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The next few blog posts are going to be difficult because I don’t think I’ll ever be able to put this experience into words. With that said, I’ll do my best, but photos and words will never truly convey what it’s like to be in the heart of wild Africa.

I have a lot of goals and dreams, but since I was little, my biggest dream was to go to Africa. It was a tall order, because most African safaris were completely out of my reach (especially with the amount of photo gear I’d be taking). I wasn’t sure if I would ever make it there, but last year, something wonderful happened. Ben got offered to teach on a photo safari and asked if I wanted to go. I couldn’t believe it. (actually, it wasn’t until we were halfway over the Atlantic that it actually sunk in that I was going.) We would be traveling to Zimbabwe and Botswana with an incredible company called Journeys Unforgettable.

So on Nov. 29th, we got on a flight for Johannesburg, South Africa, which would serve as the beginning to the most amazing journey of my life. After about 24 hours of travel, we landed and were picked up by “Gordy” from Wilderness Safaris. Gordy was one of the most enthusiastic people I’ve ever met and, even though we were a bit disoriented from the travel, he went on and on about what an amazing time we were going to have. Mind you, at the same time he was gabbing away, he was also flying through narrow streets and busy intersections, during a rain storm, while seemingly never looking at the road. (and in South Africa, they drive on the “wrong” side of the road, which made the whole experience just a bit more crazy for us.) Finally, we arrived at the Melrose Arch hotel where we got cleaned up and went for dinner with the group of people we’d be traveling with for the next two weeks. There were a total of 14 people in the group, and they were all great.

The next morning, we all got on a flight bound for Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. After passing through customs, we boarded our bush planes (our group always traveled with several planes – one for our gear and a few for us) and headed to our first safari camp, Little Makalolo. Now, I want to make something clear. When you fly into these camps, you are in the WILD. There are no cars, telephone wires, people, or electricity (outside of generators and solar). Your miniscule plane lands on a dirt airstrip, lets you off, and takes off again. There are guides from your camp  to pick you up in some seriously bad-ass Land Rovers but you are literally IN THE BUSH. (You also just took a few steps down in the food chain)

Before leaving for this trip, I had anticipated seeing a lot of animals, but I had NO IDEA at just how many animals we’d be seeing. Before the plane hit the ground near our Zimbabwe camp, I could see elephants drinking out of a waterhole and I had probably seen at least 10 different species before we ever went on our first game drive. Little Makalolo was an adorable little camp that featured about seven “tents,” an open living room/common area and an open dining room. In the common area, there was a long table set up with power strips so everyone could work on their computers and charge batteries. The area was beautiful … leather couches, a plunge pool and a fully-stocked bar were just some of the amenities of this camp. To me, however, the view was what took the cake. You were literally about a football field away from a watering hole where plenty of animals would frequent, including elephants, sable, giraffe, zebra and buffalo, to name a few. “Little Mak” was located in the Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe and of all the camps we stayed at, this was the one to which the wildlife had the most access.

After we arrived at the camp, we had time to get settled, have a quick tea time, and head out for the first game drive of the safari. The whole thing was surreal for me. Not only were we seeing loads of animals, but we were getting CLOSE to them. Sometimes the elephants would be less than two yards from our Rovers. Same thing with the cats. Had I not been busy trying to get some great photographs, this might have made me a little nervous. Seeing these animals in their natural habitat is such an amazing thing, and the guides were so knowledgeable that they could almost predict their behavior. They could tell you that when the lions greet each other, they will touch foreheads before laying down, and they could tell by a giraffe’s posture whether they were looking at a predator or not. They could even look at the footprints on the sand and tell not only what kind of animal had passed by, but if they were walking, running, speeding up, or chasing something. Now, as if all this was not surreal enough, as the sun set, the vehicles stopped near a waterhole where elephants were drinking. They told us we could get out as long as we stayed close by. As we were taking in the scenery, they set up a table with snacks, wine, beer and other goodies, right there at the waterhole. This was our first “sundowner” and would be a nightly event during the trip.

The first night in camp was actually a little scary for me. Even though our “tents” were really closer to nice cabins, with queen beds and nice furniture, the walls were still technically canvas. That, alone, would not bother me. What WAS disconcerting, however, was the activity in the area. Not only did a guide spot leopard tracks right next to our tent, but from the moment we went to bed I heard animal noises outside… like two feet from our tent. And when I say animal noises, I don’t mean birds or rabbits. Whatever was outside our tent was BIG. I heard grunting, growling and branches breaking all night. The noises came from behind the tent, up the sides and then out in front, where I could see the large dark figures making their way to the water hole. At this point I was sitting up in bed, my heart racing, thinking to myself, “Well, Karen… you wanted to come to Africa. Here you are!”  It wasn’t until morning when we set off for our game drive that I could see the herd of about 300 buffalo next to the camp. The guides all assured me that when you were in your tent, you were completely safe, no matter what was outside. I was able to relax after that and started to actually enjoy all the wild sounds. (and now that we’re back in civilization, I miss them)

For the rest of the safari, our schedule would be the following. Wake up at 5:00 am, have a continental breakfast at 5:20, and then head out on the morning game drive before 6:00. We would be out exploring for nearly five hours before heading back to camp for brunch. The gang would then have an hour or two to load their images, take a nap, or just relax. Around 2:00, Ben would give a presentation on Adobe Lightroom and help folks work on their images. There would be a teatime around 3:00 and then we’d be off again, searching for animals and photographing until sunset. When we returned to camp, dinner would be ready in the dining room. (I also must say that the food was all to die for. All the dishes would be different every night and they always had a vegetarian option – yay!)

While we were at Little Makalolo, Zimbabwe was experiencing its dry season. The rainy season was about to start, so things were looking pretty darn dry. For the animals, the rains couldn’t come fast enough, but for us, it enabled us to see more wildlife than we normally would in that area. During the dry season, the animals are limited to a small number of watering holes. Many would have to travel far to get to them. Our guides just had to know where those water holes were and we were sure to see a steady stream of wildlife coming to drink and cool off. Once the rainy season starts, the animals will be much more dispersed since they’ll have many more options for getting water.

Though we saw dozens of different species at this first camp, the area was very much the land of the elephants. We saw more elephants than any other species, BY FAR. We would see herds of them at a time, making their way to and from the water holes. The babies particularly grabbed at my heart. They were just so cute and happy looking, and the way they would scamper behind their mamas was just the sweetest thing!

We would stay at Little Makalolo for four nights, before heading to our first camp in Botswana and those nights were an amazing introduction to Africa. I’m going to continue my story about this trip in the next two posts (one on each camp in Botswana) but for now, I’ll leave you with some more Zimbabwe photos….