WALKING WITH ELEPHANTS

Who would ever think of going on safari for your honeymoon? Well...in actuality....many people.

My honeymoon was spent in Kenya years ago. At that time there were few camps and little electricity. I can remember my new husband trying to get a cold beer and looking for the TV in our 1st tented camp. He had not yet gotten to know the adventurous life his new wife (me) had planned for him.

Now days, the real world has come to Africa. If you can imagine the most wonderful accommodations in the world, in the middle of nowhere, that is the Africa of today.

In South Africa, the Singita properties are some of the most sybaritic.
From Johannesburg, you fly into the “Bush” (read wilderness) in a very small plane and land on a dirt airstrip with giraffes grazing alongside. At Singita Boulders under thatched roofs, the super deluxe rondovals (African style cottages), come complete with plunge pools, sun decks, fireplaces and romantic outdoor showers (there are indoor ones too). After an early morning of game viewing, there is nothing like submerging yourself in your private pool and watching the parade of wild animals traipse by.

Kenya also has some very deluxe accommodations that are “over the top”. Ol Donyo Wuas is one of the best in the Chyulu Amboseli region. Here under a thatched roof you have wonderful beds with a view of your huge bath tub at the edge of a picture window with a view of Mt. Kilimanjaro in the background.

But my favorite safari experiences have been in Botswana. For me, “Bots” represents the true
Africa of old. Tented camps like Stanley’s Camp, or Duba Plains or Jacks Camp are to me the epitome of what an African safari is all about.

These are no ordinary tents. The come complete with wooden floors covered with oriental rugs, soft beds and warm running water in the baths. There is even a warm water bottle nestled at the bottom of your bed at night to keep the sheets and your toes warm.


At Stanley’s Camp in Botswana, you can join in a real live experiment. Walking with elephants. In an effort to save the elephant population of South Africa, a young couple saved a number of elephant calves and brought them to the Okavango Delta near Stanley’s Camp. They have raised these elephants and are now habituating many of these and other elephants into the bush. If you are a guest at Stanley’s Camp, you too can join in the fun. Not only do you walk with the elephants, you can even feed them or bathe with them in the local watering hole.

The best thing about a safari is the ability to get up close and personal with the animals. Taking your safari vehicle into a pride of sleeping lions...or chasing cheetahs sprinting after a kill. But nothing can prepare you for the amazing relationship you can have with the elephants. The babies are so small....but the big bulls are so huge they tower way above you.

In the game parks, they still don’t have TVs (thank goodness), but the electrical situation has become much better. Generators in some places still chug into the night to keep the beer cold and the variation and luxury of some of the camps are stunning. I am sure the early inhabitants of Africa could not have foreseen what this future was to bring. If only the elephants could tell you the beautiful history of this continent as you walk with them trunk in hand.