The savanna: Where it all comes to an end

I recently heard a story about eight people visiting Botswana. They were all anxious about different things. One was terrified of spiders and ants, one of the predators, one of the government's bureaucracy, one of getting sick, one of crocodiles, one of mosquitos, one of just being too close and exposed to the nature and one of the risk that the group would break down by all the anxiety. It was an interesting story, since it is just one month since I left Botswana and because I would say that fear and stress were fairly predominant feelings during our trip.

However, while there, I was thinking that it all had been easier if we didn't decide to fly ourselves. Then we would have been out in the nature enjoying everything and blaming others when the logistics didn't work out. I wouldn't have been worried about rain, low clouds, plane brakes, fuel stations, fuel guys, immigration protocols or wing flaps. But I am not sure this is true, at all. 

I tend to find things to worry about and even though this trip was one of the most adventurous we ever have done, I think it would have been almost equally stressful being in difficult situations where someone else made all the decisions. However, I never worried about the sounds of hippos right outside the tents. Neither about the amount of mosquitos or that specific sound of frogs and crickets playing in the night. I didn't worry about getting sick by strange food or eaten up by a lion. In our case every stay at the different lodges were the most peaceful and pleasant thing. The wildlife became the rest. I slept so well in the tent close to the river and I loved waking up in the chilly air and having my morning coffee right in the middle of the wildlife. 

I think it is about different experiences and different perspectives. It is too easy to minimise one's own endeavors and ordeals. However, if you have never slept in a jungle, then it is a mind-blowing and sometimes anxious experience doing it, realising you have that wildlife right outside the tent. If you have never been flying a small plane, a ten seat cessna, which is the commercial plane in this area, feels tiny and unsafe and the muddy airstrip impossibly short. And if you are used to big hotels and cities, a small tent lodge is a quite exposed way of travelling the delta and the savanna.

Well, we were used to flying small planes and my husband was taught flying where the air strip was on a short grass field by a lake right outside Stockholm. We had done our adventures in the Bornean jungle and we had seen crocodiles while walking and diving. That made the wildlife experience into a calm and peaceful memory for life. And I am still most surprised by how tall those giraffes get. That is impossible to imagine. Or how strange the pattern of a herd of zebras look like. 

The circle of life... In Mashatu National park.

We went on the craziest trip ever and it has taken me weeks to recover. We met so many people that helped us out when we needed and who payed so much interest to our story, even though it started getting quite bizarre at one point. I have seen so many impressive landscapes, cuddly and cool animals, beautiful sunsets and breathtaking views. I have been so stressed around things I couldn't make an impact on and relieved every time we managed to solve it. And I am happy and proud of all the difficult decisions we hade to make, realising that we are an excellent team. I will never ever forget these places in the Southern Africa and this journey has most probably, in one way or another, changed me.