Sonia Marsh's Blog, page 3

How Much Does A Safari Cost?

Tubu Tree Camp, Botswana, Credit Dana Allen

One of the first questions I get from people I meet is, “How much does a Safari cost?”

While this is a normal question, I feel like replying with another question: “How much does a car cost?”

Obviously this depends on the car. A Kia is not the same as a Porsche. I understand why some people may be shocked at the price of a Safari, but as my friend Judy said after she got back from her first trip to Kenya:

“The most amazing trip I’ve ever been on. I plan to be on the next one. I can’t recommend it enough. Luxury mixed with adventure! What a way to go.” Judy P.

Since returning from the Peace Corps, I now design custom Safaris for my “Travel with a Purpose” Club in Laguna Woods, with Jim Holden, as my expert on Africa.

The key word here is “Custom.” My Safaris are tailored to specific themes, (for example, a writers’ retreat, a culinary Safari experience, or an elephant conservation Safari.)

I think the main reason some people balk at the price, is that they compare a Safari to places they’re familiar with. Africa cannot be compared with a vacation in Hawaii, Paris or Tuscany.

Africa is an experience, not a typical vacation.

Let me explain. One of the main reasons people travel to Africa, is to see the wildlife, especially the BIG 5.

The Wildlife:

There are several components that make a wildlife experience spectacular: the guides, and in particular their knowledge, the vehicles they use, and where they take you. The knowledge of the guides can make or break your overall Safari experience. If you travel on a budget Safari with a large group of 16 or more people, you won’t get the same level of interaction with your “personal and professional” guide as when you’re on an exclusive Safari with no more than 6-travelers per vehicle. On my Safaris, you’re able to ask many questions about the wildlife, and learn facts you didn’t know about leopards, elephants, zebras, hippos, wildebeest and more.

The Accommodation:

I find that most people expect comfort while on Safari. They want a nice hot shower, a flushing toilet, electricity, delicious meals, and drinks. There is now way you can take an Uber to a restaurant or a fast food restaurant while in the National Parks or private concessions, so everything is included when you stay in a lodge. All the food and beverages have to be flown, or driven in, and kept refrigerated in the lodge. The local staff are trained to cook and plate the food by Chefs and serve meals that appeal to our western palate. They offer a variety of meats, fish, vegetables, desserts, and fresh baked items, on a daily basis. This, as well as the laundry, soft sheets and towels, and all the other amenities we’re used to, obviously adds to the cost. Therefore, it’s no surprise that the average cost of a Safari today is $1,000/person/day. This cost also includes all activities as well as flights between countries in Africa.

I’ve done cost comparisons of hotels in my area, Laguna Beach, as well as in similar accommodations in Paris, London and Rome, and the cheapest room at one resort is $950/night. This does not include any meals or drinks, or activities, or shows, unlike what you would get on a Safari. Basically nothing other than the room and a 15% tax is included in my Laguna Beach area hotel.

Of course, just like a Motel 6, for $66/night, there are budget Safaris where you’ll be staying in cheap accommodations, like the tent below on the left. There’s nothing wrong with that, if you’re happy to stay in a tent with a bush toilet and a bucket shower. I’ve stayed at the Serengeti Bushtops camp on the right, and those are the smaller lodges that I like to offer to my “Travel with a Purpose” groups. Another advantage is that these smaller lodges hire and train people from the local villages and part of what you’re paying for goes towards supporting local communities, schools, books, teachers’ salaries and wildlife conservation efforts. Most tourists don’t realize that by going on Safari, they are actually contributing towards those sustainable causes, offering employment opportunities and education to the people in neighboring villages, including the Masai in Kenya.

The Food:

Most people who travel to Africa for the first time, like the women on my recent “Travel with a Purpose” trip to Africa, have no idea what to expect. They are blown away by the quality and presentation of the food. We have a wonderful “Foods of Africa” trip to Madikwe, South Africa, with an award-winning Chef, Nico Verster, who will be cooking for us and showing us plating techniques. He is co-owner of the beautiful Jamala lodge.

Since I have way ore to say, please check out next Sunday’s blog post. Your comments and shares, are always appreciated.

