Countdown to Somewhere in Africa: 5 Things We're Excited About

Two months to departure. And I'm already counting the days.

There is something happening between now and November that we cannot quite believe we agreed to.

A two-part trip. Somewhere in Africa. A country and a village that, a year ago, I had never even heard of. A place we chose specifically because almost no one we know has been. A trip that will pull us out of our comfort zone before it lets us back in.

I'm not ready to reveal the destination yet. That's for later. But two months out, the anticipation is real, and here are the five things we are counting down for the most.

1. Being Off-Grid. Actually. For the First Time.

Me. A work addict. Willingly disconnected.

I am not someone who does off-grid well. I check emails at 6am. I answer WhatsApps in the middle of a movie. I have a habit of thinking about work in the shower.

This trip is going to force me to stop.

We are heading to a place with limited signal, unreliable wifi, and days that are supposed to be built around the ocean and the sky rather than around a screen. I know myself well enough to know the first three days will be uncomfortable. I also know the reward on the other side is exactly what I need.

The verdict: the thing I dread most about being disconnected is exactly why I've booked the trip.

2. Our First Safari (Both of Us)

Neither of us has ever done one.

The second half of the trip is a safari. First one for me. First one for Nim. First time we'll see an elephant that isn't in a zoo. First time we'll hear a lion in the wild. First 5am wake-up for the bush.

Every couple I know who has done a safari says the same thing. That the first drive out at dawn is one of the most unforgettable experiences of their travel life. We're about to find out.

Nim is already planning his shots. I'm already planning my layered outfits for the cold morning air. Both of us are terrified and thrilled in equal measure.

The verdict: some experiences you know are going to become memories before you've even arrived.

3. A Hot Air Balloon Ride at Sunrise

The one I never thought I would book, until suddenly I had.

Somewhere in the middle of the trip, we've booked a hot air balloon ride at sunrise.

I've thought about doing this for years. Cappadocia. Serengeti. Somewhere always on the list, never on the calendar. This time, I said yes without overthinking it, and now the booking is confirmed and there is no going back.

Floating over a landscape in silence. Just the burner. Just Nim next to me. Just the sun coming up over somewhere neither of us has been before. Then champagne when we land. Then breakfast in the middle of nowhere with strangers.

Some experiences are romantic. Some are ridiculous. This one is both, and I'm counting the days.

The verdict: if you have the chance to say yes to a balloon at sunrise, say yes.

4. Nim in a Completely New Landscape

A photographer somewhere he's never photographed before.

Every photographer I've watched work has one specific reaction to a completely new landscape. A kind of quiet excitement. The eyes narrow. The camera comes out of the bag faster than usual. The walk slows down.

Nim is going to be in a totally new environment. Nothing he has ever shot before will look like this. Not the light. Not the colours. Not the animals. Not the wide open expanse.

I already know I'm going to travel differently on this trip. Slower. More patient. Waiting at a corner while he sets up something I hadn't even noticed was there. Standing quietly next to him while a photo happens.

I love him a specific way when he's shooting. He becomes entirely himself. And this trip is going to give him days of that.

The verdict: watching your partner disappear into what they love is one of the great pleasures of travelling as a couple.

5. Two Full Weeks Together, Fully

No email. No client calls. No work meetings. Just us.

Nim and I love our lives, but our lives are busy. We work a lot. We're often in separate rooms in the evening finishing something. Weekends get eaten by errands and family.

Fourteen days ahead where we are not doing any of that.

Just breakfast together. Just walks together. Just meals with nobody asking us questions. Just the person I chose ten years ago, and me, in a completely new place, with nothing pulling at either of us.

That is the trip within the trip. The one nobody talks about because it doesn't fit into an itinerary. But for us, it might be the biggest gift of the whole thing.

The verdict: the point of a trip isn't always where you go. Sometimes it's the days you get with the person you love, uninterrupted.

The Real Answer

Two months to go. Fifty-something days.

Some of them will be nights I don't sleep well from excitement. Some will be days I panic-check the packing list. Some will be days I try to imagine what the place will actually look like.

But every day is one closer.

The best trips are counted twice. Once in the days before. Once in the days after.

We are firmly in the first count now. And every one of the next fifty is going to teach me something about what I'm about to become on the other side.

More soon.