SANParks.org Forums

Personally, when enjoying the bush, I do not worry about any TR's or what pics I need to take or what I am going to say to people later. I do keep a basic overview-diary of events on our trip, and refer to that when I am writing about it. I also don't go onto laptops and upload pics; I want to experience EVERYTHING while I am there, including night sounds and early rising - so need some beauty sleep, otherwise I'd just be too tired to enjoy anything. When I sit down to write a report, all the images and choice commentary will flow through my head like the floods of Kruger in January. Sometimes it takes days before that happens, but when it does, I know I better sit and type!

OWN I'm with you 100% on your comment. It will always be a good idea to make small notes everyday.(crib notes)
And don't leave out any funny happenings.

just find this one
thanks MM to remember my first TR

beware... it becomes a drug and we need a lot of energy to go to the end (what I did each time)

and we need a lot of readers to turn the pages, because 10 pictures per page of 15 posts are not a sinecure... when we don't speak English (maybe easier to write... thanks to my mouse and google )

but so nice to tell , to share , make envy ... sorry
and so good souvenirs coming again... we do the travel a second time

the last one takes me more than 3 months... I don't know if I'm ready to write another one not sure at all
just thinking about sorting all the pictures, load to photobucket or another... deprime me

interesting thread picnic, thanks

I was mulling over this topic this morning, when this ditty exploded from my left temporal lobe:

How to write, how to write?
Sometimes darkness, sometimes light.
The finest counsel ever captured,
Which, for this scribbler, sweetest rapture:
Beginning at the very beginning,
Ending at the very end,
Delineate, seldom skimming;
Triturate, all images blend;
Indulge, never too much, never too little;
Luxuriate, but limit the spittle.
And when you cease, close the chapter -
Be not its slave, but its captor.

Full copyright subsists with the author.

Nice topic. Let's bump it

Now I see you guys making notes of your adventures for the TR's...
See, uhm.... This heksie has the saying:'elephants never forget' and that is the case with the plump witchy. I just remember everything. If I see my kiekie I see the story playing off in my head and I remember the stupid thing I did or my sis said and it abrupts like a flood over my computer screen. That is why it takes me and hour or more to write an episode. I want you guys to experience, feel and laugh about what we laughed in the car. Writing about my trips was the best thing invented by this forum.
When I'm old and wrinkly I will be able to relive my best days on earth because of the TR's...

I will try... a tiny one... really tiny with some... highlights
I have so much to share with all of you
wait a little bit... I have to

I agree Heksie!

Notes are not necessary for me. What I felt and thought of a sighting then, is not as valuable as what I think and feel about the sightings today its not so much about reporting how things were, as explaining what you will carry with you forever

Great topic, lets bump it up again.......... any more views? Would love to hear them.

I enjoy reading trip reports and have noticed how each person brings in their own personal style.

There are those who give a chronological account, even noting the roads and sightings. These are often helpful to newbies. I can imagine people who are good organisors and planners.

There are those who use their photography as a base. These are our skilled photographers who add the beauty and visual pleasure to the forum, The pictures often speak for themselves.

Many combine the two. Unfotuately many narrators are not English speaking, so they are hampered in their expression.

Some are natural story tellers. A picture is a vehicle for an adventure, thoughts, reflections. These are people who are more conceptual in their approach.

Then there is the humour. Sometimes it is in the stories, sometimes the banter. It gives life and fun, It bonds and bounces.

Each of us will reflect who we are, how we think, there is no wrong and right.

This is why I love trip reports

This topic makes very good reading for all those mites, new and old, who have never written a TR.

Are there any more thoughts on what makes a great Trip Report, and where to start?

Well said, MM

It is simply up to you to decide how to write your TR Just remember to invest the time on replying to those who commented on your trip report The magic of the trip reports lies in the interactions between the writer and readers

Cheetah, indeed, the audience makes such a difference.

Once the first sentence has been written, the report follows a life of its own. Its always the first step that is the most important step in anything. It is not skill, it is confidence overcoming self doubt.

Trip reports take courage.

As the author of the first 2 travel tales (they were put on the home page of the web site first by Admin, and it was decided to start a thread on the forum for anyone who wanted to do one), here is my input.

1. Go to a park.
2. Keep a written & photographic record of your trip.
3. Think of an interesting title
4. Write it up in a word doc and copy & paste it into a TR.
5. Make it light and humourous.
6. Not too long.
7. Not too detailed.
8. Do it!

Knew I was missing something ...