ukdweller

That is my point. I don't want to get up close and personal and watch them killing something and eating it (particularly when I'm trying to eat my own supper)!

I have been on safari in SA and I was lucky to see a leopard in addition to the elephants, giraffes etc. I enjoyed looking at them but to be honest seeing them killing another animal is not something that turns me on.
Watching them at fairly close quarters, in safety, without the bugs, with a large glass of Blossom Hill in my hand is my cup of tea (sorry, British expression).

BuildingMyBento

Though, if I wanted to see the "real" Illinois, Chicago and its Loop would factor in on the list, right?

If people are content with seeing just the downtown attractions, walking about and waiting for the river to turn green, fine. The only reason I'd go to non-Loop neighborhoods is to sample foods from peoples who have come from around the world.

It's similar to those in China (in this instance; really it involves many places) saying merely visiting the big cities isn't visiting the real country. Yet, that's where millions and millions of Chinese are migrating to on a yearly basis. Cities are the real contemporary China, but everything else is just as much a part of the country's fabric as the urban landscape has simultaneously formed.

For an (extremely basic) visual comparison, look at a photo of Pudong (in Shanghai) twenty years ago, and a current one. It might not be the "real" you subscribe to, or even like, but it's as tangible an example as any elderly farmhand you seek out.

ms1664

I did the Penguin Parade at Phillip Island last week, what a rip-off I thought.

I love seeing animals in the wild, but the way they've built the entire site is appalling, it's like a circus on the beach. Not to mention the screaming kids, the clueless parents, and the plain ignorant people throwing popcorn at the seagulls and ignoring the rangers requests for silence and not taking photographs (most were using flashes).

If you want to see penguins up close go to Punta Tombo in Argentina, that was an awesome experience.

Pulley

+1 - the other painting is much more beautiful IMHO.

Pickles

Well then, the word you're looking for is not "overrated". Something else, maybe. I found the experience of these animals in the wild rather humbling and spine-tingling. Highlight was a pack of (male, unusual) lions taking down a giraffe and then making a multi-course multi-day meal out of it. Made me realize that humans are all hat and no cattle when it comes to pecking order of the species.

Skyman65

Did they watch football afterwards?

Pickles

No, but if you ever saw a pride of lions goofing around, the resemblance in their play style is surprisingly similar to that of domestic cats. Just with paws the size of your head and sharp teeth.

Skyman65

Most cats I've known seem to think they are lions.

binarybelle

Old Faithful. We waited 45 minutes and had to search for 30 minutes prior to that for a parking space.

It was the most anti-climatic 4 minutes of my life.

beachmouse

I'll agree with the Old Faithful general level of meh.

The hot springs in other parts of Yellowstone were far more interesting, IMO.

Skyman65

Ah, but Old Faithful in winter (having arrived on snowmobile, and with a far smaller crowd to contend with) was pretty cool.

iahphx

When people start calling Death Valley "overrated," I'm wondering about the usefulness of this thread.

I've never met anyone who didn't find it interesting. I routinely tell foreigners who are going to be in So. Cal or Vegas to visit, and it's almost always their favorite site in America. It's just weird. You can do odd things like climb sand dunes and walk on a lake of dried salt. Scramble up a canyon full of strange rocks. Look at a clear nighttime sky. Be amazed at the temperatures, and the elevation changes. Take in the vistas. It's one of the most interesting deserts in the world, and one of the most unique places in the USA.

ukdweller

If you really want to see animals killing their prey then you won't find that in Disney as you rightly say. That side of things however makes me wince as I did in parts of Silence of the Lambs and some David Attenborough wildlife documentaries.

We obviously like different things and went with different safari operators! The term overrated was made in respect of Table Mountain and Cape Town in particular but I widened it to include animal spotting which is probably the main reason tourists visit S Africa.

I just don't think it lives up to the hype. The views from Wellington Mountain down onto Hobart Tasmania and the views from Christ the Redeemer and Sugarloaf in Rio de Janeiro look absolutely astonishing. This is not the sense I had from the top of Table Mountain.

UA Fan

Surprised to see Cape Town listed. The pictures seem so pretty. When I was there the weather was bad and hardly saw anything. The town seemed cute though.

GRALISTAIR

+1
+ waterfalls, beaches, volcanoes - so much to see. I have only been twice to Hawaii and will go again and again. Visited the 4 main islands on both occasions.