OMG - My 3-Week African adventure was epic!

So I FINALLY made it to Africa guys! After forever dreaming about this trip, and 2 failed attempts to get here, I spent three incredible weeks touring Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. It was absolutely EVERYTHING I ever dreamed of.

Our first stop was Zambia! We stayed at this amazing camp called Flatdogs in luxury tents right next to the South Luangwa National Park. Our view overlooked the river with hundreds of hippos - and a decent amount of crocs. We had elephants, baboons, hippos bush bucks and a few lions come though our camp (The lions were at night and we slept throught that- so don't panic). Have you ever heard a hippo call? It's the weirdest sound ever - like a laughing cow, it so funny. . . and so loud they woke us a few times.

The number of animals was insane!

I can't even explain how cool it was seeing these animals in their natural habitat instead of a zoo. Every single day was different and awesome! We saw so many animals, and so many jaw dropping moments, it's hard to pick just a few. But here are a couple of truly special ones.

We followed this pride of lions who cruised down our dirt road like they owned the place - well okay, they actually do. There was the big daddy lion, 3 mama lions and six baby cubs that jumped all over mom and dad when they rested. We even saw the babies feeding off their mom. Check out this photo where two cubs are feeding - I absolutly need to get it framed.

We followed a baby giraffe that was SO new to the world he still had his umbilical cord! His mama seemed to be testing him as she walked away when we approached to see if he followed - he did. But he was a curious fellow, and he just melted my heart. But even more fascinating was watching a pair of giraffe's fighting with their necks. WOW

And the elephants! We drove through this massive herd with all these baby elephants that seemed to be so cheeky - like giant toddlers of the animal kingdom. One of the smallest ones pretended to charge us, but then he skidded to a halt and ran away to his mother. 

We also followed a mother leopard for three days as she hunted for food for her babies, which she'd left in a tree for us to photograph - talk about special! Check out this guy sleeping in the tree. 

We got super lucky and saw wild dogs TWICE, which apparently is a big deal. Our guide was freaking out as much as we were!

The hippos were everywhere! Hundreds of them just chilling in the water, making these weird grunting noises. Seeing them eating grass at night was incredible. And the baboons were so much fun to watch and were always up to something!

Between the zebras looking like they stepped out of a fashion magazine, impalas jumping around like they're on trampolines, and buffalos giving us the stink eye - every day felt like living in a nature documentary.

But that's not all

What made this trip next-level wasn't just checking animals off some list - it was seeing how they actually live day to day. The sunrise game drives with coffee breaks in the bush, and evening drives with gin and tonic sundowners by the river watching the sunset. Pure magic. Check out this sunrise photo.

Our guides at Flatdogs knew EVERYTHING and made each sighting 100 times better with all their stories and facts.

I have so much more to tell you about Zimbabwe and South Africa, but honestly, those first days in Zambia were unforgettable! Let me know if you want details of my fabulous travel agent. I cannot recommend her or her company enough. Every single day went smoothly, and we felt so safe in every location. Oh and by the way, I took my 1300+ photos just using my IPhone. No fancy cameras were needed for these special photos.