFICENT GAME PARKS
OF KENYA & TANZANIA
If you’ve always wanted to see Africa’s untamed animals up-close and
personal, and you’re in your middle years or retired with reasonable fitness
level, this top-of-the-line tour with a great bunch of fun-loving Kiwis is perfect!
HIGHLIGHTS: Masai Mara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro,
Lake Manyara, Amboseli
DEPARTS: 14 June 2017
INCLUSIONS:
• Return economy airfares to Nairobi via Dubai
flying Emirates from Auckland
• 1 night pre & 2 nights post tour stopover in
Dubai including five-star accommodation,
breakfasts, an afternoon city tour, dinner cruise
& Sundowner Dune BBQ under the stars
• 16 nights at five-star luxury lodges in Kenya
& Tanzania including all meals
• Daily wildlife-viewing & photo-ops from open-top
4WDs including National Park fees
• All transfers, tips, visa fees for Kenya & Tanzania
and airport taxes
Fully escorted by
John & Robyn Cooney;
you’ll enjoy lots of laughs,
great company, and
memories that last forever!
per person share twin
A single supplement
of $1861 applies
Ask about our business class upgrades.
For a detailed infopack please phone
the team on 0508 323 333 or email
midlifemadness@travelmanagers.co.nz
Join us on Facebook – www.facebook.com/MidlifeMadnessTours
*Prices shown are in New Zealand Dollars per person share twin and subject to minimum tour numbers being met. Single
supplements apply. We welcome ALL major credit cards, however a credit card processing fee will apply. Events beyond our control
such as currency fluctuations, changes to the price of aviation fuel may result in prices variations. Amendment and cancellation fees
apply. A comprehensive travel insurance policy is compulsory either purchased through us or proof of policy must be provided.
Further conditions may apply to the services offered. Please refer to www.travelmanagers.co.nz for full terms and conditions.