All tagged Africa
“Where you hang your hat—that’s home, to an adventurer. I love my real home, but when I’m away, it’s nice to know there’s a cozy place nearby ready to restore my weary body. Many times in years of wandering, home has consisted of a sleeping bag and inflatable pad in a backpacking tent… I love living in tents. But my perception of tent living was forever shifted when I joined the Great Walk of Africa in 2013.”
“From the moment I heard about it, the Great Walk of Africa was an adventure I knew I had to have. Imagine being on foot, boots on the ground, kicking up the same dust as the wild animals in Kenya. It instantly became a “must-do” item on my Life List (a term much more appealing to me than “bucket list”).
“At the end of the road westward out of Sesreim is a stunning and magnificent experience in the area called Sossusvlei... It’s a chance to witness the grandeur of the world’s oldest desert, the Namib, and its dunes, which are among the largest in the world. The sand is red due to abundant levels of iron oxide, and is reportedly five million years old.”
“I arrived in Namibia after dark on a July mid-winter evening. On the flight north from Johannesburg, I sat by the window and had a preview of the light shows I would see in the coming month… The horizon was a straight line dividing earth from the celestial ethers. I could not look away.”
“After a few days in Windhoek… my friend and guide, Ian Brown and I set off again. The first stop: Etosha National Park. Established in 1907, it is Namibia’s second-largest wildlife park. All the super-cool African wild animals are there. I asked if we might see a honey badger, as I’d dearly love that, but sadly, it was not to be.”
“It was a nice mid-winter day in July when my friend Steeve and I set out from Namibia’s capital city of Windhoek with our exceptional guide, Ian Brown. This meant the temperatures were nicely tolerable, instead of the extreme swelter of summer. The week ahead would take us around the southern half of the driest sub-Saharan country in Africa, where most areas get less than 2" of rain per year.”
“It has been a year of unleashed wanderlust, after the restraints of the Covid era. I thank my good fortune plus the ability to spend my time as I see fit (even though I am not retired!) plus that all-important ingredient: gumption. These are what enable my adventures out into the world.”
“July 14, 2022: Please don’t do it. My fingers fumble on the mini-keyboard of my cell phone, trying to input the required information, but it is not going well. Sandeep is trying to help me. He’s a nice man, but he will have to close the jetway door in five minutes. I urge silently, please don’t do it, Sandeep. Please! Please!”
“A 60 year old elephant, dead. Shot and killed. Boom! Gone. How can there be anything right about the “right” of anyone to do that?”
