“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” —–Nelson Mandela
Durban
Modern coastal city…
Our Airbnb, I mean our friends’ apartment was just stunning. Getting picked up at the airport was a nice treat!
The views from the apartment of the beach and water.
Our first meal has to be a bunny chow.. a unique S African dish. Hollowed out bread with your choice of curries in it. We collectively had the lamb and beans curry… pretty interesting combination!
Durban
Visit to Gandhi ‘s home where he lived when he was in Durban. The tour guide was extremely knowledgeable about the history and the impact Gandhi had on the people of South Africa and all over the world.
Durban
The next day we head to the promenade area where we look through some local craft vendors.
Quick stop at a beachside Café for wine/drinks and some lunch.
We end the afternoon with getting our hair done!
Early evening we stop at a beautiful restaurant for a drink and cigars!
We end the night releasing 2 lanterns on the beach for our daughters.
Cape Town
As we drive from the airport to the hotel we make a few stops on the way to enjoy! I notice lots of shanty towns. There is a lot of poverty and unemployment. Though I did notice that everyone seemed to have lots of staff so seems all the businesses are trying to hire more than they really need to help the situation.
Also noticed that all the big nice homes all had electrical wires and tall fences for security .
Camps bay stop for snacks and drinks! Beautiful seaside village.
Fish and chips stop in another seaside village. Giant fish and chips served with malt vinegar tartare sauce and spicy sauce that is just toooo spicy.
Cape Town
Late lunch at Stellanoch another lovely village. The pub has this sauce that tasted like mango sweet spicy pickles we like! Very good! They don’t sell it.
Cape Town
We get to our hotel and our jaw drops at the beauty of the hotel. Small cottages. Amazing service views of the vineyards all around! Impeccable service staff!
Hotel was very nice, each room has its own terrace
Our dinner is at the winery next door… they drop us off and pick us up. Grand Provence… lovely views of the sunset!
In the morning we head to the tram station for our red line wine tram tour. The guides help us choose which wineries to visit.
We pick 3…. Starting with bubbles
Then an old winery where we taste wine that they only make 500 bottles of each year. Need to take one to go for night caps!
3rd winery. Rickety Ridge.
We end the afternoon walking around the village!
Dinner at Columbo … 11 course experience!
Next day we head to the city of Cape Town stopping multiple times for sites!
Funicular up to baboon mountain
Lots of signs indicating Baboons are wild animals and to be careful, I was freaked out the whole time! But gorgeous views from up there.
Stops for pictures!
Table mountain visit.
Beautiful area well-structured for tourists but still very natural looking.
Next day we head to the city of Cape Town stopping multiple times for sites!
Funicular up to baboon mountain
Lots of signs indicating Baboons are wild animals and to be careful, I was freaked out the whole time! But gorgeous views from up there.
Stops for pictures!
Table mountain visit.
Beautiful area well-structured for tourists but still very natural looking.
V&A Waterfront Area
Robben Island visit
This was just surreal experience.
Our tour guide was a political prisoner here. He was part of a student organization that wanted better education for black people and at age of 18 he was wanted. He escaped to Angola but somehow still got arrested and brought to Robben Island. He spent 15 years there. He described the conditions of the camp and treatment they received in great detail… someone asked how he can come back be a guide here. He said he was finally able to forgive but he didn’t want anyone to FORGET!
Nelson Mandela section was something words can’t describe. The stories of how he wrote a book in secret and how the communicated with each via a holed out tennis ball was just incredible.
Next stop Kruger National Park for our 3 day Safari Experience
Sabi Sabi Game Reserve is where we will be staying and experiencing the Safari.
Arriving into Skukuza Airport, Tiny plane tiny airport… super cute. Our driver picks us up in an open jeep!!
As we load up the trailer in the back we figure out how best to climb up! Fun!
We head out, Candy our driver tells us the lodge is hour to hour and a half away depending on road! What he really meant was that it depends on how many animals we stop to see and take pictures. Holy moly! We see a lot of animals! Candy then says he is our guide for the entire time! So excited as Candy is full of energy and always smiling. He is an expert!! More examples to come!
We arrive at the lodge we get escorted to our cabins and we are all just in awe of the accommodations. Giant room with all the bells and whistles. A hot tub on the patio that you can through to the shower. Lovely setup. Mosquito net that is lowered and raised for us by housekeeping!
If anyone plans to do safari this is the lodge to do it in. They have 4 lodges in the area, but Little Bush Camp is the best one. Only 6 rooms and the staff was incredible!! You get an amazing personalized experience since it’s only 12 guests maximum for the entire place.
We drop our bags and head to the lodge for some lunch. The head chef greets us! The managers all greet us! Welcome drink!
