I have not posted for some time now, surprisingly, since the trip to Africa was so inspiring. I think that some time had to pass, however, so that I could fully digest and appreciate the significance of the trip in my own mind. As I had indicated in my last entry, I wasn’t exactly excited to be going on this trip. It was a long plane flight from Atlanta to Johannesburg, then numerous small plane flights around Africa to the various camps, photographing would involve primarily wildlife and my primary interest has always been landscape, and I really had no idea what to expect. When I don’t know what will be forthcoming, I have never done all that well. My anxiety level is high, which triggers a whole host of emotions for me, some real, some imaginary, which in turn set off a variety of physical problems that I then need to deal with, many of which are also imaginary. Ultimately, all seems to work out well, but living through the anxiety for a while is never easy for me. This sequence has happened so often already that you think I might be used to it and just deal with the issues, but it is never as easy for me as I think it should be. And this trip was no exception.
Except that the trip turned out to be marvelous, one of the best of all time. Watching wild animals in their unmanaged, native state, in which you are a grateful spectator, was simply incredible. Experiencing the terror and subsequent relief of having a lion come right up to you, looking intently at you with every stride, then simply laying down and going to sleep because he wanted the shade of our vehicle, is quite difficult to put into words. Seeing a leopard drag her kill up into a tree to protect it from hyena theft, watching those same hyenas gather at a watering hole in the early morning, observing a big bull elephant thrashing through the vegetation along the water’s edge to feed, having an elephant herd march up to feed and drink, and many other similar experiences will stay with me forever. They are quite literally burned into my brain. I wondered for years why my sister, Iva, was so enthralled with Africa; now it is abundantly clear to me. She helped put this trip together and she could not have done a better job in planning. It was perfect from beginning to end and truly opened my eyes to the wonder of Africa. We only traveled to South Africa, Botswana, and Zimbabwe, so there is much more for us to experience in the future, and we hope to go back the year after next, if all goes well. But this trip was simply amazing, something that I probably should have done years ago.
