Travelling With Friends

My mother used to say visitors were like fresh fish, great for the first two days, OK for the next day but that they start getting a little hard to bear on day four, as for days five and onwards, the fish or the friends….a little hard to bear!

Now try spending two weeks, in one four-by-four doing the “Botswana” or other safari “thing”… as passengers in a friend’s car, my wife and I looked forward to a stunning experience with two of our best friends.

Planning was fun with us enjoying many a meeting gathered around maps on the table, lists detailing packing methods, food and equipment, list upon list developed and added to around eventful evenings sharing good food and fruits of the vine. What for I call a friend, we have known each other for many years, shared fun and laughter and know each others good and bad points, personality failings and deepest secrets, that kind of friend is who I refer to in this context. To put this differently, forgive me if I over elaborate, we were all four, ready willing and able to head for the savannah together with no hesitation.



Going back to my mother for a moment, we once did the caravan “thing” with another family in a large caravan with supporting tents and spent two weeks in the rain, needless to say that was my mothers first and last camping trip. Moving on to the present, the day arrived and off we went, the first and last days being dedicated totally to travel, via the exciting metropolis of Maun and into what can only be described as one of the most wonderful of all the last remaining natural wonders of Africa.

Dare I digress again but with names like Moremi; Third Bridge and Savuti rolling of one’s tongue, if one can put to one side the exorbitant prices and the few acceptable facilities one should normally expect, this is top of the pops, bite the bullet, pack well and head for Botswana, it’s worth it.



Our friends are fanatical bird watchers….now lets put this into perspective, one gets nature lovers who enjoy a broad range of the boundless beauty of nature, like most of us, then one gets the nature lover who also takes a little turn towards birds – we are in this category, my wife and I watch birds, we do this in most places, we log them and we enjoy spotting the different birds in each region. We love climbing into a hide or securing a quiet spot, perhaps with a glass of Chardonnay, to sit and watch. We do not however need to spend fifteen minutes at each bird, particularly if it is the tenth example of the exact same bird on that particular game drive! To cut quite a long story short, by day three, when I had stopped to see a Superb Starling for the umpteenth time we were quite ready to never see another bird ever, and I mean ever again! Have you ever experienced real claustrophobia, the fear of closed or confined spaces? Well let me tell you, that was the smallest four-by-four that ever travelled Botswana, every time I was in the mood to gaze over a waterway to watch a family of Hippo frolicking about with the young males play-fighting, perhaps even a bird or two, we were allocated about thirty seconds tops and then whisked away to another Superb Starling or similar.

Thank goodness our friendship is and was so sufficiently strong we could deal with this, an agreement in the evening limiting a five minute stop and only for a first sighting or at least a good sighting was soon agreed and the four of us ended up sharing that can only be described as the holiday of our lives, made possible through friendship and trust. So much for the happy ending, how can you ensure the same thing when on a combined holiday:

• Most importantly, select a destination and friend carefully; repeat carefully, to ensure all of you have the same expectations and desires for your holiday enjoyment.

• Obviously, the friends would not be classified as such if you did not share similar interests in food; people; the environment; fun activities and the like. Make sure they are really friends, do you know them well, make sure you have been on the odd weekend away before you commit to something like the trip mentioned above or perhaps a yacht cruise or similar confined quarter.

• Agree everything in advance, where are you staying; what are the costs; who is responsible for what.