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i sent those fine folks $25. happy to post proof if needed. i got a new phone though and i work for a print publication. im too analog for this world
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Sep 1, 2021 05:58
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Eat This Glob posted:i sent those fine folks $25. happy to post proof if needed. i got a new phone though and i work for a print publication. im too analog for this world Eh, I'll believe you, dont sweat it  If you have posted donation, you should have been tagged. If you post donation, we'll still put you on the front of the queue and it would be great to get past 1K - think we are neaaaaaaaaaarly there!
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Sep 1, 2021 06:33
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CAT INTERCEPTOR posted:Eh, I'll believe you, dont sweat it I did the math including currency conversion as of today and we're at $1078.73 EDIT: I forgot to check page 4
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Sep 1, 2021 06:59
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As an actual ranger who DOES have to deal with shitheels poaching (at least in Australia I dont need to carry an FAL at work because the poachers shoot AT you!) its awesome to see the donations towards what we do roll in!
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Sep 1, 2021 12:44
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casque posted:Tag me! (Please) Donated $50.
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Sep 1, 2021 16:10
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Done. 
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Sep 1, 2021 21:10
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is there a link to specific pig ball campaign? Or do I just mash the donate button? Just did general Dedicate my $21.40 USD one-time donation Sep 1, 2021 DEDICATION TYPE In Honor IN HONOR OF Pig Balls FROM Elephanthead Elephanthead fucked around with this message at 23:29 on Sep 1, 2021 |
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Sep 1, 2021 23:25
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here you go
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Sep 1, 2021 23:25
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I had the comment line of "Porcine Spheres" but did not screen shot that part. Oh well. edit: screenshot loaded wonky 
Somewhat Heroic fucked around with this message at 01:48 on Sep 2, 2021 |
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Sep 2, 2021 01:46
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Sep 2, 2021 02:02
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http://imgur.com/a/wJOUDvZ Donated $42, as is tradition.
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Sep 2, 2021 04:20
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spanakopita posted:We may be out of luck, my warthog pics are no good. I know you guys have been waiting with bated breath... Well today's the day. Here are the Warthog balls everyone's been waiting for.  And in for the donation. 
spanakopita fucked around with this message at 16:10 on Sep 2, 2021 |
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Sep 2, 2021 12:35
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Here’s mine! 
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Sep 2, 2021 12:38
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So Africa started off with a bang, I'll try to tell some Automotive related stories to keep the donations coming We flew into Entebbe Uganda, made it through immigration and to the parking lot to meet the guy we're renting our safari vehicle from. The Land Cruiser was delivered completely on Empty, the driver took only cash, we exchanged Whatsapp numbers and he gave me the keys. So we leave the airport and pull into the gas station that's right outside, fill up, and realize we haven't gone to an ATM yet. I get out and try to pay with a card. The gas station doesn't have a card reader, but the mechanic next door does. So we go over there to pay and after 30 minutes of getting the reader plugged into a cell phone with a network connection, we're paid up and on our way. We drive to Lake Mburo National Park, it's about 150miles and it takes about 5 hours. Driving in Uganda is fun, there are very few intersections, zero lights, no real speed limit. The road is two lane and someone is always overtaking, usually on both sides. It was not rare to see two busses overtaking slower vehicles on a collision course. Every few kilometers there would be a town center, you'd know it because there'd be 3 small speed bumps and one full sized speed hump at the entrance and exit of the center. Larger town centers would also have a police checkpoint, but they largely ignored the tourist vehicles. We get to our hotel / cabin, unload our cars and take in the landscape. We see a goat herder outside on the hillside and have a meal at the "hotel" restaurant and head to bed. Wake up at like 530am (most good animal spotting is done before the sun warms up, 6a-1030a or so were the sweet spot. You'd keep driving after that, but most of our good sightings were in the morning), and check out the park. We saw tons of warthogs. I only have a few pictures of them because they gallop/trot away pretty quickly when they're close to the car and they were so common... They're very cute animals, always in clusters. We saw a lot of Kob.  