Park Fees, safari & paying for the game lodge

Some confusion on Park fees & paying for the lodge that I wanted to clear up.

All game parks in Kenya (and I think most of Africa) charge park fees to enter. All parks in Kenya charge $60 per person, per day (24 hr), this includes the Masai Mara. For the duration of our stay in the Mara, 4 nights, this will cost $240 per person. I had already mentioned this previously so hopefully it hasn't come as a shock.

Alex and I are planning to pay for everyone's park fees directly to the safari company to save paying at the gate. Assuming the exchange rate stays at 1.6-ish, please could you send a cheque, made out to either Al or me, for £150 per person and we will arrange your park fees.

In addition, if you haven't yet sent the money for the safari vehicles - which works out at £70 per person - please could you add this to your cheque! We need to pay for this before we leave.

In terms of paying for the Lodge, Sarova will accept either US$ in cash or travellers cheques and they also take credit / debit cards (except AmEx). Please be aware that if you want to pay by card, the lodge will convert the amount of US dollars into Kenyan shillings so you might end up paying a little bit more depending on the rate of the day. US dollar travellers cheques are probably the easiest and safest method of paying for the lodge.

Hope that helps!

African Safari

A man goes to Africa on a safari. While there, he comes upon an elephant in great pain, with a giant thorn in its foot. The man very carefully approaches the elephant, and gingerly removes the thorn from its foot. The elephant begins to walk away, then turns and stares at the man for a full minute, locking eyes with him. The elephant then continues on its way.

"I wonder if I ever see that elephant again if it will remember me?" the man muses to himself.

It is a few years later, and the man is at a circus back in the States.

He notices that one of the elephants keeps looking at him, almost like it KNOWS him. The man wonders, "Could this be that elephant I helped so long ago?"

He decides to get a closer look. With the elephant still giving him the staredown, the man moves in closer, getting right up in front of the elephant. They lock eyes. A knowing look seems to cross the elephant's face. It reaches down... picks the man up carefully with its trunk... lifts him high in the air... throws him crashing to the ground and stomps him to death!

Turns out it wasn't that elephant.

Help the Best Man appeal

Alex Fitton would like to appeal to you all for stories, anecdotes or anything else you think might be pertinent to bring up during his speech. I stress he is only after information about Alex....

Reach him at monkey_dawg83@yahoo.co.uk

Security in the Mara

Some of you have asked about security:

There are 24hr patrols around the lodge, and the lodge manager is in contact with the local security machinery. They have safety deposit boxes available at the reception for the guests in standard tents, and in-room safes for club tents. There is also a 24 hr electrical fence around the lodge to keep out wild animals.

If anyone would like to be upgraded to club tents, please let me know. This upgrade will be $260 per room for the stay (if my maths is correct).

Dress Code for the Wedding

A few people have asked about the dress code... Since Alex and I will be decked out in full wedding regalia, we would like to have a formal dress code, including jackets and ties for the ceremony. It will be hot though so as soon as we say 'I Do', open necks are fine. And ladies, pull out your party frocks!