South Africa (2005)

After getting fully infected with the travel bug, I set the lofty goal of seeing six of the seven continents before my 25^th birthday… I was leaving Antarctica for my 40^th birthday.   By my twenty fourth birthday, I had only Africa left on my list.  And realizing that going to Africa was probably out of the budget (both monetary and time-wise) for most friends my age, I made the best decision ever and asked my mom if she wanted to join me!  We signed up for a three week tour of South Africa, Swaziland and Zambia, got all of our necessary shots and were on our way.

Just a quick 30+ hour flight later and we officially landed in Cape Town, South Africa, more than a little jet-lagged and fully experiencing the “oh fuck” factor of being in a completely different and new place.  And it was on our first night in town, as my mom tried to call my dad from the hotel room, that I was informed that this trip would be the longest amount of time she had ever been away from my dad since they started dating in high school.  This statement clearly stuck with me throughout the rest of the trip and might have been why there were more than a few occasions where I thought to myself… “Dad is going to kill me if mom dies”.

Come to find out, in Africa, there are more than a few ways to experience that fear… The first time was on the river cruise in hippo infested waters (they are the most deadly animals in Africa) and the second time was crossing into Zimbabwe to see the other side of Victoria Falls (it was and still is on the no travel list and we had to pass at least 16 heavily armed officials in army gear to reach our destination.)  And it definitely crossed my mind at least a dozen other times including the river cruise where a puff adder tried to swim on board, walking through a grassy knoll on the edge of a forest where I was positive lions lived and even walking past the leopards cage while wine tasting in Stellenbosch.

Other than the irrational fear of my mom dying (and me somehow not) the trip was an incredible experience.  The countries visited were beautiful and the landscapes changed drastically each day.  In addition, it opened my eyes to things outside of my comfort zone.  I still vividly remember leaving a small village in tears after taking a picture of a family (at their request) only to have the father demand money from me for said picture.  I was dumbfounded on how to react and saddened that I accidentally committed a travelling snafu.  

Other highlights of the trip included:

Cape Town on the First Day

Checking out the penguins... the "raccoons" of South Africa

The views from Table Mountain

Wine Tasting in Stellenbosch

If given the chance, you have to ride an ostrich

Oysters in Knysna

Saying goodbye in Swaziland

Off on safari in Kruger National Park

River cruise... in hippo infested waters

Victoria Falls from Zambia

Victoria Falls from Zimbabwe

We flew home after the three weeks feeling a little more aware, a little more in awe and a little more humbled by the experience. My dad picked us up at the airport and it turns out he too had undergone a life changing experience in our absence, albeit a more physical change…he shaved off his mustache, one that he had had since I was born.