Africa

We’re Heading Home Early Because…

September 26, 2024 /

We know exactly why we’ve had a change of heart but it’s not so easy to put into just a few words, especially when the journey has given us so many highs. So instead of trying to do that now when we’ve had time to consider our decision, the following is what I jotted down immediately after we booked the flights home….

The unthinkable has happened. We have lost enthusiasm for this Africa trip. Stuck in a hotel we nicknamed “Beyond Fawlty Towers”, more of that later, we were poring over our maps and information regarding Namibia, drawing up an itinerary, when a feeling of groundhog day descended. It felt as if we were planning to revisit things we’ve already done, including the bits we don’t like – more of that in a minute too – and at the prices they charge in Namibia, that would be one very expensive groundhog.

Neither of us voiced it, but there was a distinct lack of enthusiasm in the air, entirely alien to our normal travel regime which is eagerness personified. Nevertheless we pencilled the lines on the map, filled in dates on the calendar, and Michaela began to access the accommodation websites. Every now and again she would gasp, and when she told me the prices, I would join in the gasping. We fell asleep knowing all was not well but knowing we’d get over it. Of course we would, it’s what we do. But then, somewhere in the darkness of the small hours…

“Phil, are you awake?”

“Yeah”.

“I’m ready to go home”.

“Me too”.

And that was that. And this is it. We do know what’s happened and maybe this might just be good advice for those thinking of travelling long term through this part of Africa – we are in our tenth week out here. We’ve had some great times, some real travelling highs, but there’s a few things which just aren’t “us”.

The biggest is where to stay. We are used to really mixing it up, with small hotels, guest houses, occasional larger hotels and plenty of airbnb apartments where our space is our own. In Africa, the choice just isn’t there, the opportunity to mix it up is absent. Apart from major cities, there are no hotels, and airbnb apartments just aren’t part of life, so the only viable accommodation is those lodges which are usually out of town and isolated. Once your day’s activity is over, you’re stuck there for the night. You eat there every night. Similar menus, differing quality, early finish. There’s nothing wrong with them per se, but it’s….well….groundhog.

Evenings are normally a big part of our travel experience. Meeting people in town, chatting in bars, getting advice on where to go, what to do – and, of course, sampling the local cuisine as much as we can. Only in two places on the entire trip – Diani and Victoria Falls – has it felt like that. 

On top of that, daytime activities are amongst the most spectacular we’ve ever enjoyed – but they are individual days, and only in a handful of places has there been a variety of different things to fill our day. Places of interest tend to be a long way apart, and the lack of infrastructure and public transport often means that transferring from one to the next is at least a full day, which doesn’t matter so much normally, but becomes a bit of a grind when the next place is pretty much the same as the last.

So it’s definitely not because we haven’t enjoyed Africa – we very definitely have – more that we’re feeling finished with it after 10 weeks (which will be 12 by the time we fly home), and the thought of another seven weeks at inflated prices has lost its appeal. We’re at the end of a cul de sac, maybe down the dirt road that leads to nowhere.

We’re carrying on for a little while, into Botswana for a few last amazing experiences, but Namibia is now off the agenda, as is, to my personal disappointment, Cape Town. In the case of the latter at least, postponed rather than cancelled, we sincerely hope.

So this adventure will come to a close in early October rather than mid November. At the minute it feels categorically the right decision. Who knows if we’ll regret it later. Africa is full of wonder, packed with amazing experiences, and has been brilliant, but maybe we’ve pushed the time limit. For now.

For now, we’ve seen the big five, we’ve seen a fantastic collection of wonderful animals and birds and had the wildlife experiences that dreams are made of. But the animal we’ve seen enough of is the groundhog.

……And that’s how it was, the morning after our decision. So far there’s no regrets.

