It was more than just a safari, more than a plunge in pure wilderness: it was a fascinating odyssey of contemplation down to the heart of our humanness. Of course, there were moments of insane hilarity, of shared anecdotes and of simple joys but in the end, the four of us left southern Tanzania with a more profound kind of experience tied to our colourful luggage.
Ras Kutani, Selous, Ruaha. Bush planes, 4×4 vehicles, lanterns brightening up the night. Termite mounts, staring buffalos, turquoise waters tickling the horizon. I could spin a hundred tales and flick through thousands of mental pictures but nothing comes close to the magic of feeling the sun on your cheeks, the same sun that bathes the Amarula tree, the same sun the hyraxes are wallowing in.
During this trip, we also discovered what great story-tellers bush-dwellers make. Almost stripped of energy from the day’s activities, we would sit around a gorgeous dinner and be treated to fantastic tales of African adventures whose heroes were right beside us. No matter what they say, in my book a picture will never amount to a thousand words!
Now that we have returned to the big bustling city, we may not feel the pulse of the bush around us anymore but we can clothe our pictures in soulful words. And this is the stuff great trips are made of!
