For years, I’ve had a desire—a feeling that one day I would go to Africa.
All I know of the country and the continent I learned through the pages of National Geographic and the movies. In my dreams, my African adventure looked a lot like the movie Out of Africa with Meryl Streep and Robert Redford. Several months ago, thanks to my church and friends Marcia and Denny, I was presented with the opportunity to accompany them on their trip, and I took it.
WOW! That was the only word that came to mind. And I kept repeating it … wow, wow, wow! Perhaps it was jetlag resulting from the over 24 hours of travel required to get to the continent, but my mind was certainly mush. As we drove in our rental van away from the Windhoek airport to our final destination in Okahandja, I gave myself a little pinch. I was in Namibia, Africa for the first time.
The wild animal sightings began even before we exited the airport roundabout. A baboon was sitting on a fencepost. A baboon! He was not as interested in us as we were in him. He jumped down at the toot of the horn from the driver behind us. It almost looked like an expression of disdain washed over his face. I could imagine him sneering—“Tourists.”
As we gained speed on the unexpectedly smooth and modern highway, I never seemed to have my camera out at the right moment. Pictures at 120 km—which, if you’re curious, is about 74 miles per hour—are not easy to capture. I was immediately enamored by the vastness of the landscape. I’ll never forget the family of warthogs scurrying through the fence as we passed. It was a photograph I didn’t even try to take, but it’s illustrated by this sign:
Not all our animal encounters were at high speeds. Thanks to our experienced safari guides, Simon and Konev, we did see the Big Five. In Africa, the Big Five are the lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros, and African buffalo. I’ve since learned that seeing all five on my first trip was something quite amazing. I’ve also learned that this phrase was coined by hunters since they are the most difficult animals to hunt. Since I am not a hunter, and the idea of shooting one of these amazing creatures does not appeal to me in any way, I quickly added giraffe and zebra to the top of my list of animals I hoped to see.
On our first afternoon game drive with Simon, we saw a mother giraffe and her calf standing majestically only yards away. Then we rounded a corner and were faced, nearly head on, by an enormous rhinoceros. Simon expertly guided the open-air Jeep back away from the rhino to give him space while allowing us to capture amazing photographs. He also implored us not to share images of the endangered species on social media, as poachers use the information to harvest their horns to sell on the black market. During Covid, the rhinoceros population was depleted significantly when protective game wardens were unable to work.
Our next full-day safari began at dawn as our guide Konev skillfully navigated the early morning darkness through the rocks and valleys of the roads and riverbeds in search of our subjects. We played the African version of the game I Spy. “Is that an elephant or a tree? A rhino or a rock?” I gasped and nearly lost my breath when our Jeep reached the summit of the plateau. There we saw hundreds of zebras grazing and frolicking as they made their way down to the watering hole.
Our safari adventures ended with a toast of gin and tonic from our lodge balcony as we gazed out over the tundra framed by the brilliant orange-red setting sun. The sun looked like a giant ball of fire as the rays filtered through the fine dust that was our constant companion while in Africa. My eyes stung and burned from the dust that had made its way around my glasses and became embedded in my eyelashes. I didn’t want to blink for fear that I would miss something. My feelings of awe and contentment overflowed.
I realized I no longer had to merely dream of visiting Africa.
I am so happy you were able to go! I will not be there Tuesday but look forward to hearing all about it!!
So amazing! Can’t wait for the slideshow 😉