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46 Comments

  • Image Earth Travel

    September 26, 2024 at 9:35 am Reply

    At least you did get to see some great things while there…
    We also had to cut our 2-year trip short after 18 months but for different reasons – tenants decided not to renew for another year, downsize, and get married instead.
    Back in Australia this month, it’s great to be home! So, not all is lost and you’ll set out again when you’re ready. If it doesn’t feel good, don’t do it – at least you set off in the first place! 😉

  • Lynette d'Arty-Cross

    September 26, 2024 at 10:15 am Reply

    I think if you were to feel any regret, you likely would have had a twinge by now. Groundhogs always hibernate, so when you’re ready to travel again, many places, many things, many people, will be waiting to be seen.

  • Heyjude

    September 26, 2024 at 10:23 am Reply

    That sort of travelling can be exhausting, and when the enthusiasm goes then you have to ask yourself, what’s the point?

    My advice, for what it’s worth, is to do South Africa as a road trip, lots of good guest houses and cheap options for wild life – look up Sanparks. Food and drink amazing and cheap compared to here.

    As for Namibia consider hiring a vehicle with a tent. Lots of good info on the net.

    Enjoy your last couple of weeks, hope you find more joy, and then chill out at home for a while and enjoy looking at the fabulous photos Michaela has taken.

  • wetanddustyroads

    September 26, 2024 at 10:51 am Reply

    Oh, we know that feeling all too well … when enough is enough. And once you feel that way, there are few things that are going to convince you otherwise. You saw a lot of beauty in Africa that was incredible. But I could sense a few posts back that you were tired of the challenges that came with this adventure.
    I think you owe it to South Africa to rest well before you might come back to the southern tip of Africa! And I agree with Jude – the best way to see Namibia is to rent a vehicle with a roof top tent and see this beautiful country in such a way – that’s what we want to do … when we have the time. Enjoy your last days in Botswana.

  • Gilda Baxter

    September 26, 2024 at 11:41 am Reply

    I can totally understand your reasoning and at least you are both in agreement. I would have loved to visit Cape Town vicariously with you, but it was not to be this time.
    Maybe I will visit it myself someday. Enjoy your last few days in Africa.

  • grandmisadventures

    September 26, 2024 at 1:20 pm Reply

    Sometimes enough is enough- even when you have had incredible experiences, met wonderful people, and enjoyed beautiful views. Nothing douses the fire of joy like when it starts to feel like groundhogs day. I think too when you return to visit Cape Town you will enjoy it more then if you had carried on there this trip. I hope you have a great last couple of weeks and safe travels home 🙂

  • Toonsarah

    September 26, 2024 at 4:22 pm Reply

    In some way I’m not surprised by this. I always wondered if Africa would,d suit your preferred style of travelling. South Africa I’m sure is different, ideal for a road trip, but other parts of the continent focus mainly on safari lodge holidays which are great, but expensive and a bit ‘samey’ for an extended trip, as you are finding. I’m sure you’re making the right decision. Save your travel time and budget for future adventures!

    • Phil & Michaela

      September 26, 2024 at 4:27 pm Reply

      Spot on, on every level. It has been terrific, but we’ve done enough and don’t need any more just now. Looking back you know, it was Malawi that gave us the Africa we were looking for, even if it did have its challenges. We had our most “real” experience while we were there.

  • Helen Devries

    September 26, 2024 at 7:35 pm Reply

    The distances between ‘events’ can be exhausting, especially when you can’t pick up in the evenings but are isolated in lodges or somewhat gloomy hotels…but you’ve seen the real Africa, good and bad.

    • Phil & Michaela

      September 26, 2024 at 7:42 pm Reply

      Yep. Like I said in another response, on reflection it was Malawi where we had our best experience of the real Africa. Since then it’s been a bit….errr….inauthentic I suppose. But in any event, we’ve had some real highs, but we think it’s right to call it a day now.