Our schedule for 3 days will be
· 6am wake up knock
· 630am morning 3 hour safari
· 930am Breakfast made to order
· 1045am walking safari for 1 hour
· 1pm lunch, then hot tub time until 3:30pm afternoon/evening 3 hour safari
· High tea in afternoon
· 7pm dinner
All inclusive service food and drinks!
They just keep feeding you all the time!
Our first “official safari”, Candy is the guide/tracker and Mikayla is our driver and guide!
Wow these two are just amazing!
We see all kinds of animals
Zebras, Giraffes, Impala, Kudu, Buskbuck, mom and child Elephants, worthogs…..
Then we stop get out of the vehicle to enjoy the sunset and Candy and Mikayla set up snacks and drinks !! The whole bar selection, wine beer whiskey gin vodka etc!
As we enjoy 1 giant elephant sneaks up on us. He looks at us and seems agitated. He smells really bad! Then Mikayla whispers to us to quietly climb into the vehicle. Soooo now we are freaked out… I get in then Anu then Artiben and just start crying! (Kidding) but we were scared.
The guys all get in behind us and for some reason Candy and Mikayla do not…. So hmmmm we are like what do they know that we don’t. Then the elephant turns around and walks away. We relax and then Mikayla says I wish I took a picture of our reactions!! Thank you Mikayla! Had a blast!. She told us why the elephant was aggressive. It’s going through musth and was kicked out by the females because he is going through it. It’s basically puberty for male elephants..
After that we were ready for more wine!
We see a nice owl on our way back to the lodge!
Dinner is setup for us outs
Dictionary explanation:
Musth or must (/ˈmʌst/; Urdu: from Persian, lit. ’intoxicated’)is a periodic condition in bull (male) elephants characterized by highly aggressive behavior and accompanied by a large rise in reproductive hormones.
Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be on average 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times (in specific individuals these testosterone levels can even reach as much as 140 times the normal). However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor, is unknown.
Scientific investigation of musth is problematic because even the most placid elephants become highly violent toward humans and other elephants during musth.
So we learned something new.
And no one actually peed in their pants but some of us were close to it. So from then on this was the The elephant incident!!!
Dinner is setup for us outside with a bonfire! Beautiful setting.
Great experience with amazing staff and great food. I order the ravioli with all three sauce options and the chef loves it! He then puts that sauce on the menu for the next two dinners!! He was excited that I created a new sauce for him!
The managers were amazing as well making sure we had everything we needed.
We then go to sleep as we need to get up early for morning safari.
We head out in morning with Candy and Mikayla! Not much going on out there… Impala etc … we then we find a huge heard of Buffalo just sleeping and slowly waking up… a few of them look up at us and say good morning but the rest could care less.
What a sight… generally you don’t see that many in the same spot!
We sit and watch for a while!
We then head out and Candy is just amazing! Rhinos spotted in a large area… we head that way. No clue where they are at as they are constantly moving. Candy asks Mikayla to stop… he listens! And hears them chewing! Can you believe it, he hears them chewing and birds that are eating off of the rhinos! So we go off road to find them. Nope not here, stop the engine again and he hears them and directs Mikayla through some heavy brush and sure enough a mom and her baby … walking around and eating! Found them!! So we follow them around for a good while! How amazing, we are just a few feet away! Ajitbhai said it’s rare to see Rhinos and to see mother and baby is even more rare. What an amazing treat! Thanks to animal whisperer Mr Candy!!
So now, remember that herd of Buffalo we saw sleeping semi awake.. Well they need water… and they are all spotted at the local water hole (no Jerry Sam rick and Al – its not a bar) I’m going to see if you read my blog. Comment if you saw thus. LOL
Anywho… omg the entire heard is drinking away!! We sit and enjoy the view.
Time for breakfast, chef gives us our usual spicy sauce at every meal!
Now it’s walking safari time
Mikayla and Lez grab the shot guns and off we go! Mikayla explains about termite mounds and how other animals use them after termites leave. We learn about tree damage from elephants etc…
We then come to a small pond where Lez whispers that there is a hippo in there! We can’t get too close cuz they will attack. We try to use the binoculars to see it! Pretty cool to be so close. We walk a little more and Lez goes off and says he saw a lioness run across. So we chase after it… hmmmmm yes that’s what we do. We walk towards the lion!!..omg we are just going crazy! Lol but all good. So time to walk back to lodge! Time for a drink!
We then head to the hot tubs in our own patios! We have a gift waiting from Ajitbhais manager. Bottle of chilled South African sparkling wine. Save that for later! Thank you Sue!
High tea is setup, but no one is really hungry!
3:30pm we head off to the afternoon safari.