Also lots of Topi.  We saw a herd of Buffalo walking in single file to hide their numbers, I'd guess at least 100.  They crossed the road right in front of us, they were incredibly distrustful and as each larger one crossed the road, it would cock it's head toward the car and make intense glaring eye contact. We were talking to a ranger later in the trip and he said large groups of buffalo are not too aggressive, it's the older males that have moved on from the rest of the group (read: Goons) that are more ornery and likely to attack. I'm pretty sure this is a female, smaller specimen, but it's a good staredown shot.  Right after this some Zebra came down the same road.  We wrapped up the game drive, this was like a intro to Safari. Not a huge park, not a ton of variety, I'm not sure they had predators, easy roads and navigation. Woke up bright and early the next morning, descended the steep hill in 4x4 mode (not necessary, but I was nervous) and got back on the main road to drive to Bwindi Impenetrable forest. After a few minute of driving I notice the 4x4 is still engaged. I stopped, shifted to neutral (this car is an automatic) and put the 4x4 shifter to 2H. (This car had 4L-4H-2H modes). I drive for a few minutes, look over and the 4x4 shifter has snuck up to 4H again. I also notice the differential lock is lit up, so I pull over to try to figure this out. We had just passed a police checkpoint, so traffic is mostly died down, should be safe to pull over. After like 30seconds the car gets rear ended. THUD. I look up and there's a motorcyclist sliding on the ground. I get out and try to figure out how injured he is, he looks up thinks for a split second and runs back to his bike. Picks up the bike and starts coasting it down the hill. Guessing he couldn't pay the damages, hopefully he's not hurt. His bike seat had come off as had his helmet, we called up the guy we rented the car for and he told us to drive back to town, make a police report and make sure we saved the evidence. The car damage.  Our fender, his seat and helmet.  We drive back to the checkpoint, they try to understand our story and send us back a couple miles to town, "The police station is next to the butcher". We drive back, sure enough there's a butcher and we pull in and tell our story to get a report. I'm not sure we ever did anything with the report, but we for sure kept the evidence for our car rental guy. The butcher shop attracts some Maribou Stork. The maribou is seen pretty often around city centers, kind of like 3.5 foot tall rats with foot long murder beaks. You can shoo them away but they're pretty crazy looking.  While the policeman is writing up his report, I'm futzing w/ the car, google tells me that shfitng to park or reverse should undo the differential lock (pushing the button is not having any effect). The light stays lit up. I hope that the light is just malfunctioning, but it's making me awfully nervous that the 4x4 shifter keeps sneaking up to 4H while I'm driving. We're going gorilla tracking the next day in Bwindi (and the permits to do so are in very limited supply, have to schedule and pay weeks and weeks in advance). Bwindi is like 4-5 more hours, it's like 11 in the morning and it's really not safe to drive at night, especially up an unpaved gnarly mountain road so we cross our fingers like idiots and continue driving to Bwindi. I figured, I'll just keep the speed to like 45kmph, it'll be fine once we get to the mountain...... Next up: Getting to Bwindi. spanakopita fucked around with this message at 16:15 on Sep 2, 2021 |
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Sep 2, 2021 13:48
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 Crazy stories, and parallel to my experiences driving in the less-developed parts of the globe.
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Sep 2, 2021 15:00
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 doing my part for a landcruiser gang tag
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Sep 2, 2021 16:41
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 Epic journey
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Sep 2, 2021 17:12
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Yes, Prados rule.
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Sep 2, 2021 17:24
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Took me a minute but I got around to it.
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Sep 2, 2021 18:48
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spanakopita posted:So Africa started off with a bang, I'll try to tell some Automotive related stories to keep the donations coming would you happen to have pics of the marabou nut sacks? 
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Sep 3, 2021 10:14
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Okay I think I got everyone who requested a gangtag - I'll wait for the request queue to clear then do another sweep. No more freebies after this point unless you post donation proof
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Sep 3, 2021 12:31
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Never had a gang tag, this is a great cause for one.
