A South African Safari

Pinch me! I must be dreaming! That’s the feeling I have writing this! Our time in South Africa was amazing and the safari was a complete dream!

South Africa is our 3rd continent and 9th country! Crazy! We planned a buffer day in Johannesburg and are so glad we did as I caught a bout of the infamous traveler's stomach… it was bound to happen with all of our travels, and thankfully our travel doc gave us emergency meds that worked wonders!

Most of the day was spent as a rest day, which felt glorious, but we did venture out to a nearby shopping mall to grab some snacks and stretch our legs. Later in the evening, we strolled around the country club that was attached to the hotel, breathing in the crisp fall air which was a welcomed change after all of the crazy heat. 

We left Jo-Burg and headed to what may have claimed the title for “the best part of our three month trip”. This safari has to be on our top three best ever experiences! It’s right up there with moving to Germany and taking this sabbatical. We had a few reservations before we went, but not anymore! The experience alone of seeing lions, leopards, elephants, giraffes, zebras, and so many other animals up close and in their natural habitat was absolutely incredible, but then you add our lodge, room, and the safari staff to the mix, and the whole thing was just unbelievable.

From the moment our transfer picked us up from the airport (holding a sign with our name! #elite) we knew this was going to be great. But then, on the way to the lodge when our driver stopped to show us Pumbaa and baby Pumbaa, and then a herd of giraffes, and then two male lions and four females, we knew this was going to be amazing. But then, when we entered the lodge and were given a tour of our new home, we knew this experience was going to be out of this world!

We sat down for an absolutely delicious lunch (the food the entire trip was out of this world), settled into our new room, and headed out on our first game drive. We were in a car with an older couple and a family with a six-year-old son. We quickly made friends with the family and learned that the dad’s grandparents used to own property across from Thornybush. He was full of information and was happy to share it with us. Unfortunately, they were only on safari for two days, but we enjoyed their company on our first four drives! 

As we set out, we saw several impalas, which around here are referred to as “fast food” as they are everywhere and quite speedy. It didn’t take long until we came upon a male lion lounging in the dirt with a full belly and a jackal scrounging for scraps. We scooted a little bit closer and found two lionesses and four adorable little cubs chomping on their catch. We watched as one cub walked away and laid down next to its mom with its freshly applied “lipstick”. It was an exciting sighting for our first drive! Further along, we caught our first glimpse of zebras and impalas.

As the sun began to set, Enock our driver, pulled off and brought out the cocktails and snacks. We hopped down from the car and enjoyed stretching our legs while sipping our drinks in the bush. It was so incredible and peaceful, and the sunset was simply breathtaking. The colors in the sky continued to change and get better and better until eventually, the light faded away and darkness took over.

Back in the car with our blankets tucked around our legs and with the spotlight out, Freddy, our tracker, found an adorable little bush baby hidden in the tree (we still don’t know how he spotted the tiny thing). Later on, we heard rustling behind us and caught a glimpse of our first elephants! We’d have to wait until our morning drive to see more of those beauties. 

When we prepared for this trip, we were definitely expecting some heat and mosquitos, however, once again, our timing was perfect! There was no rain, just sunshine, and the temperatures were cool enough at dawn and dusk that there were no mosquitos! Our temperatures ranged between 50-70 degrees. Coming from 112 degrees, we were in heaven! 

Arriving back at the lodge, we were greeted with hot towels and led to the bar for pre-dinner drinks followed by another amazing meal. We were starting to feel like royalty. 

As we climbed into bed, we were elated to learn that our bed had a heated mattress pad and housekeeping had turned it on for us while we were out! It was one of the best surprises and another reason why we love this place! 

When our 5 AM alarm went off, we were ready to see what was in store on our first morning drive. Enock and Freddy had blankets and hot water bottles waiting for us, and as we pulled away from the lodge, hues of pink and orange were peaking over the horizon. We were once again in awe of how this could be real life. 

We checked our second Big 5 off the list right away! A leopard sat high in a tree chomping on its catch while a hyena waited below for droppings (we were so close we could hear it crunching the bones!). The hyena was rewarded for its wait when a chunk of intestine fell to the ground. Yum? 

