Botswana: An African Adventure - in my Mind's Eyes
September 2010 - Trip Report
A client's trip report, by Ty Wims

 

Africa beckoned us open a grand portal to its kaleidoscope of many natural treasures. My return to the continent of my ancestors, 15 years since travelling in Kenya, filled me with overflowing joy and anticipation.  It also marked an important milestone in my life.  As I turned 60 years young during this long awaited dream adventure, celebrating it in this special place in time made me feel less the mental and physical uneasiness of reaching this momentous age plateau.  I instead felt blessed to be in the good company of familiar fellow travelers who like me enjoyed experiencing the gift of life wrapped in nature.  Together we enthusiastically embraced each step of our African naturalist journey, from the beautiful gardens of Cape Town and thrill of whales in Hermanus, to the daily wildlife drama of the mobile safari in Botswana and the breathtaking majesty of Victoria Falls in Zambia.  As I now reflect back on those singular moments, they become a panorama of many illustrious life memories.  For each second in time we set aside to cherish such special destinations with friends in nature, we become forever part of the harmonious cycle of unfolding events that attracts us to and bonds us in the experience of such magical moments.  The upcoming three weeks for me would be a record amount of time spent through the looking glass in any wonderland of nature travel.

So many shared memories of this time in Africa now seem partially submerged in a humbling haze of mixed feelings and jumbled recollections.  The prevailing state of mental clarity of experience however remains quite sharp.  Whenever I am able to capture some quiet time back in this reality of home bound responsibilities, these dream like memories flood my consciousness and I’m once again basking in the warmth of this land of natural splendor and cultural diversity.  During these moments of mental déjà vu, volumes could be written in detail of these happy days.  I have concluded however that the purpose of this piece would instead focus more on some of the trip highlights and impressions in my mind’s eye.  So, like a prospector discovering buried treasure, my mental gaze now fix focused on the larger golden nuggets of this adventure in African paradise.

Cape Town, South Africa served as the much anticipated first course in a visual banquet of delightful sights in a place of bountiful beauty and cultural heritage.  Bruce Terlein, our dutiful tour guide for this pre-safari portion of our stay, offered warm greetings upon our airport arrival.  After a 15 hour plus flight over a great travel expanse, it was great to be free of the confined plane cabin and regain my land legs.  I still however pondered how a commercial jet could fly so fast and yet take so long to get from point A to B.  The days ahead would prove this prolonged air voyage well worth the restless flight ordeal.  The mere thought of being on the verge of starting this unfolding African Odyssey of nature filled me with exhilaration.  It definitely made me one happy Philly Cheshire cat with plenty reasons to smile.  :-)

My first pleasant impression of this population center was discovering the extent of the cultural diversity.  People from many ethnic backgrounds encompassed the social texture of this bustling city.  This pulsating cultural spectrum of life intermingled in every fiber of the Cape Town area.  It was soon evident that as with the people, the exotic flora encountered came in all shapes and colors as well.  The combination of strolling through finely designed gardens of indigenous flora and hiking a fine selection of eye opening trails created an ever increasing appetite for more African adventure.  There was of course a rainbow of bird diversity all about with their mellifluous songs.  Admittedly not your typical bird enthusiast, this was enough to keep the binoculars of the avid birders happily transfixed on our fine feathered friends.  I was content with peering mostly through my camera lens at the many wonders before my eyes.

Anxiously we sojourned towards our next destination, the sunny seaside town of Hermanus.  This change of scenery was a nice shift in our travel gears, although obviously a more tourist trendy locale with its many shops and restaurants.  The breathtaking ocean view more than made up for the feeling of being amongst the typical vacation crowd.  Even so, as I watched the Right Whales offering a whale of a welcome with their playful water spouts, I knew this too was a special place.  The area’s wealth of indigenous flora was well represented by concentrations of fine fynbos.  Other priceless memories worthy of noting include my birthday dinner celebration and a surprising “happy birthday” rendition played earlier at lunch; the illusive  martinis; the delicious variety of menu selections as we ate our way along; trying to calculate everyone’s contribution to the dinner tab after a marathon day of adventure and glasses of wine; the three bobble head Ostriches as they relentlessly searched for food at one of our stops; the heart pumping aerobics exercise of hiking up to the lighthouse with fantastic views of the Cape of Good Hope; creatively finding sufficient trail cover for imminently urgent pit stops; and observing the interesting emergence of group dynamics as we strived to maintain a common experience focus despite a variety of  personalities and individual trip expectations; the stealthy shenanigans attributed to a band of mischievous Ninja Baboons?  Were they correctly accused or innocent bystanders in the case of the missing camera backpack?  Their assumed guilt was the theory, though even in the animal kingdom I have concluded them innocent until proven guilty. 

