US
35-50 years of age
Botswana was beautiful, wild, warm and true
Camping our way through several Botswanan and Zimbabwean parks was one of the most transformative journeys I have ever made. (And I have traveled). The land has a sense of immensity that is humbling and awe-inspiring. The camping was very basic, with no modern amenities or fences, so the feeling of being in the wild, versus watching a performance of the wild, was complete. The guide was truly learned and local: A dedicated naturalist not a tour guide. And the camp hands were amazing. Warm, knowledgeable, friendly, and excellent cooks given one pot and a fire. The wildlife. What can you say? I was perpetually transfixed, even when rooted to the spot with terror (a face-off with a Bull elephant and hyenas raiding the cool box in our truck come to mind). The cats (the big drawcard for me) were astounding. Many lions, a close-up with a leopard in a tree above us, and a dusk sighting of two cooperating cheetahs hunting. At night we saw a serval, so incredibly hard to spot and very high on my list. Crossing into Victoria Falls was wonderful: despite the woes of its country, a town and a people so warm, funny, smart and welcoming. And I was surprised by the quality of the wildlife there, too (as well as the white water rafting and nightlife). Botswana and Zimbabwe are countries that will sear images onto your retina and memories into your mind, and and these things conspire over the years to produce a kind of soul-magic not easily found in other places. They call you back to Africa.
