This was as far as I could zoom out with the lenses I had…what a magnificent (and terrifying) animal to be so near!

So, 3 weeks into the new job and I get an e-mail asking for volunteers on a project in Botswana, Africa. Without hesitation, I volunteered to go. I had a couple weeks to prep for the trip which included some safari clothing (of course), a Borrow Lenses rental of a Nikon 200-500mm lens and a backpack capable of carrying all my gear, a trip to REI for some portable water filtration and other supplies, and most importantly, a trip to the doctor for some rather painful vaccinations. I researched and planned everything as carefully as possible. The co-workers that went with me all expressed interest in going on a safari for the weekend, so we made reservations at the Tao Game Lodge on the Madikwe Game Reserve for one night.

Not only was this my first trip to the African continent – this would be my first trip leaving the North American continent! I was super excited as I boarded the first flight to Atlanta to meet up with my colleagues. Later that day we all boarded the flight from Atlanta to Johannesburg, our home for the next 15 hours. When we arrived in Johannesburg, we transferred to a tiny prop plane to fly to Gaborone, Botswana. I had left Los Angeles, CA on a Wednesday morning and it was 10PM on Thursday night by the time we arrived at our hotel.

Friday was a work day, and finally Saturday arrived! We were picked up from our hotel, our guide assisted us with the Botswana/South Africa border crossing, and then we started down the long dirt road to the game lodge. Our shuttle was greeted at the door and we were given a short tour of the facilities before being taken to our very own private huts! We were fed extremely delicious food the entire weekend and go to go on TWO game drives, one Saturday evening and one Sunday morning. By Sunday afternoon it seemed like 24 hours had flown by too fast and I didn’t want to go back to the real world.

Lucky for me, the lens I picked to rent was perfect for catching some memorable shots of all the incredible African beauty we got to enjoy. Please enjoy the slideshow of the adventure below!

Click here for a fullscreen version of the slideshow!

Link to Original Gallery: http://www.nightfalldesigns.com/Travel/Madikwe-Game-Reserve-South-Africa