A trip of a lifetime

On September 27, Nancy and I started a trip most people will never do. A trip to AFRICA. A photo safari which would take us into the "bush" for 12 of our 17 days. We would view SO many wild animals, by the time we came home, it seemed the norm. We stayed in 5-star tents (yes, 5-star), ate chef prepared foods and where guarded by armed guides. OK, OK, it was a tour...but a GREAT tour. We stayed in four different wilderness camps for 3 nights each. Our last one even had a swimming pool where the Elephants would drink out of when no human where around. Each camp had guides which took all 11 of us out on morning and afternoon game drives in African style Land Rover vehicles looking for animals. Each day we had three meals cooked by a local chefs, camp staff would turn down our beds, clean the tents, wash our clothes and pour us drinks. They were absolutely friendly and willing to do anything to make our stay great. And yes, everyone spoke English. The weather was fairly warm because it was going into their summer temps, but also their dry season. The animals usually sleep during the day and are out as the Sun goes down. Activity was amazing! Some animals are awake during the day like Elephants, Antelopes, Leopards, Cape Buffalo and Hippos. Lions and Hyena are night creatures. So, when they wake, the action starts. Our guides were great. They knew the body movements of each animal so we always knew how close we could get. They tracked game like it was a computer game. They joked with us like we were family. And that was what it felt like. Like being in an episode of National Geographic or Wild Kingdom. Truly, a trip of a lifetime.