INSPIRING TRAVEL QUOTES
& The Places They Will Take You
To begin with a travel quote:
“Travel opens your mind as few other things do. It is its own form of hypnotism, and I am forever under its spell.”
– Libba Bray
Since the dawn of time, we have journeyed beyond the realms of the familiar and into the unknown, yearning for change, discovery and adventure.
Travel has inspired writers and artists, led to scientific breakthroughs and laid the foundation for everything from culinary flavourings to the Origin of the Species. This has given rise to an overwhelming gamut of often trite and clichéd travel quotes and slogans that have more relevance to the libraries of Hallmark than the annals of iconic explorers.
But from the pens of authors, philosophers and adventurers, profound wisdom has flowed and these sage words have caused more than a few spontaneous travels and exploratory contemplations.
Choosing a handful of these sagacious sentences is a near-impossible task. The following collection of travel quotes is far from a Top Ten of any description, but each wonderfully segues into many of the adventures you might experience with Rothschild Safaris.
So join us as we wander through the pages, in and out of countries and journey without destination through these travel quotes:
“There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
When visiting different cultures, we can feel distinctly displaced, an abstract observer of a land, and even a mindset, that is completely foreign to our own. But it is in this alienation from our surroundings that the true beauty of travel resonates.
Though any form of travel can give you an overarching sense of these distant places, a cultural immersion can be found to its greatest degree in festivals. India’s Holi festival, which takes place in March and celebrates the victory of good over evil, is a cacophony of colour, music and joy. Even the most non-religious foreigner is gladly welcomed into the melee of this Hindu festival and made to feel as much part of the celebration of life as any local.
Africa, too, has some remarkable tribal festivals. However, unlike Holi’s embracing inclusiveness, they are often strictly for observing. The Wodaabe Gerewol marital ceremony is stunning to witness, with the tribe’s young men applying makeup and grinning alarmingly to display the whiteness of their teeth and eyes to attract the best bride.
The wonderful array of African traditions and ceremonies, from Mursi lip plates to the leaping Maasai and clay-adorned Himba, are so exceptionally different to all that we understand of the world that we truly feel like strangers in a strange land. But it is in this contrast that the fascination and joy of travel exists.
“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” – Saint Augustine
This well-known and liberally repeated quote from theologian Saint Augustine was penned at a time when extensive travel consisted of a day’s journey on horseback to the neighbouring village. Some 1,600 years later, the truth remains, though the ‘book’ now spans copious volumes.
When we journey to one destination alone, particularly in a distant country, we are limiting our scope of experience. This is one fundamental reason why we encourage our clients to fulfil a more complete itinerary, as opposed to simply remaining in one place.
While this presents several pages of the book of the world, there are ways in which you can speed-read through chapters, to gratuitously stretch the analogy just a little further.
River cruises, for an hour, a day or longer, offer a continually changing landscape. You are able to take in altering ecosystems, drift the Zambezi quietly past herds of drinking elephant, see caiman basking in the sun on the banks of the Amazon (LINK TO PERU BLOG) and explore the tributaries of the Okavango unattainable on dry land.
Similarly, rail travel provides a new horizon at every glance, and Rovos – the most luxurious train in the world – is second to none. Weaving across Southern Africa and reaching as far north as Namibia, it allows you to take in myriad stories of the African landscape.
“We travel for romance, we travel for architecture, and we travel to be lost.” – Ray Bradbury
There is something beautifully romantic about travel.
Even the simplest bus or train journey can inspire myriad creative travel quotes, allow the mind to wander or offer sparkles of romance unexpectedly.
There are many ways this romance can be ignited and nurtured. Simply travelling to a foreign land and journeying into the unknown will induce sentimental notions, even if travelling alone. However, Chalkley Treehouse is the very embodiment of Bradbury’s words; an architectural masterpiece of simplicity, a wonderfully solitary location and instilling more romance than a library of Barbara Cartand novels.
Tented camps, balloon flights and many more experiences imbue a sense of romance, but this quote could quite easily have been specifically written for Chalkley and Africa’s numerous exquisite treehouses.
“Do you really want to look back on your life and see how wonderful it could have been had you not been afraid to live it?” – Caroline Myss
Travelling is a superb way to infuse your life with more; more adventure, more experience, more wisdom – in fact, more of almost everything that makes living so wonderful.
But travelling, no matter how far, is only the first step. Life exists in the challenges. When your days are mundane, conventional or predictable, they encourage a sense of complacency and diminish your appreciation for life’s myriad pleasures. Travelling to different countries breaks you away from normality, but if you then settle into a five-star hotel with room service and all the amenities you could want for, you could just as well have stayed in your home city. Of course, that isn’t to discourage you from five-star accommodation! Regardless of where you reside, take the opportunity to push your boundaries and find small challenges. Wander local markets, take a helicopter flight, try strange and unusual foods.
