Wednesday, August 03, 2005
August 2005 - Going On Safari
Once again, I am going on a trip for much of August which will take me away from my usual blog site. If I have internet access at all, I will be able to post from here.
This year, I am going on safari, in South Africa. This is a dream that I was afraid to let myself have, for a long time. I decided that this would be a suitable 50th birthday present to myself, rather than one of those desultory affairs with black balloons and gag gifts relating to advanced age.
Every winter in Portland, there is a Sportsman's Show, where guides and professional hunters are among those vying for the attention of those who want an experience out of the ordinary. I wanted to take my 12 year old daughter with me on this trip, and she joined me in going to the Sportsman's Show to audition the different outfits. We went to each of the booths offering African adventures, and posed the same scenario: I wanted to give myself a safari as a birthday present, and wanted to take my daughter as my "chief observer." Then we waited for the reaction.
The most common reaction would be that they would flash a smile towards my daughter, and then proceed to ignore her for the rest of the spiel. One fellow seemed like he would be great to hunt with, if only adults were in attendance. Another young man made a presentation which was nervous and a little sad, focusing on the fact that if you booked with his family, the airfare was included in the price. Then we talked to Ivan and Judy.
Ivan and Judy Bezuidenhout run Cambridge Safaris (http://camsaf.co.za/). They seemed genuinely enthusiastic about the idea of a father bringing his daughter, and could visualize and explain what such a trip could look like for each of us. My bullshit meter never twitched while we were talking. We got references to check. Like all well selected references, their description of their experience and their desire to go back with Ivan and Judy again made us feel we were on the right track. We booked the trip, and we fly out of Portland on Sunday, to fly into Johannesburg on Sunday.
This year, I am going on safari, in South Africa. This is a dream that I was afraid to let myself have, for a long time. I decided that this would be a suitable 50th birthday present to myself, rather than one of those desultory affairs with black balloons and gag gifts relating to advanced age.
Every winter in Portland, there is a Sportsman's Show, where guides and professional hunters are among those vying for the attention of those who want an experience out of the ordinary. I wanted to take my 12 year old daughter with me on this trip, and she joined me in going to the Sportsman's Show to audition the different outfits. We went to each of the booths offering African adventures, and posed the same scenario: I wanted to give myself a safari as a birthday present, and wanted to take my daughter as my "chief observer." Then we waited for the reaction.
The most common reaction would be that they would flash a smile towards my daughter, and then proceed to ignore her for the rest of the spiel. One fellow seemed like he would be great to hunt with, if only adults were in attendance. Another young man made a presentation which was nervous and a little sad, focusing on the fact that if you booked with his family, the airfare was included in the price. Then we talked to Ivan and Judy.
Ivan and Judy Bezuidenhout run Cambridge Safaris (http://camsaf.co.za/). They seemed genuinely enthusiastic about the idea of a father bringing his daughter, and could visualize and explain what such a trip could look like for each of us. My bullshit meter never twitched while we were talking. We got references to check. Like all well selected references, their description of their experience and their desire to go back with Ivan and Judy again made us feel we were on the right track. We booked the trip, and we fly out of Portland on Sunday, to fly into Johannesburg on Sunday.
