On the trail of the Kalahari bushmen

by Kraig Becker on

A few days back we posted about 18 unique travel experiences that even the seasoned traveler would find interesting. One of the suggestions on that list was to travel to the Kalahari Desert to stay with bushmen and partake in an initiation hunt with the tribes that still wander the remote regions of southern Africa.

Recently, travel writer Sally Emerson journeyed to Botswana to go in search of the bushmen herself. She wrote about her adventures for the Times Online, as she explored the Okavango Delta and the Kalahari, following in the footsteps of author Laurens Van der Post, who published The Lost World of the Kalahari back in 1956. The book has become one of the seminal works on the bushmen and their culture.

Both Emerson, and Van der Post before her, were searching for the San Bushmen, one of five distinct tribes that are spread out across South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Angola, and Botswana. Today, it is believed that less than 100,000 of the bushmen remain, but those that do, maintain close ties to their culture, and the land on which they live.

Emerson says that the bushmen that she met were able to teach her about the plants and animals of the Kalahari while showing her how to set traps and hunt as well. They displayed a deep understanding of what their surroundings could provide for them, allowing them to survive for extended periods of time in the desert. Many of the tribesmen are now guides, and are eager to share their history and culture with visitors from the rest of the world. Traveling to the Kalahari to spend some time with these guides would indeed makre for a unique and amazing travel experience.

18 unique travel experiences for the well traveled

by Kraig Becker on

So you think you’ve been everywhere and done everything? Is their something missing when you travel these days? Is the sense of adventure gone? Never fear, because the Times Online has compiled an interesting list of 18 unique travel experiences that are designed to give us a special experience on our getaways.

The suggestions on the list run the gamut from adventurous to decadent to down right surreal. For instance, if you’re headed to southern Africa, then you might want to stay with the bushmen of the Kalahari Desert, where you’ll have the opportunity to go on an initiation hunt and spend the night in their village. If that seems like you might be roughing it a bit too much, than perhaps you’d prefer to spend the night on a private island and go sailing off the coast of Croatia. How about taking an exclusive tour of Nefertari’s Tomb in Egypt, where you’ll be one of just 20 visitors in the soon to be closed monument. Or, how about the workout of a lifetime when you’ll be training with the the toughest rugby team on the planet, New Zealand’s All Blacks, , for one very intense week.

Each of the travel experiences comes with a good description of what you can expect on your unique adventure. A link is included to the travel company that is offering the trip, along with expected prices, in this case listed in pounds. But be warned, these one-of-a-kind experiences don’t come cheap, but how do you put a price tag on this kind of excitement?

Spring deals for indoor waterpark lodges

by Jamie Rhein on

With warm weather barely hovering, the idea of finding a place where temperatures feel more tropical is appealing. You don’t have to head south to find it. Several indoor waterpark resorts are offering spring deals to entice travelers. I’m heading to one of them myself.

Cherry Valley Lodge in Ohio is a deal-making expert. Tomorrow, for example, by ordering two adult entrees at the lodge’s Sunflower Restaurant you get a one-day admission for four to the CoCo Key Waterpark. The way I see it, this takes care of what to do for Easter dinner as well as getting out of town for a mini getaway. From everything I’ve ever read or heard about the restaurant, it’s superb. I envision the waterpark before we eat, and then a walk through the lodge’s garden afterward.

Cherry Valley Lodge is offering several other package deals this spring that include a stay at the lodge. The Going Green with CoCo is connected to Earth Day and includes an Earth Day craft, a tote bag and more. There’s also a Wild Waterpark Works package that includes passes to The Wilds, an outdoor wild game preserve, and passes for The Works, a discovery center museum. Check out the lodge’s seasonal package page for the deals and the promotional codes.

Here’s a round-up of more packages at other indoor waterpark resorts.

If you’re looking for something to do with a group of friends, consider these as an option.

A few years ago, my husband’s family including four of his five siblings and most of their kids met for the day at Kalahari in Sandusky, Ohio. We did the birthday party package even though it wasn’t anyone’s birthday. At the time, the package was cheaper than if we all bought individual day passes, plus it included ice-cream, pizza and a drink. One of my sister in-laws set it up under one name and we each paid for our own family when we arrived.

Other resort and waterpark deals:

Great Wolf Lodge, a chain located in various states, is offering a variety of package deals. The deals vary depending upon the lodge. Splash into Spring is available at the Kansas City location, for example. If you go to the Great Wolf Lodge website, you can find packages that include water park passes and lodging once you click on the particular water park in which you are interested.

CoCo Key waterparks are connected to various hotels such as the one at Cherry Valley Lodge. Like Great Wolf Lodge, the deals depend upon the location. Click here for options.

