Travel experiences that connect you with the world..
Suddenly, sundowner cocktails are interrupted as the tracker shouts “Get in the jeep—now!” Fifteen yards away, a cheetah has killed an impala—not an unusual scene at South Africa’s five-star Phinda camp, known for helping to save the cheetah. So begins the Exquisite Safaris southern Africa itinerary. Next stop: Botswana’s Okavango Delta, where huge herds of the big five range across the terrain, and another five-star lodge, Kwando Lagoon Camp, which employs Bushmen as trackers. But for Pam Donlin, a former banker who traveled there last year, the most memorable moment came in the Zambian bush at nonprofit who run a school and health center near Victoria Falls; supported by Exquisite Safaris.
Donlin, her husband, and her two kids met AIDS orphans and gave out clothes. “If part of travel can be helping others, and can create awareness in one’s self, it’s a great thing,” says Donlin, who donated a $2,500 water well and educational funds. The trip wound up at the Royal Livingstone Hotel, where monkeys scamper through the marble lobby. You can hear Victoria Falls and see the mist from the hotel. Says Donlin: “I thought, do I ever have to leave?”
