New York City Area Nissan Dealerships Garden State Nissan

Garden State Nissan

While traveling out of town for the Christmas holiday to visit some family in Hackensack, New Jersey. I was cruising my tired 1987 Nissan Sentra, with an amazing 345,000 original miles with out an engine or transmission rebuild. I knew the final day of the car was coming soon due to the high milage. Just as I had arrived in to Hackensack I was rolling at 35 mph when I heard a rattle and a clank and the car came to a squealing hault. With my great luck the car had to die while I was 600 miles from home, but to my surprise I was less then a block from Garden State Nissan. I walked down to the dealership and I was quickly greeted by their courtesy staff, I explained my situtation to them and they happly sent a mechanic down to get my car with a tow truck free of charge. After a close examination, the diagnosis was a blown engine, due to the wear that the car had I decided I would just like to buy a new car then repair the old. Due to my satisfaction with my original Nissan and the courtesy and proffesionalism that the staff at Garden State Nissian showed, I decided that a Nissan would be my new car and one from this dealership. After checking out all of the new models I was stuck on the new Altima. The sales man was very knowledgeable and gave me a great price on the car with instant credit approval. Overall I was amazed by the size and inventory of Garden State Nissan. The parts/service department was very clean and the staff was great. I would highly recommend them from your new car or used car purchase as they stock all of the new models such as: Altima, Frontier, Quest, Pathfinder, Xterra, Murano, Maxima, Sentra, 350Z, Armanda, Versa.

Garden State Nissan
400 River St Hackensack NJ 07601
Phone: 800-680-1490
Fax: 201-489-3529

Egypt, Victoria Falls & South Africa for Betsy and Friends

Hello Betsy. Here is the info that you requested for your June 2007 trip to Africa. The dates for the trip are May 31-June15. I know you mentioned that you would prefer a mid-late June departure but I couldn't find any Egypt tours that began any later in the year than May 31, 2007. It is still too early in 2006 for the tour companies to release prices and departures for late 2007. This is why this trip would begin May 31. Like I said, it is the latest 2007 Egypt tour I could find. You can easily do this trip for $5,000.

Flights: Routed Orlando(MCO) - Cairo (CAI) - Johannesburg (JNB) - Orlando (MCO) $2,287 p/p

Thu 31-May-07
Orlando (MCO)Depart 1:40 pm to Charlotte (CLT)Arrive 3:12 pm
Duration: 1hr 32mn
US Airways Flight: 1592

Charlotte (CLT)Depart 4:30 pm to Frankfurt (FRA)Arrive 7:00 am on June 1
US Airways Flight: 1592

Fri 1-Jun-07
Frankfurt (FRA)Depart 8:45 am to Cairo (CAI)Arrive 1:45 pm
Lufthansa Flight: 582

Fri 8-Jun-07
Cairo (CAI)Depart 3:25 pm to Manama (BAH)Arrive 6:35 pm
Gulf Air Flight: 70

Manama (BAH)Depart 10:15 pm to Johannesburg (JNB)Arrive 5:50 am on June 9
GF Flight: 715

Thu 14-Jun-07
Johannesburg (JNB)Depart 6:20 pm to Dakar (DKR)Arrive 12:50 am on June 15
United Airlines Flight: 4591 (Actually operated by: South African Airlines -- SA207)

Fri 15-Jun-07
Dakar (DKR)Depart 1:50 am to Washington DC (IAD)Arrive 6:25 am
United Airlines Flight: 4591 (Actually operated by: South African Airlines -- SA207)

Fri 15-Jun-07
Washington DC (IAD)Depart 8:50 am to Orlando (MCO)Arrive 11:00 am
United Airlines Flight: 1557 (Operated by: /UNITED FOR TED)

I realize that this is a lot of info to digest. The total per person (at this time - flight prices can change daily) for all the flights above is $2,287. This will obviously make up the biggest part of your trip's price.

