Gina and I are preparing for our 9th trip to Africa. Preparation is made up of hundreds of frantic details. The fact that we've done all of this before is a mixed blessing. We have confidence that we're not likely to encounter a problem that we can't overcome (as long as we have passports, cash and anti-malarial drugs). But it's also true that because we've done this before, there's a temptation to procrastinate and to not pay enough attention to the details. So, now, 6 days before we leave, I'm on hold with Verizon, navigating what I'd refer to as 'modern' customer service - meaning customer service that reflects almost zero actual investment in meeting the needs of customers. I'd called three days ago to set up international plans on both of our phones. It was relatively painless and all seemed to go well. The agent committed to sending an email, confirming and summarizing the plans. But no email, so I'm calling again. And just spoke with Anissa and they had wrong email address and now we've completely changed the plan.... Sigh. Basically it's not hard to communicate by text overseas, but data is expensive so trying to do this in a way that permits judicious use of data (like for this blog), that's the trick.... It's always expensive and it's never very transparent.
On to more important things - this trip comes at a time of transition for Gina and me. I've left St. Charles and when we return to the US, we will be moving to Sierra Vista, Arizona, where I will begin a new role with Canyon Vista Medical Center. It's exciting and sad and overwhelming, all at the same time. Leaving St. Charles is certainly bittersweet for me. I've been associated with St. Charles for 21 years now. At this stage in my life, most of the people who are important to me are connected to St. Charles - I met my wife there. My daughter was born at that hospital. My closest friends are people I've had the chance to work with over a generation.
But it's exciting too, to look forward. I love the desert and it's really beautiful around Sierra Vista. I look forward to warmth and the birdlife and to learning new skills and meeting new friends. I feel really blessed to have had time at St. Charles, and I feel fortunate to be looking forward to this new chapter.
And, damn, it's overwhelming. If you know someone who decides to quit their jobs, quit their band, quit the community board they just joined, accept a job half-way across the country, sell their house, buy new cars and, oh, then go to Africa for three weeks in the middle of it, you need to stage an intervention.... It's nuts. It's offers, inspections, requests for repair, quotes for moving, packing, peeing in a cup (but don't wash your hands, which is really weird for someone who works in a hospital), getting and sending copies of transcripts and W2s (for crying out loud), playing a last gig, going to last board meetings, and trying to find some time to meeting with so many people you care about before you leave. And somehow trying to take a breath and just appreciate this moment in life, without completely losing your equilibrium.
Agh...
And Saturday morning we get on a plane in Redmond (assuming we don't forget passports) and fly to Seattle and to Amsterdam and to Johannesburg to begin this adventure.
This trip will be a mix of the familiar and the new. The plan is to land in Jo'burg, sleep a few hours, take a bus to Hoedspruit (a city on the western edge of Kruger National Park), rent a vehicle, go to the grocery store (maybe), drive into the Park and spend 12 nights at familiar locations in the park. Then, back to Hoedspruit, return car, catch bus to Jo'Burg, rest for a few hours, fly overnight to Nairobi, transfer to another airport, and then fly into the Masai Mara, where we'll spend 6 nights. Then back to Nairobi, Amsterdam, Seattle and Redmond. I have mixed feelings about it all - Kruger is such a fantastic place and we've become so comfortable there. And, we lose a couple of days in transit having to go from Kruger to the Mara. But the Mara will be completely new to us and I know that I'm looking forward to experiencing a different landscape and the rich wildlife there.
For the last several years, I've headed out determined to be less focused on photography and more focused on trying to be in the moment and appreciating the beauty that is the bush. Initially, I approached traveling in the bush the way I would have approached being a pro photographer - totally focused and completely about maximizing shooting. Photographers are not much fun to travel with, I can assure you of that. But as being 'pro' fades into my past, I'm trying, trying to let go of that single-minded focus. I am trying to just be more aware of the smells and the sounds and, more than anything, how lucky I am in my life that my journey has led me down a road where I'm able to have these experiences, and share them with Gina. I'm so, so fortunate. As I get older, as I pass the two-minute warning so to speak, that just becomes more clear to me. It also leaves me more and more determined to speak out to protect this little patch of wild world before it's gone. Somehow, the human race has lost its mind and fallen into the hands of people who care nothing about the world. Part of the responsibility that comes with being lucky enough to enjoy the wild is to resist its destruction.
And in the meantime, here are a few images from the past. There are images that aren't great art, but do say something to me about the experience of being in the bush.
Anti-poaching unit, Mashatu. These are wire snares that have been collected around the reserve.
Cabins, Mashatu, Botswana. Best three weeks of my life. First experience in the bush.
Leopard with lunch
Lion at lunch
Lion family life
Kruger traffic
The famous Matswani
Jackal chasing termite
Kgalagadi traffic jam
Monitor expresses disapproval
So, more to come. And onward.
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