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"I can't believe this is actually happening" I thought to myself as I walked down the dirt path from our cabin towards the main lodge. It was early. Real early. 5am to be exact. Normally I would be sound asleep at this hour, but right now, in this moment, I couldn't have been more awake. Adrenaline was pumping, I was giddy with excitement and I couldn't stop smiling stupidly. I was just outside of the Kruger National Park gates in beautiful South Africa, preparing to meet up with a safari guide, who was going to be taking me, my wife, and her siblings on a full day safari. This is something I had only ever dreamed of doing, ever since I had heard about Kruger from extended family that lived in Cape Town. I myself was coming from Dallas, Tx, born and raised in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. We had visited family in Cape Town a few years prior, where we heard of Kruger, which is the largest Safari park in all of South Africa. And if you can imagine, they have a lot of safari parks. A lot. In fact, Kruger National Park is one of the most famous game reserves in all of Africa. The Park is the size of a small country! Visiting South Africa was a huge deal in and of itself though, because of finances. My wife and I didn't make a ton of money and I knew this wasn't a trip we would be making every year. Kruger was not exactly in the area of Cape Town, and so I didn't consider how possible it would really be, until a few years later. "Hey honey, we are being invited back to South Africa, and this time Kruger is being mentioned as a possibility." I will never forget that sentence that my wife shared with me over the phone as I was driving home from work. "Are you for real?" I asked incredulously. "Yep, Nadia's mom has a timeshare there apparently that she is offering us to use, if we can make the drive to Kruger." Just like that, I found myself walking that dirt path at 5am, going to meet the guide for a day of adventure, exploring, and photography. You see, part of the reason I was excited about Kruger was because I am a nature and wildlife photographer. There's not much that makes me happier than being in nature with my camera. The chance to capture images from the wilds of Africa was beyond thrilling. As the rest of the fam caught up with us, and piled into the jeep, the guide introduced himself and gave a rundown of how the day was going to go. You could hear birds chirping as the whir of the jeep began to drive towards the Paul Kruger Gate. Before we even got into the park, monkeys! With babies! This was all just too much! What else can I say about this experience at Kruger. It was truly magical. We saw lions, a herd of Elephants crossed the road in front of us, Rhinos ran freely, Giraffes stood tall, Wildebeest thundered by. We even saw some wild dogs, which our guide told us was a bit of a rare occurrence based on the low numbers left in the wild. I captured more photos than I could have imagined, and turned some of them into canvases later that I proudly display now in our home office. As I think back of this experience, the joy and excitement all come back to me. My wife and I truly love traveling and as many places as we've been, this one was and will always rank near the top. I would highly encourage anyone who has considered it, to go experience an African Safari. It will be the experience of a lifetime.