Last month, I went on a safari with African Environments, and memories of that extraordinary experience have dominated my thinking since I returned. It was my third safari, my second with African Environments, and it was far and away the best one. I travel a lot – last year I was out of the house 134 nights, about average – but going on safari is not just another great trip, it’s a truly unique experience.
We were hiking and sleeping in tents in the wildest parts of the Serengeti, where very few safaris are permitted to go, and we saw nobody else for days; and at night, exhausted and thrilled with our adventures, we fell asleep to the whoops and whines of hyenas and the huffing of lions.
There were five of us; me, my sons Morgan and Mike, Ben, our driver and guide, and Richard, the owner of African Environments. It was a brilliant bunch, and we enjoyed challenging hikes, cold beers, terrific meals and terrible jokes.
Ben was just amazing; charismatic, witty, extremely knowledgable, and able to spot nearly invisible animals at great distances while negotiating exceedingly difficult driving—not all of which was on any kind of road.
Richard, who was on my previous safari, and with whom I’ve kept in touch for years, isn’t just a a legendary safari operator, he’s also an old friend and great company.
I live (with bears in our woods) in western Massachusetts, Mike lives in the Dominican Republic and Morgan lives even further away from me, in Colorado, and enjoying an epic adventure with them was as special as all of the unbelievable animal sightings.
We camped for two weeks in six places, one of which was with the Hadzabe, a nomadic hunter-gather tribe whose click language and DNA are unique—unrelated to any other people on earth. For most of human history, people have lived like these foragers, but the modern world is crowding them out of existence and their future is short. There are fewer than 1,000 still living a traditional life, which we were privileged to witness. They allowed us to tag along on a hunt, when they bagged two monkeys and one bushbaby. It was one of the most profound experiences of my life.
Another high point was the Maasai, who we camped near in the Ngorogoro Highlands. When we were leaving, the elder of the local tribe, whom I met on my previous safari, presented me with a gorgeous ebony rungu, a club traditionally carried like a scepter by warriors and other esteemed members of the tribe. Moved almost to tears, I asked him why he gave it to me. Because you came back, he replied.
I can’t overstate how special this trip was, which was the combination of being so well taken care of by African Environments, being with family, witnessing the unique and magnificent flora and fauna of true wilderness, and becoming acquainted with people whose lives are so different from ours.
Written by Lincoln Russell
