The Burkina Faso Safari Experience

Good Day Folks!

We just returned from a day-long safari in the southeast of BF. What a trip. We put 7-8 people in two jeeps with a couple "guides," some water, and a "gun."

I don't have long, but suffice it to say it was a proper safari, if a little on the unprofessional side.

Everything went fine for a while. We saw antelope and monkeys and warthogs from far off. We stopped at a small lake and saw several hippos in the distance.

Later we stopped along a river and I almost got attacked by a giant lizard. I was carefully watching the water for crocs and moving along the waters edge (a safe distance away from it) and ran right into a 4-foot long lizard than bolted from me.

Eventually we even came across some elephants. Well, a whole heard of elephants, perhaps 60 according to the guide. What do you do when you see a heard of elephants running kids and all? You drive straight at it really fast until you get so close you don't have any room to maneuver. Then, when two elephants turn to you and one starts charging, while you have enough time to drive away, you try to load the gun instead. Then, when the gun doesn't seem to be working, and there are two guides in the back without the steering wheel and throttle, you finally toss the gun back to them, hitting Amy in the head with it, and start fumbling for the wheel again. We almost ran into a tree that would have stopped us for good. Somehow, though, we managed to drive away with about 10 feet to spare.

Turns out the gun was broken and the guides weren't exactly the most experienced. As Jenny said, they're like little kids--except they now have guns and a car.

It was quite a frightening experience, yes, but we're alright. It was also very real. Something to keep in mind: you pay for what you get. Pay for an experienced guide or don't let him get so close.

Check out the photos from the trip by clicking the slide show to the right. They'll tell the rest of the story.