My two brothers and I are all safely home again from Zambia and back in the bosom of our own little families. We had the most amazing time. A complete success on every level.
Well, perhaps not on every level. We did have a few unexpected moments:-
We nearly got kidnapped in Johannesburg by accidentally going through the wrong passport control and following a random man with no ID down a long corridor until I decided that this was not a good start to our pilgrimage. As a result, we nearly missed our flight, thought we had lost our luggage, thus potentially failing at the first hurdle by losing our father’s ashes before we got him back to Africa. “HAVEN’T YOU SEEN THE FILM ‘TAKEN’?” I asked the brother who thought it was fine to put our lives in the hands of a random stranger leading us the wrong way. “WE DO NOT HAVE THE SPECIAL SKILLS REQUIRED TO GET OURSELVES OUT OF A BIG DISASTER – WE HAVE SPECIAL NEEDS”. Who knows what might have happened. Anyway, thankfully our bags were there to meet us on our arrival in Livingstone and all was well.
Then my brother fell in the Zambezi whilst fishing and broke several ribs.
Then I accidentally lost my footing whilst sneaking up on a hippo with our guide one evening in the dark and did a front roll practically on top of the hippo.
Then we nearly fell off the edge of the Victoria Falls.
Then an elephant broke into my bathroom.
Then there was a leopard in camp.
Then…
Then…
Then…
But.
That’s Africa for you.
Wild.
Unpredictable and unexpected.
So exciting.
We have all come back wanting to get out there again as soon as possible. I read a quote the other day that said “Africa is a feeling that crawls under your skin and takes up residence in your soul” – so true – although we are all currently nursing a number of interesting looking bites that I hope aren’t going to turn into a set of baby spiders or a maggot that has literally crawled under our skin.
We have thoroughly enjoyed the luxury of spending time together. Of being able to sit around a campfire every night (Bush TV) and talk and laugh and generally commune with nature – even if it took a few days for me to get used to the fact that not only was there not a lock on the door of my bedroom, there wasn’t even a bloody door. I don’t think you can ever expect to have a relaxing time whilst on safari, but if you are looking to feel revived, exhilarated and challenged by all the action, exertion, motion and a healthy dose of being scared shitless on an hourly basis, then this is one of the best ways to switch off from your usual routines and learn how to feel very small and insignificant, thus unwinding in the process.
Flaubert said many years ago:-
“Travelling makes one modest – you see what a tiny place you occupy in the world”.
So true.
No more so than when you’ve got a f’g huge elephant stuck in your loo.
More on that later.
I think I will just write about what happened to us each day from my diary notes. In the present tense. Easier that way than to try and describe it in hindsight.
Expat Mum
September 16, 2012Trust you! Cannot wait to hear more and so glad you had a successful trip. Apart from the broken ribs, that is. Ow.
Kelloggsville
September 16, 2012Yey, welcome home. Well done for surviving and I look forward to reading more.
saz
September 16, 2012Love the Flaubert quote…feeling very small just now…it happens when life changes so much in a relatively small period and yes travelling certainly evokes this realisation. Well put Lu.
luv saz x
janelle
September 17, 2012heh he heh…can’t WAIT to read more! x love
Trish - Mums Gone to
September 19, 2012Broken ribs, elephants in room, scary airport situation!! This has it all. Looking forward to reading more.
I’ve got to pick some travel blog posts for the next BritMums round up in a couple of weeks. I’d like to include this one, but let me know if there’s another coming up that you would prefer.
Family Affairs
September 19, 2012OOH YES PLEASE include mine…..more coming up – maybe wait till tomorrow when I’ll be writing about the Vic Falls x