Traveling with the Stars: Jill Scott

— -- Grammy-award winning singer-turned-actress Jill Scott stars in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, premiering March 29 on HBO. Scott, who is pregnant with her first child and due April 25, spent the fall in Botswana filming the series. She shares her travel highlights and tips with USA TODAY.

Q: Where have you been recently that you liked or were surprised by?

A: This is going to sound odd but Los Angeles. I travel here often but I'm always working and I never really have an opportunity to just hang out. Just recently I've been able to go to the beach. I hung out in Malibu, had a really great dinner at Nobu and just chilled. I didn't feel any pretentiousness. I made new friends and it's actually a really warm, comfortable place for me to be — surprise, surprise. I'm 36 years old. Nothing has gotten me out of Philadelphia. I moved 20 minutes away from Philly. That's about it. But I'm really enjoying California. I think (I'm going to have the baby in California). I can't get anywhere else after 32 weeks. I'm stuck, happily.

Q: What's the best place you've ever visited?

A: The Okavango Delta in Botswana. It is incredibly lush jungle but oh my goodness. Every animal that you can imagine is at the watering hole. Of course you're in a Jeep but being able to see it all happen is amazing. The sounds, the smells, the interactions between the animals is so awe-inspiring and life affirming. I don't know if I've ever been as thankful. It's fantastic. You realize how small you really are in the scope of all this life happening around you. The frogs are singing and the crickets are singing. Then the lion will roar and you hear it five miles away. You don't even know where he is. Magnificent. There are birds that glow in the dark. For anyone who feels they are overwhelmed by their job or maybe they take their job too seriously or are working too hard, I say go to a safari, particularly the Okavango Delta, and just be humbled.

Q: What's the most surprising/unexpected place you're ever visited?