Written on May 26th:
I’m in the transit lounge of the Jo’burg International Airport. I left Zambia, and Bruno, this morning. It’s strange being among all these people when I have spent the vast majority of the past 5 months with only one. In a few hours, a plane will bring me to Dubai, then onwards to New York and Washington, DC, where I will attend my friend Erin’s wedding (the same Erin I went to the Philippines with in 2009!). After that, I will pass briefly through New York and then back “home”, to New Brunswick, to my parents’ haven by the sea.
I am so thankful for the camper van road trip through Southern Africa that Bruno and I have shared. I experienced so many firsts – my first time off-roading in a vehicle, my first time experiencing gale force winds, my first serious tropical disease. I was mock charged by my first elephant, saw my first cheetahs and leopards, and had my first elephants roaming through our campsite! I slept beside hippo-infested rivers and under massive birds’ nests, under colossal African skies, and next to flooded salt pans. I visited new countries – notably Swaziland and Zambia – and got to know Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa even better. Every day was an adventure, a chance to explore beautiful landscapes, historically significant monuments, and culturally diverse villages. The panorama through the window of our Land Cruiser constantly revealed beautiful and intriguing places, and, thanks to the gift of ample time, Bruno and I were often able to get out from behind that window and discover. What a precious gift…
As I reflect upon my voyage, a few highlights stand out. Of all the things I’ve seen and done in the past 155 days, here are my top five:
5) Feeding the birds in the middle of the Namib Desert
4) Spending a week by the beach at Chintsa West, on the Wild Coast of South Africa
3) Camping in the salt pans of Botswana at the Nata Bird Sanctuary
2) Being surrounded by elephants at Bwabwata National Park in the Caprivi Strip of Namibia
1) Spotting the leopard 10m away, drinking from the water hole at Mbezi Park in South Africa
Truly, though, the best part of this entire journey was spending it with Bruno. I’m not one to get sentimental in public, but spending the past five months with him, sharing his life and his camper van, the adventures and challenges of travel, and the depths of our spirits, have shown both of us that we belong together. Not everyone is lucky enough to meet their soul mate, their other half, their life partner, but Bruno and I are that lucky. This unfolding of our relationship, dear readers, has been the best part of our journey.
As such, after making my rounds in North America, I will be heading back out to Africa to reunite with Bruno. We will begin a new chapter together, one surely worthy of blogging about. The details of that chapter will just have to wait. Perhaps your curiosity will get the better of you, and you will find yourself revisiting Wandering Footsteps in the coming weeks just to find out what we have in store!
Bruno - The continuation of the journey arrives or what?! Hi, hi, hi…
Bruno.