Travel Adventures – African Safari Experience

Going on safari is a magical experience filled with vibrant colors, warm weather, and a sense of adventure. It’s a joy to experience the abundance of majestic animals, unlike any other place on the planet. Riding around the beautiful savanna lulled me into a relaxing trance. It’s extraordinary to experience this deep connection to our magnificent planet. 

A safari is so much more than you can see in a photo or describe. But I will attempt to give you the feeling of safari with the photos and videos below.

Our trip was organized by the African owned company Go2Africa. They provided us with expert guides to see the Big 5 (lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, buffalo) and more. We saw lots of animals but not the leopard. No problem, it’s nature you can’t predict what will happen. Their safaris support worthy conservation and the development of local communities.

Highlights of My Trip

It was not difficult getting up at 6am for a morning game drive especially when they “knock on your tent with coffee”. The days start out cool but warm up quickly. Starting the game drive in the morning as the sun is rising, has a gentle, calm and peaceful quality.

The guides are incredible, they know the landscape and are able to see the tracks, broken branches, smells to find the animals. It is truly magical. Tracking animals gives us a whole new appreciation for the expansive wilderness.

The sounds and smells of the area stayed with us even when we were back at our tent for an afternoon rest or sleeping after dinner. The safari environment gets into your soul.

For the entire 9 days my mind was quiet. The usual chatter wasn’t there. Everything happens very slowly, and I slowed down with it.  It’s an all-encompassing, emotional experience that’s thrilling and profound.

Enjoy this video slide show to begin.

Maasai Mara

Our safari adventure started at the Karen Blixen Camp in Kenya in the Mara North Conservancy. The spectacular location is set on the bank of the Mara River. Throughout the day elephants, giraffes, zebras and impalas come for a drink while a large hippo pod rest lazily in the river all day.

The Mara North Conservancy is a beautiful private wilderness area of 70,121 acres in the north-western zone of the Maasai Mara Ecosystem . The conservancy is a partnership between 12 Tourism Partner members (6 camps, 3 lodges, and 3 riding outfits) and over 1000 Maasai Landowners. The aim is to create a world-class conservancy with long-term commitments to the environment, wildlife, and local communities.

The partnership provides the Maasai communities with the economic incentives to set aside their land for wildlife conservation. There is absolutely no hunting. If one of the predators like a lion or cheetah kills a cow or goats that graze in the preserve, the Conservancy pays the Maasai owner.

This is one of the world’s most stunning wildlife areas. There are no crowds. The jeep drives right up to the animals, we get close. They are not afraid or aggressive.

There is a feeling of HARMONY and a connection to the animals knowing we exist together on this amazing planet. In the first video below the elephant and I have have a magical moment together. In the second video you’ll see a male lion playing with his cubs, a baby giraffe with it’s mother, and hippos in the water outside our camp.

Serengeti Tanzania

Next stop is the Lemala Tented Camp, a mobile camp that moves around the immense remote wilderness of the Northern Serengeti to follow the Wildebeest Migration. It’s out on the savannah, with nothing around. Hearing the animals while sleeping in the tent and getting up from our pampered beds in the predawn light to start our game drive was a breathtaking experience.

Here in the Serengeti we went out in search of the Great Wildebeest Migration. It’s is a yearly event where millions of wildebeest, zebras, and other animals migrate across Tanzania and Kenya in search of food and water. The animals journey through the Serengeti up and around in a clockwise direction towards the Masai Mara in Kenya, before returning once again near the end of the year.

We drove across the savannah for about an hour hoping to see the wildebeest’s cross the Mara River. One day we were lucky and saw a huge migration. We watched it for hours, it was phenomenal. The video is long because I wanted to give you a sense of the vast amount of wildebeests crossing the Mara River. You can hear he sounds of the wildebeest calling out for their friends and family

Ngorongoro Crater

The Ngorongoro Crater was our last stop. The geologists say it formed about 2.5 million years ago when an active volcano’s cone collapsed inward after a massive eruption. The enormous, unbroken caldera we see today is the main remnant of this implosion.

The Ngorongoro Crater is the biggest intact (unbroken) volcanic caldera on Earth. It is also a natural sanctuary for some of the densest populations of large mammals in Africa. Due to its enclosed nature, the Ngorongoro Crater has effectively formed its own ecosystem.

Here we saw many animals but unlike the Mara North they were far away. We saw a few black rhino but they were too far to take any photos. One of the best parts of the crater were the birds, including many flamingos. You can see them in the video.

Gluten Free on An African Safari

The food in Africa was fantastic. There were lots of soups, fish, chicken, meat and fresh vegetables flavored with fresh herbs. They had many gluten free options even at the tent camps. Everyone made fresh gluten free bread and desserts. I was in heaven.

Near the Ngorongoro Crater we stayed at Gibb’s Farm, a sanctuary for the senses. After 6 days sleeping in tents it felt good to be back in a cottage with hot running water.

Gibb’s Farm is a sustainable organic farm with a coffee plantation, acres of vegetables, fruits, flowers, herbs and a working dairy and pig farm. They served inspired organic cuisine, fresh from the farm’s gardens, bakery and dairy. You can see how beautiful the farm is in the video below.

Being on safari was deeply rewarding. The vast amount of wildlife and beauty of the savannah soothed my soul. It’s an experience of being deeply connected to nature, animals, other people and I am left feeling the possibility of us all living together in harmony.