More Elephants
Then…. But wait did someone see a hyena? But wait did someone see a lion? Omg let’s go… we see it we get close to it… its not really bothered by a few jeeps! It’s trying to make sure that the hyena doesn’t eat their groups food.
Candy and Mikayla know that the young lions are probably close by since the lioness is guarding the kill so we go search for it! Sure enough we find two lions with a wildebeest. The hyena and vultures are lurking but the lioness is guarding nicely. The lioness mum then joins the cubs, they play a little, eat a little and then pass out!
What a great experience! We are about 10-15 feet away. We sit and enjoy the view.
Great end to a great day.
Now time for dinner! But wait…there’s more… there is a leopard sighting! Let’s hurry up and go.
This leopard is just waltzing around the road marking his territory. We make multiple turns to see it over and over! Amazing end to the day!
Beautiful dinner with the new secret sauce chef learned the night before! Lol
Spa day, next day! Skipped morning safari and walking safari. Of course they all saw heards of Zebras! OH well… you snooze you lose!
The spa experience was amazing. Artiben even said best massage ever! Wow that’s saying something since she gets massages all the time!
We head off to afternoon safari! Again pretty quiet not much but Impala and kudus… then all of a sudden, Candy tells Mikayla to reverse. He spotted something…in the thick brush are two male lions! Omg! He said he saw one of the tails flip…. Candy is the expert animal whisperer! The lions are just relaxing. They had not eaten yet… but they were tired! Mikayla thought they might be brothers or half brothers. Not full grown yet!. Wow what a great experience!
Quick stop for snacks and drinks with sunset. (no Crazy Elephant today!)
If anyone is considering coming here, little bush camp on Sabi Sabi will be the experience you will never forget. Amazing cottages absolutely, amazing staff! Once in a lifetime experience!
Livingstone Zambia
Hotel check-in – we are greeted with African music and live dancers! Also lots of Zebras and Giraffes and Impala on the property.
Baboons and monkeys as well!
We are told never to walk with food! And always keep doors locked! We later learn that Baboons know the local grocery store bag so best not to use those!
Victoria Falls
Great view of the Falls from the airplane.
Hotel check-in – we are greeted with African music and live dancers! Also lots of Zebras and Giraffes and Impala on the property.
Baboons and monkeys as well!
We are told never to walk with food! And always keep doors locked! We later learn that Baboons know the local grocery store bag so best not to use those!
Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls, Zambia Orphanage We head to the wholesale stores and stock up on what they need and some extra goodies for the kids.
Ebenezer Children’s Home founded by a Sri Lankan lady who was just touched by some kids who she fed 21 years ago and started the orphanage. Now the have 48 kids ranging from 1 day old to 16 years old. They run a local school and a local farm. Incredible work ! They are much appreciative of the donation!
River cruise… Beautiful Zambezi River. We spot hippos… lots of them.
Also a crocodile just sun bathing away.
Then an elephant out for a bath! How fun!
Johannesburg
We visit and tour the town of Soweto, hometown of Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu
Hostels built by mine owners to house the mine workers. 1 room shared by 16 people share shift workers 8 beds only.
Social houses/colorful houses in pictures introduced by Mandela to allow poor people to live in dignity.
Soweto is an urban settlement or ‘Township’ in South Africa, South West of Johannesburg, with a population of approximately 1.3 Million (2008, Joburg archive).
Soweto was created in the 1930s when the White government started separating Blacks from Whites. Blacks were moved away from Johannesburg, to an Area separated from White Suburbs by a so-called cordon sanitaire (or sanitary corridor) this was usually a river, a railway track, an industrial area or a highway etc., they did this by using the infamous ‘Urban Areas Act’ in 1923.
Soweto became the largest Black City in South Africa, but until 1976 its population could have status only as temporary residents, serving as a workforce for Johannesburg. It experienced civil unrest during the Apartheid regime. There were serious riots in 1976, sparked by a ruling that Afrikaans be used in African schools there; the riots were violently suppressed, with 176 striking students killed and more than 1,000 injured. Reforms followed, but riots flared up again in 1985 and continued until the first multiracial elections were held in April 1994. (From: https://www.sahistory.org.za/place/soweto-johannesburg )
We visit the slum housing area and we get a tour from one of the residents. There is a school where small children are learning and they greet us with excitement. Government has a housing program that allows those folks who earn a little bit apply for a more sturdy 2 room home with running water. Once they make a little more, they are moved to a slightly better apartment which will become their own dwelling after 20 years of payments. Great program to move people from poverty to dignity and home ownership.
Lanterns in Durban
Elephants
Leopard
Lions
Walking Safari
Brothers or Cousins! Lions
Flight over Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls
Love your blog photos and very informative. Lol on your watering hole comment.