Last fall former UT Vice Chancellor for Marketing and Communications, Margie Nichols, her husband, and their friend explored the countries of Kenya and Tanzania for three weeks.
“We went on safari every dawn and dusk tracking the animals and observing them in their own environment,” recalls Nichols. “The three of us would go with our two guides to just sit and watch the animals. It was amazing.”
Every morning the group would get up at 6 a.m. to track the animals, which helped them see the “Big Five”—lions, leopards, elephants, rhinoceros, and African buffalo. Nichols also ran into a long list of other animals, including wildebeests, zebras, gazelles, giraffes, and baboons. She was even able to see a lion eating a freshly caught wildebeest.
One of the highlights for Nichols was meeting members of the local villages and tribes they visited.
“We knew the animals would be interesting and wonderful,” says Nichols. “But we had no idea that we would fall in love with the people.”
“These villages are not touristy places to go,” she elaborates. “You have to be invited. But the people are lovely, kind, and good. Just being in their world and learning about them was amazing.”
Nichols and her companions had one guide throughout their trip and in every local camp they visited they had a tribal guide. The guides helped immerse them in the Kenyan and Tanzanian cultures, showing them their ways of life and sharing meals with them.
“I think that’s the most important reason to travel,” explains Nichols. “It broadens your horizons and helps you think about life differently. The people in these villages don’t have as much as we do, but in many ways they’re happier than we are.”
Before this trip Nichols had never been to this part of Africa, but now she can’t wait to explore more.
“When we went, we thought this was going to be a once in a lifetime experience,” says Nichols. “It was a life-changing experience. We fell in love with the country, and we would love to go back.”