We continued the drive and could see we were maybe getting close to our third Big 5. As we drove, we saw snapped trees and branches all around, the sure sign of carnage created by the elephants. It didn’t take long before we spotted them! Big ones small ones and some in between! We sat watching as they crunched on sticks and leaves using their trunks meticulously to get the food they wanted.

We made our way to the watering pool next and watched a skittish warthog attempt to drink from the pond while a herd of elephants lingered and a hippo lazed in the water. It was a picturesque safari scene! We stopped for our mid-morning break, this time with coffee and amaretto, tea, and biscuits. 

Back at the lodge, we filled up on breakfast and spent the day relaxing. Jeff hopped in the tub for a bubble bath, and I did yoga on the balcony. We peeked through the fences to spy on the warthogs walking along the path and then headed back down to the main lodge. We laid by the pool and played a few rounds of Yahtzee before filling up on lunch followed by 3pm high tea, and then heading out on our third drive. 

Our drive started with a show as four lionesses dined on a buffalo within 8 feet of the car. I’ll refrain from telling you about the buffalo stomach we saw sitting off to the side… We took a poll, and it was agreed, that the buffalo could count as a 3.5 sighting of the Big 5. 

We set out on the hunt for a rhino and number 4 on our count. As Freddy tracked the prints, we were hopeful, but after some time, we pulled away leaving it for another drive. Sometimes it’s hard to be patient! The anticipation builds as we’re driving around and there’s a slight disappointment when we don’t see anything, but then we remember everything we have seen, and it’s hard to be discouraged.

As the drive continued, we found a few mongoose popping in and out of their burrow, another jackal sneaking about, and one more lion hydrating at the watering hole. We watched a herd of wildebeest pass by during our cocktail stop and settled in for another stunning sunset. Our last sighting of the night came while we were headed back to the lodge. A little owl sat on a tree branch watching us pass by. 

Unbeknownst to us, there was a special Boma dinner planned for the evening. Bomas are traditional candlelit barbecues with African music and dancing. It was great! And gave us a chance to connect more with Enock and the others in our car. 

As the 5am alarm went off again, we had a feeling it was going to be a good morning! Within the first 10 minutes, we were stopped with eyes on a white rhino and waiting for the sun to rise so we could get a better view. We noticed the rhino’s stubby horn and Enock explained that the rhinos in this area are purposely dehorned in order to protect them from poachers. Unfortunately, poachers continue to be an issue even with all of the protection around the reserve including a canine unit and anti-poaching team.

On our hunt for the next animal, we came across a large tree blocking the road. Enock tied a strap around the trunk and pulled it out of the way. As Freddy was cleaning up the branches, we saw the destructor standing in the distance, a massive male elephant. We watched and listened as he crunched on his breakfast before he let us know he wanted some privacy.

Zooming along, we came across one of my favorite sightings yet, a mama giraffe and her baby! The baby was around five months old and it was precious! We snapped our photos and watched the little one rub against his mom before setting off for more sightings.

It’s always exciting when the car stops, because you know something big is coming. This time Freddy spotted fresh cheetah tracks and the hunt began. We kept our eyes peeled, watching for spots camouflaged in the tall grass. We scouted the area for a good 45 minutes zooming up and down and all around before eventually calling off the hunt. Unfortunately, the cheetah bested us, but it was exciting while it lasted! 

Between the big sightings, there was always something smaller to see or enjoy. Whether it was a neat looking tree, birds flittering about, an incredible sunset or sunrise, or a mix of impalas, antelopes, wildebeest, or one of our favorites, zebras, we took it all in. Plus, we always had to keep our eyes peeled for who knows what! 

Back at the lodge and during our mid-day break, we treated ourselves to a gloriously relaxing massage and lounged until lunch. We could really get used to this!

We set off on the hunt for our last Big 5, the African buffalo! We started on the drive, making our way to where the buffalo were last sighted, but along the way, Enock got a call saying the buffalo had moved to a nearby camp outside of the boundary limits… rats! 