Also, I am roud to say that I was interviewed in the OC Register and so were some of the womwn on my recent trip to Kenya. You can read the article by clicking here.

Continued in (Part 2) next week

 

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My First Trip As a Tour Leader

As you can see from the broad smiles on these lovely ladies, my first trip as a tour leader to Africa went incredibly well and exceeded my expectations. I was fortunate to have Roz Berry (far left), Director of the African Child Foundation, assist with our  “Women Travel with a Purpose” Safari. Roz brought two duffel-bags full of T-shirts from the U.S., which we sorted, first-thing, before visiting the schools in the suburbs of Nairobi.

Our hotel in Nairobi was the perfect setting for the start of a Safari, as it’s located on the edge of Nairobi National park and offers an introduction to Kenya’s wildlife. All of us enjoyed getting to know one-another for breakfast on our first day. A few giraffes and a Cape Buffalo roamed in the park behind us.

Our first breakfast at the Ole Sereni hotel, Nairobi bordering the National park

Our schedule was jam-packed with activities, and I’m going to share several blog posts so you get a feel for what “Travel with a Purpose” entails.  On our first morning, we visited Fanaka primary school and Mt. Olive boarding school, both run by Father Henry.

All of us were impressed with the level of reading and writing in the classroom. A couple of ladies commented on how the children have such beautiful penmanship, compared to their own children back in the U.S.

The children enjoyed dancing and singing and we could tell they had been rehearsing for days before we arrived.

After a full-day at both schools, we returned to our hotel, and had a delicious dinner at the Norfolk Hotel, where we met the four young University students, sponsored by the African Child Foundation. Two of them are studying law, one accounting, and one medical studies.

Two Women travel with a Purpose and a sponsored student
Ladies enjoying a Happy Hour at the Norfolk Hotel before we met the students.

It’s been one year and five months since I started my new career in the Safari business. I decided to design theme-focused trips to Africa that would interest women. October 2018, was my first trip leading 11 women to Kenya. Most of them had never been to Africa and were somewhat frightened of what to expect, however, my first, “Travel with a Purpose” Safari, turned out to be the best bonding experience of 12 women. A camaraderie and intense friendship developed as together we experienced the wonderful children, the wildlife in the Masai Mara, and the warm-hearted Kenyans and their broad smiles.

Next week, I’ll share some of our adventures in the Masai Mara.

 

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How Do You Keep Your Sense of Wonder?

 

In my mind,  a sense of wonder starts with curiosity: something we’re all born with. The question I ask myself is:  How can we keep that sense of wonder as we grow older?

Young children are constantly learning something new: how to read, how to tie their shoes, how to ride a bicycle. It’s not surprising that if we don’t make a conscious effort to keep a sense of curiosity and wonder, life may seem mundane as we grow older.

When I lived in Lesotho, I listened to BBC World on my small radio,  and was interested in hearing how Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love, reflected on her travels abroad. The interviewer commented on how brave Elizabeth was to uproot her life and move alone to Italy, India and Bali, for one year. Elizabeth replied that she didn’t think she was brave, but simply curious about life and other people.

Another person I admire is Maria Shriver. She recently wrote in her blog, “Maria Shriver’s  Sunday Paper,”  about how she took a one-month break from work, and decided to focus on:

“Less busyness. Less intense thinking. More calm. More connection. More wonder.”

Maria Shriver and her son in Tanzania

Shriver decided to travel to Africa with her youngest son, and her goal was to focus on:

the concept of wonder

“Wonder gets you out of your head. It feels less intense than thinking. It feels more stream of consciousness and more creative. It actually feels freeing and it allows one to connect more with oneself and others.

Wonder is what I felt as I drove across the vast, open Serengeti. I found myself wondering what it might be like to live there full time, either working in the conservation movement or working with the women I met who are trying to overcome deep poverty and build lives that their mothers could have never imagined.

The thing that I found interesting was how she found the right word to describe Africa. Wonder.”  Maria Shriver

I feel a connection with Elizabeth Gilbert and Maria Shriver, in that I’m curious about other people, and always want to keep learning.

