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I love AFRICA and no matter how many times I’ve visited I continue to be mesmerized by the continent, its people, its music, its daily rhythm and I would visit every year if I had a reason too.

Safaris are glamorized in fashion magazines, but I’ve learned over a dozen safari game drives that it’s serious business and should be treated as such. The likelihood of you feeding an elephant or standing next to a giraffe are slim to none. I’ve been lucky a few times, but I’ve also had some harrowing experiences too.

So, what is a safari really like? Well…I’ll tell you over the course of the summer. We’ll do a sort of virtual vacation where I take you along on my safari adventures by sharing photos and memories starting with this photo of Pilot Joe.

You should know that the more popular safari camps are located on game reserves a short flight from Johannesburg Tambo airport, so you’ll most likely fly into your preferred camp on a specialty charter plane similar to the one above.

My girlfriends and I chose a safari camp outside of Botswana because its malaria-free and we didn’t want to deal with getting shots or taking the malaria protocol.

After a few days of community work in Johannesburg and lots of sightseeing, we boarded this charter plane with Pilot Joe and flew into camp. Joe expertly landed on the unmarked clay dirt runway, just to leave us in the middle of nowhere…

Next: First sightings and what not to wear.