Going to the Draft

[#1_War_Poet_ForLife]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (infinet @ Jun 23 2008, 05:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I went once for work and was amazed. You must do the desert blasting on the dunes. It is very fun, especially with a group. Do your best to get the front passenger seat!

Let me also recommend the Ibn Batuttu mall's air balloon in the evening. You get to see the entire city landscape and if you ask the operator to take it to the highest altitude he's allowed to, you can see the Palm Islands and World Islands. Also, if you have extra money, you should reserve some dining at the Burj al Arab - the Asian restaurant (forget the name(. Best dining experience you'll ever have... if you like Asian cuisine. Plus you can only visit the hotel if you are a guest or have a reservation with one of the restaurants.

Oh and to stay on topic... ummm I cant go to the NBA draft unfortunately either. Although I would like to go to one just to experience it. Cant see why they just dont do what they used to do back in the day and hold it outside of NY and in some other NBA cities.</div>
Dunes are part of the safari.

I'll be sure to run to the jeep before anyone else, and nab the front seat.

 

[Dumpy]

I've been to the crater and some other places in tanzania. I stayed at a lodge at the rim. the kenya portion of the serengeti is better . . . especially this time of year. I think the herd is north of the Mara river now. In February the wildebeest all give birth on the Tanzania side. I'll try to write more later

 

[PsychoNetsFan34]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Carter15Nets @ Jun 23 2008, 06:21 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>If I get there 9AM will I get in?</div>

I would say if you could try 8 or 830, but even by then it could be sold out. Last year a rep. for MSG told us they didnt get as many tickets as they thought they were for the 11am release so it was very limited (were talking like 100-150 tickets max). So who knows what might happen this year. Hopefully I'm their by 6-7am cause if the line is anything like last year its going to be a mad house.

 

[#1_War_Poet_ForLife]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Dumpy @ Jun 23 2008, 06:35 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I've been to the crater and some other places in tanzania. I stayed at a lodge at the rim. the kenya portion of the serengeti is better . . . especially this time of year. I think the herd is north of the Mara river now. In February the wildebeest all give birth on the Tanzania side. I'll try to write more later</div>
Yup, we're staying at the Lodge too.

Tanzania is at the end of the trip. We timed it so the herd will be passing through when we go.

 

[Carter15Nets]

Man I thought this was going to be easy since its NBA and not NFL

NFL was free and NBA is $15

NFL was on Saturday while NBA is on Thursday a work day + people have graduations to attend to


whys it so hard great i was gonna get there 10:30ish lol thank god u posted this

 

[Dumpy]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (#1_Yinka_Dare_Fan @ Jun 23 2008, 05:54 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Dumpy @ Jun 23 2008, 06:35 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I've been to the crater and some other places in tanzania. I stayed at a lodge at the rim. the kenya portion of the serengeti is better . . . especially this time of year. I think the herd is north of the Mara river now. In February the wildebeest all give birth on the Tanzania side. I'll try to write more later</div>
Yup, we're staying at the Lodge too.

Tanzania is at the end of the trip. We timed it so the herd will be passing through when we go.
</div>

The lodge is the sort of place where half the guests fly in on private planes--it has its own landing strip--and everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) wears a jacket and tie to dinner. It annoyed me, but I probably annoyed everyone else with my cargo pants and T-shirt.

The main difference between Tanzania's and Kenya's parks is that in Tanzania, the drivers are not permitted to leave the roads. In Kenya, Range Rovers can go anywhere, which means that if you see a cheetah or a pride of lions a quarter mile away, you can drive up to get a closer look. In Tanzania, you can only go as close as the road will take you. This can get annoying, because there's SO much wildlife in the crater, and so little you can actually see. Film crews can pay a special fee to have the right to go anywhere--this will annoy you no end when you see some vehicles in places you aren't allowed to go.

I had a 500 mm lens and it wasn't enough--for instance there were two ostriches doing a mating ritual--one female was chasing the other away, but it was too far away. So I'd recommend an 800 or 1000 mm lens if your father has one.

also, if he is using film, I'd strongly recommend slides over prints. I can explain why if he wants--that is, if he's not doing digital.

finally, i brought with me a monopod (which was great when I went on hikes) and a table-top tripod, which I often used on the roof of the range rover. If you are in a private group, you'll probably be in a range rover instead of a minibus. the range rovers have an open roof, so you can poke your head up and get a better view. My guide gave me a great recommendation for keeping your camera steady which I'll pass on to you. He said that what people do is they bring an empty burlap or other fabric bag, and once they get to tanzania, they fill it with uncooked rice or beans and sew it up. You can get the beans or rice at any lodge or camp you are staying at. Then they rest the bag on the roof of the range rover, and rest the camera on it--a homemade beanbag. as I'm sure your father knows, the greater the magnification, the more important it is to keep the camera steady. I had a gallon-sized ziplock bag with me, and I used that . . . it worked great, but at some point it burst open and I lost all my rice or beans--so I'd recommend using one ziplock bag inside the other, facing different directions.

I saw some great stuff in the mara--a cheetah chasing down, strangling, and eating a thompson's gazelle; an elephant ripping apart a tree and eating it (the sound effects were neat), the herd stampeeding across the river, etc. there are also an incredible amound of bird diversity. I recommend getting a guidebook to the birds of eastern africa and bringing it with you.


That's all I can think of right now. It was a long time ago. Have fun!

oh, don't forget the bug spray--the tsi-tsi is everywhere.

 

[#1_War_Poet_ForLife]

Now I'm really excited. I'll see what my dad has. He won't bring his tripod, there's just no room. The bean-bag trick sounds like a great idea.

For the lodge, we're getting East African rates since my Grandma has roots in Uganda, and we have family there too. Saving a ton with that.

 

[Dumpy]

just so you can picture it, your driver will drive around until he finds something interesting, and then he'll stop for 20 minutes and turn off the motor. It's during that period when you'd pop your head up and rest the camera on the beanbag on the roof, obviously, you wouldn't leave the beanbag up there when the car is in motion!

how do i insert a picture that is on my hard drive?

 

[#1_War_Poet_ForLife]

Go to photobucket.com and create an account (so you have them for future needs), and upload them.

 

[Dumpy]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (#1_Yinka_Dare_Fan @ Jun 23 2008, 07:51 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Go to photobucket.com and create an account (so you have them for future needs), and upload them.</div>

eh, not worth it. I'll just change my avatar.

 

[#1_War_Poet_ForLife]

Oh wait, nevermind. I just remembered, our board allows us to have galleries. At the top of your screen, next to writer's central and blogs, click on gallery.

http://sportstwo.com/forums/gallery-cat1.html

From there, click on new album.