Our Wild Africa Trek at Disney's Animal Kingdom

Our Wild Africa Trek

We arrived at Animal Kingdom before park opening on the morning of Saturday October 13, 2012.  We were greeted by a very nice young woman who had on trek gear, so we had approached her to see where we should go.  She told us just to stick with her, and she would guide us to where we needed to be at the proper time.  There was a group of 10-12 people with us, and she ushered us through the turnstiles at the proper time.  She suggested that we take a rest-room stop as this would be the last time we could do so for at least 2 hours.  We were then escorted over to Tusker House and lead over to the area where we would be checked in for the trek and turned over our vouchers, signed off on some paperwork, verified our address, etc. 

We were actually going to be waiting for the next group of people, so we were told to just hang in there, and she would be back shortly to finish up our paperwork.  The first group of the day set off at 8:45am, and we were the 9:30 group.  After the others arrived, our two guides Julie and Amanda (Mandy) came to escort us to the “Outfitters Post”.  This is where we were weighed-in.  Yup…had to do it.  You cannot be under 8 years of age, or weigh over 300 lbs. (which thankfully I am nowhere near, and neither is my husband!) After the verification of weight, we were then supplied with all of the gear we would need for the morning adventure.  This included our vest/and trek harness, headset so we could hear our guides talk to us and give us information on what we were seeing, a water canister, and hooked us all in.  We were then taken to lockers to put our personal belongings in for the duration.  I was allowed to keep my camera because it had a strap that could be attached to a hook on my vest. 

 

The next stop was bug spray, sunscreen, and the “test” rope bridge.  This was short, and easy and in no way a real indicator of the bridges to come.  Basically, they wanted to find out if that bothered you, there was no way you could continue.  Now, I am slightly afraid of heights, but going over the bridges didn’t bother me at all.  This was one of those moments that you test yourself, and I was very proud that I accomplished this. 

Next, we headed up to the patio area for a couple group photos, and off we started on our journey of the next 3 hours.  Welcome to the Village of Harambe!  We started off making our way through the “Village” where we got to “parade” our way in our gear, getting what I would call “glances of envy” from the other park guests we were passing as we entered the Pangani Forest Trail.  We were with the regular park guests for several minutes and then we stepped off the beaten path into our own world, a place that not many get to see.  It was a thrilling moment indeed.  We hiked for about 10 minutes and this took us to our first stop.  The Hippos!  Wow, what incredible animals they are.  Do you know, they kill more humans every year in Africa than any other animal?  Their jaws are massive, and we learned that in a fight between a hippo and a crocodile, that the hippo would win hands down.  

At the hippo viewing area, we opened up our carabineers for the one of our guides, and then we were tethered so we could get to the edge of the viewing area without being in danger of falling.  We were treated to some insightful information about the hippos from the specialist who was feeding and viewing the hippo that we were there to see.  The other hippos were off further away in the pool.  After we were done here, we were then unhooked, and off we went on our next hike that would take us to the Crocodile area.  We got hooked up again, and to the edge we went.  Another specialist talked to us about these very powerful creatures.  Most of them we were viewing were between 14 and 20 feet in length.  

Our next venture was on to the first rope bridge.  When we all got onto the area where we would get hooked onto the tether, then Amanda asked who was going to go first.  The entire group looked at me, (including my husband), and I said “well, I guess I will take one for the team.” Of course at first my knees were shaking a little, but after I got going, it really wasn’t all that bad.  I overcame some big fears in about a 10 second time frame.  I was doing this!  As I walked across this bridge, I looked down several times, but tried to keep focused on getting to the other side.  It was a long was across each one.  After I came to the end of the first one, an equally long bridge was next.  This one was directly over the crocodiles.  Wow, you could really get a great view of them from up there.  As I came to the end and got unhooked from the tether, I watched my husband come across.  He did really well too.  Some of the others in the group were not doing as well, a little unsure of footing but they all made it across in pretty good time.  Let’s put it this way, this trek is definitely not for the couch potato type, or the faint of heart.  It is challenging without being too strenuous for most, but you still have to be in pretty decent shape to manage at a quick pace.

After crossing the 2 rope bridges, we shed our gear and did a little more of a hike, until we reached the area where we would get into our open air private safari vehicle.  This would be our transportation for the rest of our journey.  We got to see baboon, antelope, giraffe, waterbuck, Thompson Gazelle, Ankole Cattle, Kudu, and elephants. 

We were taken to a gazebo type building where we were able to use the restroom, wash our hands and then we were fed!  We were seated at tables that had white linen table cloths and napkins, and there was a camp tin at each place.  4 people to a table.  We were given a really delicious juice and then opened our tins.  Inside was a variety of “African Inspired food.”  The food included fruit that was marinated in a mint and ginger glaze, brie cheese with dried apricots, berry yogurt with granola and dried cranberries, and there was a fresh orchid in the center, that you could actually eat.  I did, as I wanted to see what it tasted like.  It was very good.  The next tray contained  dried prosciutto ham, and dried beef,  2 pieces of fig bread with almonds and a smoked salmon roll with dill cream cheese in the middle, and this was on a bed of jicama and cucumber slaw.  There were also 3 small pita rounds as well.  It was all very good, but I am not into dried meats, so I gave that to my husband.  

 Our trek guides, Julie and Amanda were awesome!

After the meal was over, we viewed the animals that were close by.  Both types of giraffe were near, and the area where the lesser flamingo make their home.  We left there and continued on our journey in the truck where we saw wildebeest, Ostrich, cheetah and rhino.  Unfortunately, the Zebra area was still being completed so they were not around.  I understand that area is now ready, and the occupants are now getting used to their new home, and will be visible on the tour in the weeks to come. 

We were then taken back to our starting point at the outfitters station and collected our belongings.  We were at that time told about something special. Part of the money from our trek would be put into a fund for whatever animal we wanted to help support.  We had the choice of the giraffe, elephant, rhinos, or the general fund for DWCF (Disney World Conservation Fund.) We chose the elephants.  Our fee for this trek also included receiving a photo CD of all the pictures the guides were taking as we went along.  I received our CD yesterday, so it didn’t take as long as I thought it would.  It is not just pictures of me and my husband, but all the people who were with us on the great experience. 

Both my husband and I enjoyed this adventure very much, and I feel that if you can swing the cost which can run anywhere from $159.00 to $189.00 per person, it is well worth it.  Watch for specials at different times of the year.  They had cost breaks for summer time tours, when not that many people want to go due to the heat.  Just recently they had a special to save $50.00 per person for tours after 2pm.  Keep your eyes open for things like that. 

I hope you enjoyed reading about this adventure as much as I enjoyed sharing it with you.