- April 19, 2024
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John Subers and his wife, Margaret, made their first trip to Africa recently with guide Mark Gerling. Photo courtesy of Mark Gerling
Mark Kennedy (left) made his fifth trip to Africa recently with guide Mark Gerling. Kennedy is the owner of Tomoka Eye Associates. Photo courtesy of Mark Gerling
Photo courtesy of Mark Gerling
Photo courtesy of Mark Gerling
When the wild male lion finally awoke from its slumber, it lazily crept toward John Subers’ truck. Subers felt a variety of emotions as he watched the massive predator approach to within inches of the vehicle.
He was excited, he was in awe and he was a bit nervous. But, he was never scared.
“We were a little nervous as you can expect,” said Subers, the executive director of the Florida Hospital Flagler Foundation. “But you were kind of just pinching and saying to yourself, ‘Is this really happening?’”
Throughout July, Subers and Ormond Beach Ophthalmologist Dr. Mark Kennedy, the owner of Tomoka Eye Associates, were two of 13 people who went on a 16-day journey throughout Africa with Palm Coast-based travel guide Mark Gerling.
The trip featured excursions through Tanzania and Rwanda, including stops in Arusha, Tarangire National Park, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, the Serengeti, Kigali and Volcanoes National Park.
It was Kennedy’s fifth trip to the continent and Subers’ first. And despite the common public perception of Africa being a dangerous place to visit, both men reiterated that they felt completely safe — from the animals and from the people.
“Safety from the the culture and from the animals was never an issue,” Subers said. “Your safety from the animals was never in question because you were always in a vehicle, and the guides had a lot of experience. … And the people, everyone was happy from the little babies to the adults.”
For Subers and Kennedy, getting to know the different cultures in the region was one of the most intriguing parts of the excursion. The images from visiting a Maasai village in Tanzania are still fresh in Kennedy’s mind.
Each day in the village, he saw people — young and old — trekking miles through dusty ground to find water. He saw them lug it all the way back home. He saw the villagers walking miles and miles in search of firewood. He saw them tending to their cows and other livestock. The items so commonly found back home were absent. There was only what the people could scrap together from nature.
But even though the villagers lacked material possessions, Kennedy noticed something — they were happy.
“It really puts things into perspective,” he said. “It’s interesting to see how people with so little can seem so content. People with minimal resources, who are living hand-to-mouth, can be care-free and content and enjoying their lives.
“It’s really was a teaching moment. You don’t need materials to be happy.”
