Adventure in Africa
Journey of a lifetime includes a safari, an island retreat and a touristy trip to the big city
I wanted to start this story about a dream trip another way. Really, I did.
Alas: The very first thing I saw on my very first safari was two lions having sex. Not from a distance through binoculars; about 10-15 yards from where I was sitting minding my own business with a cold beer in the back of the open-air Land Cruiser that had picked me up from an airstrip in the Serengeti a few minutes prior. Technically, we were not even On Safari yet. Our luggage was still in back of the vehicle and we were en route to check into the lodge.
Our guide, professional wildlife photographer Paul Joynson-hicks, who had been on our flight, explained that lions copulate every 20-30 minutes. So we stuck around long enough to watch round two, as well. A little ear nibbling. Guttural roars. I’ll spare further intimate details. But the unexpected sighting of mating lions did serve as an appropriate start to what would turn out to be a fast-moving, awe-inspiring, beautiful and emotional mini tour de Africa, from Tanzania to the Seychelles to South Africa then back home to Houston.
The trip’s genesis and ambition baffled some of my friends. Truth be told, I had also silently wondered if, given a mere two weeks away from the office, it was possible to experience safari, soak in an exotic island and explore a big city on a far-away continent and still appreciate, nay relish, the journey — and the destinations.
The short answer is, emphatically, yes. The slightly longer answer is, yes, especially since I am a happy flier, even in long-haul economy class, and don’t mind spending extended time in airports. (Insert winking emoji here.)
Serengeti, Tanzania
The trip originated as a three-day safari with Joynson-hicks, a new offering marketed as the “Connected Souls Photo Tour” by the bucketlist-worthy Four Seasons Safari Lodge in the central Serengeti.
Our tour group immediately took a sassy
shine to P.J. (pronounced “Peej”). Born in England, whose national sense of humor he has not yet shed, P.J. lives in Tanzania with his wife and kids and has spent the past two decades in East Africa pursuing his wildlife photography passion. His ability to nonjudgmentally answer dumb questions about animals and their behavior as well as address technical camera geekery is impressive. So are his photographs, which can be seen on display at a Serengeti visitor’s center, the airport, in the hotel and elsewhere. P.J. is a lot of fun to have a few sundowners with, too.
Each morning we’d wake up and make our way to an SUV. The visceral romance cutting through the Serengeti in predawn light cannot be overstated. The crackle of rocks beneath the tires as we rolled past acacia trees, zebras clustered around watering holes, a family of elephants scooping up shrubs with their trunks. The game drives carry on for a few hours, with a pause for late breakfast — a divine prepacked situation involving coffee, bacon sandwiches, pastries and fresh fruit — followed by a few more hours on the prowl.
We quickly checked off the Big Five, minus one (rhino, which is not typically spotted in this area of the national park). We gasped when a leopard leaped across a tree with its half-eaten kill as a hyena paced just below. We sat rapt while a mama cheetah chased an antelope at full speed. We watched as a large herd of Cape buffalo making their way across the prairie wisely chose to back the train up after sensing a pride of lions within striking distance.
Audio in the videos clips I took with my phone to share with folks back home feature the whir of large cameras snapping and P.J.’S voice: “See how he’s looking slightly to our left? That’s where you’d want to leave a little bit of space in the frame,” he instructed as a male lion regally posed atop a large branch.
Returning to the lodge, we had the option of meeting privately with P.J. to go over our photos from the day. Drinks and dinner came next, whether at the lovely buffet restaurant, a swanky chef ’s tasting in the wine room, bush dinner, an in-villa barbecue, or an African feast at Boma Grill, starring a performance from Maasai who also work at the hotel.
We saved a major highlight for our final morning in the Serengeti: a hot-air balloon ride. Fortified by delicious ginger coffee and Christmasmorning-level excitement, we floated above the Serengeti for nearly an hour, though it felt more like five minutes, spotting elephants, buffalo, hyenas and more during the flight. After a smooth landing and champagne toast, Serengeti Balloon Safaris employees whipped up full fry-up breakfasts and poured more bubbles. What a way to pass a morning.
Besides learning how to make better photographs from P.J. and hearing more about native wildlife from P.J. and our driver/co-guide Michael, I especially loved how all the guides from various lodges and safari companies work together in spotting animals, radioing one another using code words to optimize clients’ sightings while maintaining an element of surprise. If I could bottle and sell the anticipation of putting on khakis and hopping into a Land Cruiser every morning, I’d retire tomorrow.
Seychelles
Seychelles, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean about 1,000 miles east of mainland Africa, is a great place to retire. At least for a few days. It’s not easy to reach from the States, but a strong case could be made that it’s the perfect segue from an East Africa safari.
