Bob and Suzan Boudreau
Suzan and I have titled this piece, “A realistic travel review of our pre- and post-pandemic trip to Africa.” It touches on both the realities and the romance in preparing for and experiencing this adventure of a lifetime.
From the day Dee and Ronnie Pitcher gave their presentation in our city to the day Suzan and I began our journey to the dark continent, our trip was 1,141 days in the making…January 31 2019 to April 14, 2022.
In early February of 2019, we put down a deposit and began to dream about and build our trip. All the preparations continued throughout that year. It was late March 2020 with a departure date of April 4 2020, when the entire world, as we knew it, changed. We all “hunkered down” mostly for the next two years dealing with the pandemic and all that involved, both personally and professionally.
That brings us to April 14, 2022, the day we left Lethbridge, for Calgary and then onto Amsterdam and Johannesburg, South Africa.
As exhausting as it is to review what it took to realize our journey, Suzan and I can say, without hesitation, the trip was absolutely worth it and exceeded our expectations! Details follow.
As we look back through our personal journal, “Your ultimate safari companion,” (HostedAfrica) given to us by the Pitchers, the Kruger Park Map and Guide (3rd Edition, 2021) along with hundreds of pictures, it feels like the words in this review can never truly do justice in communicating the positive, personal impact of this trip—what we saw and who we met. But here goes!
As we age and add to our lives, it gets more and more difficult to impress each of us. And it gets more difficult to add “firsts” or check off those items on our various bucket lists. This trip did that for Suzan and I, and no doubt for many of our companion travellers.
Behind the scenes and in front of the cameras, Dee and Ronnie took care of us and every detail and situation that an 18-day trip entails—for example, from arranging flights, buses, happy hours, meals, accommodations, walking with us through airports and dealing with bureaucracies and various covid challenges, to a boat engine that did not want to start and a flat tire on the way to the airport. And all of these do not include the unique, one-off challenges, that couples may have faced and presented to Ronnie and Dee on a daily basis. They never seemed to get flustered, always had a smile, and exuded a confidence that things would all work out in the end. And they did. The value of this type of leadership and care can never be underestimated, especially when you are literally thousands of miles from home.
Such a trip is not for the faint of heart. It involves commitment and effort. If you understand that up front and are willing to take it on and at times, operate outside your comfort zone, you will forever be thankful you took this trip.
For the four weeks we were in Africa, Suzan and I experienced an amazing number and variety of places and events. Some of the highlights included: golf, and visits to the Apartheid Museum and the Soweto township in Johannesburg; a helicopter ride over Victoria Falls; a visit to a Cheetah Outreach with the opportunity to pet Romeo the Cheetah; seeing ostriches on the beach and spending an afternoon with a great many penguins; wine and olive oil tasting and villa tours; some down time in Capetown, shopping and sightseeing from Table Mountain; ziplining, touring a jungle floor, and visiting a traditional Shangana Village. Of course, there were also 4 separate safaris and 16 game drives, where we got to see the Big 5 and Big 7, the Ugly 5, countless types of birds and even chameleons. Every morning and afternoon game drive offered something new and different from the previous one. That’s why Dee reminded us to “never miss one drive, because you never what new you will miss .”
The time of day, the location, the variety of foods, along with singing and dancing in a few instances, meant that most, shared meals within our traveling cohort were unique and unforgettable. We sampled a vast array of international and traditional dishes and foods including, bobotie, boerewors, seared springbok, crocodile, melkert, bunny chow, malva pudding, and mopane worms (for the most adventurous). We shared food and drink (e.g., local wines, beers, & Amarula) at various times during each African day. At: pre-dawn, breakfast, morning coffee, brunch, lunch, afternoon tea, happy hour, and dinner. We ate and drank across many different locations and settings including, restaurants, open-air dining rooms (with the possibility of seeing different animals) bomas, and in the bush. One meal that particularly stands out was the Mother’s Day brunch that Dale and his staff at Notten’s Bush Camp put on for us all after that Sunday morning game drive.
The quality of the what, where, and when of the food and drink we shared was all that it was advertised it would be.
The purple, pink, and red sunrises and sunsets as well as the star gazing at night were simply amazing—what you see on postcards and in books.
Whiskey, Bob’s golf caddie @ Glendower; Ed and Ann, Chuck and Linda, Fay and Paula, Bob and Sharon, David and Sheila, Chris and Monica, Ron and Joyce, Ronnie and Dee; Meebe, our bus driver and Gavin our tour guide throughout Capetown; Nathan driver of the “Super 6, ” @ Kambaku River Sands and Rainy, our spotter @ Kambaku; Keenan our driver at Nottens Bush Camp, and Joe our spotter at Nottens. These were the people we will never forget from our trip!
Our accommodations in the cities, towns, and National Parks were extraordinary, each in their own, unique way and setting. Our only regret, is that we did not have enough time to spend just enjoying our surroundings, especially at our four safari locations.
Through these last two years during the pandemic, we have all become more isolated. More recently, with the war in the Ukraine, we have become an even more divided, global village. For a few of us, Ronnie and Dee’s tour brought us closer and together, albeit for a brief time. But the world needs more of this. Thank you, Dee and Ronnie!
Suzan and I cannot wait for our next trip to Africa to experience more safaris, migrations, and maybe even a visit with the mountain gorillas. We hope we can convince Dee and Ronnie to join up and lead the way!
Happy trails,
Bob and Suzan Boudreau
