On Safari at Disney's Animal Kingdom

Saturday 30 April 2016. We head for Disney's Animal Kingdom today and take a ride on the Kilimanjaro Safari, a long wheel-based Jeep ride through a savannah area where you really are face to face with wild animals.

It's a very bumpy ride though, unnecessarily so I thought. It might be realistic but it distracts the rider from looking for the animals. There was also one point where we crossed a "collapsing" bridge with cries of alarm from the driver and I had to wonder whether we were on a safari to see animals or were we on a white knuckle ride?

For a while I struggled to see any animals, I was sitting in the middle and the seats were wide enough for five or six people, so driving around the edge of a drop that had alligators below in a pool meant nothing to me as all I could see was the opposite top edge of the pool's side.

But the animals are undoubtedly there and most are in the same environment as you are. Here a herd of wildebeest (what do you mean? Of course I've heard of wildebeest...) take in some rays. It's a far different park to the rest of them. The Disney Imagineers had no control over where the animals would be, they were not designing spectacular lines of sight or scenic vistas.

They could place watering holes and had an idea of where particular animals might be visible from the ride vehicles. There are hidden barriers such as chains or bars that hoofed animals would find hard to cross and there are barriers created by use of banks of earth, hidden troughs or rocks that just look natural. You are not likely to see a zebra being run down by a lioness or two therefore...

But when you see something like this and can't see anything that would stop it from coming right up to your vehicle, there is a certain thrill invoked.

The thrill for the elephant just wasn't as apparent, as it turned its back on us and ignored us completely. How rude...

Though it had managed to stay awake! The next animals we encountered though were to provide an even greater thrill for us.

Being in the same environment as a couple of white rhinos, with no fence or bars between you and the animals is definitely an experience.

But then the driver said "We're just going to stay here a moment whilst the female and young one cross the road. Mum is looking at us and I don't want to upset her..." Looking at the horn on the end of an animal weighing several tons and capable of running at 30 miles per hour in a straight line directly at you ... well, I didn't want him to upset her either... After all, the collective noun for rhinos is a crash!

And then we spot a pride of lions sleeping on the rocky edge of a gully.

Once again the temperature was hitting the mid 90s. Grace was still not feeling 100% and Gill and Eddie had to take her back to the resort for a while. We park hopped to the Magic Kingdom, where it turned a little overcast as we got there.

We had another turn on the stern wheeler around the island of Tom Sawyer - nope, still haven't read the book. I do however remember watching the TV show of his pal Huckleberry Hound... (note: for anyone incredulously smacking their forehead - that was a joke...)

Disney World Holiday Index

Culture Clash at the Kasbah!

4 March 2004. Tour time in Agadir, Morocco. We were on a half-day city tour having spent the morning on the ship. The tour included a trip to the Kasbah and a botanical garden and a souk - market.

We were warned that the locals would not take no for an answer and that anyone who walked next to you talking would expect payment for acting as a guide whether invited or encouraged or not.

The reality was even more in-your-face. Fran had the baby goat more or less thrown at her and instinct made her catch the poor thing. Both locals wanted paying for this photo! I had to wonder how they could stand wearing all those layers in that heat!!!

Others were even more unlucky though. One woman who wandered away from her husband was grabbed and lifted onto the back of a camel despite her protests. The camel was then raised to its feet and carried her off several hundred yards and the equivalent of 30 pounds charged to bring her back! It was all a bit of a revelation!

The souk was interesting but you were just never let alone for a second. Stall holders would physically pull you into a shop. There was some brilliant stuff there though - the wooden box looking like two books sandwiching vertical blocks of wood was a "magic box" with intricate sliding panels and hidden mechanisms to first find a key and then uncover the keyhole to open it. But although half the tourists would have bought one had it just had a reasonable price on it, none of us were into all the palaver of bargaining and bartering that was involved to buy one. A true culture clash!

The young lad in the background of this shop came over to tell me I had a nice smile and I got a laugh when I immediately offered "you can have a photo - five euros..."

Several of the group were feeling uncomfortable in the large souk and we ended up in a huddle with several armed police watching over us until it was time for the guide to come back with the coach.

This then took us to a beach area thronging with more jewellery salesmen - genuine fake watches etc - and a good view of the remains of the Kasbah up on the hill. Spoiling this vista of exotic Morocco was a MacDonalds, all bright red plastic, a hideous chunk of America plonked in the middle of African culture with no concession to its surroundings. Not sure what food was being served - MacDonalds may not try to fit in with the local aesthetics, but they do serve locally acceptable cuisine and that (had we been tempted to try it) may have been another culture shock!

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