Taking a step further, you might wish to experience the thrill of rafting on the Zambezi, a horseback ride through Kenya or taking to the skies in G-AAMY, the original biplane from the iconic movie ‘Out of Africa’ now in service at Segera Retreat. They say ‘life begins at the end of your comfort zone’, so wherever you travel, seek out a little discomfort!
“Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain.” ― Jack Kerouac
Whether taken literally or figuratively Kerouac, arguably America’s greatest travel writer, has filled generations of travellers with excitement and enthusiasm through his travel quotes.
It is the exceptional that we remember, the change and the difference. The familiar is forgettable, and our greatest memories are made of those fleeting moments when we awaken the senses and invigorate the soul.
A change in perspective can be all it takes to gain a new and memorable view of the world. All it takes is a single step from routine.
However, a mountain opens you to perspectives you could never have imagined. The Andes of Peru, the summit of Sri Lanka’s Lion Rock or a leisurely cable car to the plateau of Table Mountain are all dramatic ways to observe the world with fresh eyes. Of the many mountains in the world, Kilimanjaro holds a wholly unique place. From Tanzania’s grasslands with wandering herds of elephant and giraffe to the distant snowy peak some 16,000 feet (4,900 metres) and a week’s walking above the plains, Kili is a mountain and a journey that will be remembered forever.
“We travel, some of us forever, to seek other places, other lives, other souls.” – Anaïs Nin
We have already mentioned the festivals of the world, but a celebration isn’t the only occasion in which to witness foreign cultures.
In every journey, we encourage our clients to discover a little of the people who call their destinations home. Traversing the Mara with Maasai tribesmen, you are given not only the expert guidance of these talented trackers, but also the wisdom that has allowed them to live harmoniously and sustainably with their environment for eons.
From Peru’s Incan descendants to the San bushmen, the sufis of Marrakech and the swamis of Rishikesh, the wonderful cultures of the world help you to travel far, far beyond the lines and plottings of a map.
Conservation and charity will also give you a greater sense of purpose and firmly ground you in your surroundings. Schools, orphanages, sanctuaries and animal rehabilitation centres all bring about an indefatigable feeling of compassion and a connection to your destinations that no mere vacation could possibly generate.
“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” – Gustave Flaubert
The towering peaks of Argentina’s Torres del Paines, the vast, snowy expanses of Antarctica or the dizzying precipice of Victoria Falls are unavoidably humbling, making us feel insignificantly diminutive in stature. Geographically, it is relatively simple to feel completely outsized by nature’s grandeur. Architecturally and collectively, New York can dwindle away our physical presence, and the immensity of Yosemite or the Great Lakes make us all but disappear into their vastness.
While locations can swallow us so completely, it is when we relate to other beings that our place in the world becomes evident. For this, the Greatest Show on Earth, the Great Migration of the Serengeti and Maasai Mara is almost unquestionably the most profound experience. Two million jostling herbivores make the 500-mile (800km) circumnavigation of the plains annually, following food and water in a quest for survival. Indeed, every step of the way they are challenged, by river crossings, droughts, predators and sheer exhaustion.
To witness this many creatures journeying with such singular purpose and risking everything is utterly awe-inspiring and acutely humbling.
“The greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” – Bill Bryson
A change, they say, is as good as a holiday. But when that change increases, it can be transmigratory.
Tented camps combine luxury with a drastic shift from convention. You will have your comfortable bed, your warm bath at the end of a day, your favourite aperitif and delicious meals prepared just for you, but they will all come with distinct differences.
Your requested bath might be drawn from water heated over a fire. Your sundowner could be served under an acacia tree overlooking a herd of giraffe silhouetted by the setting sun. The incessant digital beeps of your morning alarm clock may be supplanted by the guttural bellowing of hippos. Even the simplest and most familiar of occurrences will take on new meaning when dwelling under canvas a hundred miles from the nearest paved road or convenience store. And in this uniqueness, this absolute separation from conventional familiarity, lies one of travel’s greatest rewards and most unforgettable experiences.
“Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less traveled by.” – Robert Frost
No two vacations are ever the same, but some can feel just a little too predictable. Booking a package safari leaves little to the unexpected, and what’s more, you will rarely, if ever, be alone. For some this is enough. The comfort of being cradled from one accommodation to the next, transported en masse across the plains, and being part of a large group at every landmark and site of interest is safe, assured and unthreatening, but it also lacks all individuality.
Our handcrafted itineraries are designed to allow you to feel as if you are experiencing everything for the first time, that you are the only ones in the world to be undertaking this adventure.
A private reserve expands this sense of individuality multifold, not only catering to you at a personal level but also presenting a landscape that very few others have access to. You are no longer beholden to a schedule, you can discover the adventure on your own terms.
By taking the safari less traveled, to somewhat plagiarise Frost’s travel quote, you are able to make the experience entirely your own, leaving you with memories that are irreplicable, and not shared by three dozen complete strangers.
“Once a year, go somewhere you have never been before.” –Dalai Lama
Where will 2022 take you? Contact your Travel Designer to find inspiration for your next adventure, and a host of your own travel quotes!
Header image: Safaris Unlimited
