Jeeps, Planes, Boats and Tents

They call them ‘Jeep’s’, but they’re all Toyotas, the open-air, all-terrain safari vehicles that have carried us for 10 days of game drives.  They’ve always been stocked with blankets, as temperatures have dipped to the the high forties at dawn and at dusk.  And better yet, they’ve carried bar supplies for ‘sundowner’ cocktails in the evening.  

We’ve had four flights of an hour or more each in small Cessna Caravan prop planes that moved us from one location to the next.  What fun to take off and land on dirt strips! And you really see the terrain, flying low to the ground.

Boats on a safari?  Yes, our final ‘camp’ was in Botswana’s Okavango Delta, where we spent time on the water viewing birds, crocodiles, hippos, and even a few elephants.

And in the camps we’ve dined together at long tables, enjoying meals that were beautifully prepared and presented.  We had comfortable beds and en suite baths, despite mostly being in canvas-sided tent accommodations.  And we had a most welcome surprise when we lifted the covers and found hot water bottles to warm us in bed.  

That’s life on safari.  It’s bumpy and dusty at times, and you’re without hair dryers, TV, cell service and WiFi.  But there’s plenty of comfort in the wild. And there’s truly no other experience that compares.