I met a woman, who on her 50th birthday, got a tattoo to signify her 5-year cancer free post undergoing surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy for breast cancer. She also happened to go skydiving on this day with her 30 year old son. She exclaimed that it was the most incredible experience. She became fearless. She felt free from all the fear that had clouded her life for over 6 years since her cancer diagnosis.

She described her experience clearly. She felt completely weightless, in zen, during free-fall. Falling at terminal velocity, there was no way for your mind and body to gage how fast you are falling, or even that you are falling at all. However, it was extremely windy which made her feel self-conscious about her aged skin flapping in this giant wind turbine. Big note: Think about how much you really want a video of yourself skydiving before you spent the extra cash. That was one video-graphic evidence that she could have easily lived without.

So during my adventures in Africa, I found myself in Swakopmund, Namibia on New Years Eve 2011. Swakopmund is a well-known skydiving spot, and undoubtedly, NYE is always a great day to mark a first experience, hopefully an unregrettable one, unlike other common disinhibited NYE experiences. I got myself mentally ready. We booked our tandem jump last minute with GroundRushAdventures, and ended up being the last to jump on NYE. I found going up in the plane the hardest part.

The ground seems so far already at just 1,000 feet and we still had another 9,000 feet to climb.

On the way up, up, up.

I coughed.

Apparently, coughing is a common occurrence when the body notices the reduction in atmospheric pressure and drop in oxygen concentration. Who knew? But this sets off a sequence of events which made the climbing fear far in the back of my mind.

One of the instructors begins a mime. He attempts to roll, what we all suspect to be an imaginary joint. He lights it up, take a few puffs and passes it around. We all start acting as forgotten love-children of Bob Marley and partake in this imaginary joint. Though imaginary, this whole scenario actually relaxes all of us. The pilot cracks a joke by rejecting said imaginary joint, and begin his own mime, carving a line of what I suspect to be imaginary cocaine and inhales it in one big snort. Before I can even feel the fear of the pilot using both his hands to mime instead of piloting the plane, it is time to jump.

No arguments, you just give yourself a big hug and out you go.

The free-fall is exactly like being in a wind tunnel. Your stomach stays firmly in place for 30 seconds. You get over the wind and the fact that you are falling at terminal velocity and begin to enjoy the view. Seeing the Earth, so uninterrupted. Wow, she is really beautiful. Then your parachute opens and before you know it, your stomach is in your mouth. But another split second later, it’s sitting comfortably back in your body. You do a few manoeuvres, left to right. It feels like a mild roller-coaster. And you glide like this, slowly back down to planet Earth. And before you know it, you have taken your first skydive! High-fives and beers all round.

Victoria Falls

But to hear the smoke that thunders, you really have to be up close and personal with this giant at ground level. It was the start of December, so the Zambezi river was still quite mellow. The rainy season was just starting and it would be another few weeks before the falls become one huge cloud of waterspray. I had heard through the grapevine that it was possible to walk along the top of Victoria Falls, and dry season is the best time to do this. It is just best done with a local guide who is very familiar with the safest routes. One foul move and you could be plunging over the waterfall to inevitable death, which happens almost every year. Not part of my adventure thrills.

I went with another fellow traveller to visit the falls, and just as we entered the gates on the Zambian side, a local greets us and offers to take us on the infamous hike along the ridge. I’m a believer in things happen for a reason, so I replied with a smile and said “why not?”. The walk, which consisted of hopping from rock to rock and maintaining stability as you cross river sections up to your knees in water, wasn’t particularly physically challenging, but the knowledge that if you put one wrong foot or fall into the water it could be a long drop over the waterfall, kept me attentive at all times. Big note: If you have a fear of heights, either don’t attempt this, or attempt this only before you get the proper view of the falls from the lookout points.

We sat on the edge of the waterfall, watching the water tumble over into oblivion, hearing the thunder echo from below. A cloud of waterspray lurks at the bottom of the waterfall, hiding the true height of this monster. I pull my best attempt at looking nonchalant near the edge.

