We have just reached a huge milestone in our business. I am proud to say that we are celebrating our 20th anniversary. What a wonderful journey this has been. I wanted to do something really special to commemorate this accomplishment. For months I toyed around with different ideas of how we would like to celebrate—we have traveled to so many fabulous places over the years.

So, where did I personally want to go to celebrate? What could Brad and I do that was a little different from what we normally do and still meet all of our needs? It takes a lot to wow me these days, sad, but true. Yet, the simple things in life are the most beautiful. This industry has been fabulous to me. I have experienced things that most people can only dream of. I wanted to relax, but I knew that I didn’t want just a fabulous beach or a trendy spa. I wanted an experience.

The perfect choice, then, was a safari. We decided to treat them to a stay at MalaMala Sable Camp for four nights. Brad and I had done MalaMala in the past and we loved it and wanted to share it with them. Teenagers all want immediate gratification so this choice was perfect. We saw the Big 5 by our second game run. From MalaMala they went to Cape Town for a few days. Brad and I were going on to Botswana for nine nights by ourselves.

Leaving my diamond watch, Gucci shoes and Prada bag at home, I quickly traded them for hiking boots, my safari bag and a sensible hat. Neither makeup nor hair dryer, curling iron nor phone—not even my beloved Blackberry—were of use to me in Botswana. And, yes, I could live in 110-degree heat with no air-conditioning, TV or Internet service. My perfume was of no use as it clashed with “Peaceful Sleep,” the ru du rigueur of mosquito repellent.

I am a real girly girl—I like all of the creature comforts in life but I also want adventure and cultural experiences. I like exceptional service, good food, massages and pedicures. I want a room (suite) with a view. I would love my own “plunge pool” wherever possible, especially in a warm climate. I also want a separate shower and all of the luxury that one can expect to have in a bathroom, i.e. running water, flushing toilets, robes and nice towels.

I would like a workout room (if I so desired). I like attention to detail. I don’t like crowds and I abhor waiting in line for anything. Some would call it snobbish, but I have been blessed to be in an industry where I have become spoiled. Others feel exactly the same as I do (you know who you are)—you are the same ones who can identify with exactly what I am saying. I am no different than most of our clientele.
 
I really don’t like to fly. I have never met a G5 that I didn’t like, but I still don’t really enjoy flying. So, when I do, it is never on a small plane, and heaven help me if it’s a helicopter. I rode in one once, landing on a glacier—it was nice, but I took something for anxiety and I really don’t remember much of the trip. But if memory serves me correctly, I didn’t like it very much.

Wilderness Safaris was the perfect answer for me. We have been doing business with them over the past few years, and our business has constantly been growing. Every client they have ever handled on our behalf had nothing but wonderful things to say about them. I would soon experience this for myself.

I thought that I had seen Africa until I had been to Botswana. The beauty and tranquility, the people, the camps, it all blew me away. We stayed at Jao, Kings Pool, and Vumbura Plains. We went to Mombo by helicopter (and I loved it). All accommodations were mind-blowing in the most picturesque of settings blending into the landscape. I was not “roughing it.”

 All four camps were completely different, all with their own personalities yet the same in many ways, the ways that counted. The people, their generosity and warm smiles were beyond what one could expect. The game viewing was awe-inspiring. Each day I never would have believed that it could surpass what we had seen the day before. The hunt, the chase, the kill, the wounded, the nurturing, the amazing sights were all so surreal. I kept pinching myself to see if it was really happening.

Out in the bush and yet I was still able to have many of the comforts I have come to love. We had plunge pools in some of the camps, verandahs and all had huge king-size beds with down pillows and a luxurious duvet. To wake up in the morning and see the beautiful African sunrise left me speechless.

I still had to put on my Bobbi Brown lip gloss for every game run just to maintain my feminine side, even though the bugs and sand stuck to my lips like glue. I probably looked ridiculous, but I didn’t care. But, I was in Botswana, beautiful and unspoiled Botswana. I even had a massage at one of the camps while the roar of the lions was present in the distance.