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Sep 3, 2021 13:05
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CAT INTERCEPTOR posted:Okay I think I got everyone who requested a gangtag - I'll wait for the request queue to clear then do another sweep. No more freebies after this point unless you post donation proof I do believe I got missed 
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Sep 3, 2021 14:06
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Donation made! Sign me up for a gang tag please! And keep this awesome thread going!
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Sep 3, 2021 17:27
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And those should be now too. Did I miss anyone for the tag?
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Sep 4, 2021 09:07
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CAT INTERCEPTOR posted:And those should be now too. Tag is awesome, seems to have busted the avatar though.
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Sep 4, 2021 13:52
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Terminus Est posted:Tag is awesome, seems to have busted the avatar though. It's because in your case it looks like it's stuck in your avatar spot since I can see it on the mobile app, which never shows gang tags.
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Sep 4, 2021 15:57
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Oh, you had an html avatar from the old days. Lemme see if I can fix it. Edit: Title fix submitted, waiting on admin to push button but the render shows it all working now. Elmnt80 fucked around with this message at 16:07 on Sep 4, 2021 |
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Sep 4, 2021 16:03
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Gangtag sixxer me in the best thread
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Sep 6, 2021 15:09
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So we're driving along in 4 wheel drive and after a couple of miles I see smoke coming out of the hood. I pull over (hoping I don't get rear ended again) and within seconds the guy grazing cattle across the road is yelling at me. Someone else pulls over and starts running toward us. The guy yelling is letting us know that the car is on fire. Great. I look under the car and sure enough there is a viscous liquid dripping from somewhere and the liquid is on fire. Whoops. One of the motorists that pulled over has a fire extinguisher and puts out the fire. We call up the car rental guy/company and he says he'll send a new car in about 4 hours. But it's like 1 in the afternoon and we have around 4 hours of driving left until we get to Bwindi. We're scheduled to go gorilla tracking the next morning (which requires super expensive permits that have to be paid for in advance and aren't transferrable). We NEED to get to Bwindi that night. So the rental guy gets us a local with a Camry that will drive us to the top of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bwindi_Impenetrable_National_Park ) and someone will deliver us a Safari vehicle later that night so we'd be able to drive to the gorilla tracking. The drive there was beautiful. Very hilly land, lots and lots of tea farming.     It was like 2 hours of gnarly narrow, sidewinding dirt roads. When we got inside the gates of the National park the roads got pretty bad, huge pits. It's dark and we're in a Camry. Our driver heroically got us there, but he was super stressed. We tipped him well and wished him luck driving off the mountain and back home. We texted the car rental guy and he let us know that the safari vehicle wouldn't be there until the next morning.... if it's late, we miss our appointment at like 7am. Oh! And he took the original car to the mechanic, only cost us $250 or so. We check us in and show us to our room... It's a canvas tent with a balcony and a bathroom. Pretty sweet. The view from the room.  The next morning we wake up super early (basically the entire vacation was waking up around 5am, doing animal related activities until the afternoon, then driving and breaking our car), and contact our car rental guy, because we need a car to drive to the tracking! The car shows up late, but not so late we miss our appointment. As he drives up, he explains that he hit a pothole on the road on the way up and crashed the car!!!! But he'll drive us to the gorilla tracking, wait all day for us to do the hike, drive us back to the hotel and then drive down the mountain into town to find a mechanic to fix the headlight. Driving with a damaged vehicle is a sure fire way to get pulled over at the checkpoints, they are super strict. So we go gorilla tracking. It's hard to tell from this angle, but the descent is super steep.  We hired a porter to carry our bag and literally catch us when we lose our footing, which was necessary many times. We hiked down to the valley, about 75 minutes down. This is my porter (foreground) and the ranger that is leading us.  Also representative of the trails.... i.e. there are no trails, we're just bushwhacking. Every once in a while, they'll point out an elephant hole, caution us not to step in it. Bwindi has forest elephants, a bit smaller than African elephants.... We didn't see any, but we did see bucket sized mud holes left by their foot prints. One of them filled with urine. Smelled awful. We hiked around until the trackers spotted a family of gorillas, then we very quietly approached and set up like 20-25 feet from them. They allowed us to be in their presence for about an hour before we left them alone to not stress them too much. We basically didn't move for the hour, but they were moving around us / through us as they saw fit. We all wore masks just in case Covid has figured out how to transmit to Gorillas. This pregnant female just hanging out.  Mom and child were adorable. Affectionate, reminded us so much of human mother and child.  This guys was my absolute favorite. He's had enough of these drat kids on his lawn.  After the hour passed, we hiked up and out and met up with our driver, he drove us back to our tent and into town and promised he'd be back by the next morning so we could drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park.
