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Safari Notes

I am a note taker. A serious note taker. When I want to remember something, I write it down. I write in my little notebook, which I have with me at all times, on airplanes, trains, taxis, camels, elephants, and in hot air balloons over the Serengeti.  I write in the morning when I first get up, and I write in the evening, before I go to bed.  I write in hotels, motels, lodges, tents, huts, restaurants, bars, bathrooms (where the light is always better) and have even written during some pretty scary situations.  I am obsessed with taking notes!

While a photo taken at an exotic location can conjure up a bevy of memories, there is nothing better (at least to me) than the written word.  Re-reading something I have written about a particular place or event, takes me there immediately.  Just as books take me to any place in the world, so do my notes. When I read, I am there.  I am able to instantly remember the sound of the crunch of branches under my boots as I walk through the African bush, or hear the the buzz of flying insects as we suddenly surprise a pride of lions hungrily eating a recently killed zebra.  I am in Africa again, where I always, always want to be, simply by reading a few notes I happened to write in one moment of time.

This section will not only include my own personal safari notes and stories but will include travelogues, quotations, and stories from others as well. Some of the authors I have been fortunate enough to meet over the years, and some I have heard about from others. I would like to begin with a poem by Wayne Visser. It is beautifully written and explains perfectly how I and so many others feel about Africa.

- Denise Bonnell

I am an African

Not because I was born there

But because my heart beats with Africa's

I am an African

Not because my skin is black

...But because my mind is engaged by Africa

I am an African

Not because I live on its soil

But because my soul is at home in Africa

When Africa weeps for her children

My cheeks are stained with tears

When Africa honors her elders

My head is bowed in respect

When Africa mourns for her victims

My hands are joined in prayer

When Africa celebrates her triumphs

My feet are alive with dancing

I am an African

For her blue skies take my breath away

And my hope for her future is bright

I am an African

For her people greet me as family

And teach me the meaning of community

I am an African

For her wildness quenches my spirit

And brings me closer to the source of life

When the music of Africa beats in the wind

My blood pulses to its rhythm

and I become the essence of music

When the colors of Africa dazzle in the sun

My senses drink in its rainbow

And I become the palette of nature

When the stories of Africa echo round the fire

My feet walk in its pathways

And I become the footprints of history

I am an African

Because she is the cradle of our birth

And nurtures an ancient wisdom

I am an African

Because she lives in the world's shadow

And bursts with a radiant luminosity

I am an African

Because she is the land of tomorrow

And I recognize her gifts as sacred

Denise's Travel Articles:

• "Mobile Tented Camp Safaris -- A Perfect Way to See Africa"   By Denise Bonnell

• "Totally Wild Botswana -- The Ultimate Safari Destination"   By Denise Bonnell

• "Magical Kenya – A Once in a Lifetime Experience"   By Denise Bonnell