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Listen "In Botswana, Tracking Lions and Elephants—By Bike"
Episode Synopsis
Welcome to Unpacked: Five Questions. In honor of our latest issue of Afar magazine, which focuses on epic trips—the kind of adventures that change your world—we're hearing from the writers and photographers who chronicled and captured those trips.
In the third episode of the series, host and Afar executive editor Katherine La Grave speaks with Afar contributor Chris Colin about his first safari — a family trip through Botswana that mixed biking, Land Cruisers, salt pans, and intimate wildlife encounters.
Chris describes the sensory moments that changed how he pays attention, the guides who opened the landscape to his family, and the small-scale wonders (including an antlion and a near-miss with a cobra) that stayed with him long after the trip.
In this episode you’ll learn
Why Botswana’s slower pace and fewer vehicles make it a different kind of safari
How biking through the bush reveals small-scale wildlife moments you won’t see from a Land Cruiser
Practical travel advice for families and first-time safari-goers (how to slow down, pack flexibly, and read local history)
How local guides turn instincts and small signs into unforgettable wildlife sightings
Don’t miss these moments
Opening conversation on why Botswana felt like the right first safari
Riding on elephant trails with a bike-supported vehicle nearby
The antlion pit: a small, gruesome, unforgettable predator encounter
Lying on the salt pans under a vast African sky and hearing lions roar at dusk
A near miss with a massive cobra while answering nature’s call
Meet this episode’s guest
Chris Colin — Afar contributing writer and the traveler at the center of this episode
Take this trip
Contributing writer Chris Colin’s eight-day Botswana itinerary was put together by Teresa Sullivan, cofounder of Mango African Safaris, who specializes in family travel. The trip featured a Natural Selection cycling safari into the Makgadikgadi Pans and exploring the Okavango Delta. From $2,444 per person, per day.
Stay Connected
Sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode.
Explore our other podcasts, View From Afar, about the people and companies shaping the future of travel, and Travel Tales, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.
Unpacked by Afar is part of Airwave Media's podcast network. Please contact [email protected] if you would like to advertise on our podcast.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In the third episode of the series, host and Afar executive editor Katherine La Grave speaks with Afar contributor Chris Colin about his first safari — a family trip through Botswana that mixed biking, Land Cruisers, salt pans, and intimate wildlife encounters.
Chris describes the sensory moments that changed how he pays attention, the guides who opened the landscape to his family, and the small-scale wonders (including an antlion and a near-miss with a cobra) that stayed with him long after the trip.
In this episode you’ll learn
Why Botswana’s slower pace and fewer vehicles make it a different kind of safari
How biking through the bush reveals small-scale wildlife moments you won’t see from a Land Cruiser
Practical travel advice for families and first-time safari-goers (how to slow down, pack flexibly, and read local history)
How local guides turn instincts and small signs into unforgettable wildlife sightings
Don’t miss these moments
Opening conversation on why Botswana felt like the right first safari
Riding on elephant trails with a bike-supported vehicle nearby
The antlion pit: a small, gruesome, unforgettable predator encounter
Lying on the salt pans under a vast African sky and hearing lions roar at dusk
A near miss with a massive cobra while answering nature’s call
Meet this episode’s guest
Chris Colin — Afar contributing writer and the traveler at the center of this episode
Take this trip
Contributing writer Chris Colin’s eight-day Botswana itinerary was put together by Teresa Sullivan, cofounder of Mango African Safaris, who specializes in family travel. The trip featured a Natural Selection cycling safari into the Makgadikgadi Pans and exploring the Okavango Delta. From $2,444 per person, per day.
Stay Connected
Sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode.
Explore our other podcasts, View From Afar, about the people and companies shaping the future of travel, and Travel Tales, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.
Unpacked by Afar is part of Airwave Media's podcast network. Please contact [email protected] if you would like to advertise on our podcast.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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