RTW ’23: On Safari

After a trying first week in Africa, I craved the adventure of the great outdoors. I’ve always felt at peace in nature, connected to the earth and all of the creatures that thrive in the vastness of the wilderness. When I was a young mother, I used to take my children camping. I’d find somewhere new to explore, pack some snacks and campfire food, and take them on a grand adventure. Some people would look at me like I was crazy– after all, wouldn’t a vacation at a resort be a better way to relax? Why on earth would a single woman want to pack up essentials, set up a tent, cook over a campfire, and tote kids through the wilderness on her down time? But that’s where I felt safest; most at peace. That’s where I felt like the most authentic version of myself: feet firmly planted on the earth, exploring the outdoors with my kids. Life on safari feels very much like returning to a familiar place– a place I’ve called home many, many times before. There’s a vastness on the road to safari that I really connected with. We spent a lot of time driving from one place to another, stopping along the way to embrace the nature around us and camping in between destinations. Our adventure van filled with people from all walks of life quickly became a little family, and I immediately rested in my role amongst the members. I knew, very early on, that I was beginning a beautiful new chapter of my journey, traveling down the road with a new family, safe in the nestle of Mother Nature and our tour guide, Mama Siama.

As documented in my last post, it took a lot of time, patience, and a multitude of plan changes to make the safari happen– but once it began, it was well worth it! Being able to see different places every day and sleep under the stars is my happy place! Once I met everyone on the tour, I knew that I’d fit right in with the group. We all have different stories, backgrounds, and reasons for doing the trip, but our common thread of yearning for adventure tied us all together quite nicely. The group consists of seven travelers and three guides. Mama Siama, the tour guide leader, is a strong woman with a warm laugh and generous heart. After the first introduction, I knew that I was in good hands and I could sit back, relax and soak up all that Africa has to offer. I was so ready to let the adventure begin! There’s another traveler– a German guy, solo– who doesn’t speak any English. He knows that none of us understand what he’s saying, but he talks away, anyway! It doesn’t bother him a bit. It’s fascinating to me how people try to connect with others in whatever way they can, language barrier and all. I’ve come to enjoy his monologues– his heart pours through his words. Shortly into the trip, we realized we do, in fact, share a common language: rock and roll, and the blues! Connecting through music has been such a treat. There’s something truly beautiful about allowing the beat to bring people together. Mama Siama is so knowledgeable about our route and knows exactly where to stop for the best scenic view and photo opportunities. Another traveler, Sue, a Korean woman, is great at setting up poses and taking pictures. She really has an eye for the perfect shot! Thanks to her, I captured some really wonderful moments during our travels, like the road photos below!

I knew that, while on safari, I would get the opportunity to see wildlife roaming free in their natural habitats. What didn’t come to the forefront of my mind, however, was just how much time I would get to spend outside, exploring mother nature and experiencing various habitats first hand. During one of our outings, we explored a canyon. The majestic awe of standing at the edge of it was incredible! I always feel closer to God in sacred places like that, and my soul feels renewed. Exploring such a breathtaking place with my new family was an added bonus– I felt surrounded by love and support, and we all got to experience it together. By day 5 of being on safari, all of us really felt like family. Siama is such a great leader, and her knowledge of her country is incredible. As an added bonus, she has an eagle eye for wildlife, so we’ve been able to spot animals that we, otherwise, would have missed. From inside the truck, we have windows all around. She stands up in the truck and finds all of the animals before any of us can! There is an open window at the front of the van, so she tells the driver, Denise, when to stop. My favorite animal so far is the Springbok. There was a group of about 10-12 of them jumping all over the small bushes. They looked like such a playful bunch! We weren’t close enough for my iPhone camera to be able to take any decent pictures, but they are engraved into my memory. I’ve been able to get a few shots of the animals that are closer up, shared below.