Some people are more curious, and thirsty for new experiences than others. I’ve always felt the need to get away from my daily routine in order to satisfy my sense of curiosity. I do this in the following ways:

On a small scale:

Speaking to a someone new every day
Trying a new recipe
Reading a novel I wouldn’t normally read
Re-connecting with someone I haven’t spoken to in over a year
Joining a new group such as “Dining For Women”
Joining a TED Talks discussion group

On a larger scale:

Starting my new travel club
Traveling to new places
Leading my first trip to Kenya with ten women

I keep myself open to new opportunities.

How about you? How do you keep your sense of wonder? I’d love to hear.

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Travel with a Purpose: A Writers’ Retreat

When I moved to Laguna Woods, five months ago, I had the idea of starting my own Travel Club. Initially I wanted to start “Women Travel with a Purpose,” , but then I changed to “Travel with a Purpose,” despite the fact that women often have the urge to travel, more than men.

Maybe the “Free” South African wine and the delicious appetizers, including the home-made hummus, enticed the large attendance of 72 people at the inaugural meeting of “Travel with a Purpose.” Our enthusiastic guest, speaker, Pat Lenahan, inspired many who are passionate about travel with her presentation, “How Travel to Africa Changed My Life.”

“How Travel to Africa Changed My Life” Pat Lenahan

The reason I started this club is to inspire people to travel, and remove any fear of travel, especially to Africa.

Is it Dangerous to go on a Safari?

As Jim Holden states in his blog post:“Is it Dangerous?”

“I interpret the question, “Is it dangerous?”, mostly as a fear of the unknown. No different to finding oneself in an unfamiliar part of town and being unsure if it’s safe to be there.”  Jim Holden

This is exactly how Pat Lenahan answered the fear of going to Africa. She also stated that she has strayed into the wrong parts of Chicago, and other cities in the U.S., which made her feel unsafe, however, she never felt fear on any of her seven trips to various countries in Africa.

In fact, I’m more afraid of driving in parts of Los Angeles than I am sitting in a jeep with a professional guide in the middle of the Big 5 in Kenya, or even standing 12 feet from the gorillas in Rwanda. I’ve experienced several countries in the last year: Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, and South Africa.

When you travel in small groups to Africa with me, or even as a single or a couple, you are escorted by a professional tour leader and at no time are you left to fend for yourself. Not even at the airport in Nairobi or Cape Town; you will always be met by someone from Holden Safaris, escorted to a private vehicle, and taken to your hotel or lodge.

Sonia Marsh answering questions at Travel with a Purpose Club

When I talk about “Travel with a Purpose,” I mean learning something about the culture, the wildlife, the people, the foods, the flora, and also stimulating the senses with new experiences. As an author, who has attended many writers retreats, I’m designing a different writers’ retreat in Zambia and Zimbabwe where we will be instructed by a professional writing coach in a small group setting of no more than ten writers.

Writers’ Retreat in Zambia: A Transformative Experience

How can you not feel a transformative experience in Africa? Experiencing the beauty of Victoria Falls, the largest sheet of falling water on earth, watching the wildlife up close with your professional guide, having your morning coffee in the bush and your sunset happy hour in the bush during our twice daily game drives, watching the elephants interacting in front of the lodge’s water hole is unique. You will then have time to reflect and articulate your feelings in your journal– is this not rejuvenating? Your writing coach will guide you with a prompt, and you will have time to share your stories.

Designing a Writers’ Retreat at these Lodges

I am thinking of using these beautiful lodges in Zambia during this 8-day writers’ retreat. Pre and post extensions will be offered to those who wish to see more of Africa; after all, each country has its own unique landscape and wildlife.

Our first lodge perfect for writers to find nooks and crannies to write.

 

Our second lodge on the Zambezi River, is where we shall explore the Victoria Falls. Last year, during a sunset cruise on the Zambezi river, I saw hippos in the water and 80 or more elephants ambling down the slopes of the river bank to drink. This was my favorite birthday present.

The elephants that came down to drink when I was on a sunset cruise for my birthday on the Zambezi river.

Please let me know if you’re interested by leaving a comment below or send me an e-mail at Sonia@soniamarsh.com if you’d like to learn more about a writers’ retreat for May/June 2019, or any other trips I’m planning.

