Alex tells us about her Goosebump Moments in Africa

Welcome to a new episode of Africa with André, where we celebrate Africa. One story at a time.

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[00:00:27] Alex: Hello everyone and thank you for letting me be part of it.

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[00:00:44] Alex: We first met in December 2008. I can still remember it very well; it was a great time. It was fantastic. I worked here in Switzerland for the tour operator, and you were my contact in South Africa.

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[00:01:16] Alex: Absolutely. So, I mean, I agree because that was the experience I made. So, after my first trip, I fell in love, well, during my first trip actually, and so do many clients of ours. They might hesitate a little bit in the beginning. They're not quite sure what to expect, but once they've been there and they've experienced the beauty of all these destinations, they can't, like, resist and, they have to book their next trip.

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How was it for you? Tell us about the first time you travelled to, Africa. When was that? And what did you do?

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[00:02:46] André: What did you expect before you went down and how did the reality compare to what you expected? It might be that it was different for you because you had friends down there, but I think a lot of people expect one thing before they travel and then it's actually quite different. How was that with you?

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I was surprised, and I loved it. I mean, not saying that I don't like the destinations where it's more African.

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Obviously other countries like. Malawi or Madagascar or other parts of the continent is developed differently. But I think, uh, South Africa is definitely a good starting point.

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[00:04:47] Alex: Well, look, I mean, I work for a tour operator, so that's our income. Of course, we, I would suggest everyone to book through a tour operator. I think especially, for destinations in Africa. You don't know about all the circumstances. You don't know about the distances and everything, and the transport, how everything works.

So you're quite unsure about that. Once you've been there and you understand it might be a little bit easier to book everything online. I mean, there are destinations where you can do that easily. Others, I would not recommend it, even if it's your fifth or sixth or whatever trip to Africa. So I think, it's really important that you talk to us.

We know the destinations; we know how everything works. And so we can actually really try and find out what you like and, what you're looking for, and then we can put your dream holiday together. So yes, it's definitely worth it.

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In Namibia, a distance of 60 or 100 kilometres, it takes a lot longer than an hour to do that. So I think that's a good example of how it does help to speak to someone, especially for your first visits. Who knows

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And also, you know, when it comes to all these rental cars, we make sure that you get the proper car and especially with a good insurance, because you don't want to be in an accident with a car with a bad insurance or which is not insured at all.

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[00:07:12] Alex: It's not always easy in the tourism industry but I still love it, and I still love everything about it. So, what I love the most is of course that I can travel every now and then. I can travel to Africa more than once per year. I can explore new areas, new destinations.

That's what I love, of course, the traveling part of it. Also to attend all the trade shows, the contact to all these people. to the hoteliers, to our partners I meet them when they come to Switzerland, to Zurich.

I meet them at trade shows. I meet them when I'm traveling. And yeah, some of them have become friends now in, in the past 20 years. And yeah, that's, I think what I love most about it is the contact to all these cool people in Africa.

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[00:08:43] Alex: My two favourite…

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[00:08:48] Alex: Yeah. And everybody keeps on asking you that. And my answer is always the same. I don't have a favourite destination. I don't have a favourite country because every country is unique and every county is different. So, but if I have to, to mention two names, I would go for Botswana; because of the animals, because of the safari experience.

I mean, when I am in Africa, of course, I love to be in the bush. I love to be in the nature, and I love to watch animals. And I think this is also the main reason for people traveling to Africa. They want to experience that. They want to see what it's like to see these animals in their natural habitat. So, and I think Botswana to me is the top destination for safari.

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[00:09:37] Alex: And secondly, you mentioned it before: Madagascar, just because it's totally different to everything else.

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[00:09:47] Alex: yeah, it’s different. People are different. You speak French, compared to all the other destinations in Southern East Africa. so, this is amazing and it's also kind of safari, right? You do the trekkings when you go and try and find the lemurs. You walk, you walk a lot.

It's not like being in a boat or sitting in these game drive vehicles, but you walk a lot. You are very close to nature. You have all these rainforests. It's very, it's very lush. I also love the small things like the lemurs, the chameleons and everything. So it's just like totally different.

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I'm definitely planning to do a podcast on Madagascar, so watch this space.

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It could be some accommodation or an activity, something that caused goosebumps for you, that's memorable.

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[00:12:02] André: Spring. So that's spring in South Africa…

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[00:12:17] André: But when you say, when you say “everywhere”, this is, the Namaqualand region, which is north of Cape Town. So, it's not everywhere in this massive country, it's the area north of Cape Town, the Namaqualand region, where they have these massive fields of wildflowers.

