![]() The grayish-brown bodies of the wildebeests, with their black manes stirring, moved like an undulating wave across the endless plains. The scenery changed as we approached the migration. We drove for hours, with the same barren plains passing us by, our hair, faces, and arms covered in dust from the open windows. It isn’t uncommon for elephants to enter safari camps. Our first stop was the Serengeti, the famed national park famous for the greatest spectacle on Earth - the wildebeest migration - where millions of ungulates make the grueling journey across the plains and rivers in the dry season in search of food. We hired a safari guide and vehicle for a multiday girls’ trip. Two flights to Nairobi and a 12-hour overnight bumpy bus ride to Mwanza later, the four of us arrived exhausted but excited for the adventure ahead. The word “safari” translates to “journey” in Swahili I didn’t realize then that the moment I stepped on African soil would forever change my life. In just a few months, I received the necessary vaccination shots and was on my way with a backpack and nearly empty bank account. A friend who was on an extended volunteer trip in a rural community along the shores of Tanzania’s Lake Victoria invited me and two other girlfriends to visit. Ten years later, while living in California after graduating college, I got the chance to go on my own safari. A towering giraffe stood in a grassland near the vehicle, its mahogany patches contrasting against a cloudless, baby-blue sky. My aunt, who moved to the continent after getting married, mailed photos from a vacation in South Africa. My introduction to African wildlife came when I was a teenager growing up in a small town in South India. ![]() A Path to Well-Being: Restore Yourself in WaterĮnrapturing experiences like this make a safari thrilling and unforgettable.My body relaxed, my worries dissolved, and for a short period, my mind was still enough to be at peace. I stashed my phone away and stood there transfixed, lulled by the cool woodland breeze and warmed by the equatorial sun until the animal moved on. But I reminded myself to be mindful of this solitude in the wilderness in the presence of such a mighty creature. I let out a gasp my first instinct was to capture the moment on camera. There, knee-deep in the muddy water, stood an adolescent African elephant, 30 or so feet in the distance, completely oblivious to me.įlapping his giant ears to keep cool, the elephant snaked his nimble trunk around the branches to feast. Quietly, I walked toward the barbed wire fence along the edge of an embankment leading to the reddish-brown waters of the narrow Ewaso Ng’iro River. Opening the zipper, I scanned the expansive bush and realized I wasn’t alone. From camping tips and safari stories to eye-opening tales about the environment to inspiring ways to reclaim your relationship with nature, these stories show it’s never been a better time to get lost in the great outdoors.Ī rustling outside my canvas tent in a remote part of Kenya’s Ol Pejeta Conservancy jolted me out of my jet-lagged daze. In the Shondaland series The Novelty of Nature, we’re digging into the power of natural places and the wellness benefits of embracing the elements.
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