 

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Dining for Women Helps Reduce Poverty Among Girls in the Developing World

I just joined a group called “Dining for Women,” thanks to my Peace Corps friend, Mary Broude.  A new chapter was started in Orange County by Elizabeth Boretz, and the concept is: We get together, dine in, catch up with friends, expand our knowledge of the world, and donate to projects that reduce poverty and promote gender equity.

What exactly is Dining for Women?

Dining for Women is a global giving circle dedicated to transforming lives and eradicating poverty among women and girls in the developing world. Through member education and engagement, as well as the power of collective giving, Dining for Women funds grassroots organizations that empower women and girls and promote gender equity.

Girls on WGEP FaceBook Page

My first meeting was last week at Mary’s house and the concept is that members give what they can–usually what they would have spent for a dinner out–towards a grassroots project.

What is an Example of a Dining for Women Featured Project?

In July the featured project was to help the mission of Women’s Global Education Project (WGEP) with eliminating Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in  the Tharaka-Nithi County region of Kenya where (WGEP) works. In that region, 71% of women aged 15-49, have undergone some form of FGM/Cutting. This can cause severe physical as well as psychological effects and this is intensified in rural areas such as Tharaka-Nithi County where local individuals, rather than medical professionals, carry out the procedure in non-sterile settings.

Research shows that girls who undergo genital cutting are more likely to drop out of school since they are considered ready for marriage, typically between ages 9-12. Although Kenya’s 2010 Constitution and 2001 Children’s Act outlawed activities such as FGM/C and early marriage, the practice continues. (WGEP) believes that education, gender equality, and empowerment of women are critical to a society’s development. It’s mission is to provide access to education and develop training programs that empower women and girls to build healthy and productive communities.

How Does Dining for women Work?

One host invites members and other women who would like to learn about the organization and share a meal together. Members learn about that month’s featured grantees through videos, educational documents and presentations, and discuss the project. Funds raised each month go to fund the featured and sustained grantees, as well as support the entire mission of Dining for Women.

Some members such as the long-time established Vienna/Fairfax Chapter (photo of group above)  prepare recipes based on the country being featured. For example this July, the host prepared a Kenyan meal. The Fairfax group has 60 women on its roster. Anywhere from 12 – 30 attend the monthly meetings held in members’ homes. They start with socializing, then watch the video from the featured grantee and discuss the project. Afterwards, they enjoy dinner together, often focused on dishes from the grantee’s country.

Would you like to attend a Dining for Women dinner?

If you live in Orange County, and would like to attend a “Dining For Women” event, please e-mail me at: SoniaM@HoldenSafaris.com

 

 

 

 

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Can You Create Your Ideal Life?

I found an old thumbstick in a purse I no longer use.

Curious to see its contents, I plugged it into my new laptop and found a one-page document I’d written 11 years ago. The title was: “My Passion.” I had no idea what to expect and realized that I had written it during a time in my life when I was searching for my own purpose. I did not have a career, my teenage sons were still living at home, and I wanted something concrete to look forward to. I knew what I liked to do, and what my strengths were, but how could I create a life that encompassed all my dreams?

This was a time when I read self-help books hoping for a solution. I didn’t really believe in visualization, and the ability to manifest dreams, but as I started re-reading “My Passion,” I shuddered: Was I reading a dream, or my life today?

Here’s what I wrote on March 13th, 2007.

My Passion

I love my job, it’s my passion, and I absolutely adore doing it. I wake up and feel happy that I can do what I love and what I’m best at on a daily basis. I control my own hours, and spend a good deal of time meeting people. I network with people of baby boomer age and older, and provide a service that is beneficial to my clients. I motivate them, one on one, and in small groups, to be positive and happy with their lives. I travel and experience new adventures.

People refer me to their friends and relatives and see the benefits of what I can do for them. It never feels like work, as it is giving part of what I already have and it is very natural for me to do this. I have one very good contact, the catalyst. The people I deal with are very well educated, interesting, and down to earth. It’s very easy. People request my services and soon I recruit others to help me. I select carefully to keep a good reputation going for my business, and to keep the “personal touch” with each one of my clients, whom I have grown to consider more than clients.