With the buffalo on the list for tomorrow, we put Freddy to work tracking lions. It was fascinating watching him and Enock work. With 16 years of tracking experience and 30 years of guiding, we had a dynamic duo! It was amazing how Freddy could see the animal prints from the moving car, hopping down at times and scouting the area, to decide which way we should go. His work paid off as we came across 12 lions tucked away in the long grass. It’s a surreal experience sitting six feet away from a group of lounging lions, just talking normally like it’s no big deal. Enock told us that as long as we stay in the car and don’t stand up the animals won’t bother us, however, the moment someone gets out of the car, the animals see you as a threat and that’s the end for you. 

The male lion was easily recognizable, not only by his majestic mane, but also by his one blind eye. Apparently he was kicked by a giraffe when he was young, but he’s been able to hold his own ever since. While we were taking in the sight, he gave us a show as he stood up, walked to the group of females, squatted, and took care of business. 

“When you’re the king of the jungle, everywhere is your throne”. 

As we made our way back to the lodge, we heard the hyenas calling out to each other, and we came across another incredible sighting, the mom and son leopard duo dining on another catch. They really are beautiful animals! While we were enjoying the scene, two more trucks from a different company came over to gaze at the leopards with us, however, they went a little too far into the sand and ended up getting stuck. Their buddy attempted to pull them out, but to no avail and the car was left there for the night. Glad that wasn’t us! 

Morning drive number three was another exciting ride! With the crisp morning air filling our lungs, and our hot water bottles and blankets tucked around us, we set off to check on the leopards from the night before. We found the duo in the same area and even caught them in the midst of a little tussle. They broke apart and one went up in the tree to finish their snack from the night before. 

We caught another stunning sunrise, followed by a sighting of 14 lions lounging by the watering hole and 6 hippos swimming in the water. We even caught 2 of the hippos playing around, dipping in and out of the water. 

We followed this sighting with a viewing of four giraffes grazing on the tree leaves and one final pass by of the tuckered out leopard lounging on the tree branch. It was a fun morning! 

At breakfast, we caught a glimpse of the baboon family we had heard hooting and hollering on our first afternoon here and several nyla who seem to enjoy the lodge as much as us. The monkeys and baboons were a fun addition to the lodge experience, but you could tell they were a bit of a nuisance. The staff told us they will attempt to steal food from people and off the tables. We saw this in action once during one of our meals. One of the monkeys tried to sneak some food off the lunch bar, and ended up breaking a few plates as they were shooed away. 

Following breakfast, we set out for a guided bush walk. Enock gave us a briefing in case we came across any animals, and he was ready to defend us if needed. It was a little daunting but so neat to be out on the ground walking where the animals roam. Freddy tested our tracking skills, pointing out different tracks and scat and having us guess what each could be. We saw tracks from a porcupine, squirrels, birds, antelope, hyena, rhino, giraffe, and elephants all within 100 yards of the lodge! We also learned that hyenas have white poop due to all of the calcium they consume from the bones they eat. It was a fascinating walk and luckily the only animals we spotted were a herd of impalas, nice sighting Jeff!

Whose print is bigger? Jeff’s or the elephants?

Our evening drive turned into a private tour as the older couple we were with decided to stay back at the lodge. With only one animal left on our Big 5 list, we knew what to keep our eyes out for. It was a drive down to the edge of the reserve, but thanks again to Freddy’s tracking skills we found them! These African buffalo are massive creatures! Along the way, Freddy also tracked two lionesses who were lounging by their catch and a family of warthogs with three little babies. 

As darkness took over, we gazed at the nearly full moon and the few stars that were out, and correctly identified the Southern Cross. On the last part of the drive, Freddy surprised us again! Pointing the spotlight into a bush, we saw a little chameleon sitting on a tree branch. How he spotted that I will never know!