Country Springs Hotel, Water Park and Conference Center, Waukesha, Wisconsin. There are a few spring packages from which to choose depending on your budget and what you’d like to include. Food vouchers, birthday party fixin’s and game tokens are some of the options. Click here for details.

Grand Harbor Resort and Waterpark, Dubuque, Iowa. There’s a Lil’ Squirt Package that includes waterpark tickets for four, $25 voucher for the Riverwalk Restaurant, 40 arcade tokens and 10% off the gift shop.

White Water Bay Great Escape Lodge and Indoor Waterpark, Queensbury, New York–There’s a package to celebrate Earth Day, one that includes breakfast, another that includes dinner and one for birthdays. All come with lodging and waterpark passes.

King’s Point Waterpark Resort, Storm Lake, Iowa. The resort’s website has coupons for discounts. You can get one night for free if you pay for two, for example. There are coupons for free food and other goodies as well.

Watiki Indoor Waterpark Resort, Grand Rapids, Rapid City, South Dakota. Through April 30th day passes are at a discount. During the week, a pass is $5.95. On the weekends it’s $11.95. Stay at the Fairfield Inn or La Quinta which are less expensive than many resort hotels. In May, the admission goes up by $5, which for an indoor waterpark, is not a bad deal.

What David Letterman wants to know about Anthony Bourdain and weird food

by Jamie Rhein on

As soon as Anthony Bourdain of “No Reservations” sat down on David Letterman’s TV show couch, I perked up wondering what Letterman would dish out about the food Bourdain eats on his travels since Justin asked Bourdain some questions last June in a Talking Travel interview. Here are highlights of Letterman’s banter.

“Do you get sick? Get hepatitis? Throw up?” asked Letterman.

“Only twice,” said Bourdain. “I got sick in France from too much of a good thing. . . and from the business end of a warthog.” The warthog was a food he chewed on in the Kalahari. He said any other sickness that led to an up close and personal experience with a bathroom’s cold tile floor has come from imbibing on too much alcohol.

“Humans can eat about anything?” Letterman leaned in for a response.

“I don’t recommend chicken nuggets,” quipped Bourdain and went on to say that when traveling, he’s found that whenever someone says, “We have something very special for you,” be wary. Such was the case when he downed the still beating heart of a cobra, an event Letterman asked him about. A delicacy in Vietnam, the cobra’s heart is supposed to be a real libido boost.

“It’s like eating an angry athletic oyster,” said Bourdain after describing how it’s removed from the cobra right in front of the person who will be dining on it. In this case, him. Hint: swallow it whole.

As for how to avoid raising a picky eater, Bourdain said that there will be no grilled cheese sandwich with the crusts cut off for his daughter. She’s already eating prosciutto flavored baby food and from what he said, she’ll be on a first name basis with the best sushi chefs. Bourdain, at age 51, is a fairly recent first time father. I wonder if this means the cobra thing works? Actually, Bourdain is a very charming, funny guy so I’d say that has something to do with it.

“No Reservations” is on the Travel Channel and Gadling is going to be there watching Boudain in his travels and taking notes.

Seeking Warmth Without the Sun? Indoor Waterparks are 84 Degrees.

by Jamie Rhein on

Snow days getting you down? Waiting for Old Man Winter to head on out? Wishing you were Gadling blogger Willy Volk and you lived in Florida so you soak up some sun and enjoy the beach? You may not be able to get the sunshine you want if you live in the snow addled parts of the U.S., but warm water fun is close by —and it’s multiplying. Hotel owners are seeing their bucks grow when they add a water park to an already existing hotel or build a new hotel with a water park as the main attraction. Read.

Ohio, for example, has seven water parks to date. Last year I went to one of them. Kalahari in Sandusky is in the northern part of the state. This was a family occasion of sorts with my husband’s brothers, sisters and their spouses and kids convening for a day. Honestly, it was a blast and getting wet is not my favorite thing to do. I tend to like my exercise on dry land. With our ages ranging from just turned 4 to 50, there was something for everyone. Even my son, the four year-old at the time, braved the family-sized inner tube slide that, after our long climb to the top of a series of stairs, took us on a wild ride down a curving shoot, out of the building and back inside before dumping us into a tank at the bottom. A highlight for me was watching people try to surf on a simulated wave. Most people shot off the surfboard like a rocket while trying to keep their swimsuits on. Did I try it? Are you nuts?

Some water parks you need to be a guest to go to. Others, like Kalahari, sell day passes. This year we’re thinking of heading to Splash Lagoon in Erie, PA to meet up with a friend of mine and her family. It’s halfway between us. She lives near Rochester, NY. Each of us could stand some 84 degree weather right about now.