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Sep 8, 2021 13:11
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I really appreciate these updates, thank you
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Sep 8, 2021 14:23
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What an amazing experience.
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Sep 8, 2021 14:50
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Really enjoying the updates, sounds like a trip of a lifetime.
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Sep 8, 2021 15:00
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Thank you.
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Sep 9, 2021 08:53
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Yeah, totally enjoying the photos. Being within 20' or so of wild gorillas with a guide would be a thrill of a lifetime kind of thing for me.
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Sep 9, 2021 16:08
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That's amazing dude. I've made a big deposit to IFAP on your behalf 
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Sep 9, 2021 16:48
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These updates are fantastic spanakopita!
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Sep 9, 2021 17:04
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Thread continues to deliver! Thanks for the story, it sounds like a hell of a trip. Next installment when?
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Sep 9, 2021 17:42
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This thread is great. Gang tag, pleeeeease!
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Sep 10, 2021 01:46
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 22:47 |
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The next morning we wake up and discover our driver wound up coming back late from the mechanic and stayed the night at the same campground we were staying at. He let us know what the damage was for the previous car we set on fire, we figured out how to send $200 or so to the rental guy via a local venmo type deal and we got the keys to our new Land Cruiser! Driving down the mountain was beautiful (and fun driving!), once we were out, we had paved roads all the way to Queen Elizabeth. It's around 300km (180miles) and it takes around 5-6 hours, so around 30mph of speeding to overtake a slower vehicle while a bus coming the opposite direction is also overtaking and speeding directly towards you. Lots of fun! Navigating is also an adventure - google maps, kind of works. There aren't many roads to get from A->B or intersections, but there are also no (few) street signs, GPS and data are spotty. Sometimes you'll follow the app directions but the road's sketchy enough to make you question whether you followed the directions correctly, or if the road is suitable for long distance travel... Challenging and rewarding simultaneously. Houses on the road to QE  I tried to reorient this (video) before upload. Just some cows walking down the road.  At the gate of Queen Elizabeth, while we're getting our permits paid for.  Blue naped Mousebird.  As an aside - as much as I've always considered myself an animal lover, the process of "hunting" them (we shoot animals with our camera) and then identifying them has never been a hobby of mine, but after this I think I'm going to get into birding. The variety and differentiation of all the birds in Africa were the most exciting part. We'd trade off the binoculars and our Birds of East Africa field guide, flipping through the pages frantically trying to id the bird before it flew away. There were more than one time that we would be pulled over with our camera / binoculars out staring at bird we hadn't seen before, when another safari vehicle would pull over thinking we may have spotted a lion or something, only to drive away disappointed once they realized we were staring at a bird. Finding all the major animals (except the rhino) was almost inevitable, but finding all the birds?! I feel like I'm going to be chasing the thrill of finding a new (to me) bird for a while. Note to the reader - it's about to get bird heavy. Topi inside QE. Of all the deerish animals we encountered, these were one of my favorite. Love the coloration.  Rednecked Spurfowl - these are everywhere, road-runnerish dumb bird. When the car approached they loved to try to run along the road and dart under the tires.  Saddle Bill Stork  Open Bill Stork  Black Belly Bustard - this guy we saw just as he was about to run and we were shocked. It runs with its head pointing down to the ground, wings spread wide, it was like nothing we had seen. Bustards are pretty cool, we saw tons of Kori Bustard in Serengeti.  Striped Kingfisher. Kingfishers have such a distinctive bills and body shapes, they're so easy to identify. Very cool birds.  