Egypt Tour: $1,050
The tour I found for you is through Gate1Travel. This company has a good reputation in the travel industry for their reasonably priced, high quality tours. They conduct tours all over the world and I, personally, wouldn't hesitate to use them. The land portion of the tour begins on June 1 in Cairo. It includes 3 nights in Cairo and a 3 day Nile River cruise. You can view this tour online at http://www.gate1travel.com/egypt-travel/egypt-vacation-cheap.asp The prices you see on the site include flights but the price I quoted for you is the land only price. Since you will be traveling to South Africa as well it is not feasible to purchase their flights along with the package. As you can see from the website this tour includes a ton! A very nice 5 star hotel in Cairo, Sofitel Le Sphinx, and a pretty nice looking river cruise ship. All your meals are included on the boat and your breakfasts are include in Cairo. I won't list all of the included sightseeing, just take alook at the website for that. This $1,050 price also includes the $95 tour of Cairo, the pyramids and the Egyptian Museum as well as the $345 flights from Cairo to Luxor (for the cruise) and Aswan to Cairo. I think this is a great price for everything that is included. Again, check out the link above and read all about the tour. Also you will need to stay in Cairo one extra night on your own. If you depart for Johannesburg the day the Egypt tour ends the cheapest flights I could find were roughly $3,500. So it would be in your best interest to stay one extra day and explore on your own.

South Africa
So this puts you on a June 8 afternoon/evening flight to Johannesburg on Gulf Air, with a layover in Bahrain. Pretty cool. You would arrive into Joburg the next morning, June 9, at 5:50 AM. Stay at the airport and take an early morning flight (departing June 9 and returning to Joburg June 11: a 2 night organized tour) to Victoria Falls. You have 2 options for Victoria Falls. Zimbabwe or Zambia. The Falls are obviously located on the Zambezi River (the border) between the 2 countries. There are literally tons of tour companies that will get you flights (Johannesburg-Victoria Falls-Johannesburg) and 2 hotel nights with tours of the Falls included. Take a look at this site for examples http://www.rhinoafrica.com/destinations/victoria_falls/victoria_falls_tours/victoria_falls_getaway/itinerary/
You would just simply pick the hotel you prefer as well as Zim or Zam. Not to go into too much detail on the subject, but Zimbabwe is a country in turmoil and is not the safest place in the world at present time.
Read this http://archives.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/africa/11/02/zimbabwe.land.ap/index.html to gain some insight on the situation. This began in 2000 and has resulted in a country in deep despair. Anyway I recommend going to the Zambia side. As you can see from the Vic Falls website, a 3 day/2 night tour with flights can easily be had for $750 p/p. You would return to Joburg on the 11th and head for Kruger National Park.

Kruger National Park
For this part of the trip I recommend a lady who took Lauren and I to the park 2 different times. She offers tours to Kruger that include everything. Transportation, food, lodging in the Park's rest camps (very comfortable and fun to stay in - they include bathrooms and showers) and an unbelievable amount of knowledge of everything in the Pak. She is an awesome guide. I haven't spoken with her for a few months so Ia m not exactly sure what she charges now but I know it is definitely no more than $200 pp. per day. At the most a 4 day safari with Anna would be $800 per person. At the most. So depending on the time you arrive back into Joburg on the 11th you could have 3 nights in Kruger or if you arrive into Joburg too late in the day you may have to settle for 2 nights in the Park arriving there on the 12th. Check out this site for pictures of accommodations in Kruger http://www.sanparks.org/gallery/default.php?g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=1082 There are some really cool places to stay in Kruger. Check out the pictures of Tamboti Camp, Lower Sabie Camp, Olifants Camp, Satara Camp, Talamati Camp and skukuza Camp. Some of the rooms are tents with all bathroom facilities inside. Very cool. The only thing about going with Anna is I'm not sure if she would be able to take 10 people. I have emailed her to see if this is possible. If it is not I'm sure she can set something up for you.

Return home
Your last night in Kruger would be the 13th and you would head back to the airport on the 14th for you flights home.