Sitting near the edge of Victoria Falls

After an hour and a half traversing along the top of the falls, we head down to the lookout points. Here you can truly marvel at the size of the waterfall, especially when a group of three people standing on the edge of the waterfall look about the size of ants. That was enough adrenaline for me, I spent the rest of the day just watching and listening to the roar of this giant.

Not short of impressive nature in Africa, there is also the Okavango Delta in Botswana, one of the largest inland deltas in the world. It is also one of the seven natural wonders of Africa. This delta is home to hundreds of species of fish and birds, and  some of the most endangered species of animals, including the African wild dog, black and white rhinoceros, and cheetahs. It is also where you can find the largest population of elephants, so heavily populated that elephant poaching is legal in Botswana. Sadly the cost of relocating elephants is so much greater, poaching is the solution to population control.

The trip into the Okavango Delta took just over 3 hours. First, we caught a speedboat for an hour, then travelled in groups of 2 on mekoro (wooden dug out canoes) for 2 hours to our campsite for 2 nights. The mekoro are gracefully steered with a long pole. We tried manoeuvring the mekoro ourselves but this just turned into all of us falling in the water. We definitely didn’t have the grace that the Tswana people did.

This was a solid bush camp, with no facilities, no electricity, no drinking water (just the billions of tons of it in the delta). We had to bring everything in, and everything out. Leave no trace. We bath in the delta using biodegradable soap, or in my case, just water, with our mekoro polers on the lookout for hippopotamus, crocodiles, lions and cheetahs. Probably the quickest shower I have ever had. We stayed two nights in a very small corner of the Okavango Delta, passing time with game walks, chatting and singing around a campfire, and drinking home-brewed palm wine (served warm, approximately 20% strength) with our polers.

On our last day in Maun, Botswana, we joined our scenic pilots for a drink after a scenic plane ride. We went joy-riding in their car in search of more alcohol after the bar had closed. Unfortunately, due to personal reasons of alcoholism within the presidential family, alcohol was prohibited for sale after 10pm. We didn’t find any alcohol during this joy-ride, but we did have another one of those close-up animal encounters. This time, elephants! A whole pod of 10 elephants arms length from the car, just on the side of the road. With three baby elephants! It was a pity I left my camera in my room, but the image is well imprinted in my memory.

And the last of the big natural spectacles in Africa, Dune 7, Namibia, one of the biggest sand dunes in the world rising up to 380 metres in height. Located in the Namib desert, it is hot, hot, hot, reaching 55 degrees in the peak of the sun. A visit during dawn, watching the sun rise over these montainous dunes, showcasing the yellow, orange and red sand of the dunes is yet another unforgettable sight.

On my departure from Africa, our local South African guide said to me: “You can take the girl out of Africa, but you will never take Africa out of the girl.” I think she’s right.

Ngorongoro Crater

The name Serengeti is derived from the Masai word ‘Serengti’, which means endless plains. And that is exactly what you see on safari. An endless plain of grass, with wildebeests, buffalos, zebras, giraffes, various species of antelopes, gazelles and impalas grazing as they make their journey. The safari 4WD is a pretty standard ride, sitting up to 6 people with an elevated roof so you get a good vantage point. But the view is way beyond standard. Seeing hundreds, even thousands, of zebras, antelopes and wildebeests travelling in pods is an unforgettable sight.

The Ngorongoro Crater is mind-blowingly beautiful. The year-round green grasslands with some woodlands provides a safe haven for all the animals that live within the crater. The animals here have no need to leave, which is a huge juxtaposition being right next to the largest land animal migration in the world. There are good populations of flamingoes, hippopotamuses, elephants, zebras and lions living in the Ngorongoro Crater.