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[00:13:01] Alex: But one of my biggest goosebumps moments, of course, was when I travelled in Zimbabwe. I was in the Mana Pools National Park, and I stayed in one camp, which is like in the national park in the middle of the bush. And there is a watering hole, or kind of lagoon, which is the only watering hole in the surroundings of many kilometres.

So this is the only place where animals could find water. So all you have to do is you just sit in your chair and you just wait for all the animals to come and drink. And that was something that we did. Out of this world. But then besides that, we saw many animals during the day, during dinner, and then the guide walked us back to our tent.

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[00:14:00] André: Like close the zipper of the tent?

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[00:14:15] Alex: It was even on stilts, exactly.

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[00:14:34] Alex: It's slightly different. Exactly, so it's like proper, it's like a room actually. And it's even on stilts and you have a proper bed but it's with canvas walls. So you don't have proper walls, but you have canvas walls and also the roof is made out of canvas.

You have, it depends a little bit what you booked and where you go, but you normally even have your en-suite bathroom.

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[00:15:08] Alex: That is true. The shower was a different story, the shower was outside.

I mean, I knew I was safe in that tent, but still, knowing that lions are like two metres away from you, that was, uh, that was an unforgettable experience.

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[00:15:31] Alex: Absolutely. And then on the other side of the river that was in the Lower Zambezi National Park in Zambia, I was there last year in May, and I did for the first time in my life a proper canoe safari on the Zambezi and I was so scared of all these hippos…

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[00:15:52] Alex: in the river, but I was…

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[00:15:56] Alex: Thank you.

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[00:16:36] Alex: So he observed these he could read them kind of and he knew…

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[00:16:55] Alex: Absolutely. when I have a good guide and most of them are really good, I just rely on them and, when they tell me to do this, I do it. And when they tell me to not do it, I try not to do it. So, yeah, that was a proper goosebumps moment and I was really proud of myself that I actually did it, and I would do it again.

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[00:17:31] André: But the company that you did this with wouldn't offer this activity if they didn't feel comfortable knowing that they have all the safety measures in place so that it's, it is as safe as it can be around wild animals. And it's normal to be, to be afraid.

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[00:18:17] André: You knew you were in good hands…

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[00:18:20] André: There might be a few people listening who have never been to any country in Africa. What do you want to say to them?

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[00:18:35] André: I often say to people, if you have a couple of items on your travel wish list, go to all the other countries and other continents around the world first, because once you come to Africa, you'll want to keep coming back again.

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[00:19:00] Alex: Yes, yeah, that, well, there are some regions, of course, but what we just introduced in our portfolio is, It's a mountain trekking, like the Ruwenzori mountain trekking in…

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[00:19:22] Alex: Well, it's not like the Kilimanjaro, because everybody talks about Kilimanjaro. Everybody wants to do Kilimanjaro. Um, I mean, it's an impressive mountain and I'm not saying that you shouldn't do that. But if you want to be a little bit more off the beaten track, like not do what everybody else is doing, I would rather do Mount Kenya or then even Ruwenzori mountains in Uganda.

It's just something else, just something different that it's, not on everybody's list. And, I can promise you that you're not going to stand in a queue before you reach the peak.

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And now as we're nearing the end, Three small questions for you just to end everything with. Again, you're not going to like this question, but: what is your favorite hotel or lodge on the continent of Africa?

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André: So, Tswalu Wildlife Reserve in the Kalahari in South Africa. That's what you mean?

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[00:20:55] Alex: It's just, everything, it's just different. Again, I like things that are different…

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[00:21:04] Alex: Yeah, and you can sleep under the stars. They have these sleep out decks and it's just like it's stunning.

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[00:21:17] Alex: Hmm. Another question that is not easy but talking about Tswalu Kalahari, I just stick to it and I mention Klein JAN

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[00:21:33] Alex: it's not just about food I mean the food is great, but it's the whole experience. And, it's a very famous chef, and everything is just unique about it.

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[00:21:48] Alex: Alright, that's easy: my favourite animal is the elephant. So, I mean, I've seen many elephants in my life, and when I'm on a safari and I don't see elephants, I'm sad because I miss them. I just love watching them. I think they are very interesting creatures. I love to watch them and observe them, how they interact with each other.

They are very clever, smart animals. They are very entertaining, especially when, when you get across like a big herd of elephants with little ones as well. It's just fun watching them. They're always like moving, doing, playing, eating, swimming, whatever they do. And yeah, they just, I think they are just really…

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[00:22:49] Alex: … they disappear…

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[00:22:52] Alex: Exactly. Yeah. I mean, huge creatures. and yeah, you, you don't hear them, hey? And sometimes you don't even see them and they're a few metres away from you.

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[00:23:14] Alex: You are very welcome, thank you for letting me be part of that.

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Until next time!