All very laudable. All well and good. I've long imagined my older years to be a time to appreciate all that I have worked for and accomplished.
But the older I get, I realize that an "older age" is not a given, not a promise. Not something to be taken for granted. I've seen way too many loved ones pass well before their time. Its made me sad, and its made me mad. But its also made me determined to not only BE, but to DO. To do what I can while I can. To tick a few things off the bucket list. To DO things that make me feel good about being alive when so many people I've known would have given ANYTHING to be sitting where I am today, doing anything at all.
And what I ALWAYS wanted to do was go to Africa. To experience a way of life so very different from my own and to see animals that I've always read about, that I've always loved. Zoos are depressing. Circuses can be nauseating. Both can criminally exploit those very creatures that I have revered since I knew they even existed.
So last fall, I booked a flight to South Africa. To go on safari. I would have been apprehensive, perhaps, had I not been so beaten down by repeated personal loss in my life. As it was, I was in a strange place mentally when I boarded the airplane, not unhappy in the accepted sense of the emotion, perhaps, but certainly not happy, and I knew that I NEEDED this vacation more than I had ever needed anything before. I needed to be taken out of my bland day to day, out of my complacent comfort zone. I needed to be doing something that I felt was going to enrich me and make me feel alive again.
Its a lot to ask of a vacation, for sure.
I needn't have feared. South Africa delivered in ways I cannot now even fully begin to explain.
There is a certain freedom to relinquishing control. To arriving in an unknown country, having little to no real expectation of what one expects to find. I had done no in-depth analysis of the place. I had done no research at all. I did not care about an itinerary. I did not know how many countries I would visit and I had no real knowledge of what would happen to me once I'd arrived. All of that was irrelevant.
From the moment we arrived at the airport we were greeted by our host family and from Moment One we were "adopted" by them. There was no bewildering navigation of the airport, no angst over traversing the British highway system, with the right hand drive of the manual shifting vehicles. No need to immediately understand the new currency and the peculiarities which make each country so interesting.
By the time we arrived in Johannesburg, it was dusk. Another 90 minutes or so to the nature reserve of ChaZen, in the Free State province of South Africa meant that we arrived after the sun had set. A wonderful buffet had been prepared for our arrival. We sipped sublime South African vintages and once our bellies were full, we were chauffeured to our chalets. By then, utter darkness had descended. We knew we would be waking to a new world of experiences and the promise of yet another glorious repast. It was an exciting introduction to Africa and sleep was slow to come. It felt good to be alive and it felt good to be having an adventure.
Throughout the soft Spring night, in our chalet off the grid, the hum of an air conditioner was replaced by the sounds of the wind in the bush. In the middle of the night, a gentle sprinkle of rain pounded on the tin roof and the early morning light served to usher in a myriad of musical voices as the birds gathered to greet the new arrivals and the coming of the day.
Africa moves at her own pace. Humans adapt.
Not being connected to the world meant that I was not glued to my phone, my iPad or a laptop. Not dependent upon a hair dryer or a curling iron, not dismayed, upon waking, by the cacophony of a morning news program perpetually bleating out its never ending messages of doom. (And let it be noted that, three months since my return to the States, I have not blown my hair dry once. What a wonderful epiphany.)
Africa moves at her own pace and in her own way. Humans who are in the know, observe, regroup and respect..
I was quietly impressed that our itineraries were open ended, flexible and changeable, for this very reason. Destinations changed when necessary to allow for optimal viewing of animals as they maneuvered the vast expanses of land South Africa affords them. I came to fully understand that this instinctual knowledge of the land, the habitat and the very animals themselves allowed us every opportunity to see wild life up close, in ways that "commercial" safaris could not or would not allow.
I had high hopes for Africa. I was certainly not disappointed.
In fact, my reality exceeded my expectations. I was an observer, yet I was an active participant in the life of every animal I encountered. I was both a tourist and a benefactor. Through my presence, I was, in some measure, ensuring that every animal I witnessed was to have a voice in the global economy.
People come to Africa to see elephant, lion, giraffe. zebra, and the host of other "supporting", lesser known, animals, in this spectacular country. My dollars spent, supporting nature based tourism, help ensure that these very creatures will be acknowledged and will have a voice for generations to come.
Africa is the birthplace of every human on the planet. It is who we are.
Africa is a brilliant patchwork of nationalities, a place where the traveler is greeted with brilliant, shy smiles and kind, welcoming words.
Africa is a vast expanse of unspoiled beauty, wherever you look.
Africa is not only a destination, but a salvation. It speaks to the very heart of us. It is a place that even now is a raw emotion that catches in my throat when I least anticipate it.
As 2016 unfolds with more personal loss, I am not overwhelmed as I might once have been. I have gained a new found appreciation of the way that life works. Africa has taught me that life happens when we least expect it. That there is something larger than ourselves and that we are but supporting players on a stage that is so vast that we cannot comprehend its dimensions.
Africa is a place that captures your imagination until you venture there. And then it captivates your soul.
Sien jou gou.
Ke tla y bona haufinyane.
Sue
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