Just hours before winning MTV’s VMA for video of the year, Taylor Swift debuted a clip from her new "Wildest Dreams” video during the event's preshow on Sunday night. In it Swift plays an actress circa the 1950s shooting a movie on safari in Africa.
While you can’t travel back in time to share Swift’s golden age of Hollywood experience (well, probably not anyways), you can travel to Africa for a safari experience similar to what Swift’s character takes in.
Waterfalls
At the 0:55 mark, Swift and her leading man in the video, played by Scott Eastwood, have a moment atop a waterfall. While we can’t help you embrace a co-star of Eastwood's stature, we can direct you to Africa’s abundance of waterfalls,including Victoria Falls. Located on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe, its spectacular falls make it among the best known waterfalls in the world.
Wildlife viewing by air
Swift and Eastwood take to a biplane to view animals running over the plains, before literally flying off into the sunset, 1:39 into the video. Aviation’s come a long way since the video was set, but Natural Habitat Safaris still offers openair biplane rides over the East African savannas.
Horseback riding
While the video shows Swift up close with lions, giraffes, and elephants, when it comes to picking an animal to ride, she opts for a more traditional mount: a horse. While we get only three quick glimpses of Swift (or her stunt double) on horseback, it’s not because longer riding options don’t exist. Hluhluwe Horse Safaris in South Africa, for example, offers horse safaris where travelers may see giraffes, rhinos, or buffalo.
African Parks Foundation of America
The video ends with the announcement that all of Swift’s proceeds from it will benefit the African Parks Foundation of America, "a nonprofit organisation that takes total responsibility for the rehabilitation and longterm management of national parks in partnership with governments and local communities.” You can view and support its work by visiting the 10 parks in its portfolio.
