NBC’s Ann Curry spent the week in Africa traveling with, among others, actor George Clooney. Clooney made the trip to Sudan to shed light on the tensions building in the region.

A secession vote in Southern Sudan set for three months from today could escalate the violence that has plagued the nation for years.

This is Curry’s sixth reporting trip to Africa and the second Curry-Clooney venture to Sudan. The first was in February 2009.

In a “So What Do you Do?” interview with mediabistro.com, Curry told us not getting the top job at “Today” has allowed her these kinds of reporting experiences: “Had I gotten that job, I might never have been able to go to Darfur four times,” she said. “I might never have gotten to do what some have said was a transformation hour on Iran and the interview with Ahmadinejad or gone to Congo and brought attention to the crimes against women there. That’s just the short list.”

Clooney will be in the “Today” show studio for a live interview Tuesday. Curry’s reports will also air on “Nightly News” next week and will be put together for a “Dateline” hour.