By Jill Collins and Christen Bresnahan

Unexpected. Surreal. Vast. These are the words that came to mind when asked to describe our recent trip to southern Africa.
 
Working in the travel industry on the design (Christen) and operations (Jill) side of the business, our trip to Botswana, South Africa, and Zambia was monumental. As well-traveled as we are, preparing to visit Africa for the first time felt different ... perhaps it was the sense of the unknown. We pulled together a few of our highlights that will stay with us forever.
 
In Cape Town, we loved the colonial feel juxtaposed with majestic Table Mountain and its access to the Cape Peninsula. We passed idyllic fishing villages and a penguin colony—we could have watched them waddle around and surf the waves all day. We dipped our toes in the chilly water where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet, collected seashells, and were surprised with a seaside lunch that included freshly caught prawns with spicy Peri Peri sauce.
 
Wildlife sightings are in a stand-alone category. Seeing the spectrum of animals up close, in their natural habitat, was like being in our very own nature documentary. The various species' interactions gave us insight into their symbiotic relationship and quite literally, the circle of life. Within an hour of our first game drive, we spotted a pack of endangered wild dogs, a leopard walking within feet of a rhino, and a herd of impala snorting and stamping sounding an alert of a nearby lioness.

Botswana’s Okavango Delta and Zambia’s Zambezi River offered us a glimpse into safari from the water versus land. Our vantage was via Mokoro (dugout canoe) and sunset cruise complete with delicious pink gin sundowners! We watched the mist of mighty Victoria Falls catch rainbows as crocs soaked up the sun below.
 
The wealth of knowledge we gained on this trip from the logistics and the cadence of each day to the relationships we developed with TS's partners on the ground, will prove invaluable when it comes to working with our clients. It was also the stories we exchanged with the local staff from the surrounding villages about our families and parenting same-age children that we'll never forget. It turns out, that Africa was as similar as it was different and we can not wait to explore more of the "Mother Continent" ...