African Safari, May 5-May 20, 2026

I would have to say that the safari I just went on, organized by OAT, Overseas Adventure Travel, will go down as one of the highlights of my husband’s and my life. For me, it was an adventure completely out of my comfort zone. It was my husband who really wanted to go. He loves nature shows. I was somewhat indifferent. I was traveling into unknown places, would be sleeping in bush camps, and knew in advance I had to do four flights on tiny eight-seater planes. Oy vey. Over the two plus weeks we visited four different bush camps in Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe, Kafue National Park in Zambia, Chobe National Park in Botswana, a camp in in the Okavanga Delta in Botswana where we took a lazy ride on a canoe and the fifth stop was Victoria Falls, Shearwater Village where we stayed in a real hotel. We were excited to be back in civilization, and I was thrilled to have a hair dryer!

We were lucky to share this adventure with a congenial, respectful group of fifteen hailing from all over the United States. No one was ever loud or late and we regaled each other with travel stories of places we had been. This was a group who had been many places. We had a strict admonition from our tour guide to not discuss politics and this worked well for our two- week trip. Of course, we met a woman who used to live in Oakland and was the girlfriend of Jeff’s roommate in college fifty years ago. It is always a small world. We got to know each other over breakfast, over drinks, over waiting in line to get our food. All through the trip we shared the amazing photos we had captured on our i-Phones.

Staying in the camps meant being in comfortable tents with our own bathroom, beds made very day, though no heat. Sometimes we had special “visitors”, tiny frogs in the shower or toilet, a gecko on the wall or mice scampering about. Our first mornings were freezing. Luckily we were prepared with warm clothes which we layered. As it warmed up later in the day, we kept taking off layers. They gave us “bush babies”, hot water bottles we used at night to warm our feet. We also got them for our early morning game runs and a big poncho we could huddle under. We spent hours bouncing in the jeeps, gratefully warmed by the bush babies we held on our laps in the early morning chilly game runs. We were continually challenged climbing in and out of the jeeps which took some agility but we got to be experts at it. The best thing I brought for us were face coverings, gaiters, that I found on Amazon, very inexpensive, that kept the cold off our faces and covered our ears.

Our main guide was Champion who was with us throughout the trip. He fulfilled an important role, solving little issues and shepherding us. Champion was extremely knowledgeable about African history, village customs, burial rites, wildlife, basically everything. He also had a wonderful contagious laugh. In addition, we learned much from our expert guides who drove the jeeps, for example about baobab trees stripped by elephants, sausage trees with hanging vegetation that looked like huge salamis, and ubiquitous termite mounds. You saw these mounds everywhere and we found out that inside them there was a whole hierarchical insect world. The termite mounds are even used prominently in burial ceremonies. Champion told us his father was buried under a termite mound. We learned the medicinal uses of elephant poop and other flora and fauna like to help women in labor. The jeep drivers would constantly be looking for animal tracks and ferrying us to find the animals in the bush.

We experienced vistas we could not have imagined which made the bumps and grinds of the jeeps worthwhile. Somehow being in Africa, seeing the broad plains, the animals in their natural habitats, felt almost like a primordial experience, truly spiritual. Can I tell you what a thrill it was coming upon a herd of scampering impalas, or parades of elephants sauntering by or playing in their watering holes, rare cheetahs, wily leopards, graceful giraffes, hippos hiding under the water, elegant zebras, ugly wildebeests, buffalo, sneaky camouflaged crocs, magnificent birds with colorful plumage, and the grand lions.

How we loved and were awestruck by the lions. We held our breaths when a lion walked within three feet of our jeep. If you stay in the jeep, don’t get up or wave your arms, it seems that the animals disregard your presence, thankfully. I have a collection of photos of one lion making a series of expressions that almost look human, from boredom, to a smile, to a large yawn, looking to the left rather nonchalantly, looking to the right. We also came upon a leopard who had taken its prey, a hapless impala, up a tree to get his feast away from other predators and was happily eating the animal on top of the tree. Our guides said this was really a special find.