These clients offer me numerous opportunities to travel. I have a loving and peaceful job, and the answer is simply staring me in the face.

It is there, right in front of me, and I make it happen. This is what I see:

a service
word-of-mouth referrals
helping people
fulfilling a need for baby-boomers
writing articles

Now it’s 2018, and everything in this document has culminated in what I’m doing today.  So who is the catalyst?

Gillian, the catalyst, far right and two ladies I met who are traveling with me on my first “Women Travel with a Purpose” trip to Kenya this October.

My hairdresser, and friend, Gillian, who mentioned that I was looking for a career and returning from Africa. I was fortunate to find a career in the Safari business through her.

Sometimes I think this is luck, and other times I believe we can create our ideal life.

The five goals that I wrote about in 2007 are now part of my life. I offer a service, I help people who want new travel experiences, I organize Safaris for Baby-boomers, I write blog posts, and I’m starting to get word-of-mouth referrals.

a service
word-of-mouth referrals
helping people
fulfilling a need for baby-boomers
writing articles

I’m leading my first group of women travelers on a purposeful Safari to Kenya this October. We’re visiting orphans and vulnerable children at a school in Nairobi, Kenya, and spending a day with them. We have ten ladies who are also passionate about visiting a school and helping. I plan to offer this trip again next year as well with my friend, Roz Berry, Director of the African Child Foundation.

Have you had a similar experience where you’ve written down your ideal career or life and checked back to see if it materialized?

Please share your story in the comments section below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Elephants That Came to Dinner

 

How would you like to meet the elephants that came to dinner? It only happens once a year, in November, at Mfuwe Lodge in Zambia.

Wonky Tusk and her baby, Wellington, stroll through reception to feast on the fallen fruits from the large Wild Mango(Cordyla africana) tree in the lodge grounds. The fact that a large safari lodge is built around this delicious food store is of no concern to them. Why not take the shortcut up the stairs, through the tiled reception lobby, and into the garden? (Watch the video below)

Wild Mango(Cordyla africana) tree

This year, I’ve put together a Safari to experience, not only the elephants at Mfuwe, but also the largest mammal migration which happens to be the 4 foot wing-span bats in Kasanka, Zambia.

Here is the digital itinerary for 2018 “Iconic Zambia: Flying Foxes and Homecoming Elephants.”  I plan to offer this Safari, which also includes Victoria Falls, in November 2019 for a small group of 10 people. Please watch the video below which shows the elephants and baby Wellington when he was just two weeks old. Incredible video that shows the level of trust between the camera crew, and the elephants.

Any interest in joining this amazing trip?

Please let me know.

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Why I’m Starting Women Travel with a Purpose

 

It’s funny how situations in life can eventually lead to finding your purpose. Had my marriage not fizzled in 2015, I would not have joined the Peace Corps, and I certainly wouldn’t have thought about starting “Women Travel with a Purpose.”

I decided to start “Women Travel with a Purpose,” and lead trips to Africa with various themes such as “local culture, schools and village life,” “elephant and rhino conservation,”  “culinary tasting tours in Africa,” and the latest theme is “Botanical Safaris” along the “Garden Route of South Africa.

How did I get the idea to start “Women Travel with a Purpose?”

During my service in Lesotho, women reached out to me and wanted to help the school and orphans in my village with books and clothing. I shared photos depicting children with holes in their sweaters and wearing shoes where the tips were cut off so feet could continue growing. The outpouring of kindness from so many women was overwhelming.

Women wanted to make a difference and to feel connected to the orphans at my school. I took photos of the children wearing their “new” clothes and shoes, and realized that women want to travel, experience something unique, and have a purpose attached to their trip.

When I returned to the U.S. last year, I had no idea what I would end up doing. Writing another memoir was the obvious answer, however, I also needed to support myself. Serendipity offered a career where I could do what I love: motivate women, inspire them to travel, take away their fear, and take them back to where we all originate from: Africa!

I’ve recently moved to a community in Laguna Woods, California with 18,000 residents 55 and over. I love it here, and feel that I can motivate women to follow me on themed trips to Africa.

