The best way to explore an off-beat destination

My African safari in Kruger National Park was one of my absolute favorite travel experiences of recent memory.  A safari, in and of itself, is amazing.  But this one went so far beyond my expectations, it left me reeling. What made it beyond amazing?  Staying at the Ngala Tented Camp of &Beyond Safaris, in the heart of Ngala Private Game Reserve. To start our adventure, we jumped on a charter flight at Johannesburg, making the two-hour flight directly to Ngala. The views over South Africa weren’t bad, either. Soon, we touched down at Ngala — and were welcomed to Ngala Tented Camp, our incredible oasis in the middle of the bush. Luxury in Africa Before arriving, I knew that we would be camping in luxury tents.  As I’ve mentioned here a few times, I’m a lifelong camper from a camping family.  I first went camping at twelve days old.  I took my first steps in a tent. So continuing to camp around the world has been special to me, especially when I ge...

I tend to be a bit of a worrier.  So before my plane touched down here in Sayulita, Mexico, the following thought was stuck in my head: OH MY GOD, EVERYONE HERE IS GOING TO HAVE THE ABS OF A LESBIAN GYM OWNER AND I’M GOING TO BE HUFFING AND PUFFING AFTER A PUSH-UP AND A HALF. In my nightmare, I had this image of Terri being a drill sergeant, blowing a whistle and having us do five-mile runs before 90-minute workouts and screaming obsenities at us.  I pictured Kim as a human pretzel, ordering us to have our legs above our heads for twenty-minute stretches, yelling that our lovers would thank us when we got home. Thank God that was not the case! I’m happy to report that Nourish Retreats has been a revelation: even people like me who aren’t that good at working out can do well at a fitness retreat! I do enjoy fitness, especially dance and yoga, and for a long time, I worked out four days a week at a gym that I loved.  But I ditched my membership about a year ago and...