botswana

Props to my soon to be sister@layseahughes for most of these epic photos.

The Middle of Nowhere

Getting to Botswana is a grind. 24 hours door to door, plus nine hours time difference...to get to Johannesberg.

(I did get a steam room + hot tub night cap on night one.

It found me.)

Currently writing on another plane ride...at which point we'll board another plane...to get to our first camp. I've now lost count on the number of hours. One layer of "once in a lifetime" is the marathon of travel. The best of times are ahead.

Remote is an understatement. In the vast landscape, I see no signs of humans. Untouched. This is truly the middle of nowhere.

Holy Shit (Gomoti Plains)

Without pause, we jumped into our safari cars, and started our adventure into the bush.

Within minutes we stumbled on both elephants and lions.

Holy shit.

Adrenaline high.

The lions yawned big with their massive dagger teeth, and the elephants looked majestic in the tall yellow grass, dazzling with the sunset light. It felt too good to be true.

I could be done now and it would've been worth it.

Fully stoked out on the journey ahead.

Every day was action packed. Some absolutely electric moments.

Chilling in the shade with a nice breeze, at the base of a watering hole, feasting our eyes on a huge elephant enjoying himself. Within minutes, a herd of 19 elephants parade out of the forest, within feet of our van, joining in on the fun. At one point everyone froze in place, mouths down, completely consumed in the moment. Electric
After two different interactions with lions, I was honestly underwhelmed. Big nappers and generally unfriendly (more on that later). But then...we stumbled on those same four boring napper lions feasting on a dead, freshly killed elephant. Electric
Our resort was super lux and in the hours between safari rides we relaxed at the pool. Again, out of the forest, another group of 10+ elephants paraded out to take an afternoon mud bath across the channel, maybe 100 feet from us. Electric
A female leopard feasting on an impala that was pulled into the upper branches of a huge tree. And then tracking a male leopard through the bush at sunset. Electric

And some very notable honorary mentions:

A family of hyenas enjoying the early morning hours
The hippos pooping with their tales in a helicopter like motion, showering the area with shit
Hundreds of vultures sitting in the trees, waiting for the lions to leave the elephant feast
Speeding home in the pitch dark, with a huge elephant trumpeting as we sped by
The honey badger, actively not giving a shit

Epic. Nonstop. Action.

But as a famous man once wrote, "it wasn't all fun and soaking butts".

While "chilling", waiting for the lion to awake, I casually reached out to grab a piece of tall grass. A lion very quickly jolted up and stared right at me. Not chill. Uncomfortably, I sat like a statue for the next hour. I put on headphones to try and calm the nerves. But yet again, as I attempted to put on my jacket, the movement prompted a second jolt of attention from that same lion, directly at me. Less than 10 feet away. The fear of death at the hands of a lion. Fuck that.

A Nice Soak (Okavango Delta)

I write this sitting on the deck of a luxurious tent, the sun has just come up, and I have a vast pink sky around me. A giraffe is slowly making his way across the open field in front of me. This is hard to beat.

The hustle bustle has relaxed, and I'm enjoying the quiet beauty of this magical place.

A nice soak.

Great sunsets and epic stars. Vast fields filled with palm trees, with plentiful numbers of warthogs, elephants, giraffes, and impala all around us. For a nice change of pace we've opted into more variety, with a walking safari and canoe trip to start our days. Seeing the land at eye level, at a slower pace.

A major highlight was a colorful sunset with strong tones of orange, red, purple, and blue. The lagoon in front of us reflecting those same colors. And over 40 hippos collected in the lagoon, clearly enjoying their evening. The silhouette of big bulls with big mouths. Grunting noises that weirdly sounded off in harmony. And a round of gin and tonics to successfully cheers another great day. Moments like this stay with you forever.

At dusk we rode off into the night, only to have 16 green eyeballs staring at us. Two female lions and six cubs, making their way to the watering hole. The next morning we cruised to the same location to find three male lions eating a massive hippo on the river side. Across the way -- those same six lion cubs eating a gazelle, playing, and nursing with their moms. This place is truly insane.

Another cycle of notable mentions --

Giraffes everywhere you look. Hanging out next to our tents, offering a friendly greeting as we walked to and from the main lodge
Starting our walking safari with a casual, "these are leopard tracks from earlier today, let's see if we can find him" (we didn't, and I'm good with it)
A brazen warthog chasing a herd of zebra, blowing up a prolonged hunting expedition of two female lions we were tracking
Playing games with impala poop pebbles (who can spit the impala poop the furthest?!?)
The "chillest of charters", the early morning canoe trip through the tall grass of a shallow river

A nod to the wonderful Botswanian guides that we developed friendships with. Their connection to the land inspired me. A deep knowledge of the sounds and tendencies of the animals they share the land with -- tuned into the inter-contentedness of the natural world and their own world. This is all they know.

Having a fresh perspective, a helpful point of reflection, as I evaluate my own challenges and aspirations through a new lens.

Step back. Turn off. Reset.

Out of the weeds. Into the clouds. A better view of the big picture.

A Sweet Goodbye (Victoria Falls)

When the world stopped for just that moment. A peak life moment. I live for them, and I have them at volume. I will never lose this day. One day in my future I will link back to it, and be able to sit where I sit now. The memory implanted.

I ended my book with this. A moment frozen in time. A memory forever cherished.

This circled my head as I stood in front of Victoria Falls. The power, scale, glory of the mile wide waterfall. Overwhelmed. Frozen. Consumed.

Connecting back to those rare moments in my life. My first eyes on Zion. The Grand Canyon. Havasupai. The raw power of nature. The best of the best.

Moments like this are the most valuable. Gratitude fills my heart. I leave this place a better human.

A sweet goodbye.

A big thank you to my parents who planned and paid for this entire trip. I will remember this for the rest of my life and I am extremely thankful. I love you.

And appreciation to Julia, Josh, Laysea, and Christian who added flavor, fun, and spice to this epic adventure. If your friends are the family you pick, I feel lucky to have you as both family and best friends.

And if I'm being honest with you. The best animal I saw on the entire trip, was this cutie in her natural habitat (my bed), as soon as I got home.