5/5 Claire S. 1 year ago on Google
My
family
and
I
just
returned
from
the
12
day
Classic
Namibia
Camping
Safari
with
Chameleon
Safaris.
Criss-crossing
Namibia
in
our
trusty
bus,
guided
by
the
intrepid
Gideon
and
Gregory,
it
was
an
extraordinary
adventure,
a
bucket
list
experience
every
day,
with
several
days
having
multiple
bucket
list
experiences.
There
were
days
of
wonder
with
57
elephants
at
a
single
water
hole,
lions,
rhinos,
zebras,
giraffes,
thousands
of
barking
seals.
Nights
that
began
with
the
deepening
palette
of
a
Namibian
sunset
and
ended
with
the
breathtaking
night
sky,
impossibly
full
of
stars.
In
between
were
days
with
some
of
us
running
up
the
dunes
in
joyous
abandon,
while
others
(myself)
trudged
up
with
grim
determination,
quad
biking
on
the
dunes,
skydiving,
hiking,
diving
for
the
camera
to
the
cry
of
“Rhino
ten
o’clock!”
Throughout
the
trip
Gideon
and
Gregory
answered
our
questions,
kept
us
moving,
pointed
out
animals
we
would
never
have
seen,
created
delicious
meals
over
an
open
fire,
night
after
night,
taught
us
how
to
fold
our
tents,
and
created
a
cohesive
whole
out
of
a
group
of
strangers.
They
were
the
first
up
and
the
last
to
bed,
working
long
hard
hours
to
provide
us
with
the
trip
of
a
lifetime.
Gregory
was
the
heart
of
the
group,
making
us
laugh
and
joining
in
endless
card
games.
Gideon
silently
appeared
to
fix
any
issue
and
whip
up
the
ultimate
picnic
as
we
straggled
in
after
a
hike.
None
of
us
will
ever
forget
his
roaring
down
sand-covered
roads
or
pulling
up
to
Dune
45
ahead
of
everyone
else.
So
often
we
would
all
sit
in
the
back
of
the
bus
saying,
“nope,
no
way,
this
bus
won’t
fit,”
and
breaking
into
applause
when,
yes,
the
bus
actually
did
fit.
We
would
get
off
the
bus
and
Gideon
would
just
casually
stand
there
like
his
parking
job
had
not
just
shredded
the
laws
of
physics.
When
asked
by
friends
and
coworkers
what
was
my
favorite
part
of
the
trip,
I
internally
rotated
through
the
long
string
of
daily
bucket
list
experiences--
the
animals
of
Etosha,
Deadvlei,
Dune
45,
Sesriem
Canyon,
Kolmanskop,
Cape
Cross,
the
Skeleton
Coast,
the
shipwreck
in
the
fog,
the
dunes
undulating
into
the
ocean,
the
stars
at
night
and
sunrises
in
the
morning.
It
is
so
hard
to
choose,
but
my
answer
was
quick:
what
I
loved
most
was
the
people,
the
campfires
at
night,
the
laughter
over
our
Frankenstein
s’mores
made
from
improvised
ingredients,
the
jokes
that
evolved,
and
the
camaraderie
that
developed.
I
thank
Gregory
and
Gideon
for
their
expert
guiding
and
incredibly
hard
work
and
my
fellow
adventurers
for
their
joy
and
laughter.
Together
we
had
a
time
to
remember.
