Last South Africa Post – It’s All About the Animals – Sunday, May 14

As I sit here in Brookline, Massachusetts on Mothers Day, recovering from jet lag and a 36-hour intestinal bug that Elizabeth claims is from eating a pepper steak pie at a road stand along the Garden Route between Knysna and Cape Town, I decided to focus my last post on something Phil Liggett kept repeating during our Safari. Phil, who was the heart and sole behind why this trip was put together, kept saying over and over again, “It’s all about the animals.” And as we spent more time with these exotic and extraordinary creatures, I began to understand why he kept repeating that mantra.

Phil Liggett, known as the “voice of cycling” will be announcing his 51st Tour de France for NBC Sports this summer. And at 80 years old, he is as sharp as ever. Cycling with him during the past week was incredibly special. But even more special was watching him interact and comment on the animals. An avid bird watcher, his passion for the environment and all animals was on display the entire week.

On the final morning of our safari we headed to Port Elizabeth Airport where we said our goodbyes. Elizabeth and I would spend the next two days on the famous Garden Route headed back to Cape Town, from where we would fly back home.

As we ended our Safari at Kariega Game Reserve, I guessed that Elizabeth would never see Africa the same way again. Several of the guests on this trip live in Africa or have lived in Africa. And several would say that there is something about Africa that gets in your blood. Either you love it or hate it. You see, this was Elizabeth’s first trip to this vast and diverse continent. Having been to Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Morocco, I had already fallen in love with this very complicated part of the world. And to Phil Liggett’s point, this trip changed me as well.

I realized that I would never see animals in captivity the same again. As Robert Redford told Merle Streep in a scene in the movie Out of Africa, “You have ruined it for me. I can never be alone again.” And in some ways this Safari in South Africa, seeing the animals up close for days in their natural habitat, has ruined it for me. I can never truly enjoy visiting a zoo the same way again.

Imagine being an animal kept in a zoo. Unlike its counterpart in the wild, an ostrich in the zoo will not have an opportunity to run 35 to 40 miles an hour for long distances. And believe me, when you are riding a bike though the bush and you see three ostriches running across an open area at 35 miles a hour with their heads never moving, you know you have just seen something quite special, but also quite natural. Ask any person who is a runner what it is like not to run and you will understand.

Many of us love our animals, especially our pets. But I recently heard a veterinarian, who owns a dog, explain that keeping pets, especially in confined spaces and without social interaction for long periods, is miserable for them. Like us, animals need agency and purpose. And as this veterinarian has come to this realization, she had pledged that the dog that she now owns will be her last because she cannot give a pet the life it deserves. I am not so sure I can do the same. But seeing a K-9 demonstration at Kariega and the pure joy on the dog’s faces with their ears pinned back as they were working made me realize that we can make a better life for our pets if we work on it.

So, a take-away for me on this trip is to treat all animals with more respect. And a part of that is to give our pets as much purpose and social interaction as we can. I appreciate now more than ever why Emmy Lou follows me around all morning until we take our walk, during which I stop near an open field, take the rubber ball from its hiding place, and play fetch with her until she almost drops. All creatures were meant to work, to be with others, and to have purpose.

With that in mind and because I was awake at 5:00 a.m. this morning, I took our son’s dog, Odin, out for a walk and to play catch with a frisbee, which she loves. Odin literally pulled me the entire way to the local park. I could have been blind and she would have found the way. During my favorite time of day and alone in the park, we played her favorite game as the first light of day began to appear over the nearby trees. Watching her with her ears pinned back, I was reminded of the dogs back in South Africa who are so crucial to the anti-poaching efforts. Another statement Phil repeated during out trip was, “If we cannot save the animals, we will not be able to save ourselves.”

As Elizabeth and I drove west along the southern coast of this great continent of Africa, where the Indian and South Atlantic Oceans meet, to Knysna, our stopping point for the evening, it began to rain. And it seemed appropriate. After saying goodbye, many of our group posted on WhatsApp how sad they were that our trip had ended. And as the dark clouds descended, hiding the majesty of the landscape around us, the cold rain seemed fitting for the end of our trip.

And sitting in my room, with melancholy also descending, I posted the following: “The rainy weather here in Knysna is fitting – reflecting our sadness on the end of a spectacular trip. But the sadness is not from missing amazing food, beautiful landscapes or extraordinary animals, but from missing you. You are amazing, beautiful and extraordinary people, creating for us a blessed week in a community filled with grace.”

My friend Pete and I love our adventure trips. But we always agree that it’s the people we meet on those trips, whether locals or fellow travelers, that change us. But on this trip, it may have been the animals. Enjoy.