Our First Safari in Africa
In 2019, South Africa was just a destination on the map.
We had never been on safari, we knew nothing about Kruger National Park, and we were planning our first big trip entirely on our own.
I still remember the evenings spent in front of the computer with Chanty. We were searching for ideas, reading travel stories, and imagining our next adventure.
This time we wanted something different.
Something that would push us out of our comfort zone.
Something that felt like a real adventure.
For Chanty, travelling had always come naturally. I, on the other hand, had travelled far less, and until that moment had never faced anything quite like what we were about to experience.
But the curiosity had always been there.
When I look at photos of myself as a child, I almost always have a camera around my neck. I didn't know it yet, but the desire to explore the world and preserve memories through images was already there.
The more we read, the more South Africa felt like the right choice.
We booked the flights.
We rented a car.
We built the trip piece by piece.
And without even realising it, we were planning one of the most important journeys of our lives.
The Road to Kruger
I still remember the feeling of landing in Johannesburg.
Before leaving, we had received a thousand warnings.
"Be careful."
"Don't stop."
"Johannesburg is dangerous."
The closer the departure got, the more a mix of excitement and anxiety grew inside us.
Then the moment arrived.
We picked up the rental car.
We walked out of the airport.
And we set off towards Kruger National Park.
To be honest, we were pretty nervous.
At the first petrol station stops, we watched everything carefully. We felt far from home and completely out of our comfort zone.
Then, kilometre after kilometre, we began to relax.
The people we met were kind, warm, and welcoming.
Of course, as with any trip, you need to use common sense and stay aware of your surroundings. But that initial fear slowly gave way to excitement.
And the closer we got to Kruger, the more the emotion grew.
We started spotting the first road signs warning of elephant and hippo crossings.
We passed several private reserves.
We saw our first warthogs.
And without even noticing, we had already started scanning the trees and the bush for animals.
We were driving slower than necessary.
Looking everywhere.
Laughing.
Getting emotional over every movement.
In reality, our safari had already begun long before we crossed the park gate.
Where It All Began
Dinner in the African bush
Knowing almost nothing about Kruger, we had chosen to stay at a small guesthouse run by an Italian couple near Phalaborwa.
It was an important decision.
Knowing there would be someone to speak our language made us feel safer.
They were incredibly welcoming from the very first moment.
They helped us organise activities and plan our first game drives.
Everything was new to us.
Every day felt like an adventure.
Between guided safaris, a night in the savanna around a campfire, a sunrise boat trip, and a visit to a local school and village, we were discovering an Africa we had never imagined.
The First Roar
On the morning of our first safari, we were as excited as children.
We were at the park entrance while our guide completed the formalities to get inside.
Then something happened that I will never forget.
A roar.
Then another.
Chanty and I looked at each other immediately.
We had heard lions in documentaries our whole lives.
But hearing them for real was something completely different.
When our guide came back, we asked where the sound was coming from.
His answer left us speechless.
"About two or three kilometres from here."
It seemed impossible.
To us, it felt like the lion was right behind the bush next to the jeep.
We hadn't even entered Kruger National Park yet.
And yet, Africa had already started making itself heard.
The Cheetah Nobody Expected
A cheetah on the road between Letaba and S69
Our first game drive gave us an encounter we still talk about today.
We were alone with the guide.
The morning light was stunning.
At a certain point, Chanty spotted a large cat in the distance.
She was convinced it was a cheetah.
Our guide disagreed.
He kept insisting that in that area, a leopard would have been far more likely.
We held our ground.
He was sceptical.
In the end, Chanty was right.
It was a cheetah.
One of the hardest animals to spot in Kruger.
On day one.
On our very first safari.
I still remember the look of surprise on our guide's face.
And I remember perfectly the emotion we felt in that moment.
Shortly after came the first lions.
The first elephants.
The first great encounters of our African life.
Chasing the Leopard
In the days that followed, we kept exploring the park.
The sightings were extraordinary.
We had already seen four of the Big Five.
Only the leopard remained.
And the more days passed, the more it seemed to be playing hide and seek with us.
We missed it by minutes.
Someone would tell us it had just walked by.
We could hear calls in the bush.
We always arrived a moment too late.
It almost felt like Kruger was having fun with us.
We were seeing so many animals.
And yet our thoughts always drifted back to the same place.
The leopard.
Five Hundred Metres from the Exit
Can you spot the leopard?
Then came the last day.
After the safari, we would be catching a flight to Mauritius.
We woke up in the middle of the night.
We entered the park before dawn.
We drove for hours.
Nothing.
Always beautiful.
But no leopard.
We had accepted the idea that it would have to wait for next time.
A few kilometres left to the Paul Kruger Gate.
Then we reached a bridge where around twenty cars were stopped.
We asked what they were looking at.
"There's a leopard in the tree."
The adrenaline hit us instantly.
We looked everywhere.
We couldn't find it.
Then a woman knocked on our window and pointed to the opposite bank of the river.
And finally, we saw it.
Sleeping on a branch.
About sixty metres away.
We couldn't photograph it properly.
Our small compact camera wasn't up to the moment.
But it didn't matter.
We were there.
We were watching it with our own eyes.
We had completed the Big Five on our very first African safari.
Already Missing It
Mauritius Sunset
A few days later, we were in Mauritius.
White beaches.
Crystal-clear water.
Pure relaxation.
All of it beautiful.
And yet, after just two or three days, Chanty and I looked at each other and said almost the same thing at the same time.
"We miss the safari."
It was a strange feeling.
We had just left one of the most beautiful places we had ever visited, and already we felt nostalgic for the dusty roads of Kruger.
That was probably the moment we understood that Africa had left something special inside us.
We didn't know we would keep coming back, again and again.
We didn't know that photography would become such an important part of our lives.
We didn't know that trip would change the way we see the world.
We only knew one thing.
That first safari would not be our last.
Chanty & Marco