With the sun setting on our time in South Africa, we awaken before the crack of dawn. Like a flock of wayward birds we made our way to the airport with next stop the mobile safari in Botswana.  Upon debarking in Kisane, the veil of heat and humidity was a sudden shift from the much cooler south.  Also warm was the welcome from Ewan Maason, our ebullient safari leader and the very able Mr. Fish.  I was made to feel particularly welcomed by the greeting from Mr. Fish, with the most unforgettable handshake.  It would appear that I was the only recipient of this special welcome from our group.  Then again I could be wrong.  Reaching out and grasping my hand, he touched the inside of his right elbow with the index and middle fingers of his left hand.  He also moved his shaking hand in a manner resembling the “Black Power” handshake common in the 60s.  I vaguely remembered reading somewhere about Africa being the origins of this expression of cultural pride signifying brotherhood and solidarity.  This warm greeting was repeated by each of the native staff upon arrival at camp.  It gave me a feeling of home with kindred brothers.  I was indeed home on the African range, where the Impala and the Sable Antelope played.  Where seldom was heard a discouraging word, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

Our immersion into the wild seemed almost immediate.  One moment our bags were quickly loaded into the open air vehicles and the next we found ourselves on the yellow brick safari road.  The living menagerie of animals was all around us, giraffes on the right and wart hogs to the left.  Termite domes marked the surrounding surface as far as the eye could see.  Like Dorothy over the rainbow, this wasn’t Kansas anymore.  It was day one of nine in this love affair with nature and our animal neighbors.  In this wondrous place the leaping leopards proved that not just birds and monkeys hung out in trees.

Rising daily before the light of day graced us with new visual treasures, I tried to convince myself this was all not just a dream.  Foretold that the animal activity at this time of day would be most ideal, I struggled to clear the cob webs from my slowly awakening brain.  The thought often crossed my mind questioning my rising so early on vacation.  Was it worth this premature interruption of my slumber?  The answer was always a resounding yes.  So too was that the answer as the hours approached sunset and my eyelids began to weigh ever heavier.  To try to list all of these unforgettable safari moments would be like trying to count the stars on a clear night sky around a warm campfire.  Yet they still twinkle in my reflections though unlike stars they remain very near.  These fond memories shall reside indelibly to cherish always; the joy of a seeing a proud lioness with her jubilant cub; the wild dogs resting in the shade on a hot afternoon; the waterhole with its vast diversity of visitors; the lone wildebeest strutting cautiously and surprisingly safely amongst a pride of lions; lively leopards chasing squirrels almost playfully up and down a tree and those just lounging contently on a branch; mammoth elephants finding relief in the wetness of the cooling mud baths; Hippos snuggled so closely to resemble a mammal island of rock-like forms; the Crocodiles stealthily submerged awaiting some unsuspecting prey.  This list goes on and on like that constantly moving Energizer Bunny character.  The reflections of my time on safari are forever energized with endless charged memories.  Recalling each detail no doubt will be an ongoing exercise in time not limited to these few pages.  They would provide continued food for thought as my resulting flow of words are captured in future creative expression.

Next stop on this continuing African excursion was Zambia.  Admittance into this land of Victoria Falls was far less a hassle than anticipated.  Except for being bombarded by the usual vendors at the river crossing, we enjoyed the leisure of the shuttle bus as our driver/intermediary proceeded to have our passports stamped.  Although this was just a short extension in our journey, I embraced this final destination with much enthusiasm as we arrived in historic Livingston.  Stopping at the lodging just long enough to check in and catch our collective breaths we were off to infamous Victoria Falls.  Like most visitors I had my own preconceptions of these colossal falls that fell a little short of reality.  They were quite impressive but I had envisioned something much more spectacular and towering in height.  It was like the time I visited Mt Rushmore.  From all of the photos and movie footage I thought it too would be much more awe inspiring.

