Harry’s First (and Last?) Safari (Part 1 of 2)

Harry traveled to East Africa expecting luxury resorts, hookups, and parties.

The lessons of life in its raw natural state were incremental and enduring for Harry. Less than an hour after they’d checked in at Satao Camp inside Tsavo East National Wildlife Reserve, Aldo and his party were navigating the tracks of the park, guided by Joseph, looking for telltale signs of the Big Five.

It didn’t take long for Harry to understand that going on safari could feel much like visiting a movie set, which he’d done a few times before in Los Angeles. There’s an unreality about it. This is real life, but some happenings are so unusual you doubt the evidence of your senses. Most of the time, you watch, and you wait. Nothing and no one around you seem to be moving. They are waiting, too, but few (except the director, perhaps not even the tour guide) know what to expect. Suddenly, at the periphery of your vision, people (or animals) come together and cluster around something that happens very rapidly. If you’re not on the lookout, paying close attention, you will miss it. Then the scene goes back to stasis.

You soon realize that much of the day will be downright boring. You live for the delight of anticipation, then the rare thrills.

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