The first time I read about Jane Goodall in National
Geographic I wanted to go to Africa. I even became a flight attendant when I
was twenty-one so I could afford the trip, but I never got there during my
short career in the friendly skies. I put money away when I could, but the trip
never happened until the call became too great. Last year I decided that I
needed to go to Africa before it was too late – for me or the animals.
Bob and I just returned from a three-week trip to South
Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe. We booked a tour with Overseas
Adventure Travel, a company that caters to active Americans over 50 and were
joined by two old friends. We only had 14 people in our group. I highly
recommend OAT and if you decide to book a trip to one of their worldwide
destinations please use me as your referral (customer #001382737) and you’ll
get $100 off your trip. http://oattravel.com/
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| on one of our lion walks |
We landed in Johannesburg a few days early and spent that
time with a client who takes care of the animals at a lion preserve a few hours
north of ‘Joburg’. We got to walk in the bush with 7 lions that were less than
a year old. What naughty kids they were – running off, jumping up on people and
acting like all young kitties (don’t have anything dangling from your body).
They were boisterous but manageable. At night we were awakened by the roaring
of the older lions. That’s a sound you never forget. I also spent time there
communicating with the lions, leopards, serval, caracal, and tigers. It was a
great way to get our feet on the ground.
I wanted to go to Africa to see the animals, and animals we
saw. It was amazing how many critters roamed everywhere. We saw the big five
(lion, cape buffalo, elephant, leopard and rhino), sometimes four of them in a
day. In South Africa we encountered both white and black rhino, and even spent
some quiet time in the dark with three rhinos as the full blood moon rose over
the trees.
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| in the river in front of the first lodge |
Our first lodge was situated on the Crocodile River and
during lunch we watched elephants, Cape buffalo, antelopes and hippos along
with many species of birds. I was in heaven! At the next lodge a herd of
elephants ran trumpeting from the woods to the water hole a couple of hundred
yards in front of the camp. They drank and played and chased off the baboons.
One night a few wandered into camp and chewed up a lot of trees.
Many of our safaris were in national parks: Kruger, Hwange
and Chobe, and they reminded me of being in Yellowstone, only the animals were
different. When you saw cars pulled over everyone sped up to see what they were
watching. Once it was lions, another time a hyena, a leopard, and always there
were elephants.
In Zimbabwe we visited a school that is supported by OAT and
also went to a nearby village. These stops were more fascinating than I had
expected and by the end of our trip I found that the people and the countries
and the land were as important to me as the animals. It really is an amazing
continent.
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| typical home |
This is just the start of a series of blogs about our time
in Africa and the places, people and animals we met. I hope you enjoy them and
that soon you will experience the wonder of Africa for yourself.
