Retiring after decades of work is a welcome respite for many. It opens up opportunities to travel and enjoy exploring the rest of the world. One thing you should do when you retire is take a trip to Africa.

The continent is a great place to visit in your golden years. It gives you the chance to see the wild side of the world. It also gives you the opportunity to experience its rich cultural heritage and diversity that you would not find in other countries.

During your trip, you can visit wildlife preserves and get a glimpse of the animals there. You can also try out things that you wouldn’t find in your city, such as safaris, jungle canopy tours, and exotic African cuisine. Of course, you can also visit Africa’s top cities such as Cape Town and Johannesburg, and see the attractions that make them world-famous.

Why should you take the time after retirement to travel

Travelling is great no matter your age. It exposes you to different cultures and shows you that there is a bigger world out there just waiting to be explored.

But somehow, doing it after you retire can be even better because it gives you a reason to enjoy the fruits of your labour. It opens you up to new experiences you never had while you were young and helps keep you active, which is good for your health.

Here are the benefits you get from travelling in your golden years:

Improves your psychological well-being

After you retire, you will have fewer responsibilities to worry about when you travel. This lowers your stress levels. Also, you can engage in unique activities, which gives you a sense of satisfaction.

Doing new things and seeing new places makes you feel accomplished too.

All of these add up to feeling good about yourself.

Improves your social skills

Even when you take the trip alone, you still get to meet new people. You interact with other tourists, your tour guides, and locals. This improves your social skills. Better yet, it expands your social circle.

Gives you more memories to treasure

Every time you travel, you make memories that you can look back time and time again. You can relive the fun times and smiles you have had during your trips. You can even share these memories with others.

Why should you visit Africa and see the big 5 safari animals

There are many good reasons why you should choose Africa as one of your travel destinations when you retire. These include the following:

1. Adventure – Africa is a great place to experience activities you would never think of doing in your hometown. Some of the activities you can indulge in here include paragliding, blokarting, and even shark cage diving.
2. Food – You also get to taste food that is indigenous to the continent. Try out gomen kitfo, which is made of collard greens, vegan butter, and spices. Or, you can try vegan koeksisters, which is a braided pastry dipped in sugar syrup.
3. See the Big 5 – The term “Big 5” refers to the greatest wild animals in Africa: the lion, rhinoceros, buffalo, elephant, and leopard. And, a trip to Africa is your best chance to see them in their natural habitats.

According to the latest reports, many of these animals are already on the endangered list. This is another reason to embark on a trip to Africa to see them alive.

Here are some pieces of information on the Big 5:

• Lion – This majestic creature roams freely only on the plains of sub-Saharan Africa. It is because of illegal poaching and the destruction of their natural habitats in other regions, that while lions are not part of the endangered list, their numbers are fast dwindling. They are classified as “vulnerable”. Based on recent surveys, there are approximately 23,000 of them left in the wild.
• Leopard – This is another large feline that you can see in Africa. This spotted animal is also considered “vulnerable” to extinction. There are more leopards than there are lions, with 500,000 said to still be in the wild. However, this count is staggeringly 80% lower than their original number.
• Elephant – This is one of the endangered species that you can encounter on a trip to Africa. There used to be 10 million elephants in Africa in the early part of the 1900s, but today, there are only 415,000 of them in existence.
• Buffalo – While buffalos are prey to other predators, they are still considered as amongst the most dangerous animals in Africa. This is because of their unpredictable temperament. They live all across Africa and have a 900,000 strong population. However, most of them are now housed in protected areas to keep their numbers high.

Rhinoceros – The black rhino is also on the endangered species list. Rhinos used to roam the African plains in numbers of up to 850,000. However, the demand for rhino horns in the middle of the 20th century drastically reduced their numbers. Today, there is less than 10,000 of these animals alive around the world.

Why animals should run free in the wild

Seeing these creatures in their natural habitats is infinitely better than seeing them in cages at the zoo. Zoos can never replicate their natural environments, and being in captivity stresses animals out. It even causes them to display self-destructive behaviour.

When you go on an African tour, you will learn why animals should live their lives the way they should. At the end of the day, you will also realise how important it is for human beings to treat all animals with dignity and respect.

This informative piece about taking a trip to Africa is brought to you by another organization who gives us an opportunity to observe and protect animals at an animal care sanctuary. It is also thoughtfully sponsored by the vegan marketers at Ardor SEO.