Traveling in the safari bus has been an interesting way to get around. Siama lets us know at the beginning of the day what to expect on the roads we travel, which is a huge bonus. She calls the experience on tar roads “African massages”– meaning we can expect a bumpy ride. There are twenty seats on the truck; five rows with two seats at the window side and two seats on the opposite side. Since we only have ten people in the van (seven travelers, three guides), we have plenty of space to spread out in the truck and get a good view of our travels. We rotate seats each day, counterclockwise, to give all of us the chance for the best African massage! We all wear our seatbelts, just in case, but the bumps haven’t been all that bad to me! I’m so focused on the whole experience, and seeing all of the scenery out of the windows, that the bumpy ride doesn’t bother me… yet. I’m so grateful to travel this way– seeing the towns and townships– all outside of my window as I pass by. There’s a novelty traveling from town to town and taking in all of the differences as we move along. Seeing Africa through this lens has been a truly remarkable experience! One moment, it’s vast and wild and free, and the next, there’s a small town, often impoverished. During one of our lunch stops, there were some boys sitting on the side of the road, waving as we approached. As we were eating, the boys found our area and sat on the other side of the fenced-in rest area. Siama mentioned that the owner of the establishment does help out the local community as much as possible. She told us that, although tempting, it would not be good for us to offer them food because they would then expect everyone to feed them, setting up an unreliable dependency. It was difficult to see, but I had to trust her judgement and local knowledge. Trusting the process is an important part of traveling somewhere new, and relying on the guidance of a trusted local is crucial.

Africa is different from anywhere else in the world. The animals that I’ve only seen in zoos are roaming around freely, and there is a harshness to the land. It’s clear that it’s not easy to survive, here. The sun is hot and there’s very little shade. When we do see animals in the afternoon, they are all under a shade tree or near water. The plants are a muted color– different shades of brown and beige. My skin and lips are consistently very dry from the environmental conditions, and chapstick is hard to come by in any of the stores we’ve stopped at. I mentioned the discomfort of my chapped lips to Siama, and she recommended vaseline, which I thankfully eventually found a few stops later. Regardless of the environmental conditions, being a part of our safari tribe feels so good. Many times, while we are driving along, there are no other cars or vehicles on the road. We can drive for hours and see, maybe, one car or truck along our route. Though we are removed from civilization during a lot of our journey, we have one another, and we function very much like any family unit would. During one of our stops, we built stone cairns, marking that we were there. It was so much fun to build our own little landmarks, stamping our existence in a place, together.

One extremely memorable stop during the week was my time in the sand dunes. I started in Dune 45, one that was easy to tackle, and felt really good afterwards. So, I decided to take on “Big Daddy”. Matthew, a fellow safarian, took off to get to the top, and I was the only other one in the group who wanted to try it, so Siama and I hiked up while the rest of the group took the path to the Deadvlei (dead valley). I loved walking with Siama, following in the footprints she made in the sand. It was easier to follow in her steps than it was to make fresh prints in the sand. We stopped periodically to rest, drink water, look at insects, and see where the group was on the path below us. As we assented, she said I’d be able to see Deadvlei from above. As it came into view, we stopped and stood at the rim of the dune. We saw how far ahead Matthew was– he was running at the bottom of the dune to get to a shorter path to the top. Once we saw our group made it to Deadvlei, and I felt really good about myself for hiking a good part of Big Daddy, I was ready to join back in with the group so Siama and I descended down the dune. It was getting rather hot in the face of the sun, though if I dug down a few inches in the sand, it felt cooler to the touch. About half way down, someone shouted up to me to roll down the dune, so that’s exactly what I did! I felt like a little kid, rolling through the sand and succumbing to the free-fall of the tumble. It was blissful– magical, really– until I rolled sideways and the dizziness started to sink in. So, I stood up, with a smile on my face, and walked down the rest of the way. That evening, a local bushman, Franz, drove us around his land on an open truck with bench seats to give us a sunset tour. He was so entertaining with his stories about his tribe, and his knowledge of plants and animals in the desert was unmatched. We arrived at the perfect viewing area just as the sun was setting. Far as the eye could see, it was open and wild. It was a breathtaking way to end a phenomenal day on safari!

On Monday, we took a break from tent camping and enjoyed a stay in a guesthouse. It was vastly different from camping outdoors, but it was nice to have such lovely accommodations! I enjoyed the convenience of being inside to take a shower and sleep in a real bed, and getting laundry done was an added bonus. But, wild Africa will call me back in a few days! That evening, we went out to eat at a restaurant called Neapolitan, which used to be an Italian restaurant that the new owners maintained the name of. I ordered the Game Loin (Kudu meat) and veggies, which was recommended over oryx or springbok. It tasted like beef– the steak was boneless, ordered medium, and cooked just right. Afterwards, a local singing group came around to all of the tables and sang a few songs. One of the female singers held out her hand for me to dance, and I, of course, accepted the invitation. I did my best to follow her steps, but I was just enjoying the moment. It was such a fun night out with our camp family in a new town!

