Adventures in Africa

Does the smell of elephant breath appeal to you? Does sitting on the edge of Victoria Falls staring down into a vast abyss turn you on? How about standing 100 feet away from a herd of hippos wallowing in the water? Maybe a cocktail in the bush watching a sunset and hearing the sounds of wild animals is your idea of a good time.

It all can be yours when you take the trip of your dreams to Africa.

My husband, Arthur, and I were in East Africa in 1987. We talked about going back and seeing what South Africa, Botswana and Zambia had to offer. Would it be different, would the animals be as profuse, would it be worth the long, interminable journey?

Yes, yes, and yes!

In September, we set out with our travel buddies, Jacquee and Mel Lipson, on a spectacular adventure.

After 37 hours of travel, we arrived at Kruger National Park in South Africa. We stayed at Lion Sands in the most exquisite accommodations we’ve had in all of our travels.

Not only was that a fabulous way to start our trip, but across the river we were greeted by a herd of elephants. On our first afternoon game ride we saw three of the “big five” -- elephants, cape buffalo, and lions, to be followed the next day by hippos and a leopard. They are called the “big five” because they are the most dangerous.

From the camp we flew to Cape Town for five nights. This is a beautiful, clean city and a terrific place to use as a base for day trips.

We took advantage of this and spent half a day in wine country and a half day going south around Cape Horn where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic Ocean.

Another day we went to an area where the whales migrate near the town of Hermanus and saw them a couple hundred feet offshore. We saw penguins at Simonstown in False Bay about an hour from Cape Town. Who knew there were penguins in Africa?

We took a tour of Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for 27 years -- a very moving experience. It is very interesting to be in a country that up until 1994 had apartheid.

From Cape Town we flew to Johannesburg to board the first of many passenger planes that fly from camp to camp. Our first camp in Botswana was in Okavonga Delta, which floods during the rainy season and dries out by October. We were in two camps in the delta and saw hundreds of elephants and hippos. We saw wildebeest, wild dogs, and many species of antelope, such as kudu, gazelles, and impala. There were also many birds -- this is a great place for bird-watchers.

At times, we forgot we were in the wild.

We were accompanied to and from our cabin at night to go to dinner -- you never know what could be lurking out there. But we never felt in danger.

We saw lions napping on the roadside, 10 feet from us. They hunt at night and sleep during the day, so they had no interest in us.

Herds of elephants came within a hundred feet of us. We got used to it, although at times adrenalin starts to pump, until you remember they are vegetarians.

One of my favorite sights was seeing the giraffes nibbling on trees, with their heads sticking out above everything else around them.

This trip was not exactly roughing it, which was fine by us. It was the experience of being in the wild, yet the luxury of a morning tea and coffee break with scones set up on a tablecloth in the back of a Range Rover. Then there was the “sundowner” with the same set up.

Our last stop was Zambia at the Royal Livingstone Hotel. We had lunch on Livingston Island, which is where Dr. David Livingston discovered Victoria Falls.

Arthur and I had the thrill of a lifetime by swimming out to the deep pool across the Zambizi River on top of the falls. You can only do this when the falls are low -- they peak in March and April and are very low in September. Victoria Falls had always been one of the top places we wanted to see and it was very disappointing to see just a trickle of water coming down the cliffs, but the deep pool experience made up for it.

Zambia was our last stop. We took a cab from the hotel and visited a tribal village. On our next trip, I think we will check out the bungee jump and the gorge swing. I don’t know if our trip insurance covers it, but it could land us on the cover of AARP’s magazine!

* THE FRIEDMANS are residents of Newport Beach.

* TRAVEL TALES runs on Thursdays. Tell us about your adventures in about 400 words, accompanied by a couple of photos, and send it all to 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626; by e-mail to dailypilot@latimes.com.