The first time you see a zebra in the African wild, you shriek like (insert favorite celebrity here) just unexpectedly showed up at your party.
“Eek! It’s a Zebra!” you all begin shouting at once from the back of your safari van, which just entered the wildlife sanctuary. Actually, it’s never a single zebra, because they travel in herds. But it’s the first sign of the African adventure you’ve just begun.
After a few minutes, you get used to the zebras, who are usually munching away on the grasslands. And then you see the giraffes, which are impossibly tall and grazing the tops of nearby trees.
“Look, look! It’s a giraffe!” you all holler simultaneously. It’s just inconceivable that this creature you’ve only seen in a zoo could actually exist as a wild animal. The first time I ever saw a giraffe in Kenya, it was in the spring and a baby calf was contently nursing beneath it.
I was reminiscing about this the other day with my friend who was also on that first African safari I’d taken, when the kids were little and we chose to camp outdoors. I don’t actually remember why I decided we should go to Kenya back then, but it was definitely among the best decisions of my life.
We fell so in love with the Bhatt family, owners of the small Kenia Tours & Safaris company in Nairobi, (KeniaTours.com) that I sent everyone I met to them and also went back again on second safari a few years ago.
However, by the time you read this, I’ll be heading in a different direction. My friend and I bought a budget trip to South Africa from a tour company that specializes in being cheap. It achieves this by skipping the fancy tour guides, just offering airfare, hotels and transportation to your destination. (And in my case, then upselling me for extra tours we don’t need.) This is perfect for me because I don’t like getting dragged around on “If it’s Tuesday, this must be Belgium” package tours.
South Africa has always been on my bucket list, and now that I’m old as dirt, I’m checking those items off when I can. I can’t wait to see the African penguin colony near Cape Town, and also visit Robben Island, where the late Nelson Mandela was imprisoned as a political prisoner for decades before emerging and then becoming the president of South Africa.
We’ll also take a wildlife safari at Kruger National Park and I’m sure I’ll enjoy it, but now I’m all sophisticated and jaded, having seen most of these animals before. I say this now, of course, but I feel confident that I’ll be shrieking just as loudly when I’m there as I did the first time.
Nowadays, I don’t feel the same imperative that I once did to see absolutely everything along our path. Yeah, I can skip the snake museum and stay back at the luxury tent camp, getting a massage.
Everyone knows someone who absolutely must tromp through every conceivable sight on a significant trip, even if it means getting up before dawn and marching straight through the day without stopping.
When I was younger, I had the interest and the stamina to do this because I just didn’t want to risk missing a single attraction. Glue factory? Oh, I definitely can’t miss that. Cattle slaughterhouse? Sounds fascinating. Chanel store? Well, if they’ll let me in wearing my crappy clothes, sure, why not? Let’s just keep going until we collapse.
I’m no longer interested in enduring a forced march through anywhere. This isn’t “The Bridge On the River Kwai,” which is a great movie but nothing I want to live through.
Now, I just want to see interesting stuff, have a good time and drink wine. Or cocktails if decent wine is not available.
Fortunately, I already know I can do all of the above in South Africa. In fact, there’s an entire wine region near Cape Town, where we’ll be staying for three days. South African wine isn’t as good as ours, you understand. But there’s no such thing as a bad wine tasting, unless they run out.
My friend Laura and I are already planning on hitting a few wineries while we can.
And then there are the African penguins. Forget everything I just said about being jaded toward wildlife, because I love love love penguins. I only got to see one wild penguin in the Galapagos, but there’s an entire colony on a beach near Cape Town, and I’d happily spend all day there if I can. They’re facing extinction, sadly, due to several factors. When we were staying in a hostel near Denali National Park in Alaska, I met a woman who works with penguins in Tasmania. Who knew there were penguins in Tasmania? Well, you know where I want to go next, ha.
Oops, I’m out of room. I’ll keep you posted.