I realize that this is a ton of info to digest so read it over a few times and see what you think. The flights, Egypt tour and cruise, one extra night in Cairo, Vic Falls tour and Kruger safari can all be done for around $5,000 total. I think this is a very reasonable price for everything that you would be doing. This is what the itierary would look like:
May 31: Overnight Orlando flight to Frankfurt
June1: Connecting flight in Franfurt to Cairo / Egypt Tour begins
June 2: Flight from Cairo to Luxor to begin cruise
June 3: On Nile cruise
June 4: On Nile cruise
June 5: End cruise in Aswan and fly back to Cairo
June 6: Tour Cairo
June 7: Extra day in Cairo on your own (to get the cheaper flights - I know it's goofy but the airline pricing system is goofy)
June 8: Afternoon flight to Bahrain and then flight onto Johannesburg
June 9: Arrive Johannesburg and continue to Vic Falls
June 10: Vic Falls
June 11: Fly back to Johannesburg (depending on arrival time in Joburg either head to Kruger or stay one night at an airport hotel = Kruger is a 5 hour drive from Joburg so if you arrive back into Joburg too late in the day you won't be able to make it to Kruger the same day.
June 12: Kruger safari
June 13: Kruger safari
June 14: Back to the airport for overnight flight home
June 15: Back to Orlando

Let me know what you think.

Caught With My Pants Down

I had always dreamed about going on an African safari. My dream was realized in the autumn of 2002 when finally, after 5 months of planning and a 15 hour flight to Johannesburg, the day had arrived. I was on my way to the famous Kruger National Park to see the wildlife. When people first go on an African safari there are six things they all want to see: The Big 5 (lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and African buffalo) and one of the Big 5 killing something. I must admit I was very eager to see something get mauled by a wild animal. I just didn't want that something to be me. We had been in the park for an hour or so when we made our first pit stop at the Pretoriuskop rest camp. The rest camps inside the park are all fenced in to keep the humans safe from the wildlife. Every once in a while a leopard will find its way into a camp and a game ranger will have to kill the animal. The animal is now considered too smart for its own good. Once it finds its way in, it will keep finding its way in. So here we are at the camp and, climbing apprehensively out of the vehicle, I now realize that I am a part of the food chain because this is, after all, the African bush. I made my way to the ablution (Afrikaans for toilet) and got ready to relieve myself when, to my horror, there's a baboon in the open window above the urinal staring down at me. Caught with my pants down - by a baboon with the largest fangs I had seen to date. I didn't know what to do so I just went ahead and finished what I had started. I think I scared him more than he scared me because he quickly jumped from the window and screeched away. One hour in the wilds of Africa and already I thought I was a goner.

Speaking Spanish in Japan

In 2002 I took my first trip to Japan. The first morning there I awoke from my slumber and ventured out of my Tokyo hotel to begin my Japanese sightseeing. I was off to explore the area surrounding the Imperial Palace. To get there required a ride on the Tokyo subway system. I had been on numerous subways in cities around the world so I was fairly confident that I could find my way. I was in the subway station studying the system map when a kind Japanese gentleman, briefcase in hand and wanting to help what he assumed was a confused American, stopped to offer assistance. He was obviously on his way to work and in a hurry, but he still stopped anyway. I knew which train to take, but being a visitor in his city, I politely nodded and accepted his assistance. With broken English he asked for my destination. I pointed on the map to show him where I wanted to go. He slowly told me which train to take and led me to the right platform where I accepted his generosity with a simple 'gracias.' Why I spoke in Spanish is beyond me. Language barrier? What language barrier? We communicated fine with each other. The polite Japanese businessman spoke broken English to me and I spoke Spanish to him. I got to my destination and gained a new friend along the way.

Welcome to The Planet Trekker's Travel Blog

Hello and welcome to Planet Trekkers Travel. Planet Trekkers is for those who truly have a passion to experience our planet and its people. For those, like me, who believe that travel is the journey and not necesarily the destination. That it's the escape from our everyday lives and the acknowledgment that we are away from our comfort zone. It's about discovering new places and adapting to new cultures. Traveling is a way of life for me. I will attempt to bring my adventures and travel experiences to life as well as pass along travel tips and hints that can be of use to anybody.

I have traveled extensively throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and, of course, my home country the United States. I have traveled solo, with friends, with family and with organized tour groups. Each way having their own advantages and disadvantages. I have traveled for sporting events, music, history, culture, photography as well as for my favorite burrito. I have seen the humor in places as well as the tragedy. The pride as well as the despair. I have traveled for the memories and because I simply love to be on the go. I look forward to bringing all of my experiences to you and discussing things that may make you laugh or even bring you out of your comfort zone. Hopefully they can be influential to you in your journeys.