Of
course the minute our back was turned they
were on the table and stealing the culinary
delights, they were too quick for us. It
was interesting to watch the hierarchy in
the group, the kookaburras seemed to be the
dominant species, the magpies the scavengers
and the crows the overseers. It reminded
me of my travelling times on foreign continents
watching animals in the wild moving about
in their own ecosystems, seeing the struggle
for survival in the raw.
I’ll
never forget my first trip overseas.
How could I? It changed my life – six
months in Africa – who’s
life wouldn’t change?
I
was totally overwhelmed by everything I
saw in Africa, it was quite an adventurous
step for the young first time traveller. Thankfully
I chose an organised tour otherwise
I don’t think my mother would be
speaking to me still. Saying goodbye to
your daughter as she heads off to cross
the continent of Africa isn’t the
easiest thing to do, the organised tour
at least gave my Mum a point of contact
for me whilst in the dark continent.
My
first trip into the Masai Mara was to be
a memory to keep forever. This was to be
my first opportunity getting up close and
personal with the big 5 and the wild ecosystems
of Africa. I had never seen anything
roaming free apart from kangaroos, well
you can imagine my excitement when we spotted
an elephant for the first time,
it’s a very surreal experience, elephants
were from the zoo weren’t they? It
was one of those “wow” moments,
when you really realise that you are in
Africa, it is the real thing.
Though
I was equipped with quite a good camera
the elephant was still some distance away,
how our local guide spotted it, I’ll
never know but I was thankful to
have the expertise with us on tour.
I don’t know what possessed me to
press the shutter button on my camera?
I was spending 6 months on the continent,
surely it’d get better than this,
but excitement was my master and I clicked
away, I took about 5 photos of this spec
on the horizon.
If
I were writing this article 5 years ago
I would advise – hold onto
your camera’s there’s better
things to come, but now that we
are in the digital age and you are more
than likely travelling with a multitude
of memory cards, my advice is snap away.
The before and after shots are a lot of
fun.
As
you can see by the 'after' shot the photo
opportunities only got better. We soon
saw lions procreating, cheetah hunting
antelope, vultures circling carrion, hyena
cleaning carcasses. It truly was the circle
of life, we were so lucky to see it all
first hand.
The
beauty about travel is the fact that you
can keep seeing things for the first time.
This world is big and you don’t need
to restrict yourself to Africa to go on
a safari. Note Safari is Swahili
for “journey” - a journey can
happen anywhere. There is an abundance
of wildlife to be see on every continent,
and a must to build into your travel itineraries.
Hint: You
will learn a lot about the animals you
visit when you get there but being prepared
for what you are about to see will make
your travels so much more fulfilling. Don’t
forget to jump on the internet, buy some
books and learn about our terrestrial companions
before you arrive, it will make your experience
so much more memorable.
This list may help you in choosing your worldwide Safari
This
compilation by no means covers all of our
animal highlights, it is merely a smattering,
something to whet your appetites.
One
of the beautiful things about our planet
is the animals we share it with.
One of the greatest things about travelling is visiting and
learning about these animals first hand.
There’s nothing quite like the real thing.
So – where’s
your next safari?
Meg
Hall
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Well,
I am now in Egypt and loving it! You would
be so jealous, you really have to get here
as soon as possible. It is even more amazing
than all the stories I've heard and all the
photos I have ever seen! We are coming to
the end of our three week tour, which is
the only bad thing that I can say about the
whole trip. The Kumuka truck is such a fantastic
way to travel and our group is really cool,
we are getting along so well! We have been
through Turkey, Syria and Jordan and have
finally made it to Dahab in Egypt for some
R&R. I am sitting on a deck chair now,
in the sun, congratulating myself on my 1st
ever scuba dive! WOW! Looking forward to
seeing the Pyramids and cruising down the
Nile, I will have to pinch myself then! Wonder
if they can top Petra! Everywhere has blown
my mind, so much history, delicious food,
crazy people and non-stop sunshine! Love
it, love it, love it.
Hi
there,
