There is little that can prepare you for the exhilaration and wonderment that the African wilderness brings. I have always been fascinated by stories of explorers and have long dreamt of embarking on my own safari to an unknown land. In today’s modern world, it is almost impossible to find uncharted territory that I can explore on my own (given time and monetary constraints), so my adventurous spirit led me to Intrepid Travels “South Africa Encompassed” tour, a 5321 km, 18 day, overland camping safari through Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

When you hear the words “African Safari”, most people automatically picture the Lion King, set in the savanna, with it’s long grass, thorny acacias, and shady baobabs. On the savanna, elephants, giraffes, wildebeest and zebras are grazing and there are lions stalking their prey. Disney did a good job of imprinting our minds with the circle of life, didn’t they! (I am singing it as I type).

Having spent 5 weeks on the Lumo Sanctuary near Tsavo East NP in Kenya, this savanna image had been reinforced in my mind. I wasn’t expecting Southern Africa to have such a diverse landscape, with spectacular sunsets, breathtaking views from the granite rocks in Matopos, electrifying thunderstorms, the dusty Kalahari desert, the lush green of the banks of the Okavango Delta, the open salt pans in Nata or how many tall trees and shrubs there were Chobe NP. Each area is beautiful and different in its own way, and although people ask what my favourite part was, I am hard-pressed to answer.

Of course, the main reason I was on this trip was to be close to nature, particularly to see the animals in their natural habitat. Most days we were lucky, and throughout the trip, we were fortunate to see a large variety of animals and birds, including close encounters with elephants, lions, hippos, a couple of scorpions, buffalo and all the zebras and antelopes (we will all be seeing impalas in our dreams). We learned about “elephant graveyards”, which are a misnomer, as elephants tend to die after their last set of teeth (6th set) falls out and their jaw locks. At this point, elephants tend to seek softer food, until they ultimately starve to death. Each set of teeth lasts about 10 years, meaning that most healthy elephants will live between 60-70 years. Another interesting thing is that the other elephants will scatter the bones. We also had the opportunity to see the white rhinoceros. White rhinos are a more social creature, as opposed to the black rhinos, which are solitary and more aggressive.

It has been reconfirmed on this trip that I am a bit of an adrenaline junky, being pumped by our close encounters with lions (like listening to the lions and elephants battling it out near our campsite on Christmas eve (I was still sitting out in the open at the picnic bench. Slightly terrifying, and thoroughly invigorating!). Or being the first to spot the lion only 10 metres away! The whitewater rafting in Victoria Falls was also a LOT of fun!! The only time that I would say I was afraid, was when we were on foot in the Okavango Delta, and a bachelor herd of buffalo began to follow us. It is rather unnerving to look back and suddenly 7 large buffalo are on the horizon sniffing and staring at you… that put me on full alert!). I was also still a bit uneasy being downwind of the elephant during that same walk.

As for the actual tour, I booked the Basix trip, which, although it was the budget version, still had quite a hefty price tag. I will admit that this wasn’t my finest moment in trip preparation, only reading up on the actual details of the trip about 1.5 weeks before I left (even though I booked it all in September!). It turns out that we were camping every night (although there were sometimes options for upgrade, which I took advantage of twice). I shared my tent with Vidhya, and after the first couple of nights in which we struggled to set up/take-down our tent, we finally managed to get it, even becoming pros by the second half of the tour. The first night, we struggled so badly with the clips that we had to get our guide, Jay, to put it up for us. He proceeded to do all the clips by himself in a fraction of the time that we had spent wrestling with them! We were especially skilled at rolling our tent into a baby hippo, and then struggling to zip it into the bag 😛 (This ended up in us resorting to punching the bag and sitting on it to try to get the zippers to do up!).  It only took 17 days, but finally on our very last take-down, we successfully managed to roll it in a more slender way. I got used to the routine aspect of the trip. Wake up early most days, pack up our tents, eat breakfast and hop on our truck for a several hour drive. Get to our new location, set up camp, and then either relax or do an activity before dinner. Chill around the fire, and then go to bed. It became a treat on the days that we could sleep in, or when we had 2 nights in one location and didn’t have to pack everything up!