The Long Crested Eagle  The first of many elephant, having a drink.  Vultures are everywhere.  So we finished our drive to QE, we spend a few hours driving around on the hunt for animals and drive on to our hotel (read: tent with a bathroom). We were on a budget and the cost of safari can be ridiculous so most of our accommodations weren't fancy, just near the animals Uganda was really affordable, Tanzania not so much.We wake up the next morning and get in line to the ferry to get to the other side of Queen Elizabeth. The ferry starts at like 7, we were there at like 630 and there was already a line. The line wasn't that bad, we were on the second ferry over, on the water for around 8 minutes and then we were on our way.  We drove to the ranger station and hired one of them for around $50 to spend the morning with us, teach us how the experts get it done We told him we really want to see lions so he makes it a mission. A bit about how the experts get it done: Cheating. Every time we pass a safari vehicle our guide has us pause so he can chat w/ the other driver (invariably a local) about where the sightings are. Also he's on the radio/cellphone gathering info. So maybe not cheating but a solid communication network. We are driving down one of the main paths (almost a transit road) and he has us turn down a less traveled path, these are unmarked, basically paths along the plain, game trails. He tells us to drive slowly and lets us know he's looking for tire marks where someone drove off the road. The rangers heard that a veterinarian had visited a lion that morning (vets have access to electronic trackers but don't share that info with the rangers). So we find a trail and go off road. At this point we're officially cheating. Tourists aren't allowed off road from the game trails (kind of) and inside information from someone with an electronic tracker is for sure cheating We don't find lions, but we do find evidence they're nearby. BTW, this smelled FOUL. The lions were long gone, this was probably from the night before at least.  We drove around for a bit and found a cluster of cars around a bush. This was our lion sighting in QE.  We drive off like a mile away, on a game trail and see a motorcycle stuck in the mud. A motorcycle with at least 300lbs of bananas on it. QE is a park, but the people who live around it still have to live their own lives. The locals literally commute through the park. This guy was delivering his load of bananas, just doing his job when he get stuck in a game park. With hundreds of pounds of bananas. I can only imagine what would happen if an elephant came by and smelled the bananas. Or a hungry predator smelled the driver. We got out of the car and pushed and pulled and revved the engine and lifted and tried not to slip into the mud ourselves. I mentioned that the bike was just too heavy and after 5 minutes of fruitless (ha!) efforts, we unstrapped all the bananas and were able to get the bike out and get back to safari. I asked the guide to ask the driver how long he had been there before we showed up, he said 30minutes. I just can't imagine that being my commute. My wife has video of us pushing the drat thing but I don't have her media merged yet. This was the first time we were able to help another motorist, it felt good to give a little back. We had so many car issues we needed to build up some karma. We drive on a bit and Richard (the ranger) yells out HOTCAKES and has us change direction! We were confused, asked him what he was talking about on our way to *something*. Hotcakes, meaning pancakes, meaning something sweet, is how he referred to a good find, a good animal sighting. HOTCAKES is now a permanent part of our shared vocabulary. You get a good parking spot? Hotcakes. Find the perfect greeting card? Hotcakes. We drive onto a game trail until we see several safari vehicles and then go off road for our sweet treat. It's a leopard, in daylight, in the open. This is pretty drat rare. Leopards are hard to spot, they're private and tend to hide. We see one stalking across the field. Here you see a gazelle running from behind a bush, realizing it's in sight of a predator.  The leopard freezes, as does the prey, gripped by their stare off.  Eventually the prey realizes it's far enough away that it can't be caught, it's a leopard not a cheetah, and runs off. The leopard walks into a bush to hide from the sun.  We dropped off Richard and did a little exploring before deciding to call it a day / figure out our plan back at the hotel. When he was a young warthooog!  A shitload of elephants from a distance.  We drive back to the ferry at like 1pm. Supposedly it gets busy around 4-5pm so we should have avoided traffic. Next up: Getting across the river. spanakopita fucked around with this message at 19:33 on Sep 12, 2021 |
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Sep 12, 2021 19:06
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