Safari of Costantino and Alessandra
Africa: where the journey started
Three adjectives for Your Journey :
Intense, existential, romantic.
The biggest thrill :
We can’t mention only one: the vision of the Dead Vlei, the sense of peace and balance given by the Grootberg canyon, the black rhino mock charging us during the tracking on foot, the first desert elephant in Damaraland, a big herd of elephants moving towards a waterhole in the Etosha, a pride of lions in the Ongava Reserve and the sighting the leopard Elettra in the Okonjima Nature Reserve.
A special sighting :
It is hard to choose also in this case. In the Etosha National Park: a lioness that, after a long wait and some grumbling, comes out of the bush to drink at the Salvadora waterhole and shortly after, on the way back to Okaukuejo, a coalition of four cheetahs next to the road. In the Ongava Reserve: the night encounter of a female black rhino and a female white rhino, with their respective babies, at the flood-lit waterhole of Ongava Lodge.
A breathtaking view :
The view of the desert from our tent at Wolwedans Dunes Lodge and the breathtaking scenery of the NamibRand Nature Reserve, the unreal landscape of the Dead Vlei, the Moon Landscape and the Grootberg canyon.
The greatest teaching :
Patience is the secret.
A fear that you passed :
None in particular, but the darkness covering the Namib Desert at night is somewhat scary.
A small thing :
The arrival of two Himba women, coming out of nowhere, at a petrol station while we were refueling. An unexpected apparition that left us astonished.
Your guide :
Among the guides, all very knowledgeable and thoughtful, we particularly enjoyed Elias at Wolwedans.
One thing I do again :
We would like to do everything again, and possibly even more, but if we really have to highlight something we would climb one more time Big Daddy, the highest dune at Sossusvlei, and descend again by jumping and rolling in the sand.
Field favorite and why :
Wolwedans Dunes Lodge: red, simple, elegant, magic and with an excellent cuisine.
Africa : before and after the trip :
Before we were thrilled and a little bit intimidated. We knew that origins of humankind are in Africa, that life as we know it started here. After our journey, apart from the marvel, the excitement and the desire of going back to Africa soonest, we kind of understood why everything started right in Africa.