Vacation, Safari, Emotions and all that jazz…
Happiness makes the world go round and being positive builds up yourself and those around you.
Going on safari can be a positive experience:
I wake with a start as I hear a soft call of ‘morning sir’ from outside my tent. With just canvas between me and the noises of the African savannah my night’s sleep has been fitful and it still feels incredibly early as my coffee is delivered to my verandah. I call back a greeting of ‘Jambo’ the Swahili for ‘hello’ to let James the waiter know I’m awake and ease out from under my duvet into the cool of the morning. The tray with coffee and biscuits has been left for me on a table outside my tent, and I know I need to be fairly quick to collect it having lost the biscuits and sugar to some cheeky monkeys on the first morning of my stay.
Coffee drunk, and feeling a little more alive, I wash quickly under my ‘safari shower’ a canvas bucket of warm water suspended above me by a pulley system. The water smells slightly of smoke from the fire over which it was heated and I struggle to rise the soap suds from my body as the water is so soft, radically different from the ‘hard’ water at home.
A small knot of people gather around the open vehicle as Gus and William load canvas covered boxes with more coffee and rusks into the space behind the bench seats. As Gus climbs in behind the steering wheel and William lifts himself onto the ‘tracker’s seat’ on the very front of the Land Cruiser, the rest of us assume our positions in the back, cameras placed carefully on the seats beside us, ready to be grabbed at a moment’s notice to capture whatever animal we come across. Heading out slowly across a dry river bed to the open plains we’re happy to ignore the baboons and gazelles that have become so familiar even in the short time we’ve been here. It’s big game we’re after now, only stopping for predators or perhaps rhino or elephant.
Yesterday evening we’d watched lion cubs gambolling in the fading light watched over by an attendant lioness, and then spotted a leopard descend from a tree and almost disappear in the grass, the tip of her tail just flicking above it, as she made her way towards a herd of already spooked impala. There was unlikely to be a meal for her there as they’d been alerted to her presence by the alarm calls of some monkeys, but she’d continue across the grasslands until she could find something to fill her belly.
Our days in Africa are filled with morning and evening game drives in our search for wildlife, often times coming across signs of previous conflicts with bones and feathers scattered around. Gus interprets these for us: what, when and why; occasionally turning to William for his tracker’s skills to back up his thoughts.
Between drives I lie back in a hammock positioned outside my tent to write up my journal and sort through my photos, finding myself discarding many from earlier days as I become more discerning. I’ve two more days here before I head to the coast and another kind of adventure and the joy for me is I’ve no idea yet what those two days will bring… – written by: Richard Smith, Traveler, Father, and Guide to African Safaris
This is just one story of many. Evoking emotions in someone is and integral part of life. Going on a safari, whether alone, as a couple or with family – the feelings what you experience is what makes you decide to go back.
Be the sunrise in the morning for yourself – be the steaming cup of warmth for those you love. And be thankful that you had the privilege to open up your eyes to yet another day
Today I choose life. Every morning when I wake up I can choose joy, happiness, negativity, pain… To feel the freedom that comes from being able to continue to make mistakes and choices – today I choose to feel life, not to deny my humanity but embrace it. – Kevyn Aucoin
www.quora.com/What-does-it-feel-like-to-go-on-a-Safari-in-Africa