A picture taken of Bonnie in 2008 while she was on our Safari Serengeti: Tanzania Lodge & Tented Safari adventure, relaxing at a tented camp amid the African wilderness.
By Bonnie Mack, 9-time traveler from Clearwater, FL
Back in the '50s, Saturday evenings meant gathering with my sister and parents in front of the T.V. to watch Wild Kingdom with Marlin Perkins. Although I would eventually find my own way to see orangutans in Borneo, and explore several countries in South America, the destinations that most intrigued me were on the “Dark Continent”—Africa!
Giving the old globe in my library a spin, I still recall the excitement of reading the names of countries like Tanganyika, Rhodesia, the Belgian Congo, and many others on the African continent. Their names have since changed as the result of wars, conflicts, and the retreat of colonialism.
Old movies like King Solomon's Mines, The African Queen, and Hatari! presented exciting glimpses into romance and adventure in mysterious, intriguing destinations. But while the varied countries on the African continent called to me, I was also drawn to the exotic cities and destinations in South America. Buenos Aires, Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca, and Rio de Janeiro beckoned for my attention.
My visit to South America in 1973 got off to a rough start but ended on a high note that would change me forever. Just weeks before my departure, President Allende was assassinated in Chile. Three hours after arriving in Buenos Aires, the Secretary of Labor was also assassinated—and that was three days after the re-election of former President Juan Peron (who had previously been exiled from Argentina).
It was my last day in Rio, and my friend and I decided to take a boat ride to one of the nearby islands. As luck would have it, a handsome man was sitting on the bench across from me. I often wondered if he detected the look of confusion on my face. Was I still in South America, or had we sailed to Africa? Certainly, the man's good looks caught my attention, but his attire was equally intriguing, for he was wearing a well-tailored safari suit, white shirt, tie, and a stunning hat with an impala skin band around the crown!
What began as a conversation with Theo aboard a boat in Rio's Guanabara Bay became a relationship spanning more than 30 years, until he died. Our friendship took roots when he visited America on business. During our first dinner in Chicago, Theo's stories about places in Africa drew me to a three-week trip in 1974. I visited countries I couldn't imagine in my wildest dreams—Senegal (on the west coast), South Africa, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia.
Over the decades, I traveled around the world several times. People often ask about my favorite place. It's not so much a “place” as it is a continent—anywhere in Africa. After my second safari in Kenya in 1982, I organized three more safaris to East Africa, introducing more than 40 people to the places I had grown to love. In 1992, it was time to experience more adventurous safaris, where tented accommodations in Botswana were certainly not deluxe, and sometimes required a trek through the trees to find the “bathroom.”
Having first sailed on the Zambezi River in Victoria Falls in 1974, Bonnie returned in 2019 on our Ultimate Africa: Botswana, Zambia & Zimbabwe Safari adventure.
I'd known almost from the start that my heart was drawn to Africa. But it was not until my 10th safari (Ultimate Africa: Botswana, Zambia & Zimbabwe Safari), in 2019, that I physically felt the deep connection. After settling in my hotel room in Johannesburg, I was walking to the restaurant, when I passed the gift shop. Sadly, it was closed, but windows featured colorful ostrich skin purses, African statues, and an array of silver jewelry. My eyes slowly moved over the merchandise, and I recognized some of the jewelry purchased on previous visits. Excitement, joy, peace, and many other emotions swept over me. I slept little for the next four days, and yet I wasn't tired. The adventure had begun. Every time I climbed to the highest level of our safari vehicle, I was elated. I longed to fly over the vistas, lakes, and landscape once again in a 5-passenger plane—and I did so, with my dear guide Tinashe beside me. I even took my first helicopter flight over Victoria Falls.
When I placed my head to rest at our first safari camp, I listened for the sounds of the African night. Stillness was broken by an elephant trumpeting in the distance, only to be answered by the roar of a lion. I was home … one with my Africa … my dreams had all come true.
After so many trips had to be cancelled due to COVID, I long to get back on track, and make up for lost time. Do I re-book Japan (for yet a third year)? I'd love to visit my favorite spots in South America for a third time. But one place keeps turning over in my mind again and again—South Africa. My only worry is that it won't be the same without my dear friend Theo meeting me at the airport. But who knows, perhaps new dreams will be fulfilled.
Explore the wonders of Africa during our Ultimate Africa: Botswana, Zambia & Zimbabwe Safari adventure.
