Our "Final" Africa Trip... Not

For the past few years, my mom and I have said we'd travel to new destinations instead of returning to Africa so frequently. In 2017, we said our trip all around Africa would be our last. In 2018, we said our trip to Victoria Falls, the Kalahari and the Okavango Delta would be our last. In fact, in 2018 we found ourself in Africa... twice. We said this trip would be our last, but let's be honest... It won't really (we actually even have another Africa trip scheduled). Why? There is no greater feeling than falling asleep to lions roaring, hippos grunting, bushes rustling. There is no greater feeling than waking up to the pitch blackness, anticipating the day ahead and not knowing what you'll come across. There's no greater feeling than being bundled up in a safari car surrounded by people who love the bush as much as you, all while listening to the animals waking up in this very landscape. There is no greater feeling than being in Africa. My heart is full when I'm there, and yearns for a return when I am not. My heart beats to an African drum. Lucky for us, we leave tomorrow.

Sunset in Duba Plains, Botswana.

For those of you who have been following my adventures for awhile, you might remember that my mom and I took a month long trip to Tanzania, Madagascar, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, and Rwanda at the end of 2017. Well, we're back for round two. Now I know what you're thinking... what is so great about these places? Put simply, the African continent is so big that it keeps you coming back for more. In each destination, we'll be doing different activities and hopefully this time, we won't have to outrun an approaching cyclone in Madagascar. 


Here's a quick glimpse of what we plan to do this time around...

Tanzania. My home away home. We've been to the Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Tarangire, and many more national parks over the years. This time we'll be staying in Arusha, a city at the base of Mt. Meru, to see our longtime friends Walter, Linda, Fashood, Happy, Anita, and we'll meet newborn Trisha! 

On our last trip, we were awake with our friends until almost 3am!!

Madagascar.  You might recall that it was quite iffy whether or not we'd be able to go to Madagascar at the end of 2017 due to a really bad case of the plague. We landed in Madagascar on New Year's Day, but were evacuated a day later due to approaching Cyclone Ava. So, we're back for round two in Andasibe-Mantadia National Park, a dense rain forest home to the largest species of lemur, more than 50 types of reptiles and more than 100 types of birds, plus wild orchids. We'll also go to nearby Analamazaotra National Park in search of lemurs as well as a night hike to find more critters!

Ready for lemurs round two!

South Africa.  I've given up on being at the top of Table Mountain, as every single day was clouded over on our last trip. Instead, I'll be hiking Lion's Head/Signal Hill from Kloof Nek at 5:30 in the morning to watch the sun rise over Cape Town. We'll visit Bo-Kaap (a super colorful neighborhood great for architectural photography) and go on a Woodstock street art tour. We'll also visit the Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden. Continuing on to Johannesburg, we’ll visit Rising Star cave (again!!) where paleoanthropologists have excavated more than 1,550 fossils. 

Inside the Rising Star Cave site with Nat Geo Explorer Lee Berger in 2018. 

Namibia. Did someone say calamari? We had the best calamari of our lives here, so you can bet we'll be stuffing our faces!! We'll also go on a walking tour of Swakopmund, a quaint town with German influence, and I'll be heading out to the dunes for some quad-biking. SO excited! 

We dream of this calamari...

Botswana. We’ll be traveling to the Okavango Delta, a wildlife photographer's paradise, where we will be reunited with our friend and guide KB. He is a fantastic fellow photographer and great at predicting animal behavior (it's scary how good he is!!!) so we always have a blast. 

With KB in 2018.

Rwanda. Due to my altitude sickness, we didn't go gorilla trekking last time... Well, the times have changed. We're heading up to Volcanoes National Park. The bamboo forests of the Virunga volcanic range are home to half of the approximately 800 mountain gorillas left in the wild. Let that sink in... 800. Mountain. Gorillas. Only. Don't worry, I have meds this time. Here, we'll also be reunited with our friend Tuma, who we met on our last trip. 

With our friend Tuma in 2018

The memory cards are stocked up... 20 days of photographing non-stop. 20 days of exploration. 20 days of being on my favorite continent. Africa, I’m ready for you!


Thanks for reading about my African adventures… Stay tuned for what’s to come and be sure to hit the subscribe button to be notified of new posts! As always, follow my Instagram @elissatitle for more pics.