I should clarify - Bucket List - a couple of countries in Africa - the first thing to remember about traveling to this massive continent is just that - it's a massive continent - so I recommend tackling it in bite-size pieces. And, even though I attempted to do that and limited my trip to two countries, it was quickly apparently as started my travels that there is so much to see and the countries are so vast that you need to be realistic about how much you can really fit into your trip. Because we only had 3 weeks I picked South Africa and Zimbabwe for this visit, with stops in Kruger, Victoria Falls, Hwange National Park and Cape Town.
First off, prepare yourself for the long trip - there is no way around it - from the US to South Africa it's a haul, but if you mentally psych yourself for it, it's not so bad. I flew from Atlanta directly to Johannesburg which was around 16 hours. There are many ways to get there, but I opted for the most direct and I think it was the best decision. The time change (from the east coast) is only 6 hours so despite the long flight I didn't find the jetlag too bad and once you get there then you're there. And if you're going on safari you're up every day by 5 am so the time change sort of all blurs together anyway which kind of makes it easier to adjust.
I have had Africa on my bucket list for many years and although it does take a lot more advance planning than most destinations I've been, I would say that it surpassed all my expectations and assumptions. I spent a lot of time working with my travel agent to put together the trip and I really just wanted it to be adventurous, exciting, fun and a little luxurious - and it was all of those things and more. I had a vague idea of what I thought it would be like and I was prepared for it to be different than any other trip I'd take, but it really exceeded anything I had been expecting. There is nothing like being out on the plains, just you and the animals and miles and miles of quiet and solitude. You really need to experience it for yourself to understand how fantastic it is.
