Acacia has been my working home for the past 4 months and there is so much that I have learnt to appreciate about Africa and this great company that gives the traveller the best experiences and unforgettable memories.
Being 22 years old and coming from a young traveller’s perspective, I have travelled through parts of Southern Africa and the excitement that grabs you when you begin that journey through bumpy roads and elephant filled bushes will leave you wanting more.
If I think back to my travels, we came across fascinating and sometimes peculiar cultures and people, as many will agree Africans are among some of the most humble people on this planet, many will welcome you and greet you with a huge smile even though many have seen civil war and poverty strike their place they call home.
Adding to this the journey is no doubt the wildlife and natural wonders that as a African whether you are from the North or the South is one of the most valuable and irreplaceable parts of our heritage that we get to share with yourselves and travellers from all over the world. Not many get to say they have seen the thousands of Buffalos migrating to warmer lands, or the herds of elephant families and the Lions exploring their territory.
Trust me in Africa, every kilometre travelled and step you take is an adventure, the best and unforgettable story that I can share would be the day we travelled across the Kazangula ferry, this is a ferry that takes you across the Great Zambezi and connects Botswana, Namibia and Zambia. As we take our place in the queue of cars and trucks waiting in line to board this rather odd looking floating device, finally it was our turn to board. Anticipation and slight fear started to set in as the ferry begins to sway as the great Zambezi River smashes the ferry from side to side. Finally we are on, thinking the worst was behind us, I look behind me, to my horror, a ferry that can take around 12 cars, just my luck they have managed to find the biggest and longest truck I have ever seen to board with us, I could not believe my eyes as there was only enough space for this monster of truck and our vehicle, as myself and a friend hold on to the side for dear life, screaming at every bump and sway while on-lookers laughed in hysterics. Your mind starts to wonder, I wonder how long it would take to swim to land, past crocodiles and hippos there was no way I was going to go down. But after a 15 minute trek that felt like hours, was over and we reached the other side, relieved and little embarrassed from acting as if we were on the Titanic. It was an amazing adventure, it may be a small silly story to some but to me it is one of those stories I will never forget for a very long time.
This is what Africa does, she grabs you and never lets you go.
Written by Sam Crawford – Acacia Reservations