An American’s Perspective
There is no doubt that a trip through the vast expanses of Africa is the trip of a lifetime. The exception is my wife, who returned for a second visit last May to share her excitement with me.
The truth is, an African safari was never on my bucket list. But when I sensed the exhilaration and saw the photographs Susan brought back from her excursion with my son, the long plane flight and the rustic accommodations were no longer an insurmountable challenge.
Our adventure was broken into four separate, equally thrilling segments. We started off at a private game lodge in South Africa, made our way to the inspirational grandeur of Victoria Falls that forms the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, then to the stark remoteness of raised tents in the Okavango Delta in Botswana, and finally across the continent to Tanzania where we traversed the Serengeti and spent a remarkable day in the Ngorongoro Crater.
Elephant Plains
The 21 hours of flying – including the last 40 minutes on a small single-engine prop aircraft – all seemed like a small price to pay after our first day on our bush tour with Dawie Jacobs at the Elephant Plains Lodge in the Kruger portion of northeast South Africa.
Our four-day stay at Elephant Plains included game drives in the early morning (wake-up at 5:30am) and an evening drive that returned after dark. On our first afternoon we were treated to an hour observing a pride of 13 lions and the sighting of a rare African pangolin, an animal that looked like a cross between an armadillo and an artichoke.
Our first morning ride set the bar extremely high. Dawie spotted a leopard in search of her next meal. We watched as she crept through the tall brush….then bounced on a small duiker, a tiny member of the antelope family. The leopard made the dash and all we could hear was a faint yip.
When we caught up to the leopard, she had her breakfast pinned with one paw. The end did not come quickly but, surprisingly, it was not bloody. The leopard began her meal while the duiker was still struggling to escape.
Later that same day we watched as two lions performed their mating ritual. The courtship took almost a half an hour. When the mating finally took place, it happened literally below the passenger door of our vehicle. The actual mating took only about three-and-one-half seconds. We were fascinated to learn that big cats often mate 50 times per day when they are in season.
Within our first 48 hours in the brush, we had up close and personal experiences with each member of the “Big Five” (lion, elephant, rhino, leopard and the Cape buffalo). Dawie told us we were “incredible lucky.” But I think we were just lucky to have him at the wheel of our Land Cruiser.
The next day we watched an emotional reunion between a leopard and her cub. But the highlight for my wife was on the third morning when we left two leopards mating to discover wild dogs feasting on an impala. Dawie was shrewd enough to place our vehicle on the shore of a watering hole where the dogs came to play after they finished devouring the impala.
Dawie was not only a wonderful ranger, but an incredible photographer as you can see from some of the photos printed with this article.
Deep in the Delta
From South Africa we spent a day at Victoria Falls. Then traveled by car, ferry boat and tiny airplane to the Oddfellows Camp deep in the Okavango Delta. Instead of Land Cruisers, our twice-daily game drives were on dugout canoes known as a makoro. Our four nights in Botswana were highlighted by a close encounter with a raging hippo who rumbled through our camp about 12 yards from where we were having dinner.
The tents were fun, but the real adventure came watching and listening for animals while using the outdoor toilet and bucket shower.
From our makoro and hikes on adjacent islands, we came face to face with a 65-year-old bull elephant and several hippos who were not thrilled to see us intrude on their solitude. We saw herds of wildebeest in fields guarded by impala and zebra who roamed the perimeter. The most frightening incident of our stay took place one afternoon when Susan was confronted by a cobra. The snake raised its head, but thankfully slipped back into the brush as my wife calmly stepped backward and beyond the range of his fangs.
From the rustic raised tents in the delta, we flew across the vast African continent to Tanzania. Our adventure in the Serengeti took us to three separate lodges, each with their own unique splendor. We were treated to breathtaking views of Lake Manyara and the white-linen opulence of the Kirawira tented camp. Our wake-up call in the morning at the luxury camp was a charming room steward wearing white gloves when he brought coffee and pastry to our veranda on a silver tray.
It was on the six-hour drive across the Serengeti that we were privileged to witness a partial migration of wildebeest. The sight of the large animals rumbling in front of our vehicle for as far as the eye could see was truly inspirational. The Serengeti is also the only place in the world where you can see lions that climb trees. At one point, we watched a female sitting majestically on a branch while 12 lions from her pack hung from the limbs of a nearby tree.
Garden of Eden
Our final stop was at a lodge perched on the edge of the Ngorongoro Crater, close to where the first proof of humans were discovered. It’s easy to believe that this is where the Garden of Eden once might have existed. Inside the steep walls of the crater were several distinct ecosystems, ranging from a lake populated with pink flamingos to desert terrain where animals lived without any natural predators.
There is so much more to reflect from our African adventure. But it is important to emphasize, like all vacations, the best part was the people we met. That began with Dawie and the staff at Elephant Plains, to our guide Rep who pushed our makoro through the shallow waters of the delta with his long pole, to Amos who drove us for six days in Tanzania and shared the traditions of his native people, the Maasai.
Unfortunately, space limitations do not allow me the opportunity to mention the giraffes that pose for photos or the thousands of mischievous baboons who entertained us for hours at a time.
An African safari is truly the vacation of a lifetime. If it’s not on your bucket list, it should be.
