Into Africa

4 August 2007, On Board BA flight 058 London-Capetown

This is going to be good. Very good. I'm sitting on board a big, ol' jet airliner waiting to be carried too far away. Away from London and work and RL. (That's "real life", not "Ralph Lauren." Although I certainly hope I don't run into him.)


My friend Anne and I have been plotting this months - 2 full weeks in Africa. Anne is, like me, in advertising. And is, like me, suffering from a serious case of "How the Hell Did I Get Myself Into This?" Syndrome (HtHDIGMIT, for short.) I've become such a psycho that when planning this trip, I actually wrote a brief in which (in an unintentional homage to the the world's worst personal ad) I described us as "Two thirty-something professional women, overworked, overstressed (but otherwise healthy) seasoned travellers." I think our poor, beleaguered, South African travel agent was secretly appalled, but she managed to maintain a cheerful disposition as Anne and I attempted to drive her insane with little tweaks and questions.

I had vowed, to anyone who would stand still long enough, that I was abandoning all my technology during this trip. To that end, Anne and I defiantly left our cell phones, blackberrys, laptops, and even iPods behind*.

*Strictly speaking, it's not actually true.
We both brought one cell phone each, for "emergencies."
We're not total Luddites, after all.

I have very high hopes for this trip and so far it's off to a great start. Due to my manic travel schedule over the last 18 months, I've accumulated enough miles to fly the almost 12-hour flight from London to Capetown in first class. BA has really kicked it up a notch, I guess to compete with Virgin Atlantic's Upper Class service. On board, I was personally escorted to my seat, greeted by name, and presented with a gift bag and a pair of fleecy PJs. I immediately changed into the over sized jammies and settled in for the overnight flight. Too late, I realized that everyone else has the class to wait until after the meal service to change. Ah, well. More champagne! Bring me my Ambien!

Our itinerary is jam-packed (As my UK boss said, "It's just so American!"): We spend the first week in South Africa (3 nights in the Capetown/Winelands and 4 nights in the Sabi Sands private game reserve); next stop: 3 nights in Botswana near the Okavango Delta; and finally 3 nights in Namibia.

As we began our descent, I looked out the window and saw the coast of South Africa. Again I thought: this is going to be good.

First glimpse of the Dark Continent