Wow what a question but I'll take a shot. I think it falls into three categories. 1) The adventure spirit. 2) Instinct. 3) Spirituality.
1) I remember when I was about 8 years old I read an article in a magazine about elephant hunting. From that moment on Africa and especially dangerous game has haunted me. I began reading everything I could on Africa, it's animals, culture, and history. I grew up reading of Capstick who I immediately began to idolize. Raurk, Selous, Meinertzhagen, and Wally Johnson all became people I admired. Africa has been in my dreams every since. I spend day and night in the long grass in my mind. It's the last true place of adventure. I will take my first steps on African soil this June but I feel like I have been there my whole life.
2) I think people are instinctively drawn to Africa. It is the birth place of the Human species. All life originated there. We as humans are predators by nature. Our eyes face forward and we have sharp k-9 teeth. Our hunting and surviving instincts were all developed and perfected by our ancestors in Africa. I don't think anyone ever really visits Africa. We return home after a however many hundred thousand year absence.
3) I have been told that the Garden of Eden is believed to have been in Africa. This makes since to me as it is believed that all human life started here. This was the place that God chose for us. There is a certain amount of a spiritual draw that calls to me.
