Day 12 Homeward Bound

Tuesday June 4, 2013

We woke up the very last day of our vacation ready for a 16 hour flight back home to JFK airport and then a two hour drive back home.

I lucked out again and no one was sitting next to me.  I spent a lot of time sleeping and watching movies but I spent most of my time thinking about the last ten days.  The pilot in my microflight told me that I would take a little bit of Africa with me and he was correct.  Memories made over the last days would stay with me forever.

The joy of the Africans, the many friends we made, the southern nights, and the many new experiences we had made this a true once in a lifetime vacation.

I remember being struck by how healthy all of the animals seemed.  Of course I initially thought it proved how horrible zoos were.  For those of you who know me well you know I refuse to go to zoos as I feel they are just prisons for animals.  I then realized the reason all of the animals were so healthy was because if they became sick or weak they were killed and eaten.  Nature was tough.

While planning my trip I was a bit worried that there were too many plane hops and places to visit but it felt like a nice fit.  I never grew tired or bored.  The only change I would have made was to stay  in a hotel on the Zimbabwe side on the day we visited Zimbabwe side of the falls.  That was my original plan but the hotel near the falls was booked so we decided to stay at the hotel on the Zambia side.  If I was to do it again I would have stayed at a hotel a few miles from the falls but still on the Zimbabwe side.  This would allow us to experience more of Zimbabwe. 

I planned my entire trip but was very thankful that I worked with James Gradwell for our photo tour of the cape and Andrew Schoeman for our photo tour of SabiSabi.   We would highly recommend both.   I was also very glad I worked with Petra from African Travel Gateway for the Victoria Falls/Safari Boat portion of our travel.   She was able to get me a better price than if I booked on the web, the transportation arrangements were first class, and she was a pleasure to work with.

When I planned this vacation I felt it would be our only trip to Africa.  The place is far away and very expensive and I have so many other places to visit.  Now I feel differently.  I want to take up the recommendation made by both of Allen's Photo guides and visit the wild Gorillas in Uganda.   I want to watch the wildebeest migration in Tanzania and I would love to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro.

This vacation was perfect for Allen and me.

 Allen because he got to improve on his photography skills with the help of two professional photographers with lots of wonderful subjects.   We hope you have enjoyed his photos.

and I got to live out my fantasy of seeing animals as close to their natural state as was possible.  It was everything I had dreamed of.

If you have ever thought of going on an African holiday we would very very strongly recommend it.