I’ve designed a culinary-Safari for a small group of women to the pristine, Madikwe Game Reserve for the ultimate Safari and culinary experience at Jamala. There we will meet the award- winning chef Nico Verster, awarded the Best Safari cuisine in Africa 2014/2015. I tasted his exquisite cuisine and dined alfresco, beneath the brilliance of a million stars. Lions were lapping water on the other side of the water hole. Chef Nico will explain his Safaris and Spices cookbook where he offers cuisines from different countries in Africa.

Elephants at the water hole right in front of Jamala Lodge where we meet Chef Nico
Award-winning Chef, Nico Verster at Jamala Lodge in South Africa

“Food aficionados can indulge in modern gastronomic treats served with the chic colonial charm and grace that is unique to Jamala Madikwe. ” Cookbook, Savannah to Sea by Nico Verster.

I’m leading a themed trip together with Roz Berry, Director of the African Child Foundation, in Newport Beach, on September 30th– October 7th, 2018. Part of the proceeds will go back to helping the school in Nairobi, Kenya.

African Child Foundation in Nairobi, Kenya

We still have room for two ladies to join this trip. Please e-mail me at Sonia@SoniaMarsh.com if you’re interested in joining our small group on Safari. It will be a ton of fun while doing good at the same time. This is a trip with so many activities you’ll love. Check out the flyer on this post.

Lisa Hart producer of “This Day” TV show in Laguna Woods, California

I look forward to my interview with Lisa Hart tomorrow morning, May 31st, on the Laguna Woods TV show called, “This Day” at 8:30 a.m. Please watch as I talk about the Club I’m starting at Laguna Woods called, “Women Travel with a Purpose.” We are having our first meeting at 5 p.m. on June 11th, Club House #2 in the “Los Olivos” Room. The address is:

Get directions

Clubhouse 2, 24112 Moulton Pkwy, Laguna Woods, CA 92637

I’m going to share what “Travel with a Purpose” means, and your ideas are welcome. South African wine and cheese will be served, and some great slides from my recent trip to South Africa. Please e-mail me and come over and have some FUN!!! E-mail: (Sonia@SoniaMarsh.com)

 

 

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New Life,New Career,New Passion

They often say that it takes a while to get re-settled into life after returning from the Peace Corps. For me, it was all about finding a career, and I honestly had no clue what to blog about during that process.

My life back in California was the same as most of my friends, and not as eventful as my adventures in Lesotho. I needed to feel comfortable in my skin, and find a new compass to follow.

In one year, since my return from the Peace Corps in January 2017, I have done some major changes:

Career
Travel
Passion: Women Travel With a Purpose (see below)

Career

I had no idea how to write a resume, and spent hours stressing over the latest formatting options, attending “Free” classes on how to write an effective resume, and lamented over why I wasn’t getting interviews.

I started taking classes in Excel, Outlook, etc, and a grant writing course. I updated my LinkedIn profile, and thought about anything I could  potentially do:

Become a flight attendant
Work at a French cafe (since they require French speakers)
Work for a non-profit
Work at a University in the international students department
Fund-raising

Strangely enough, I did not need to stress, as my career found me. In fact that’s not quite true, my hairdresser shared my blog with a Zambian guy, Jim Holden, who just happened to be looking for an international person, who had lived around the world, and who could network, and create social media content for his Safari company. He was fascinated by my childhood in Nigeria, and my recent Lesotho life. Like me, he had lived in Nigeria, attended school in the U.K., and settled in California.

My new video reflects the focus of my updated website. No longer Peace Corps, but back in Africa.

Travel
Vivienne, Jim Holden and Sonia meeting the reps from the Blue Train at Indaba conference, May 2017

Within my first month of working for Holden Safaris in Newport Beach, I was back on a plane to Johannesburg. I was thrown straight into the world of Safaris, and wildlife conservation, meeting 30-50 suppliers, lodge owners, eco-tourism reps and flight operators at the annual Indaba Conference, held in Durban, South Africa. At the end of the first day, I felt mentally numb from information overload. We ran from one end of the convention center to the other, without a lunch break, and I took notes on Botswana and the gorgeous lodges we send our clients to on the Okavango delta, absorbing as much information as I could retain from the rep in twenty minutes, before rushing over to our next meeting with another supplier.

