TRAVERSE CITY -- A retired Traverse City Central biology teacher has spent most of his adult life seeking trips filled with adventure and the possibility of promoting conservation efforts around the world.
A safari expedition to Zimbabwe is his most recent, and possibly most dramatic, example.
Gary Hansen, 67, of Traverse City, spent two weeks in May on a hunting safari in one of the most volatile spots in Africa. The most obvious question: Why?
"I'm at the age where I can still go, I still feel good enough to go, and I have the money to go, so why not?" Hansen said.
Zimbabwe has been in the news recently because President Robert Mugabe, who has ruled the country since it gained its independence from Great Britain in 1980, ordered and won a runoff election last week. The original vote was carried by opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. Tsvangirai removed his name from the ballot because his supporters were being hurt and killed.
Hansen believes he's fortunate his trip was in late May, between the release of the first election results and the announcement of the runoff.
Hansen had been on safari in South Africa last fall, but said Zimbabwe offers a more authentic hunting experience.
"South Africa is safari hunting on training wheels," he said. "Zimbabwe is the ultimate place to go, but most people are afraid because of the reports they hear on the news."
Before leaving, Hansen and his fellow hunters sought advice from other travelers and sifted through the barrage of negative news reports. The safari company, Chifuti Safaris out of Dallas, assured him they would be safe.
"I did not feel unsafe at all, but I did feel nervous on occasion," he said, including his first stop at the airport in Harare, the Zimbabwe capital.
Runways were barely lit, due to the country's electricity woes. Travelers were whisked away by bodyguards, who took them to a "safe house" with armed patrols and panic buttons in the rooms. Overnight protection cost each hunter $250.
Hansen didn't hunt while on safari, but said his fellow travelers were encouraged to kill as many animals as possible. He said safari companies have to pay a yearly fee for the animals they anticipate will be shot.
But, Hansen said, the safari companies offer perhaps the only level of conservation going on in a country plagued by violence, civil unrest and political strife. By saving the tradition of hunting, he said, you are saving the jobs of the local people and the beautiful landscape.
"If the country falls apart, the habitat is going to be destroyed," Hansen said. "The safari camps get money from the rich people on these trips, which trickles down to people who work there so they have good jobs."
A typical safari camp worker earns $2 a day plus tips, high wages for the inflation-ravaged country.
"It wasn't just the big game we saw, it's the people and culture and the way they live that is the important thing," Hansen said.
As is the adventure.
"I still have a wanderlust. I still have to move. Maybe someday I'll get over it, but right now I still enjoy it," Hansen said. "Some guys are always looking for a better-looking girlfriend. I am always looking for a better adventure."
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