Hi, explorers! It's Dr. Pekar. Scientists and technicians have traveled from all around the world to be a part of Expedition 393, the final expedition expedition of the IODP South Atlantic Transect project. Around 50 people journeyed to Cape Town, South Africa, from China, Japan, India, Europe and the United States, and everyone had to arrive in South Africa in time to board the ship, the JOIDES Resolution, before it departed. Transportation on this scale takes a lot of planning--plus, a little luck. I decided to travel to South Africa a little early in order to both give myself a some extra travel time and to fulfill a lifelong dream of going on a safari! My wife and I took two long airplane flights, first from New York City to London, England (six hours), and then from London to Cape Town (11 hours). The airplanes that fly these long-distance routes are massive vehicles that carry hundreds of people at a time.
After we landed in Cape Town, my wife and I flew on a much smaller airplane to a remote airport just outside of the largest national park in South Africa, called Kruger National Park. Here we were picked up by our own safari guide in a special open-air truck. We spent six days traveling with our guide through the national park to see the African animals living free in nature.
