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offer to accompany me. ing ponchos to protect us from the mist, we
I researched numerous tour companies viewed the waterfalls from 14 vantage
and took our trip with EF/Go Ahead Tours. points, each offering a different perspec‐
At just under $10,000 apiece, they were tive of the power of the water crashing be‐
thousands of dollars less than other tour fore us.
companies. We had 13 people in our group, At our buffet dinner that evening, our
and our accommodations and guides were group of 13 got to know each other. We
first-class. came from all over the United States, with
There were several other mother-daughter travelers in
some moments addition to Melissa
when we arrived and me. We also
at the San Diego had a father and
airport that I son traveling to‐
didn’t think we gether, and a few
would be able to solo travelers, but
take our trip at all. surprisingly, no
A United Airlines couples.
agent looked at The next day,
our tickets and we traveled by
said the tour com‐ bus to Hwange
pany had obtained National Park on
two tickets for the bumpiest road
Melissa and no I’ve ever ridden.
ticket for me. Af‐ The bus driver ex‐
ter a panicked call pertly avoided the
to Go Ahead Tours, the agent found me a giant potholes, driving partway on the curb
Delta flight from Atlanta to Cape Town to to get around them. He joked that the road
Johannesburg. Melissa, meanwhile, was was known as an African massage – and
told to go ahead on the United flight, we got quite a few massages during our
transferring to Cape Town from Dulles Air‐ tour.
port outside Washington, D.C. We took our first game drive as soon as
My flight arrived in Johannesburg with‐ we were settled into our rooms at Hwange
out incident (although my luggage didn’t Safari Lodge, on the border with the park.
show up for two days). Melissa’s flight out We rode in open-air safari vehicles, with
of D.C. was cancelled; then she was unable our drivers constantly on the radio to get
to board a flight the next day. She finally the latest intelligence on where wildlife
ended up flying to Sao Paolo, Brazil, land‐ could be spotted.
ing in Johannesburg and then flying to Vic‐ Baboons ran across the plain in front of
toria Falls to join our tour two days later. us as we made our way into the park. Im‐
The middle-of-the-night meeting with pala were everywhere, gracefully leaping
the hippos helped us set aside 48 hours of away when they felt endangered. Giraffes
travel stress. crossed the road in front of us, and we
Our first group tour was to Victoria passed by zebras and water buffalos.
Falls, a UNESCO World Heritage site and Our driver stopped the vehicle in front
one of the world’s largest waterfalls. Wear‐ of two sleeping lions, a male with his ma‐
116 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE WINTER 2025
