Our safari began in Johannesburg, when we boarded a plane for Maun on Air Botswana. We then took a light aircraft (6 seater, single engine plane including pilot) to Moremi. Having never been on a light plane before, we were quite apprehensive. But, we forgot our fears once we looked at the windows and saw the breathtaking scenery - miles of untouched bush, smog-free skies, and best of all, elephant herds.
I had always presumed that safaris would involve a certain element of "roughing it" (i.e., living in tents, canned food and the same clothes). In each of the three camps we visited, I realized that this was clearly not the case. It was simply amazing. Who would have thought that there were luxury camps in the middle of the bush?
Our tents were semi-permanent and erected on large wooden platforms. We had all the furniture a typical hotel room would have, except a TV. We had hot water, electricity, and our own toilet and bath facilities. In addition, we could eat as much as we wanted and drink as much alcohol as we wanted. Everything was served on china with fancy silverware and crystal. The food was not canned nor was it "mess hall" style. In fact, considering that there were no grocery stores in the area, the menu was quite varied as well as good. For those who wanted to relax, the camps all had libraries, campfires every night and even a plunge pool.
I can still remember my very first game drive. We rode an open air 4x4 Land Cruiser vehicle. The vehicle had no windows, no door and a canvas ceiling. I was a little nervous at first and a little wary about driving so close to the animals, but as soon as we hit the road and saw our first impalas, we were hit by a flood of excitement. None of us had ever seen a giraffe quietly feeding on a boabab tree. For that matter, none of us had ever seen a baobab tree! Seeing the impalas, lechwes and their cousins running around in their natural habitat, watching the rare wild dogs feast on a kill and an elephant breeding herd stopping for a drink within stone's throw from us brought us closer to nature in ways that watching animals in a zoo never could.