Flashback! Remember watching the Lion King as a child? I sure did. The Ngorongoro Crater reminded me so much of the Pride Lands which Mustafa and Simba ruled. The edge of the Pride Lands not to be wandered felt like the dark edges of the Ngorongoro Crater, always in the shadow of the sun. And the elephant graveyard does exist! Elephants loose their teeth they age, and when they have lost all their teeth and thus their ability to eat tree bark and harder shrubbery, they move towards green grass pastures. Think of these elephants as grandparents with no teeth or dentures, unable to eat unless it is soft mushy food. They spent their last days on this green grass pasture until they die and leave, after some time, just their skeletal remains. No dead elephants on my watch, only this beauty in the woodlands of the Ngorongoro Crater smiling for the camera

We spent the night camping on the edge of the Ngorongoro Crater. Because it’s elevated, it can be quite cool at night, which I hadn’t really planned well for considering I was packing for African heat. Luckily we had a campfire to keep us warm. And it was on this night that I got one of what was going to be many close-up encounters with wild animals. A pack of zebras walking only 3 metres far from me and my tent, probably in search of our food or water. It was just dark, and only moments after this photo of our campground was taken. Sadly I missed capturing them on this occasion, but they were still there in the morning, wanting to say hello.

And the adventure continues.

Like many others who are only given a certain amount of time off from work, I wanted to see everything in a short space of time. A sole female travelling through Africa? I wasn’t so sure about this idea, so I booked myself into a tour. I chose G Adventures, departing Nairobi, Kenya traversing through Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia to end at Cape Town, South Africa just 40 days later. Most tour operators run the same route, and I made some interesting friends on the Dragoman tour which seemed to follow us to many campsites.

I was off to a great start when my plane departing from Melbourne, Australia had been delayed for 2 hours due to maintenance. Granted this is probably better than riding on an unmaintained plane, a sinking feeling dug at my core. I knew I had a short connection (just 75 minutes) in Dubai, ensuring that I would arrive in Nairobi for a good night’s sleep before we commenced the once-in-a-lifetime African tour at 8am the next morning. Despite the assurance from Emirates staff that the plane would be held, I found myself frantically trying to organise alternative methods to make it to Nairobi when I discovered I would be spending the night in Dubai instead.

My knight in shining armour: Kenyan Airways! Unsurprisingly leaving Dubai at the ungodly hour of 1.30am and arriving at 7am. This was going to be a close call. Being a novice traveller, the sight of missing seats, seats without seat belts, missing entertainment systems, missing arm rests and flickering lights was not the least bit reassuring. However, the lengthy legroom was such a delight. Feeling physically and emotionally exhausted, I soon found myself stretching out and sleeping like a baby. We arrived in Nairobi right on 7 in what turned out to be a completely uneventful flight.

I was kindly and generously allowed to skip the queue at customs, after pleading my story to all those in line. Half the audience understood my plea, and I’m sure the other half just wanted me to stop jabbering at 7 in the morning. I grabbed my bags and rushed out to the front of the airport looking for my lift. I had pre-purchased a transfer from the airport to the hotel (which incidentally was also the hotel where the tour would be departing from). This was the golden ticket. The driver had done this trip many times before for other participants of the same tour. He knew the road into Nairobi was going to take 2 hours at peak hour traffic. We wouldn’t make it. The only way was to catch the tour bus on its way out. Put simply: to rendezvous in the middle somewhere, the only complication was that we couldn’t get a hold of the tour bus so only we knew about the rendezvous.

I sat on the edge of my seat, squinting at all the buses and trucks driving past. It was hopeless, I didn’t know what I was looking for. Plus, not wearing my glasses didn’t exactly help the situation. The traffic was absolute chaos. Smoke covering the horizon, thousands of aimless honks, pedestrians, motorcycles, cars, buses and trucks all fighting for their place on the road. An hour past, I was beginning to feel beaten, lost, thinking now what the hell I am going to do in Africa for 2 months? Then, as we approach another roundabout, the driver shouts out with excitement. The tour truck, with a huge purple G Adventures logo painted on the side of it, drives right past us. The car spins 180 degrees around the roundabout, drives furiously tailgating the truck. The driver waves one arm violently outside the window and smashed the other into the horn. I was glad that the truck noticed us and pulled over pretty quickly, otherwise I was going to have an armless driver next to me.

I met the tour guide, beaming with a smile, relieved that I had made it. I jumped on the back of the truck, full of energy (or was that adrenaline?), looking forward to what was to come.