On safari in the Okavango delta, Botswana. Elephant having a mud bath.

After a week in Durban, our team went on a site inspection of Kwazulu Natal Province. For those interested in history, the Zulus and the battlefields, and elephant and rhino conservation, we put together an exclusive safari here.

I’ve been back twice since then, in August 2017, to Zambia and Zimbabwe, and in November, I experienced gorilla trekking in Rwanda.

Passion: Special Tour I’m Leading to Kenya for Women Only who want to travel, feel good, and make a difference

I’ve put together a special tour for women only called, “Women Travel With a Purpose.” September 30th– October 7th, 2018.

Women Travel With a Purpose. Visit the African Child Foundation schools in Kenya.

I’m leading this trip to Kenya with Roz Berry, a Newport Beach resident and Director of the African Child Foundation: a non-profit run by volunteers to meet the needs, and transform the lives, of orphaned and vulnerable children in the slums outside Nairobi, Kenya. We have openings for 10 like-minded women. You can click on the link below, and hit the enter button to view the digital itinerary.

Women Travel With a Purpose-Exclusive Itinerary Specially Prepared For Women’s Group.

I hope you join me on this amazing trip to Kenya in October 2018, and e-mail me at: SoniaM@holdensafaris.com if you would like to find out more about this trip, or have an exclusive custom safari planned for you.

 

 

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Follow Me on My Next Safari to Zambia and Zimbabwe

Ruckomechi Camp in Zimbabwe where we’ll be staying (Photo credit Wilderness Safaris.)

 

I’m off to Zambia and Zimbabwe on a site inspection trip which involves seeing as many lodges as possible in ten days. This is an intense, but exciting program of internal flights, boat transfers, game drives, and a final-day option of floating on a luxury cruise in Victoria Falls, known as the Ra-Ikane Cruise.  The itinerary states that “if you are not too tired,” you can join the boat cruise. When I read this, I thought, how could we possibly be too tired to enjoy a luxury cruise in Victoria Falls?

This will be my first time on a site inspection in Zimbabwe, and my boss, Jim Holden, told me to stay as fit, energetic and healthy as possible for our busy itinerary. Fortunately, when we put together Safaris for our clients, they get to stay at the same lodge for several nights, and therefore have time to relax, and enjoy the early morning and late afternoon game drives.

I’m looking forward to flying in small planes as we move from one lodge to the next. These planes only carry 4-12 passengers and are strict about luggage since there is a 33 pound weight limit and only soft-sided duffel bags are allowed. These are crammed into small spaces. Large hard-shell suitcases do not fit on these planes, and for most U.S. travelers, especially women, this can be a challenge. So I’m perfecting my packing skills, and following the guidelines that we spell out to our clients. The lodges have laundry facilities, so no need to bring 10 pairs of pants and 10 T-shirts. In fact, please leave your fancy dresses and high heels behind and wear your comfortable Safari shoes. Remember where you are, and despite the lodges offering all the creature comforts of home, you can stay casual. There are wonderful outdoor showers and bath tubs where you can sometimes watch the wildlife from your tub as you sip a glass of wine. As far as your meals, you might be surprised to learn that you’ll be enjoying the freshest of ingredients, both fish, meat, vegetables fruits and sumptuous desserts, all while watching a large hippo climb out of the Zambezi river at Ruckomechi Camp,

Take a look at the Ruckomechi Camp video below, located at Mana Pools, in Zimbabwe, and the lodge we’re staying at.

On the last day of our site inspection, after checking out the Victoria Falls Hotel, and the Royal Livingstone, we’ll be transferred to the Thorntree River Lodge is set in Zambia’s Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park, just a short distance from the famous Victoria Falls.

Victoria Falls

What I look forward to is celebrating my special 60th birthday in Zambia, at the Thorntree River Lodge.  It’s stunning architecture, built with an environmentally-conscious design. Despite it’s contemporary design, it still has the tented roof structures to maintain the feel of authentic Africa. We have sent several of our Holden Safaris travelers to this gorgeous lodge where you can experience wildlife and get pampered in one location.

I hope you follow me on my FB page as I post photos and on the Holden Safaris FB page, as well as updates on the blog.

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