  • Lookoom

    September 26, 2024 at 9:18 pm Reply

    I think you’re very honest to admit it openly. It would have been easier to go all the way and internalise the insastifaction or blame it on the places/people you visited. These are easy decisions to make when you’re travelling alone. They’re already more difficult when you’re travelling as a couple or with a group, because you have to justify yourself and explain… and I’m not talking about bloggers with an audience waiting for their next adventure. Generally speaking, I prefer to limit my travels to one or two countries at a time, and because of work constraints not to stay there for very long. After that, everything gets mixed up and the effort of setting off again somewhere else takes away from the thrill and freshness of the discovery.

    • Annie Berger

      September 27, 2024 at 5:44 am Reply

      Great explanation as to why you decided to cut the trip short, Phil, and not keep plugging away at it. I admit to being surprised that you didn’t decide to just jump ahead to South Africa as thAt would provide the travel experience you infinity prefer. But I read all the comments and your responses and I see that Meg understood you better and that a fresh start there some other time would be best and I see that now.

      In hindsight, were you surprised after the research you did prior to your trip about the transportation difficulties and the lack of the dining and evening options that you encountered? Did you find that other bloggers or writers not talk accurately about these challenges?

      Happy that you had so many phenomenal experiences in your ten weeks and they will no doubt overshadow the groundhog days on the latter part. Happy trails ahead!

      • Phil & Michaela

        September 27, 2024 at 7:21 am Reply

        Good questions all round, Annie – I’ll try and do justice to them! I should say again first that nothing has been awful, the lodges are perfectly good and the safari etc experience has been great, our real problem is repetitiveness rather than dissatisfaction. First, South Africa. We had already started to think that “just” visiting Cape Town wouldn’t be enough, and we need to allocate a longer period to see more of the country, so doing that when fresh as a standalone trip is more appealing. Transport – yes we were to some extent caught unawares. Sometimes when researching on the internet, it’s not easy to tell how old, or up to date, the information is – and one thing that’s become very clear is that these African countries have been slower to recover from the pandemic than most of the world, and in many cases things have gone backwards. We thought we could use buses in Malawi, only to find that all east-west routes have been abandoned. We thought we would be using trains in Zimbabwe, only to find that passenger services are still suspended post COVID. As regards evenings and the social aspect, we knew what we were in for as far as safari lodges were concerned, so no surprises there. However we were caught out by the lack of options in towns and cities, both for eating and accommodation. In reality, the only places to stay in towns are out of town lodges as there’s nothing in the town itself, and then you find that every restaurant shown on Google Maps is either a lodge, a plastic fast food chain, or simply not there any more. So in reality you’re still in an isolated lodge and there’s no variety. And even more surprising, even in the bigger cities this was true..the same issues, plus the fact that cities tend to be sprawling with no real centre. There’s no such option as grabbing a cab and heading for the main square, cities don’t tend to have a spiritual/community centre in that way. Final analysis, nothing we’ve seen or done would lead us to tell others not to do the same, nor would we be put off doing it again – just not for ten weeks or more. A shorter trip and then move on, would be a better plan. I hope I’ve done justice to your good questions!

  • WanderingCanadians

    September 27, 2024 at 9:10 am Reply

    I don’t blame you for losing some steam and enthusiasm. South Africa sounds like a rollercoaster with some incredible highs in terms of the scenery and wildlife, but also a lot of lows with all the uncertainty and some stressful situations. Given that you both came to the same conclusion, it sounds like the right choice. Enjoy the rest of your time there!

  • leightontravels

    September 28, 2024 at 5:03 pm Reply

    Well, it makes perfect sense to me. I’ve been in a similar situation myself once or twice over the years and when you know you just know. Wishing you both a good time in the closing days of your trip, maybe you can even end it on an unexcited high. Beyond that, safe travels back to Blighty and keep an eye on Sony.

  • Alison

    October 6, 2024 at 4:59 am Reply

    Ten weeks already! It’s gone fast but that is a long time and repetitiveness can get you down. Great that you are both on the same page though and it must be right because you decided immediately. Enjoy the rest of your trip.

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