"Close your eyes, dream it and now believe it!" these are the words that our travel agent used as she crafted our trip to Africa.
We did a vision board from big cats to elephant herds and ended with a package combination that was a safari photographer's dream.
We started in Johannesburg, the city of gold and because of our flight arrival time, we decided to spend the night before heading out. This meant our trip started with a concrete jungle experience... with buildings and skyscrapers forming a horizon that became a common tattoo for local South Africans. We visited Soweto and had an earlier dinner at a "tavern", eating and drinking with the very colorful locals. It was a great introduction to our trip.

The next morning, we flew to the famous Sabi Sands, spending the next 4 nights on safari. Because cats were a really big thing for us, this private park was amazing. We followed a leopard and watched him hunting until he successfully took a warthog down in true documentary fashion. The excitement of this kill was quickly followed by hyenas who tried to steal the kill... what drama as we sat amidst this as still as a painting. Our pictures were out of this world. 

From the Sabi Sands, it was time to head out to The Okavango Delta for a very different 5 nights safari experience. The words "incredible" come to mind as we try to describe our experience. Here we focused on the big black-maned lions whom we swore posed for our pictures. Our adrenalin rush was beyond describable as these three coalition males walked so close to our vehicle we could hear their breaths and feel their majestic presence. The hairs on our arms stand every time we share that memory. We also got to experience some amazing elephant sights from our mokoro ride... talk about them being up close and personal!

To end our trip, we did a cross border from Kasane to Victoria Falls, where we did a "flight of the angels" tour over The Victoria Falls and spent the night. We walked into the park and felt the might of those falls. The experience was almost spiritual as we were drenched. 

Our journey ended in Kenya, where we followed a pride of lions that picked off the herd of passing wildebeest during a migration. This spectacle was incredible to watch and our photos were merely a reminder of how nature can be so powerful and yet so cruel at the same time.