The Best Vacation Ever (Part 1)

(Post written by my husband, David, who has taken on our travel posts)

This post is a little belated since I actually went on this trip some time back - July 2008 to be exact. But I think most of stuff would still be quite accurate as I suspect things don't really change so quickly.

Those of you who know me well might think that with a title like "Best Vacation Ever" the post was going to be about Disneyworld Orlando, or maybe Tuscany Italy, but nope. They are very close contenders but I think the best vacation I've been on so far has to be my trip to Africa. The main reason is that the safari part of it felt like a real vacation - no Blackberry, no Internet, no mobile phone, no TV either. I can't remember the last time I felt such peace and quiet. To be honest, the first day was a bit of panic and sense of loss of being disconnected to everything, but that feeling very quickly turned into calm contentment. Feeling as if you were worlds away. That's what a real vacation should feel like.

But I'm getting ahead of myself a little. Let's start at the beginning.

The journey up was a bit intimdating, not to mention that it was also more expensive that we had imagined. It seems it costs a lot to get away from it all. The airplanes got successively smaller and smaller - from Singapore to Johannesburg, then directly transiting to Maun in Bostwana, then immediately flying off to the first safari camp called Chitabe run by Wilderness Safaris.

But the adventures started even before the safari began - at the airport. After some of us had waited about 15 minutes at the shortest luggage belt ever, we realised, as we watched the red carpet being rolled out, that the delay had been caused by the arrival of a VIP. One of the baggage crew popped his head by the door and said "No more bags!" grinning and waving goodbye. Everyone laughed at the joke, welcoming the warm African hospitality, and continued to wait for the entourage to pass. It was only about 20 minutes later, when we began to get worried and asked the staff about our bags, that we realised that he hadn't been joking and that the rest of the luggage had missed the flight and would be on the later flight or the next day.


Arrival in Maun Airport in Bostwana



The world's shortest luggage belt



From this...



to that




But things quickly turned around as we took to the air and had a magnificient view of the Okavango Delta in Bostwana.



When we arrived at the airstrip for Chitabe camp, we were amazed by how simple everything was.

Long piece of sand to land on...



The aerobridge...



The emergency fire response unit...



So I was beginning to expect a "rough it out" type of camp-site, but the camps turned out to be beautiful and luxurious beyond my wildest dreams. Four-poster beds with soft sheets, double sinks, huge indoor and outdoor showers, what more could you ask for! Take a look for yourself.

Chitabe







Our second camp Savuti











All the staff were exceptionally friendly and helpful and with a staff to guest ratio of something like 4 to 1, there was always someone around to help with anything you needed. Everything else was also well taken care of. There was free laundry, which you need because you're only allowed to carry a soft duffle bag each because the planes are so small. Accomodation was also full board with excellent food, all day alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and cocktails and the list goes on. The meals were good quality, with chefs taking pains to use some of the more unusual game like kudu or warthog.

But of course the point of a safari is not the accomodation, or the food, but the game drives. I have to confess I was never a great fan of nature, or animals. I've never watched an episode on Discovery Nature and Living or National Geographic in my life. But this was something different. To see how beautiful a lion's mane is, without a zookeeper to groom it every day, is nothing short of wondrous.