This is part 5 of my annual trip series. Jake and I began our annual trips in 2016, deciding to take an international trip once per calendar year to a new country. In early 2020 (before either of us had heard of COVID-19), we decided to tackle a handful of countries in Africa because I had been traveling the continent solo while freelancing. We had no idea that international travel would shut down for months in mid-March 2020. We feel lucky to have achieved Year 5 given the circumstances! To review, here are the five trips we had done up to this point as well as the sixth scheduled trip that is coming up in just a couple of days. This blog will discuss Year 5, which missed the onset of the pandemic by about a week. Year 1 (2016): The Pacific Northwest (Portland, Seattle, Vancouver) Year 2 (2017): Cuba Year 3 (2018): The Balkans — Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro (and London!) Year 4 (2019): Luxembourg (and Paris!) Year 5 (2020): Africa (South Africa, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania) Year 6 (2021): Belize Year 5 Background We decided that we’d hit Africa sometime in late 2019…not long after we’d finished up with Year 4 given how difficult it had been to fit that trip in. I knew that I would continue traveling to Africa while working remotely after the new year. I wanted to see as many countries on the continent as possible. It seemed a natural progression for our annual trips. I had never been to Africa except for Morocco. Jake had been to both Morocco (for pleasure) and Nigeria (for work). So, it seemed fitting that we should see some more of the continent and experience a safari together. Jake actually ended up gifting me this safari experience for Christmas. It was just a matter of putting it on the calendar. Our Itinerary I’ll lay out this itinerary clearly for you because, if you ask Jake about it, he’ll tell you that he was in Africa for a “month.” That just isn’t the case. I’m sure he’ll be rolling his eyes as he reads this. Good — it’s the truth. You’ll notice that we visited five countries for our fifth year: South Africa, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Tanzania. After the struggle that was Year 4, we were looking for a way to ramp up our itinerary. February 19-20: Jake departs from the U.S. and flies into Cape Town. February 21: Jake sightsees in Cape Town, including Table Mountain, Robben Island, and V&A Waterfront. February 22: Jake sightsees in Cape Town, including District 6, the Great Gatsby, and the Seitz Museum. February 23: Jake does a Cape Peninsula tour, which includes a ferry ride to see seals, Cape Lighthouse, Cape of Good Hope, and penguins. Kelsey returns to Durban from an existing tour and meets up with Jake as he flies in from Cape Town. February 24: We do a 12-hour day trip to Lesotho from Durban to see the Sani Pass and the highest pub in Africa February 25: We fly from Durban to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, and we see Victoria Falls from the Zimbabwe side. We transfer from Zimbabwe to Livingstone, Zambia, to stay overnight. We grab drinks on the Zambezi with dinner at our hotel. February 26: We see Victoria Falls from the Zambia side and then fly to Johannesburg. We go out to dinner in Johannesburg and spend lots of money on cab fare. February 27: We fly from Johannesburg to Zanzibar and stay at Hotel Protea Mbweni Ruins. We go to dinner at 6 Degrees South and sample African beers. February 28: We visit Prison Island and go snorkeling. We go to dinner at The Rock and have a mishap with the transfer we’ve arranged. February 29: We swim with dolphins in Zanzibar, and Jake gets his own private island to make him the most relaxed he’s ever been. March 1: We had a leisurely breakfast in Zanzibar before going to Arusha for a safari. The domestic terminal in Zanzibar is absolutely tiny with no Wi-Fi. We stayed at a small hotel called Jovas and walked to get groceries as well as local currency before the start of our safari the next day. We got dinner at George’s Tavern. March 2: On this day, we got picked up at 6 AM to drive to the Serengeti. It was primarily a transit day with a small game drive. We met the rest of our group on this day. Our safari trip had 6 people total (two Norwegians, two Swedes, and us) as well as two guides (Francis and Toomba). March 3: We did a game drive on the Serengeti before getting stuck for 7 hours, where we didn’t see a single animal the entire time. We ended up camping in the same spot. March 4: We traveled back from the Serengeti to Kilimanjaro. I handled the negotiations while Jake flew RwandAir.com through Kigali. Memorable Moments When I look back on Year 5, there are so many moments that come to my mind. Perhaps the most of any annual trip. This could have something to do with the length of the trip (a whole two weeks!) or the fact that it was my last real travel experience before I returned home on March 16 after the COVID-19 pandemic had been announced. While I spent about 10 days in Nairobi, Kenya, and a few days in Entebbe, Ugan
