This is how I got to Africa. My friend, Elaine, called me one afternoon. She had just gotten a brochure from OAT. "They have a great trip to Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa! I showed it to John (her husband) and he said, "Why don't you ask MaryJo??"
Of course, I said yes! Elaine and I had already traveled together on a baseball tour (we are both big fans) and I knew it would be perfect. We would be there in winter here, which is summer there, as we were traveling to the Southern Hemisphere. We booked the flight so we would have a lay over in Manhattan. Elaine had gotten tickets to "The Lion King" on Broadway. Very fitting, we thought. There was the complication of being in the snow in Manhattan and the heat in Zimbabwe, but we brought hats and scarves to be abandoned at the airport. The show was impressive and we were ready to get on the plane the next day.
As we started to land, I felt a thrill as I looked out the window -- I was flying over Africa! About to land! The tour itinerary was mostly in the jungles, staying in National Parks and going out everyday to try to see the big Five: lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino. I never saw a rhino or a leopard in the wild, but saw plenty of other animals -- wildebeests, hippos, giraffe and zebra.
I had started to work in sound effects recording by then and wished I'd brought some kind of recorder. One night in Botswana, we were in the furthest tent from the camp and the nightly activity sounded amazing! Lions, hyenas and some poor animal (maybe) getting caught -- crazy...
Another night the group went out in 2 jeeps to possibly see the nocturnal activity in the park. The jeeps at the camps were not all that reliable and would break down on a regular basis. We got stuck in the middle of nowhere and we all got out to push to jump start the engine. The third time this happened, as we all jumped out, lightening hit. I glanced over and saw a herd of impala watching us, as if to say, "What a bunch of idiots!" It was decided to head back to camp. The engine almost died a few more times, but the driver got us back just as the rain started to pour. Elaine and I headed straight for the bar, still soaking wet, to fortify our nerves, Elaine with a beer and me with a tall glass of Amarula, a strawberry flavored liqueur also known as "elephant juice.
The group was somewhat the same as the trip to India. Mostly older people who wanted comfort. (One morning, in the middle of the jungle, a woman remarked, "I guess I'll never get a soft boiled egg....")
We ended the trip with a extended stay in Cape Town. More on Africa next time.
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