The best Trip I’ve ever taken was to the South of Africa. Starting every day at dawn with a four hour safari and ending every day with a two hour sunday safari was amazing. I still remember the inklings of light creeping through the grasses as the sun rose and the luminosity of the stars, unparalleled anywhere else in the world.

It was a father-daughter trip, and we started in Zimbabwe at Victoria Falls.

I wished we could have swam at the ledge but it was the rainy season and we would have been washed away. Nonetheless, we got just as wet walking through the spray.

We flew down to Johannesburg and drove to the Bushveld at Kruger National Park for a week of safaris. In all my life, I have never been more at peace than in Kruger. Our hotel didn’t have cable or wifi, and life felt pure.

We didn’t see any lions on the safari, but a wildlife conservation nearby had a few that we were able to see. Along with Sylvester the cheetah who was available for petting sessions.

Kruger was full of elephants. Apparently, protection of the elephant population in South Africa had lead to a boom in the species, to the point where elephants were harming the habitats and well being of other creatures.

But the highpoint of our adventures was in finding an “ingwe”, a leopard. Every day we tracked footprints and evidence of leopard activities, but it wasn’t until the last day that we stumbled upon one of the beautiful beasts.

It was the perfect end to a perfect trip.