Because of the nature of our overland trip and the locations of our campsites, breakfast and dinner were provided every night except in Victoria Falls. We also had quite a few lunches provided too. Enos, our cook did an excellent job of making sure that there was no dairy in it for me (or having alternatives). One thing is certain, you will not be losing much weight on this trip! (Unless you are a pickier eater than myself, or vegetarian, as there wasn’t a lot of plant based protein).

Also included in the tour were different game drives/walks/activities in Khama Rhino sanctuary, Okavango Delta, Nata, Chobe, Hwange, Matopos, Blouberg and Kreuger. In addition to what was provided, there were also quite a few optional activities, like additional game drives, a flight over the delta and tons of activities in Vic Falls. I decided to take advantage of most of the activities, to increase my chances of seeing animals. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any leopards though 😦  I will be writing more detailed posts for each country, as if I tried to do that now, I would be writing a novel! The only thing that I felt was lacking was a more cultural experience. I realize that this trip is about nature, and similarly to when I was in Kenya, as much as I love nature, the people and their lives are an important part for me (although I expect I am in the minority, as we tried to maximize the possible animal sightings).

I know for some people, the extended time without WiFi, and some of the campsites without electricity were quite trying. For me, I actually expected less facilities than we had (and slept better when we were in the middle of nowhere without any lights, just the stars and moonlight). I also really appreciated the time without WiFi/social media. It was quite a shock when I re-entered the digital world with all the notifications. I think I am going to try to wean myself off of some of the social media sites (at least use it less frequently). At the beginning, I wasn’t sure how I would handle all the camping, but by the end, we were in a routine, and I felt like I could keep going for another 18 days. My dirty clothes didn’t even really bother me much, since everyone was wearing the same things over and over again. At least if we did smell, we all were smelly and didn’t notice it!

Once I have written the posts for each country, I will link them here, but for now, I hope you enjoyed my summary, and if you are interested in what I packed, you can keep reading!

Botswana

Zimbabwe

South Africa

If you are adventurous, and love wildlife, this is definitely a trip for you. It is not particularly physical, as much of our time was spent sitting (on buses, game vehicles, mokoros, camp chairs…). If you like the heat, then the summer is best (but be warned that the bus only has “African air conditioning”, and if you like the cold, then the winter nights will probably suit you better! I found that the temperature dropped quite a bit (from stifling to comfortable) over the 2.5 weeks we were on the road.

My Safari Packing list:

• 3 pairs of lightweight, sun protected long khaki/neutral coloured pants (Columbia omni-shade).(although I only wore 2 of them during the safari. The last pair I used once I was in Capetown)
• 2 long sleeve UV protected, collared shirts for game drives and evenings
• 2 wool singlets (Smartwool. Used as tanktops or undershirts). Can be layered if it was colder
• 3 wool t-shirts (Icebreaker) (I also had 3 nicer shirts that I wore around Joburg and Cape Town, although that was not on safari)
• A simple dress
• Sarong and bathing suits (one bikini, one full piece)
• Sport shirt/rash guard to protect from the sun
• Hiking boots (also Columbia, since that is what I can get easily in Dubai)
• 3 season sleeping bag and travel pillow (only needed the sleeping bag in Zimbabwe, otherwise I used it as extra cushioning underneath me)
• silk sleeping bag liner
• sweatshirt/hoodie
• rain coat
• sandals
• 2-3 pairs lightweight socks
• merino wool underwear (they don’t smell as quickly and can be worn for several days)
• one pair of lightweight pants for lounging or as pjs
• one pair leggings (useful in Zim after the rain)
• one pair pjs
• 2 pairs of shorts (one bermuda, one short)
• one nice outfit for dinner in Vic Falls
• wide brimmed hat, sunscreen and sunglasses
• mosquito repellent (I used a natural deet free repellent that worked well)
• toiletries/soap to wash clothes/shampoo etc. I decided to try the Lush shampoo bar, instead of liquid.
• Camera, SD cards and other electronics (including a power bank)

As I am from Calgary, was a girl guide and hate being cold, I also had quite a few clothes that I didn’t need, including a puffy vest, long sleeve wool shirt and leggings, thicker wool socks, scarf and a tuque. If I was travelling during the winter months, I would have needed these, but as it was summer, we had temperatures ranging anywhere from 25-40 Celsius during the day, and 15-20 Celsius overnight (or at least that is my best guess).