Portraits from Safari

It all began with a list. A list of experiences I wanted to live before and during my 30th year. A camping safari tour was something I had always dreamt of. I think that the destination of Tanzania was planted into the back of my brain from I dare say it, The Lion King and Toto’s Africa. Some of you may laugh, and believe me, I laugh at myself as I admit that this is not the first trip I have done because of a movie or a song.

I quickly discovered that “rafiki” was a real word, which means friend in Swahili and that Kilimanjaro really does rise above the Serengeti, as her vast, open plains stretch across a large area of Tanzania.

The safari tour was shared with two of my closest girlfriends, who I managed to convince to join me from Oslo and the Canary Islands. However, as last minute as the adventure was (we planned it within a few weeks), I don’t believe they needed that much convincing. The three of us have often joked that we all became hippies when we met each other under the heat of Darwin, Australia, five years prior. And to this day, are a group of wandering, giggling hippies when we come together from our three different parts of the world.

Thank goodness that someone was much more organised than us, as the trip would never have been the success it was. Upon arrival in Arusha, Tanzania, we met two lovely friends who started their own tour company, Serengeti Wakanda. They both helped us organise a last minute tour with them. And when I say last minute, I mean last minute! We arrived in Arusha and were going on tour the very next day.

What followed in the days to come, was a dream come true…