Hi All!
Normally I would not share travel photos as part of this newsletter, but since the trip we took to Africa was a response to, and a salve for, my cancer diagnosis and treatment, I am making this edition of the Healing Newsletter all about our trip. And “our” means me, Arthur, and our daughters, Miranda and Sophia. Our son Conrad loves cities and a trip to see animals in nature, even in Africa, was not his cup of tea.
We started in Johannesburg and from there went to our first safari camp: Nkonzi Bush Camp in the Luangwa National Park in Zambia. Each day began with a 5am wake-up and breakfast was at 5:30am, eaten in the dry riverbed next to camp where toast was made over an open flame. Fabulous if you are a lover of toast, which I am. After four days at Nkonzi we went to Busanga Bush Camp in Kafue National Park, also in Zambia, and enjoyed watching herds of antelope cavort on the Busunga Plain, a large open grassland that floods during the wet season. We took game drives twice each day for 3-4 hours at a time, once in the early morning and once in late afternoon.
The mornings and evenings were cold and we rode sitting up high in open land rovers, so bundling up was essential. I never imagined that a summer trip to Africa would give me a break from the heat here in the U.S., but it did.
We saw so many animals on safari: lions, leopards, and hippos, oh my! Plus zebra, wild dogs, a honey-badger, crocodiles, elephants, all manner of antelope, a Hartebeest, and more.
After safari we went to Victoria Falls, located on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe. Victoria Falls is one of the seven wonders of the natural world and it did not disappoint. Based on a combined width of 5,604 ft and height of 354 ft, the falls produce the world’s largest sheet of falling water and are considered the largest waterfall in the world. We were there during the dry season, which our guide said is the best time for seeing the falls since they produce so much mist during the wet season that one cannot actually see them. One local name for the falls is Mosi-oa-Tunya, "The Smoke That Thunders.”
We stayed in a hotel on the Zambezi River in Vic Falls. Wild animals had access to the land the hotel was on and we were interrupted one night at dinner by an elephant sighting. Another day, while swimming, I looked up to see a monkey sprint over the yard, up a tree and onto the roof of the hotel, which was three stories high. There were also several pumba or warthogs in residence in the hotel grounds. Warthogs are considered ugly animals, but we quite liked them.
Our last night in Busunga Bush Camp we learned that the wife in the British couple staying in camp had been diagnosed with breast cancer about a year after I was. She had a more serious diagnosis than I did and had chemo, and she was taking the safari trip for the same reason I was—that post-cancer if-not-now-when feeling. She and I shared many of the same disappointments and frustrations about treatment, which made me proud to have written Healing. Cancer sucks and medical care needs to tend to patients’ human needs much better than it does. That truth holds sway on both sides of the Atlantic.
Hugs to all, and happy almost end of summer—hope some of you have been able to pursue your life dreams these past few months.
Theresa
I loved this essay and the photos, although I am sorry to hear that the NHS suffers from similar problems with compassionate care as our system has. And it is a bonus to learn the origin of Pumba’s name in The Lion King!
Loved seeing the trip photos. As soon as I get thru my chemo I'm hoping to take a beach trip. I miss seeing you at our union functions.. please stay well and take care.