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Most people wouldn’t want to voluntarily sit on a plane for over 24 hours, but if you got to see and experience the things I did, you’d be all for it. If you want to hear about my trip across the world, keep on reading.

Yes, it was awful sitting on a plane for over 24 hours traveling to South Africa, but monkey play dates, petting cheetahs, camel rides, and so much more was worth it. Although I obviously wasn’t on the plane for 24 hours straight, it positively, absolutely 100% still sucked. My first flight was 11 hours, and during our seven hour layover in London, we got to go to one of my mom’s best friends house and take a rest.

London was very cold, and I would never want to live there for that reason, but other than that it was gorgeous. The villages, pubs, and old buildings were amazing to see. I also got to see the famous Queen Elizabeth’s Palace.

Our next flight was another 11 hours, and it was worse than the first 11 hours. The only upside was that we all had our own TV with movies, games, etc, and we got food whenever we wanted. I didn’t get any sleep.

Our last flight was only two hours to finally get to Cape Town, Africa. You’re probably wondering why I’m going to Africa in the first place, and that is because my mom was born and grew up there, and all of her family still lives there, including my grandma and grandpa, my aunt, and lots of cousins. She hasn’t been home in over 20 years.

I loved seeing all of my family of course, but I also saw so much wildlife. We went to a lion sanctuary, where they have saved over 30 lions. I got to watch them feed the lions. They also had a family of albino lions, which are pretty rare. That same day I fed a giraffe, an ostrich and a buffalo. I also got to pet a cheetah and hold a meerkat. The cheetah was so beautiful. The print on her body was incredible. The meerkat I got to hold was raised as a pet, so he was very calm and playful.

We also went to Hout Bay, where there is the biggest wildlife bird sanctuary in the world. There I got to walk in this huge enclosure with squirrel monkeys! There were over 4o monkeys, including little babies!  It was the most amazing experience. I spent about three hours in there just playing with them. It was the best thing ever, it truly was. Their little hands are so soft and their faces are so sweet. Anyone would die to be able to do that, so I’m glad I was able to have that experience.

On my last two days, I got to go to Cape Point and Table Mountain, which are the top two tourists places in Cape Town. On my way to Cape Point, I got to ride a camel and see wild baboons. The baboons were very interesting to me, because they were just in their natural habitat. I got to see a whole pack of them. Table mountain was absolutely incredible, we were so high up and I got to see all of Cape Town. Words cannot describe it so if you have a chance, travel to this area one day,  and if not, google it.

As much as I was sad to leave, I was glad to come home. The goodbyes were tough, but I know I’ll be back again. I’ll miss my family, but it isn’t forever.