I just came back from a 14-day African safari and sightseeing trip. We visited Botswana, Zimbabwe, and South Africa, having adventures by land cruiser, by boat, and even by rope! I had my hesitations about going, but, let me tell you, it was the trip of a lifetime!
I saw and learned so much on my trip; I wish I could do an entire Africa Adventure Recap night with you. Maybe that can’t happen, but I can share with you the top 3 things you’ll need to know if you ever decide to go on an African safari – or any exciting adventure.
Part 1 - Prepare Your Body for Travel
I’m sure you’ve heard of the not-so-pleasant things that can happen to you when you travel to a country where you are unaccustomed to the food, water, climate, vegetation, etc. I’m happy to report that, throughout my entire trip through three different African countries, I never once experienced any negative effects on my body. Here’s how I prepared in advance so my body would be travel-ready:
I strengthened the microbiomes throughout my body.
A microbiome is a community of microorganisms like fungi, bacteria and viruses that live together in a specific place. You have microbiomes all throughout your body, especially in your gut, and they are an important part of your body’s immune system. The more diverse your body’s microbiomes are, the less likely you are to be negatively impacted when you encounter new, harmful microorganisms.
If you want to better understand your body’s microbiomes, check out my short talk from doTERRA’s convention. But, to summarize, the best ways to strengthen your body’s microbiomes are:
- eat a diverse, whole-food diet – include at least 30 plant-based foods per week in your diet.
- take PB Restore ProBiome Complex – this supplement, the only one like it in the world, supports the microbiomes throughout your body.
- take PB Assist+ ProBiome Gut Complex – this probiotic supplement, formulated for the entire family, contributes additional strains of probiotics to maximize your gut biome diversity.
I established a healthy sleep-time routine before I left.
Considering that I was going to have to be waking up for safaris at a time that would be equivalent to when I would normally just be lying down to sleep, I knew I had to start going to bed earlier – much earlier – before I left for my trip. Having a good sleep-time routine helped me greatly! I did all the same things I would normally do to prepare for sleep, but I just did them earlier and earlier. My body responded well because it was accustomed to the routine.
When I would move from location to location, no matter what time I was going to bed and what time I was waking, I would keep my sleep-time routine, and my body would respond and rest. I didn’t always get a perfect sleep, but I never felt exhausted.
This 1 minute video shows my top 3 tips for getting a great night’s sleep.
I put together my essential travel kit.
Anyone who has traveled with me will tell you: I don’t travel light. I have an uncanny ability to think of every possible scenario that could happen and to pack something to prepare. While my travel-mates will make fun of me, saying “You sure do carry a lot of weight for a skinny girl”, if they ever need something, I’m the one they come to!
Part of being travel-ready for me means ensuring I have an all-natural first-aid and general well-being kit. My essentials when I travel, in addition to my regular daily supplements, include:
- On Guard softgels – to keep my immunity strong
- Tri-Ease softgels – in case there is something “in the air” that is causing allergy symptoms
- Serenity sleep stick and Serenity oil – to drift off to sleep peacefully every evening
- Deep Blue Stick – for aches and pains
- Clary calm essential oil and phytoestrogen – to keep my hormones in check
- Geranium essential oil – to add to the top of my doTERRA deodorant to help with hormonal “stink”.
- On Guard sanitizing spray – to keep hands and surfaces disinfected
- Terrashield – our insect repellant
- My mini-oil kit – this is a kit of ⅝ dram bottles of a variety of oils I want to have on hand if I need them. For me, must-haves include Lavender, Breathe/Easy Air, Digestzen/ZenGest, On Guard, Lemon, Peppermint, Frankincense, Tea Tree, Copaiba, Helichrysum, and Melissa.
- Supermint beadlets – to keep my breathe fresh and my tummy calm
- Correct X – it’s the ready-for-anything topical balm – I use it as a lip balm, for owie repair, and as an after-bite.
A story from my safari...
The sun was setting and we were slowly making our way out of the game park. As we turned a corner, we came upon an absolutely surreal sight: hundreds of impala and kudu standing, frozen, looking off to the hills beyond us. We could sense their fear. We saw their noses moving. We came to realize what they sniffing for: lions!
Then, almost as though we confirmed for them what they were fearing, they began to run. Fast! Hundreds of them raced across our path, trying to escape what they knew was coming for them.
Call us crazy, but we all wanted to see the lions on the hunt. Earlier that day we had seen a majestic male lion, but we knew who did the hunting in the lion family: it was the lionesses. And we wanted to see them!
We drove around searching for the lionesses, but the light was fading fast and the gates were going to close. Still, we couldn’t resist keeping up our search. “I know another way out,” our driver reassured as we kept scanning the bushes. Then, we saw her! She was alone, but we knew her hunting mates wouldn’t be far off. She was so calm, so confident, so utterly unphased by our watching eyes.
We followed her for a while, transfixed by her confidence and stealth. But it was really getting late. Soon there would be no more light. The sunset was gloriously beautiful, but we knew that pitch black followed close on the heels of the sunset, and we were still in the park.
Our driver raced through the darkened pathways for what seemed like forever. The friendly trees and bushes of the day transformed into ominous shapes… and sounds. Silhouettes of vultures perched in the dead treetops stood out against the dim light being cast by the moon. After driving through endless pathways, our driver turned his head toward the back and asked, “Did you bring your sleeping bags?” His cheeky laugh let us know that we were nearing the place of his “other way out”.
What he didn’t know was that the park authorities had created huge gouges around the perimeter of the “other way out” so that poachers couldn’t get in. It was an unwelcome surprise for him and for all of us. He drove from spot to spot, only to be met with the same impassable chasm in front of us. Our little band of adventurous souls volunteered to get out of the land cruiser and try to level the path so we could cross. But he knew that wouldn’t be a good idea: it was dark – pitch dark – and no one knew what waited in the bushes.
In the end, our skilled driver crawled the vehicle through thick bushes and trees, turning this way and that to get us out of the park and onto the main road that lay just beyond. When the land cruiser got all 4 wheels on the road, all of us let out a loud cheer accompanied by excited applause. As we headed back to the hotel for a shower and a good meal, we all knew that it had been an evening we would never forget!
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