Back at the lodge, we chatted with Enock and another ranger while listening to the lions roaring across the riverbed and the occasional hyena howling before sitting down for our last dinner. We moved back to the fire pit and finished the night talking with the other guests, listening to the lions, and catching a glimpse of three elephants in front of our room but safely outside the fence. We were happy to have our night porter escorting us to our room today! It must have been the full moon, because there were so many noises all night long! The lions were definitely our favorite. 

We woke with bittersweet feelings on our last day of the safari. This had been an absolutely incredible experience and we weren’t ready for it to end! But we were also excited to get a good night's rest as we were up off and on throughout the night listening to the lions and hyenas. So cool! 

We continued listening to the lions as we waited for the drives to begin, and as we stood around nibbling our biscuits, we spotted movement in the riverbed and lo and behold, there were three lions roaming about. That was just the beginning of an incredible last morning. 

We set off and were immediately greeted with a horizontal rainbow as the sun began to rise. 

We began tracking the lions near the lodge and knew we were close, and then all of a sudden, appearing through the grass was a lion’s head! I hollered out “lion on the left”, Enock threw on the break and we watched as the lion prowled about looking for the rest of the pride. My heart began to pound as it walked literally right next to the car, like we could have put our hand out and touched it! 

Leaving the grown lions behind, we set off for one last viewing of the adorable cubs. We caught them at the perfect time as they were in a playful mood. We loved watching them “hide” and pounce on each other and then take off after their mom/aunt. The bravest of the group checked us out and even roared at Jeff as he was taking pictures. It was an adorable little roar!

The cubs soon tuckered out and followed their mom away from the road for a rest, and we carried on with our drive. While hunting for one more rhino sighting, we stumbled upon a baby elephant and its herd and four giraffes including one youngin. 

During our coffee break, we spotted the mom and baby giraffes from the other day, and as we munched on our snacks, they watched from a far and munched on their leaves. When do you ever get to say you had your morning coffee with a giraffe?!

Our final sighting of the trip was of three elephants dusting themselves and pushing down trees in order to snack on the leaves and branches and two more elephants hanging out by the entrance of the lodge.

It was a full morning of sightings and a great way to end this unbelievable experience. 

We flew from the safari to Cape Town and spent the next five days exploring a very different part of South Africa compared to the bush. After full-on relaxing at the safari and not thinking about a thing, we needed a minute to adjust and get back into our travel groove. We know the very basics of South Africa’s history and we had heard about the townships and wealth inequality, but to see the townships while flying in and along the road was eye opening. 

Seeking an easy day back, we decided to start off on the “Big Red Bus” as our hotel called it. This isn’t a common experience for us, but sometimes the Hop on Hop Off buses work well to double as a taxi and a tour, and in this case it gave us the chance to safely see and learn more than we would have on our own. 

We traveled south to Hout Bay, hopping off at our first stop. We walked around the harbor and enjoyed watching the seals lounging and playing in the water. We grabbed a basket of fish and chips for a little snacky snack and then hopped back on the bus. 

As it was a clear, sunny, beautiful day, we decided to take a slight detour to Table Mountain. We opted to ride the gondola up and seeing the hiking path below, we were pleased with our decision. That’s a steep route! 

The 360 views from the top were stunning! We could see for miles in all directions! We walked along the path on this strangely flat mountain top taking it all in. The best views were of the waves crashing along the coast. 

Back on the bus, we followed the coast around to Clifton. We kept our eyes peeled for whales but didn’t see any. We hopped off at Camps Bay and walked along Sea Point Promenade to Green Point Lighthouse before hopping back on the bus and making our way to the hotel. 

With the need to be more vigilant at night it, we decided to stay in and treat ourselves to room service (a rarity for us!). It was kind of nice to have an excuse to lounge for an evening! 

We spent our second day in wine country traveling through the vineyards on the Franschhoek Wine Tram. We caught glimpses of the sun rise peeking through the fog covered harbor on our way to the train station, and from there the weather only got better! We compared it to the perfect October day with the crisp fresh air being warmed by the shinning sun. 

We hopped on the train at the tiny Groot Drakenstein station and trekked to our first stop, Bacco Estate. Our taste buds were dazzled by the mix of wine and fancy cheeses. They were so good!

