“The eye never forgets what the heart has seen.” – Bantu Proverb
Travelling has a way of magnifying all human emotions, especially when you have an innate love towards a particular place! Our very own Terri Abadi shares her love for Africa with us here:
“The phrase, “follow your passion” is often thought to be nothing more than a cliché, one often repeated but seldom embraced. I feel blessed that over the last four years we have fostered a company which really is an embodiment of my one true passion!
My recent trip to Africa to further explore Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa reminded me why I love the continent of Africa so; what makes it so special and why it is deeply embedded in my soul.
Growing up in South Africa, I was enthralled by its breath-taking landscapes from a young age, and in particular the life that pulses through the bush. What makes the African wilderness so captivating to me can only be described as a feeling; one of being in complete and utter awe.
When I am there, inner peace permeates every fibre of my being, from the first sight of the amber rays spreading across the bushveld at dawn, all the way through to the last red glow after the suddenness of the sunset, with the soft chirp of a Scops owl calling from an acacia tree nearby or the muted roar of a male lion in the still night air.
Africa grips you in its wonder and you are left inextricably bound to it. Ever since I first visited the Kruger National Park and Botswana, it has pulsated in my veins like a river rushing in my blood.
The escape that the bush offers from the daily grind is unlike any other. Sitting in the middle of a herd of a thousand buffalo, or having a bull elephant stroll past within metres of your vehicle are the type of experiences to get pulses racing, to offer the type of thrill that exists nowhere else; the most addictive cocktail of anticipation, incredulity, freedom, wonder and awe.
Truly, there is nothing like the call of the fish eagle beckoning you to discover the secrets and wonders of the bush. If you visit, I promise that you too will fall in love Africa’s her hypnotic beauty.
She will completely transform the landscape of your dreams for a lifetime, in a way you never thought possible.
It will do for you what it has done for me: embed itself in your soul… And there will be no going back…
We can’t wait to share our love for Africa with you.”
by Terri Abadi
I too love the open spaces of Africa and its animals – (now, what’s left of them) – but in all my years living and working in East Africa, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, I concluded that too many while people had loved the sun, the mon(ey) and the fun, and too few had loved the people. I only experienced kindness, friendship and acceptance, from colleagues and students alike, and others I had to do with; perhaps because I respected them they respected me. On the ship going out to Mombasa, which was carrying many passengers home to Durban, one lady took me aside and said, “You must remember, my dear, the African has no sense of gratitude.” I often thought of this coming away from visits in the holidays to my students, with the car loaded down with maize and chickens, and myself clutching crumpled Sh5/- notes pressed into my hand by grateful aunts, uncles and grandparents.