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. 

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