Our next stop was to the expansive Babylonstoren. This estate had a charming colonial vibe with little shops tucked throughout the farm and a mix of vineyards, orchards, and gardens to go with them. They sold everything from soaps and fragrances to olive oils and vinegars to baked goods, meats and cheeses, and fresh produce. We sampled the free mandarin oranges sitting at the entrance of each shop and grabbed a treat from the Lekker Room (aka sweet shop) before setting off on our cellar tour. 

We climbed on the catwalks, looked deep down into the fermentation tanks, and learned about the different wines and what it takes to produce them all. At the end of the tour, we sipped on 10 different samples each paired with its own nibbly. We may or may not have become wine members here…

Making our way back to the train, we set off for our final winery of the day, Boschendal. We had one more pairing reserved, in which Jeff chose a charcuterie and wine pairing while I went with the handcrafted chocolate and wine combo… can you guess whose was better? :)

We spent another day touring Cape Town, this time starting with a stroll around the V&A Waterfront. We arrived in time to watch one bridge move horizontally to open for a catamaran and a second bridge open vertically. 

We gazed at the seals lounging on the pier and joined a Harbor cruise tour, waiving back at more seals playing in the water. 

We popped in and out of the little shops, strolled through The Watershed Marketplace admiring the locally designed goods and crafts, and grabbed an early lunch at Time Out Market before setting off to the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens. 

The gardens were a great place to stretch our legs. It was so quiet and peaceful and perfect timing as the protea, Africa’s national flower, were blooming. We also enjoyed walking above the gardens on the tree canopy and spying some very unique spiny trees. 

On our way back to the city, we stopped at Camps Bay to walk by the beach and ogle at the massive waves rolling in. The wind had picked up and these waves were huge! We spent the evening back at the waterfront. 

Our last full day was spent touring the peninsula. We debated renting a car and doing our own tour, but after hearing some stories we decided to take it easy and instead joined a small group experience. 

Our first excursion of the day was a wavy one out to Seal Island. It’s a good thing neither of us are prone to seasickness because some of those dips were crazy! It was fun to be out on the water and neat to see the hundreds of sea lions lounging on the rocks, but the swiftness of the journey made us smile. 

Our original route took us through Chapman’s Peak Drive, but our driver informed us that the road was closed so we needed to reroute. Back tracking to catch our new road, we made a quick stop at Muizenberg Beach for a glimpse of the colorful beach huts and followed that with the stop we were most excited about, Penguins! They were adorable! There were several babies tucked in under their parents and a few teenagers doing their own thing, but our favorite was watching them waddle their way through the sand and down to the water, catching a wave as they made their way out to sea.

Next up was a stop for lunch (more fish and chips!) and then off to see the Cape of Good Hope. We kept our eyes peeled for whales in the water and wild ostrich, zebras, bamboos on land per our guide’s instructions. The search paid off as we spied a herd of eland, a turtle, and finally ostrich! No whales, zebras, or baboons though… 

We snapped a few photos at the point then hiked our way up to the lighthouse for more incredible views. We couldn’t see any of them, but we’re told there are more than 3,000 sunken ships in these waters. 

Our final, and most random stop of the day, was to an ostrich farm. We didn’t realize this was part of the itinerary when we booked it, but it was a fun experience! Where else do you get to see a 3 week old ostrich and feed them? 

We ended the day with dinner on the waterfront listening to live jazz music and sampling the delicious Dombolos (like a Rhodes roll but better!). 

With only half a day left in the city, Jeff set off for a haircut, and we followed that with a quick stop at the colorful neighborhood of Bo Kaap. This neighborhood has a complex history, and in 1994 the houses were painted as a celebration of freedom when the owners were finally allowed to purchase the houses after leasing the mandatory white houses for years. 

And soon it was time to grab our bags and head to another continent. Time is going too fast! But boy, did we enjoy our time in Africa! 

Up next is a free stopover in Istanbul and a continuation up to Lithuania! We may or may not have decided to rent a car and hit two more countries while we’re in the Baltics…