A Splendid Safari

17 Oct – 4 Nov 2014

For many years I have thought about going on a photo safari in Africa. Joe and I talked about doing it, especially after we learned about Mugie Conservatory in Kenya, owned by Joe’s friend from his drawing group, Gaby Hahn, and her husband Nicky. But by then Joe’s mobility was limited, and the Mugie operators said they could not accommodate his needs (although they suggested another lodge that might). We let the opportunity slip away.

I mentioned this to my friends Donna and Bruce about a year ago, at JoeFest, while we celebrated Joe’s adventuresome spirit. They said that they thought they would enjoy such a trip and we agreed to make it a reality. Once we got serious about it, we converged on a plan with amazing speed. At first we expected to go to eastern Africa: Kenya and/or Tanzania. That changed as we read about our options and talked to people who had made similar trips. We settled on a 12-day Globus tour to South Africa and Victoria Falls, with a 5-day extension to Botswana.

Forty hours of flying (and waiting for flights) took me from Monterey to Cape Town, by way of Washington DC (where I met up with Donna and Bruce), Dakar, and Johannesburg. There we met the other 16 members of the tour and Linda, our excellent Globus guide. We toured Cape Town, Kapama Private Game Reserve (just outside Kruger National Park), Johannesburg, and Victoria Falls together. Then Linda and the other 16 returned to Johannesburg, while Donna, Bruce, and I proceeded to Chobe National Park and the Okavanga Delta in Botswana.

Needless to say, I returned with great memories and far too many photos. My slides can be viewed from the button below.

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