Charlie a new guide who has just started at Sunway jusy returned from his first tour being the Zimbabwe Botswana Game Tracker ZBa16 and has this very interesting blog to share with you... “The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences.” At the start of our trip couldn’t begin to imagine how true these words spoken by Christopher McCandless would end up being! Even though I knew everything would be new, in my wildest dreams I couldn’t expect something of the magnitude of what came.

It all started a couple of days before the tour, preparing for the tour, getting the vehicle ready, working out a menu. This to a young 20-year old Afrikaans farm boy was a revelation in itself! Finally Saturday morning arrived and we got going to the hotel to pick up our clients, with me being a nervous wreck because I imagine every possible thing that could go wrong. However, meeting the 6 clients (4 Swedish and 2 Germans) immediately calmed the nerves down… after all, I was born to work with people and travel with them! We started chatting in the back of the vehicle about where everyone came from, what they do for a living as well as some expectations for the tour.

Even though I’ve been to Kruger National Park plenty of times, this trip would provide me with 2 new experiences going there. First up I travelled a part of the country where I’ve never been before and secondly I got to see the Northern parts of Kruger. I thoroughly enjoyed the travelling to Kruger (possibly more than the clients!) and also got our first lunch out of the way (I realised it was going to be okay to make food on the trip…) on the outskirts of Kruger. I went into full guiding as we entered Kruger and everyone saw a lot to get excited about. The next morning saw us entering a barren Northern part of Kruger (thanks to the massive drought that SA is experiencing) as we travelled to a lovely lodge situated outside Pafuri gate. Exploring the property was an absolute adventure as I managed to find an able companion in one of the dogs. Having dinner in the cave in the surrounding hills served as yet another new experience to me.

Day three saw us entering Zimbabwe through Beitbridge border post. This happened to be a massive new experience to me as I’ve never been in Zimbabwe before. The adventure got even bigger as I had to assist clients with all the paperwork and visa requirements even though I’ve never experienced or done something like this before. Finally after much delays and driving we arrived at Great Zimbabwe where we got booked into the hotel. Exploring the beautiful surroundings turned out to be a big adventure as one of the local monkeys decided to have a go at me (fair enough, I did try to chase him away from a dustbin where he picked up his daily food supply). The following morning we explored the Ruins with our extremely knowledgeable local guide. Starting to fall in love with the surroundings, I realised a piece of my heart was left behind in the breath-taking surroundings. Another first for me was getting into taking selfies (sorry world for only joining the trend now!) and this continued all through the tour. After a healthy brunch we departed to Matobos where I once again embarked on another exploration adventure (this time all by myself) late afternoon. The following morning we set out to track white rhino with our local guide. Even though not a new experience, this was a big adventure nonetheless as we got extremely close to the rhino. However all of that played second fiddle to one of my best experiences of the tour… my first time ever seeing Bushmen paintings. To see how crafty these little people expressed their thoughts on animals through drawings will be a lifelong memory that I’ll treasure. For the afternoon we took on another adventure in the sense of hiking to a sundowner spot. Here I had to negotiate a slippery tree, some rock climbing and a scare as I almost tumbled down, all to get a photo of the group having their drinks.

En route to Hwange the next morning we stopped by a local village where the tourists (and myself!) got to see how the locals lived daily. A leisurely afternoon followed and then I had yet a new experience the evening… a local dance group came by for entertainment, and they were absolutely phenomenal with both dance and animal interpretations. Their baboon mimic was my absolute favourite and then one should also mention the “old man” act. Afterwards everyone got an opportunity to join in the dancing and having a chat with the group. Visiting Hwange (the largest park in Zimbabwe) the following day was an experience to behold. Our guide showcased his expansive knowledge to open up the world around us. However, the birds stole the show for the day, showing off their beautiful colours in the variety and great numbers that we saw. Trying out a new desert, Project X, turned out to be a brilliant idea, even though frowned upon at first (no, I’m not telling anything more, you’ve got to come and experience it for yourself!). The travel to Victoria Falls marked the halfway mark of our tour. After checking in at our hotel and enjoying their lunch we departed for a walk along the Falls along with our local guide. This must’ve been my favourite new experience as I believe I found the place where I’ll ask the hand of my future. Just picture it: standing on rocks that lie on the edge of the Falls with spray raining down all over, providing a lush green background (for some beautiful photos) and surprising the girl of your dreams with a proposal… oh, you know you want to see that! The next day was a relaxing day for the group, however it saw me up at the crack of dawn to chase some local birds. This led to one of my biggest adventures as I got lost along the Zambezi River in an area where big game roam freely and only vehicles are allowed. After that I chose a more sedate way of spending my day by exploring the town. Late afternoon I decided to walk over to Zambia for a drink, however when I crossed into Zambia I realised Livingston (the closest town) was still 10 km away. Disappointed I turned back with only a stamp from the Zambian border post to show for my efforts.

New experiences kept on coming as we entered into Botswana the next day (yet another new country that I had the privilege to visit), but not before we saw Sable (first time seeing them) and Elephants in the road. I experienced my first storm in Botswana as rain came down relentlessly and threatened to stop our braai from happening the evening. However skies cleared up just in time for the guests to visit Chobe by boat while I prepared dinner. Digging deep into my creative side I managed to setup the table with some stories behind every piece of decoration. Having brunch at Kasane (the guests did an optional drive where they saw Lion) made for a late arrival in Nata where we wanted to visit the Makgadikgadi pans (however roads wasn’t accessible due to loads of rain). After being spoiled with meatballs on many road trips (thanks for those Mom!) for the first time in my life I had to make this delicacy all by myself. The following day we travelled to Maun, close to the Okavango Delta. I didn’t enter the Delta with the clients, but I had some time to work on my farewell to them namely a photo presentation of the trip highlights.

Our second last day of the trip was a long day of travelling and then some great game viewing in Khama Rhino Sanctuary. However, another challenge arisen that led to a memorable experience… getting stuck! Being blessed with no vehicle problems to date, I jumped out and started digging the truck from the sand. Digging for a second time turned out to be enough the clear Rose (our truck) from the soft sand and we headed back to the houses. Farewells and many thanks were expressed after dinner and everyone then headed to bed. Our final day on tour started with another new experience as we crossed back into SA (I’ve missed the country far too much!) and I got my final border stamp in my passport. My final first experience on tour was seeing OR Tambo airport for the first time, and it reminded of a small town with all the buzz going on.

Looking back on my first big Adventure working for Sunway Safaris this young 20-year old Afrikaans farm boy can recognise plenty of new experiences and look forward to building on those in the future. “The very basic core of My living spirit is My passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from My encounters with new experiences.”