South Africa

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Leaving New York’s JFK airport on Tuesday May 3rd was the beginning of an adventure we have not done before. A 14 hour flight to Johannesburg South Africa and then a 2 hour flight to Cape Town where we met the rest of our Smart Tour travelers. We are in high hopes of seeing the big 5 animals in Kruger, Hluhluwe Imozozo, and Chobie National Parks while visiting the countries South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe.

Our first days were uneventful unless you consider that on the 2nd day we overslept and missed the bus for Table Mountain and the tour of the Southern Cape. After a hurried breakfast and a cab ride, and circular tram we found our group at the top of 3,100ft Table Mountain with a view of the cape and the city. One of the most memorable tours was a half day cultural tour of the townships, and shanty towns here in the city where an estimated 1.2 million people live. Yes there is poverty and yes our culture would consider this the sadest of existence. What we found was a proud and hopeful population that 15 years ago numbered 6 million and are now moving from there poverty and upward to the economic middle class. We attended a school and an empowerment center where adults were learning life skills and continuing education. This tour helped us to understand apartheid and what it meant to the people of South Africa and how much of an influence Nelson Mandela made on this country. Our tour guide Fred is a wealth of information on the country, politics and customs. He was born and educated here and is truly a local.

Today we are off to the wine lands and the interior valleys. This will be a complete change from the cape and the views of the Atlantic and Indian oceans that we viewed yesterday. What a great day of perfect weather for visiting Stellenbosch, a university town and the second oldest in South Africa. Our second stop was Franchenhoek settled by the French in a lovely valley ringed by mountains. A tour of the Stellenbock winery overlooking the valley with Table Mountain with its Table Cloth, white fluffy clouds hanging on the top, was the perfect ending to the mornings excursion. A warm breeze, blue sky and bright sun we sat under the pergola and enjoyed the afternoon. The evening was a stroll on the Waterfront and a small amount of shopping and then a lite dinner at a takeout deli where we watched the boats and the locals. A great way to end the day.

Flying to Durban for our next leg was a rainy day but did not matter since it was a city tour and then a fairly long ride to Hluhluwe (clue clue wey). Here for 2 nights, 2 game drives in the Umfolozi Game reserve and a tour of a Zulu village with native dancing and lunch. The game drives were great especially the afternoon where we rounded a bend in the road to be face to face with our first African elephant. Our guide Thembo quickly stopped and found reverse as we backed away. We watched within 20 feet of our new found giant friend and were in awe of his magnificence. This was followed with similar encounters with white rhino’s, wild dogs, giraffes, cape buffalo and a pack of baboons. This was our first game drive and one of the best of the trip.

Departing Hluhluwe and driving to the border of Swaziland one of the 7 countries comprising Southern Africa. We spent one night here as it is halfway to our destination of Kruger National Park. Kruger allowed us encounters with elephant herds, impala’s, kudu, water buck’s, bush buck’s and the ugly wart hog. Kruger National park is the size of Belgium and 10% of the park has a system of paved and unpaved roads. We made 3 separate game drives but did not encounter any of the 2000 lions in the park and caught a brief glimpse of a leopard. Our hotel on the Sabi river was great and the “Boma” buffet both nights was a vegetarian’s worst nightmare. Due to the grilled meats of the animals we had viewed over the last 2 days.

Johannesburg was our next stop and to get there involved an all day bus ride with stops at The Eye of God overlook at 6,100 feet and the Potholes where 2 rivers converge to create the most amazing canyon and natural carvings in the stone canyon. We also stopped for pancakes (crepes) with every imaginable filling and many of ushered to enjoy the multitude of flavors. We stayed in the Sandton area of Joburg an upscale newer and growing part of the city. Spending the next day touring the city including the township of Soweto and the highlight the Apartheid museum. This was an education on the history of South Africa.

Saying goodbye to 8 of our comrades we departed for Zimbabwe and the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge.
This was an excellent lodge with the main deck overlooking the watering holes many customers of elephant, buffalo baboons, wart hogs, and the ever present impala. Our 3 night stay was packed with activities. Touring the falls on foot and wearing our rain gear while the sun was shinning was fun and kept us from the ever present spray which falls like rain. The intensity of rain is determined by the winds and we were lucky to have calm days. The best view of the falls was via the 20 minute helicopter ride, which was amazing and put the power of the Zambezi river into perspective and the zig zagging canyon carved by the river. Walking with lions (11 month old cubs the size of St Bernard dogs) was intimidating at first but was an experience no one would want to miss. Our elephant ride gave you a different perspective of the bush as we spotted kudu, wart hogs and baboons. The highlight was feeding these mammoth, gentle animals. They vacuumed the food from our hands and then opened their mouths wide to accept a second helping that we willingly tossed into this cavernous opening. Thinking we had been stimulated enough a 1 year old leased cheetah appeared for us to photograph and pet like a common house cat.

Once again we said goodbye to the last of our traveling companions who departed for the airport and the return trip to New York’s JFK. We boarded our drivers van with 2 new friends Franco and Andenalla from Boulogne Italy for our 2 hour trip to Kasane, Botswana and 3 days touring the Chobie National Park by jeep and boat. Phillip and Gabi our hosts welcomed us with a view of the river and our first cruise up river to view the hippos, elephants, crocodiles, birds and of course more impala. A herd of over 100 cape buffalo was the highlight of our 2nd day game drive, along with elephant herds and a rare sighting of a pair of jackals and one sable buck antelope, and let us not forget yes you guessed it impala’s.

Last day in Botswana and the best day. The elusive lion or should I say lioness showed herself today and we watched her for over an hour stalking her impala dinner. We were as close as 10 feet to 30 yards’ and it was amazing. No she did not catch her dinner as we watched as the keen eyesight and speed of the impala proved to be the winning advantage in this round of survival of the fittest. We had our final dinner here at the Garden Lodge in Kasane Botswana and tomorrow we drive back to Victoria Falls for our final night in Africa. We returned to the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge ande were as lazy as a lion after a successful hunt. Relaxing lunch swim in the pool napping on the deck overlooking the watering hole and its multitude of migrating animals.

This has been an unforgettable experience from the new friends we have made and the sights and sounds of Southern Africa. We have learned so much about Southern Africa’s history and fight for survival and their ongoing struggles in the modern world. It is an area rich in natural resources and a resilient people who are working hard to better themselves and the lives of their children.

We hope you enjoy the photos and our commentary and would love to hear your comments.

Bill and Mary

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Comments

[Lola]

books
Wow, I read all those books, The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. Maybe you can pronounce all the places. I've always wondered what it looks like there since I read the books. Can't wait to hear more about it when you return.