I ended the RTW week in my favorite place: on the water! I scheduled an expedition to kayak with the seals, and it was so much more than I could have ever imagined! The tour guide, Neil, picked me up at the guesthouse. I was the only one from our group who wanted to go, so after he picked me up, he picked up a different group of eight travelers from Sweden. We drove to Walvis Bay– the same area where I went out to dinner with the Captain and Chief Officer of Blue Master II just weeks before. The first leg of the trip was a boat ride out to Pelican Point on an open bow boat with two outboards where we rode right by the ship docks. I looked, but Blue Master II wasn’t there. I sat in the front of the boat and enjoyed the ride, watching the water and enjoying the sway of the waves. I spoke to the Swedish group here and there, but the language barrier precluded extensive conversation. We were barely out of the harbor when a seal visited the boat– he hopped right onto the stern and posed for pictures! It was surreal! As we got closer to the sandbar at the edge of the harbor, I could see black areas on the sand. As we got closer, I realized that the black areas were actually thousands of seals on the shore and in the water! As we got even closer, I started to hear them. They sounded just like sheep! They were calling to each other, slapping their fins, and jumping every which way. The boat pulled up to a floating dock that housed the kayaks, complete with a small bathroom, picnic tables, and plenty of gear. The seals were already waiting for us on the kayak launch pad! I asked Neil if there were any sharks around given the amount of seals, and he assured me there weren’t. So, upwards and onwards! We got our paddles and life jackets, then got into our kayaks, surrounded by seals on the dock.

We wanted seals, and that is exactly what we got: seals everywhere! I could even feel them bumping underneath my kayak as I paddled along. They were such a social bunch– tame, even. On the same sandbar, flamingos wandered about, a safe distance from the seals. It was such an interesting pairing: boisterous seals and skittish birds sharing the same land mass. Every so often, the birds would take flight to put more distance between themselves and the seals. The seals have features and sounds from so many other recognizable creatures. They sound like sheep, have cute little ears like prairie dogs, boast sharp canine teeth like a dog, don long whiskers like cats, and feature front fins that pop out of the water like dolphins. They smell like low tide– a fishy, foul odor– play like school boys at recess, and have two back “legs” that they can almost stand up with on land. I noticed some of the seals on the shore had a light coloring of grey fur. Neil told me, laer, that their fur looks lighter in color after it dries when they’re on the shore, but in the water, it looks darker. It was a little intimidating at first to paddle into a barking pod of seals, but I did it, and even had a few smaller ones jump over the front of my kayak! After about an hour of paddling with the seals, Neil started paddling back towards the boat, so the Swedish group and I followed suit. A strong headwind came in and it was a good workout to get back, paddling against the swell and wind. I was happy that I wasn’t the last one to arrive back at the dock! We had snacks and drinks, and then boarded the boat for the ride back to the harbor. It was a nice change to be on the water, soaking in the sea air again. It’s certainly another place where I feel at home, and a welcomed break from the blistering dry heat!

The first full week on safari was filled with adventure, awe, excitement, and an immense amount of gratitude for landing exactly where I needed to be. Leaning in and trusting in “the plan”, even when it changed unpredictably, has turned out to work very much in my favor. It’s hard to believe that just over a week ago, I was distraught and frustrated… and now, I’m dancing in sand dunes and paddling with seals. I am thankful for every single moment that I get to enjoy the peace of the wilderness in Africa, and I am grateful for the new family tribe that I’ve been welcomed into. I’ve always loved the idea of blooming where you’re planted… but for now, I prefer to thrive, roots untethered, wherever the wind may bring me. Until next time, dear friends: stay safe, stay healthy, and always remember to make space for what brings you joy.

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If you have a favorite memory of a time that we’ve camped together, I’d love for you to share it in the comment section below! Reading through some of the memories I’ve made with loved ones is such a joy when I’m far from home. If we haven’t yet had the experience of camping together, please feel free to share any of your favorite camping memories!

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Africa– you can see a sunset and believe you have witnessed the Hand of God.
You watch the slope lope of a lioness and forget to breathe.
You marvel at the tripod of a giraffe bent to water.
In Africa, there are iridescent blues on the wings of birds that you do not see anywhere else in nature.
In Africa, in the midday heat, you can see blisters in the atmosphere.
When you are in Africa, you feel primordial, rocked in the cradle of the world.
-Jodi Picoult