The book of travel: revisiting places you love
There’s a quote about travel I’ve been thinking about lately.
“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page,” wrote Saint Augustine.
Since catching the travel bug many years ago, I’ve always sought out the next page of the book. When it comes to travel, I am a voracious reader.
I often think about the need to scratch off this country or that experience from my travel bucket list. Yet, every time I knock out a travel goal, I discover many more things to add to the list.
It is impossible to go everywhere and do everything. The world is a book that can not be fully read.
As I get older, I’ve begun to think about what I have time left to accomplish in my travels. I estimate, with some luck and health, I may have about 20 vacations left.
You don’t really think about these things when you’re young, but it is true that the number is finite. And I have to say, putting a number on it (even if it's an estimate) makes it feel real finite.
It might surprise you then, that in the last year, I decided to return to one of my favorite places instead of knocking off a never-before-experienced location from my board.
I made my second trip to South Africa. I first traveled to the country at the tip of the African continent in 2013. While there are many stories to tell from that trip, one of the highlights was visiting Kruger National Park.
Kruger is known for its incredible wildlife and stunning landscapes. It’s a top destination for spotting the "Big Five"—lions, elephants, leopards, rhinos, and buffalos—as well as countless other species, from giraffes to cheetahs and exotic birds.
As a lover of nature and wildlife, I call Kruger 'my Disneyland' because it feels magical to see big wild animals up close—elephants and zebras splashing in watering holes, a pride of lions devouring a kill, giraffes wildly swinging their necks at each other in a ritual called 'necking,' or leopards prowling the bush in search of a meal. It takes a moment for your brain to adjust and process the wildness of it all.
But the magic of Kruger isn’t just in the wildlife—it’s in how you experience it. One of the coolest things about Kruger is the ability to do a self-drive safari, letting you explore the park at your own pace and on your own terms. There’s something powerful about not just seeing these animals but discovering them on your own, around each unexpected turn.
The journey also doesn’t have to end when the sun sets, either. You can stay overnight inside the park, safely tucked behind gated walls in one of 12 main rest camps, surrounded by the sounds of the wild.
One of my core memories from that first trip was staying at Olifants Rest Camp. Perched atop a hill, the camp’s accommodations offer sweeping views of the Olifants River winding several hundred feet below. Here’s what I wrote in my travel journal about staying there in 2013:
“My view is one of the best I could possibly have. I overlook a strong river, an oasis in the African bush. There are greens, oranges, browns, yellows and gorgeous blue.
Birds yell as they take off into flight. Hippos bellow earthly, unforgiving screams. Elephants doddle in the distance as the sun settles on the day. The constant rush of water over rocks is charged. The smell is invigorating, like something someone would try to chemically reproduce in a soap bar.
Eating my dinner here is one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced. There is only bush as far as the eye can see.”
When I was in South Africa the first time, I didn’t have a lot of money. I did my best to stretch things by eating simply. It was mostly bread (with some butter) and water. However, while I was staying at Olifants, I got the idea to do something a little more special: pancakes.
I gathered the necessary supplies from the rest camp store and made some makeshift pancakes from scratch. I was probably missing an ingredient because they certainly were not the best pancakes I’ve ever had.
But it was the best place I’ve ever eaten pancakes.
On my recent trip, I stayed at Olifants again. Of course, I had to have pancakes. This time I had all the right ingredients and I was able to share them with someone special: my girlfriend.
Like the pancakes, overall, the trip had more of the right ingredients.
I knew what to do and where to go. I had more money, a better camera, more patience and a loved one to share it with. Bootstrapping the trip had its charm, but I definitely did it better the second time around. I was more equipped to read what was on the page.
Did going to South Africa mean missing out on something great elsewhere? Yes, it did. But that’s the nature of travel—you can’t see it all.
Many avid readers will tell you that when you reread a good book after a few years, you may find there’s still a lot to learn from it. A good book can teach you something new if you read it at a different age or from a different perspective.
I know I want to explore new places, to turn the pages to parts of the world I've never seen. I want to keep learning, challenge myself, and seek experiences that push me beyond my comfort zone. But I also recognize that some places have a way of staying with you, and it’s okay to long for them.
CRAIG SAUER is a writer, communicator and former journalist living in Fitchburg, Wis. He has traveled to all seven continents.
