Our next stop was Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. Way back in the planning stages of the trip, I wondered if this might feel like a tourist trap. I like waterfalls, sure; I’d been to Niagara and Yosemite. How different could it be?

Oh, dear, dear me. Almost charming, how clueless I can be.

It wasn’t just the force and scale of the deafening falls plunging into a steep gorge that moved me. It was also a conversation over a meal at Dusty Road, a quirky local restaurant owned by Sarah Lilford. Through her, we experienced both the bold, fragrant flavors of Zimbabwean cuisine and a sobering history lesson: her family’s farm, seized during Robert Mugabe’s land reforms, now sits unproductive in the hands of those without agricultural experience. Mugabe may be gone, but corruption remains. Zimbabwe, she explained, is often mislabeled as “third world,” despite its past as a thriving agricultural nation.

Another standout was our visit to the Wild Horizons Elephant Sanctuary and Orphanage. We drove into the bush where the ellies roam freely, moving alongside them as guides shared insights into their personalities, social structures, and the conservation work protecting the herd. Things lightened considerably when it came time to feed them: whether using the “trunk vacuum,” loading the snout, or tossing pellets directly into their mouths, all methods were as entertaining as they sound.

I know the answer most people expect when they ask for a highlight is animal-related. Did you see the Big Five? Were you ever scared? Yes, and no. (Unless you count the lion that roared for hours one night, so close it felt like he was just outside our tent.)

There were certainly plenty of grand moments. A cheetah guarding her kill. Rhinos rolling in the mud. A lioness with her cubs. Stopping for elephants to cross the road on our way to dinner. A humpback whale breaching. A giraffe with her newborn, umbilical cord still attached. Two male kudus clashing, horns cracking like gunfire.

Walking along the empty beach in Mossel Bay, with fynbos climbing the cliff above us and the Indian Ocean stretched out in front of us, waves breaking in layered lines over mussel-covered rocks.

I could keep going. There are dozens more moments that qualify as “highlights” – which is exactly what makes the question impossible.

This wasn’t a trip defined by standout moments; it was saturated with them. So I already know I’ll be returning, next time with friends.

Some places refuse to be experienced only once.