I haven’t been everywhere but it’s on my list!

A brilliant saying if ever there was one and I will be eternally envious of Susan Sontag to whom the quote is attributed. I love it so much that we’ve used it at Travel Centres and Travel Bug, along with some other famous travel-related quotes, to epitomize the pleasure that is travelling. People assume when they hear that you work in the travel industry that you’ve been everywhere but that is rarely true and I’m no exception. Although I travel a lot, a good proportion of those trips tend to be repeat visits to certain countries because that’s where most of our agent’s clients go to, so not unsurprisingly, that means the USA and Spain — both of which I’ve probably been to on more than 40 or 50 occasions as one tends not to keep count. That means that there are still a lot of countries around the world that I have yet to experience and so I try to add at least two, if not three new destinations each year.

With about 60 countries under my belt at this stage, I am about to add another two in the coming week when I travel to both Kenya and the Seychelles for the first time. Having been privileged to experience a safari on two previous occasions (both in South Africa), it has always been my wish to undertake a safari in Kenya where, according to many people who have done both, the experience is more authentic. I’ll let you know how I get on in a future blog. As a keen photographer, I can’t wait to try out a new super-zoom lens that will hopefully afford me the opportunity to capture some great shots.

Safaris can be physically demanding activities where you spend hour after fruitless hour travelling along bush tracks or over open country trying to find those elusive animals who failed to read the memo. You get up at the crack of dawn when it’s usually bloody freezing out in the bush with the result that you’ve got to cover yourself in layer after layer of t-shirt, shirt, fleece and possibly even a jacket and beany hat to insulate yourself from the near freezing temperatures. The rewards though are worth it. There’s something about getting up that close and personal to wild animals that tugs at human heart strings and the novelty of it never goes away. Watch out for my report in a couple of weeks’ time.

All good travel experiences (like all good experiences in general) depend on a bit of both Yin and Yang. The couple of hours spent shopping to experience the serendipity of coming across that great bargain help to contrast the boredom of lying on the beach for hour after hour. And so, to with even safaris. You need a bit of contrast to counterbalance the potentially visceral experience of happening upon a kill. In my case, the Seychelles ticked that box as the destination contrasts hugely with what I will experience in the Masai Mara so that one will help to complement the other. The islands look stunning and again, play to my interest in photography so let’s hope that they don’t disappoint.

Watch this space!

Contact Us

The art of getting a quote that is both competitive in price and relevant to your needs starts with gathering all the right information about what you want to do (or think you want to do!).