Even though my expectations were not totally realized, Victoria Falls presented a grand spectacle nonetheless.  The winding trails allowed for various different remarkable views of the falls.  The heat and humidity was unexpected as we walked under the searing sun.  It was reminiscent of a more arid area.  It was definitely a good time to have plenty of water on hand.  As the sun started its decent on the end of another day in Africa, Victoria Falls took on many different warm hues.  In the contrasts of these slowly changing colors in this place and moment in time, all of my unmet preconceptions melted into intense satisfaction.  Another striking travel bookmark was thankfully placed in my book of memories.  As we motored along the Zambezi River the next morning, it was the perfect final punctuation to a trip well planned and thoroughly enjoyed.

I now wonder with concern about the future conservation of those precious islands of nature that spanned our glorious African adventure, the flora and the fauna.  This concern also extends to the well being of the native population of many colors and ethnic backgrounds who call this area of the world home.  As the spectrum of tourism continues to radiate welcome to all visitors, I wonder about its overall continued impact on the natural condition of these special places.  While being an economic boost to these countries with many social challenges, will tourism jeopardize the quality of conservation or preservation?  l also question to what extent the native population have had the sufficient opportunity to avail themselves of these natural locations that attract so many foreign tourists.  In reflection I cannot help but question if the mass of humanity still relegated to the Cape Town shanty towns ever go on safari, enjoy the many beautiful gardens or otherwise benefit from experiencing nature in their own country.  There may in fact be clear answers to my questions.  Will such answers provide hope for the future of maintaining these fragile ecosystems in the face of the increased demands of tourism?  Will appropriate efforts be taken to encourage inclusion of both the native population with the benefits of the fruits of nature as well as foreign visitors?  Only time will tell if the current conservation efforts will continue and expand as the demands of tourism grow.  Hopefully in time those like the shanty town dwellers will also become participating share holders of this African legacy of nature.

One reflection remains for the final brush strokes of my painting of colorful memories.  The celebration of my 60 years on this earthly domain marked an important milestone.  Now reached, it can still be thoroughly appreciated as a meaningful life milestone with more hopefully to come.  To have shared it with close comrades in nature on an invigorating African canvas was the icing on my birthday cupcake.  I must admit in my adolescence thinking anyone 60 was holding the short straw of rich new life experiences, and expectations.  I now realize that age is truly just a number.  One just needs to continue to take care of their health, as I have from an early age and engage in purposeful endeavors that enrich the soul.  Then maintaining a youthful perspective and energy is usually the result.  For me it also helps that I was the youngest sibling of five.  Constantly hearing you’re too young to do this or that engrained that youthful mindset in my psyche that has endured even as I approach retirement.  My half century milestone passed by without any special celebration as I helped tend to my father’s failing health needs and still mourned the passing of my mother two years earlier.  As a result, I was optimistically determined to do something spectacular for my 60th.  Thanks to my dear Peg Abbott the trip to Africa presented itself as the ideal destination for such a grand celebration.  It also fulfilled my dream of returning to the continent where grows a branch from my ancestral tree.  I may have been credited with providing the inspiration behind making this adventure blossom into reality.  It would never have happened without Peg’s signature hard work and planning with the assistance of her dedicated staff.  For this sincere effort and continued dedication to bringing the earth’s special places to all, I am very thankful.  I am forever indebted to Peg’s love for what she does and bringing joy to all who call her friend.

I could write volumes to express my cherished memories of Africa but that would be beyond the purpose of these reflections in my mind’s eye.  Memories of South Africa, Botswana, and Zambia still radiate in my daily thoughts.  I like to believe that we are never too far from the nature in the places we visit, even as we scamper along our urban sidewalk trails.  In nature we first walked on earth and in nature we return before that spiritual adventure yet to come.  For now I will remember the animals, yes and the birds too, as well as the abundant flora.  From these memories may spring future reflections in word.  I am certain that there will be more adventures ahead to reflect upon.  None, however, will touch my soul as much as the ones in mother Africa.

 

Photo Credits
All photos by Peg Abbott.

 

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