It is customary for an OAT trip to go to a local village. We met African people in their village, learned their customs such as the value and necessity of raising cows used for dowries, sampled their food but I couldn’t stomach the mipone worms and the tiny dried sardines, delicacies, they offered. By the way, polenta and peanut butter were universal foods which I liked. The concept of a homestead is central and our guide talked about the importance of returning to his village to see his mother and other relatives. He explained how one greets one’s mother with a clap rather than a hug. The villagers cooked in one hut, the children might sleep in another hut. The huts were scattered about the village with different purposes. The children go to a school outside the village which we saw but it was not in session. We had purchased various food supplies at a nearby store to bring to the village such as bags of polenta and other necessities.

Another feature of OAT is to have a meal with a local family. We were a group of five. The host was a strong matriarchal figure who warmly welcomed us, instantly learned our names and had prepared a dinner for us with African specialties. I liked her polenta and home-grown vegetables from a plot in her family village. Her home was modest, neat as a pin. We even helped her finish dinner in her kitchen. She was raising a grandchild and niece, lovely young women, one in high school, one in college, who spoke excellent English. It was so interesting getting to find out about their lives and having them ask us questions. I was saddened to learn that life expectancy is low in the small towns and villages. It is not surprising with spotty medical care. The village healers play a prominent role and use the herbs and plants found in the bush, but if one is very ill, they might only get to see a nurse at a clinic. The doctor comes perhaps once a month. Our tour guide had a bad tooth ache and it took him a while to find a dentist to pull his tooth. Giving birth is done with the help of midwives.

This was a demanding trip, not that we had to walk long distances, but we had to be up early, at 5:30 or six to do our morning game drives. The jeep drivers took us off road on endless bumpy twists and turns tracking animals. They would be our spotters marking the animal prints and knew where to look for the animals in the bush. We would return to camp around 11 for a brunch. The food was delicious and abundant. After brunch, we would go back to our rooms and rest for a few hours then gather again for a second game drive or maybe a lecture in the afternoon. We would be treated with high tea in the afternoons with yummy baked treats they would make in the camp kitchen. At one of the camps, we took a tour of the behind- the- scenes camp organization which was really fascinating; touring the kitchen, finding out about their water supply and how they do laundry with limited electrical power and only one small washer.

In our afternoon talks, we learned about African customs such as the importance of the “aunties”, female figures in the village not necessarily related, who taught the girls about sex, hygiene and puberty. They boys learned from the “uncles” never their own fathers. We also learned about poaching and trophy killing. Some of the staff demonstrated how to weave the beautiful baskets which we were able to purchase.

On our late afternoon game drives, we would stop the jeeps, and the drivers would set up drinks, wine, and snacks. It was a tough life. We saw incredible sunsets sometimes with pink and mauve pastel skies, other times vivid with orange and purple clouds. I could never get enough of them. We would return to camp, marveling that the driver could find his way through the twists and turns of the roads without any landmarks or GPS, sometimes driving, bumping, turning for forty minutes along the unpaved bush. We saw the first stars and identified constellations. We would be back for dinner around 6:30 or 7 always greeted by the staff holding warm towels for us to freshen up.

The staffs at the camp; would come to the dining table and proudly explain the choices for dinner. I liked that the drivers would be seated with us for dinner, and we got to know the drivers at each camp enjoying their personal stories. Every night we had a delicious creamy vegetarian soup as a starter with homemade rolls. It was a tradition to gather around the campfire, called a Boma, which we did at a couple of the camps. The staff would entertain us and we tried to sing a song for them as well. One night I recited a poem I had written which chronicled our trip.

After dinner, we would head back to our rooms, always with an escort with a big flashlight, though in one camp our escort carried a shotgun. You did not wander in the camps by yourself and once you were in your room you stayed there for the night with your door zipped up. Everyone followed these rules for safety. We could hear lions roar during the night and hippos snorting getting in and out of water in our camps near the river. One person from our group ran into baboons on the path to her cabin. No TV, no heat, and the beds were covered with big mosquito netting which the housekeeping staff set up for the evening. It was convenient that they did our laundry every day, but not littles, which were underwear. Oh well.

We loved visiting Victoria Falls, really a wonder. We wore raincoats because you can get soaked from the spray of the falls. It was inspiring seeing the power and magnificence of the falls. Victoria Falls was where we were able to shop in the women’s markets and stalls near the hotel. I wish I had bought more! We ended the trip with high tea at the elegant Victoria Falls Hotel. We loved this once- in-a- lifetime trip grateful to be home and healthy and proud to have gone way out of our comfort zone.