After landing on the main island of Mahé, we took a halfhour ride on a small plane to a teensy airstrip on Desroches, a private island that’s home to about 200 free-roaming giant tortoises, fiery sunsets, potent rum cocktails and a Four Seasons resort. Even the baseline tier of lodging here is incredible — our villa had its own private pool, outdoor showers and beach access.
Each guest gets a bicycle, and I used mine constantly. To predinner cocktails at the lighthouse, followed by a seafood feast at the main restaurant, to start. The ultimate nightcap was a tipsy ride to the airstrip for stargazing on yoga mats. It appeared as if someone took a handful of soft white beach sand and flung it across the sky. I’d know more specifics about the stars and their constellations except I fell asleep less than five minutes into the guided session. I also fell asleep during a late-afternoon sound bath at the resort’s exceptional spa. How’s that for relaxation?
Another day I pedaled around the island by myself for a few hours, snorkel and fins in my bike’s basket, obtained from the dive center that also offers scuba, fishing, surfing lessons and more. Desroches is only about 8 or 9 miles around, with bike paths and beaches all along its perimeter. After making the loop many times by the end of my stay, I had a favorite official beach: Aquarium Beach, where I could drag a stand-up paddleboard out onto water so clear that when I stopped paddling I was able to peer down and watch sea turtles swimming toward the deep. I loved the details at the beach shack, too, from cold bottles of water to fresh towels and all manner of other water toys.
My favorite unofficial/unmarked beach, though, was “secret beach,” a staff favorite with pristine sand and the bluest water just beyond the Aldabra tortoise sanctuary.
You can, and should, make sure you visit the sanctuary during afternoon feeding hours to learn more about the animals from one of the on-site conservationists. If you bump into a 120-year-old friendly fella named George, scratch his neck and give him an extra batch of leaves to chow on for me.
South Africa
American travelers often overlook Johannesburg when visiting South Africa, in favor of more touristy Cape Town. Or they stay in an airport hotel and zip out to Kruger National Park to go on safari. I could not have been more thrilled with the two nights I spent in Jo’burg, which turns out wasn’t nearly enough time but did whet my appetite enough to know I’d like to return.
South Africa’s largest city sprawls like Houston. And its up-and-coming dining scene, like Houston’s, thrives. Take celebrity chef David Higgs’ Marble restaurant in the trendy Rosebank neighborhood, which was packed to the gills with pretty young things and big spenders on a weekday night.
We started off on the wraparound rooftop terrace at sunset, sipping inventive cocktails such as a clarified piña colada, before moving into the mammoth contemporary dining room. The wine list here is world-class (complex South African chardonnay? Yes, please!), as is the live-fire South African fare — blesbok loin paired with chorizo-laden braised cabbage rang my bell. After a few espresso martinis at the bar we stumbled downstairs for dessert, to a gas station that also contains an open-24-hours gourmet market (“Pantry by Marble”) with perfect pastries and soft-serve ice cream.
The best way to go about seeing some of the top sights in Jo’burg is to hire a local driver. My guide, Richard — who was booked through my hotel, a stately Four Seasons called the Westcliff in a posh part of town — was chatty and full of knowledge about South African history and various other subjects (taxi system corruption, especially).
The morning after dinner at Marble, Richard drove us through the city to the Apartheid Museum. My companion and I purchased tickets; one was labeled “white,” the other “non-white,” indicating the entrances we were allowed to use. The randomness moved me to tears before I walked into the building.
In photos, videos, objects and texts, the exhibits depict the developmental and cultural history of 20th-century South Africa, honing in on the struggle against the apartheid. I would allow at least two (tough) hours for this museum.
The township of Soweto was the heartland of the apartheid resistance movement, especially after the famous tragic uprising there in 1976. The Black suburb in southwest Johannesburg is also home to a street on which Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela both lived (separately). Visitors can tour the Mandela House, where he resided before, and very briefly after, his release from prison. There are multiple bullet holes on the wall near the front door.
“The reason Mandela is respected is because he built a nation out of ashes,” Richard said.
After a solemn car ride back to the Westcliff, I admired how the hotel’s roughly 80 rooms and suites were split among several different low-rise buildings, and how it all added up to a destination-worthy hotel that felt special and not stuffy. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
A few hours before my journey back to Houston, I went up to the Westcliff ’s rooftop restaurant, Flames, for a lateafternoon burger overlooking the city of Jo’burg. A group of well-dressed locals, all with different skin color, gossiped and giggled at the table next to mine. The sun was out.
Despite the festive, casual vibe, I felt a heaviness in my chest after what I’d taken in that day. About the seemingly arbitrary cards we are all dealt at birth; about how most of us play our hand to the best of our ability; about how a single event or person can make a difference in a life’s trajectory.
Just like first encounters — lions mating, say — can set the tone for an entire two-week adventure.