Africa 2016
1. Animals ( plentiful and varied...especially the birds)
2. Scenery (ever changing ....so beautiful....everyday I'm in my favorite place)
3. Vehicles (small planes -- think sardine cans in 100 degrees and cars/trucks.....ditto)
4. People ( genuinely caring and generous)
WOW WOW and WOW......there is no place like home but the camps we visited in Africa defy description.....all unique all special and all so different geographically .
Camp 1 in Namibia....desert and isolated ....very modern with clean lines .....reflected landscape so perfectly.......hard work to find #1 (giraffe/MT zebra) but you didn't mind because the landscape looked like the moon ....hot dry dusty....learning that the word game drive involves a LOT of time in #3....loved our guide ......really thought that the Skeleton coast was one of the most lonely beautiful and special places I have ever seen…..skeletons of whales and ships
Camp 2 Botswana ....lots of #1 which of coarse means LOTS of #3. Mainly zebra and wildebeest .....100 + degrees....no electricity which meant hot afternoons and nights. Very old school...reminded me of a Bedouin oasis camp.....lovely staff....pool that you were VERY grateful to see in the afternoon heat especially since it was the perfect spot to view #1. First evening we were away from camp when a HUGE sand storm hit ......very exciting watching it approach from far away then get caught up in the wind and sand....thought my tent was going to fly into the night......reminded me why I HATE camping...hiked with bushman
Camp 3 Botswana.....possibly the most beautiful location imaginable......even my well heeled traveling companions were impressed......lagoon.....Okavango delta....#1 elephants various types of antelope and colorful birds.....logged so many hours in #3 that I feel I'm on the verge of getting a compressed vertebrae ....canoes drifting by water lilie and papryus....Cleopatra comes to mind
Camp 4 Botswana..........delta but not on the water....room looks out on huge plain......game reserve home to 30K elephants...first day saw mom and baby leopard....Mathada Pride of 4 moms + 5 baby lions and 3 of the 5 males....so much of #1 here don't have to spend as long in #3......always a plus.....this is possibly THE best combination of Kona Village and upscale Swiss Family Robinson house.......everyone is dedicated to making everything perfect.....think they have accomplished their goal
Rainy morning on the hunt for rhino...so many beautiful birds/cranes/storks......had a extraordinary moment when we were standing on a wide open plain surrounded by so many animals of such variety .........a primordial paradise......hard to describe the magnitude of so much nature......heaven
Last day in the bush....hundreds of hippos a few crocs...gorgeous morning filled with mist .....elephants drifting through.......decided to pass on afternoon drive (bouncing along the endless dirt roads) and stay in camp to enjoy the sunset and a glass of wine.......did not expect to have a spitting black cobra fall from the sky and land next to my chair......perhaps it's time for my African adventure to come to a close .......head to Johannesburg today
This has truly been an unbelievable journey….I love Africa
