How Africa changes you and restores your faith in humanity - Part 1
TRAVEL TEACHES YOU LESSONS wHAT NO CLASSROoM CAN. EACH TRIP HELPS PREPARE YOU FOR THE NEXT ONE. FEAR WILL HOLD YOU BACK. DO NOT LET IT – YOU ARE STRONGER THAN YOU KNOW. IT GETS EASIER.
Sept. 1, 2019
BE PREPARED FOR ANYTHING. YOU NEVER THINK IT WILL HAPPEN TO YOU – UNTIL IT DOES.
Exactly one year ago to the day, I stepped foot for the first time in South Africa against my better judgment. This was not my first solo trip – just the first to a continent with so many unknowns. My friends tried to be supportive, but their concerned faces were unwavering, possibly in hopes that I would change my mind – South Africa is one of the most dangerous places for a single female traveler to visit. I had planned for months, dreamt of going for years, contemplated every possible scenario that could go wrong, to include rape, kidnapping, being mugged, losing my passport, being killed, and the list goes on. However, no way could I ever have imagined breaking my wrist, in the middle of nowhere, in Africa, of all places. We will get to that part later….
Cape Town, South Africa
Day 1 & 2
I was part of a G Adventures tour group that would take us from Cape Town, South Africa to Johannesburg, Soweto, Kruger National Park, Letaba Ranch (also Kruger – just more isolated), Bulawayo, Matopos, Hwange and ending at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. We spent the first two days, on our own, exploring Cape Town, where I was able to take a ferry to Robben Island to see Nelson Mandela’s prison cell. Once back, I paid a taxi driver to drive me around to see the South African Penguins and the Cape of Good Hope. Richard (my driver) was so amazing! He got me in to see the penguins after closing time for 20 minutes so I had them all to myself!
COMMUNICATION IS IMPORTANT IN ANY LANGUAGE
Cape town, South Africa
Day 3
As I made my way down to breakfast (which is amazing, BTW), I noticed that the rest of my group had already brought down their bags. There were still a few things I needed to pack and had to run back up before our allotted time to leave. Five minutes before 7, I told our tour guide that I needed to just throw a few things in my bag and would be down. He acknowledged that he heard and headed upstairs to get my things.
As I walked back into the lobby, it was empty. Not a single soul from my group. I had that eerie feeling that I had been left behind. As anxiety started to set in, I remembered that I had snapped a picture of the tour group information, asked the porter if he could call my tour guide to let him know that they had left without me. “Great, I thought. I am going to be THAT person.” The one that ends up in everyone else’s journal. Which I eventually did for many other reasons unbeknownst to me at the time.
My group was only two blocks away at the time, occupying two vehicles, but amidst all the chaos thought I was in the other vehicle. From that point on, my guide always did a head count and I always made sure my bags were ready to go.
BRING THE KITCHEN SINK – EVEN IF YOU DON’T THINK YOU WILL EVER NEED IT
Letaba Ranch, Limpopo Province, South Africa
Day 6
Today we would be driving to Letaba Ranch which is a remote part of Kruger National Park. Our itinerary had mentioned that one night would be spent in a tent chalet. Upon arrival, our bags were brought to our tents and we prepared for our Safari ride.
Five minutes before our Safari I had this brilliant idea to go make my Lion King Video. Lion King and Elton John’s “Circle of Life” is what inspired me to want to go to Africa. As I made my way down the slope, the gravel under my feet shifted and I slipped. It happened so fast, that the shock of me being on the ground was more disturbing than seeing my wrist bent in half! My first thought was, “I didn’t know it could do that!” Later, my occupational therapist would tell you that it can’t.
Our safari ride was rough on the rugged terrain, as if you were on a wooden roller coaster, getting whiplashed at every turn. I’d come too far to quit now, but if you thought that this was the worst of it, you should ask the monkeys who raided my tent. Evidently, while I was out on Safari, monkeys had decided to pillage my tent (taking my chocolate), leaving it on poor Peggy’s porch, eating her cherry tomatoes, and using her bed as a bathroom. I could not make this up even if I wanted to, although, saying I was running from lions when I broke my wrist does sound more exciting!
That first night was painful and frustrating. After fighting the mosquito net, kicking my water bottle under the bed, trying to do things one handed (including taking contacts out) and forgetting to turn the light off once in bed, I thought to myself what in God’s name did I do to deserve this?
TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS
Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
Day 9
Three days after my fall, I’m almost positive that I fractured my wrist due to localized pain. My hand had swollen to the point I could not see my knuckles. It wasn’t until I returned to the US that my surgeon told me I had fractured my wrist in an unusual way and crushed the bones in my hand – it was a pretty traumatic injury.
I had become disabled while on vacation in a third world country, relying on my tour mates for help (who were so patient, kind and understanding), learning how to do things one handed, not being able to do my hair, all of which resulted in having to get up earlier to account for the fact that it took me 10 times longer to do anything.
Today we were making a pit stop in Bulawayo. Over a span of 4 hours, I saw a family doctor, had x-rays taken, was referred to an orthopedic surgeon, and sent to a pharmacy to pick up pain medications and plaster for my cast that the surgeon was going to hand wrap. My total bill came to $235. Despite the setback, it gave me the opportunity to experience healthcare in another country.
As we were waiting in the Pharmacy, I asked my tour guide about his life and what it was like to live in Zimbabwe. It was a rare opportunity to delve deeper into a culture based on a firsthand account that I never would have otherwise had.
We left the surgeon’s office and walked 10 blocks to find a place to eat. Our driver had taken the rest of my group to their next destination so that they could get settled in and was on his way back to fetch us.
You never really understand cultural differences until you find yourself in the middle of one. My guide and I, were sitting in a fairly open area, together, but not, and it wasn’t until I was paying that my guide was explaining to the bartender that we were on a tour, was trying to help me, and that we weren’t a couple. Evidently, I had become the gossip of the whole restaurant without knowing it. Our driver died laughing when the guide retold the story.
