Safari Nights

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The people of South Africa stand as the example of everything good about humanity. They believe in peace and sharing and harmony. I like to think their souls are beautiful because they are a part of a true circle of life here. They understand their place among the animals, in the grass, with the trees, all while walking with their ancestors.

Our evening drives were the perfect decrescendo to the day. As the golden hour set and the Southern Cross smiled down from the heavens, we sipped our cocktails over the endless horizon and said good night to all the creatures we had shared in the moment with. I try to go back to this place in my memory when I lay in bed awake early in the morning. I try to remember the colors of the sky, the whites of the horns, the sounds of nature and vastness of view. I try to remember that all that is good is all that ever was.

As we boarded the plane to leave, I was planning how to come back. The great migration, Tanzania, Kenya, gorillas in the mist… I think I have begun a lifelong love affair for all that is Africa. These photographs are all that remain of our fading memories now. As the years press on and we set out to new lands, new experiences, I hope this place stays just the way it was so that future generations can experience what we have and know this love now in our hearts.

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Safari Afternoons

I will never forget hearing the first roar from a lion. My entire body filled with adrenaline, fear, anxiety, total alertness. It is a sound that cuts straight to the center of your chest, an emotional reaction that feels today the same way it must have felt to humans thousands of years ago. We would cruise around, tracking paw prints in the sand. It was always breathtaking when we found our animal, it was always the most beautiful thing.

There were these wonderfully quiet moments where we would just sit in silence among the wild and all the world felt in perfect harmony. In contrast we had other times where we were speeding through the African tundra, chasing a lioness on the run, our hearts racing! “Tattle tail” birds would scream warnings of the predator on the move while giraffe, zebras, and impalas ran for their lives. Fear and adrenaline pump through your blood, a high we felt for hours. Being in the presence of something much stronger and more powerful than you, understanding and observing the circle of life, how it is such a beautiful balance, makes you respect and appreciate the world just as it is when it just IS.

We were so fortunate to stay at this beautiful resort but even if you were anywhere else, it doesn’t change the way the sunrise looks in the misty morning, the quiet way elephants migrate past you or the feeling in your soul when a lion looks you right in the eye…

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