The Africa Adventure Consultants (AAC) team would like to welcome a guest blogger to the site, Paula G. Paula recently spent 2 weeks traveling throughout South Africa with her son Luke. Luke has shared his safari stories on our blog as well.
What an amazing trip!
When my adult son Luke won a trip for 2 to South Africa and asked me to go with him, I was so excited! What a fantastic opportunity to travel with my son. However, traveling to Africa had never been something I considered until Luke won this trip because I imagined Africa would be a bit scary and dangerous and that you needed to be young and in perfect shape to travel there. I was so wrong, and it was the support of the company that helped us plan this trip that made me realize this and feel so comfortable.
Africa Adventure Consultants does a fabulous job of thinking of everything…the transports, restaurants, guides, camps, what to tip, what to wear, information on the country and details that will help you be a more savvy traveler…so when they were done helping I felt so excited and didn’t have any concerns for my safety. Not only did they help with decisions needed about every piece of our trip, they set up a wonderful itinerary site giving us information about where we were going, how we were getting there, how long the transports would take and who was doing them, suggestions about things to do when at each camp/location and anything else we would need. If I couldn’t find the answers in the itinerary, my representative from AAC would help me get the answers I need. Knowing that at any time while on the trip I could contact someone who would help me made me feel totally confident in my safety helped me relax and enjoy every moment of the trip. They made sure to ask what we wanted to experience and helped us have the trip of our dreams.
What an unbelievable experience to see things I’ve only seen in magazines and tv shows. I remember sitting in the truck during a game drive and looking at elephants, giraffes and other animals and thinking “don’t pinch me…I don’t want to wake up if this is a dream.” When we came upon a lion eating a giraffe and got to observe this amazing scene, and when we rode horses close to giraffes and they weren’t frightened of us because to them we were part of the horse, and when we ended up seeing all of the Big 5 (elephants, rhinos, lions, leopard, African buffalo), I knew I wasn’t in Minnesota anymore and that what I was seeing was a blessing that couldn’t have been more perfect.
In addition to the amazing country, I had never traveled with my son alone as we have always traveled with my husband and daughter. What a special opportunity to enjoy time with my son alone and experience the amazing animals, Cape Town and wine country during our travels. As it turns out we travel well together! It was fantastic talking about our favorite sights from the day’s travels, experiencing wonderful restaurants in Cape Town, enjoying the beauty of wine country and farm-to-table meals. Additionally, we were able to have many life conversations that without this extended time together, we may not have discussed. Once kids get married, a vacation like this would be much more difficult because they have other responsibilities, so this was a unique, very timely opportunity. I have battled breast cancer (and beat it!) and live with Multiple Sclerosis and realize that health is not a certainty so living every day to the fullest is something everyone should do. South Africa did not disappoint as a great mother/son vacation, and I recommend everyone take time to do this individually with your kids.
For anyone considering travel to Africa, you need someone who knows what to do and is available to help with every step of the trip. Many of my friends and acquaintances who saw the pictures I posted on Facebook are considering this trip, and to them I say “use Africa Adventure Consultants so you are safe and have the trip of your dreams.” Thanks AAC, and thanks for choosing to bring me along Luke!
Photos courtesy AAC travelers Paula and Luke G.