South Africa

This has been a long time coming. My trip to South Africa was last November and it is now…. July. I got behind and the further behind I got the more I procrastinated and that’s how we wound up to today. Looking back South Africa was definitely one of the best trips I have been on. The animals and the scenery there are unbelievable. This is the summary of our trip and there is a LOT! I plan to go in to more detail on some of our adventures in the future but please if you have questions about any thing in particular leave a comment!

South Africa has been a priority on my list for a long time but I always thought it would be way to expensive just to get down there but with miles from credit card rewards we were able to make it affordable. My next budget concern was a safari, I mean who doesn’t want to go on a safari while in Africa? After doing a lot of research I found that it was manageable so with that new information we decided to go to South Africa.

We left Seattle and had to take a 1.5 hour flight down to Portland, from there we flew about 10 hours to Amsterdam and then about 12 hours down to Johannesburg. It was a LONG trip to get down there. On arrival I had planned of day of just relaxation since I knew the travel time would be rough. We landed late at night and booked a room at the Maslow hotel who arranged a driver to pick us up. Even though our body clock was way off from Johannesburg we were able to fall asleep pretty quickly. The next day we spent resting up in the beautiful hotel and checking out the Sandton Mall and that neighborhood. It is a very modern area and we felt completely safe and comfortable the whole time.

The next day we headed back to the airport and flew from Johannesburg to Nelspruit where we picked up our rental car and started driving to Kruger National Park. The drive over was only a few hours and went very smoothly once Ryan got used to driving on the opposite side of the road. We stopped for pizza along the way but mostly the drive was uneventful until we arrived at Kruger.

Kruger National Park is a national park dedicated to Africa’s wild animals. Safari animals roam the plains and live protected in this 7,500 sq mile park. You can either stay in a luxury resort just outside the park or stay in one of Kruger’s many camps within the park. We opted for the second to 1. save on budget and 2. have the full experience.

As we crossed the bridge to the park we were giddy and ready to see animals not knowing what to expect. Within seconds we noticed a hippo in the water! We were so excited for our first spotting of a Hippo, we probably spent way to long looking and taking photos. Right after the bridge we arrived at the check in station. Since we were staying 5 days in the park and also visiting some of South Africa’s other parks we got a Wild Card which is essentially a national park pass to all of SA’s national parks, it was definitely worth it and saved us a good amount of money.

After checking in we were off to our first camp with some animal searching on the way. The speed limit is about 30mph throughout the park so you drive slowly and you need to factor that in when trying to get somewhere. Even though you are driving slow the drive is fun since you always need to keep your eyes out for animals. We first encountered Giraffes, a momma and her baby, it was so surreal! They casually walked in front of our car and event stopped for a little snuggle. It was adorable to say the least. We spotted more hippos and some buffalos along the way to and finally arrived at Lower Sabie Rest Camp.

The first two nights we decided to stay here and they were out of bungalow’s so we stayed in a platform tent. It was pretty clean although I was always a little nervous of the creepy crawlies that might be in the bathroom. We found a lizard in there which I can handle but I was worried about spiders or other big bugs, luckily we never saw any.

Each camp opens it’s gates at 4:00am and closes them at 6:00pm. You MUST be back at your camp when gates are closed. So every night we would go to bed around 8pm and get up at 3:30am to be out the gate at 4:00am since the best animal sightings took place at dawn and dusk. We would then be out all day searching for animals.

Our nights at Lower Sabie were loud, filled with the noises of the nearby pond. The hippos, hyena’s and even Lion’s would make loud noises all through the night. Honestly I slept fine though. Anytime a loud animal would wake me up it was just a reminder of how cool of a place I was in. When we moved camps we stayed in bungalows the rest of the time which were similar to a typical hotel room and had thicker walls so we couldn’t hear the animals as well at night and the bathroom felt very safe.

Over the course of the next 5 days we saw up-close lions, hippos, crocodiles, rhinos, monkeys, a leopard(they are HARD to spot), impalas, boars, zebras, elephants, hyenas, buffalo, kudo, turtles, marmots, baboons, wildabeasts, ostriches and more. We stayed two nights at Lower Sabie, Two nights at Olifants and one night at Skukuza.

Lower Sabie was my favorite with its proximity to a pond that always had animal activity. Olifants was set on top a cliff and had a gorgeous view over a river. Skukuza is the biggest camp and had some great food options compared to the other locations. It was amazing to be able to drive your car on these roads and come across lions taking a rest or elephants eating away at the trees.

The animal that took us the longest to find was the leopard. You wouldn’t think they would blend very well with their spots but they blend right in with their surroundings. We knew to look for dead animals up in trees as that is a tell tail sign a leopard has been there. So on one of our final days we saw a boar up in a tree right night to the road. We stopped and got our binoculars out and started looking for a leopard. Meanwhile Ryan took a photo of the boar in the tree since it was a unique sight. A few minutes later I look at the tree and up stands this leopard who had been laying there the ENTIRE TIME. We even got him in that photo Ryan took. He casually stood up and walked away. Leaving Ryan and I in awe. Here is the photo when we didn’t know where he was. Can you spot him?

Here’s some help:

When our five days was up we were completely satisfied with our animal spotting and were ready for a change. We flew from Nelspruit down to Port Elizabeth where we rented a car and started our road trip on the garden route.

We stopped at Jefferey’s Bay to watch the surfers and walk along the beach and then continued on to Storms River Mouth. We were able to enter SRM using our Wild Card once again saving us money!

Storms River blew us away. We knew to expect the beautiful long suspension bridge but we didn’t know the scenery there would be so spectacular. The waves crash on black rocks and as you look down the coast green mountains jut out into the sea. It reminded me of the napali coast in Kauai. After hiking across the suspension bridge and back we had to keep moving on.

That evening we spent in Knynsa. We were able to grab a delicious dinner at 34 Degrees South and enjoy the beautiful quaint town.

The next day we drove from Knynsa to Oudtshoorn to see Cango Wildlife Ranch and learn about their animal conservation efforts. We even got to pet a cheetah here!

We then drove through the mountains and dessert to reach the coast again at L’Agulhas where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans mean. From there we moved on finally reaching our destination of the day, Gansbaai. We stayed in the most adorable guesthouse here White Shark Guesthouse. We then went to bed quite early since we had a great white shark dive the next morning.

We woke up early and headed over to Marine Dynamics to eat breakfast and get briefed before our shark encounters. We then all hopped on the boat and took off to the Shallows to find some great whites. We were lucky and encountered 5+ different great whites. The water was freezing but it was well worth the experience.

After getting back and warming up we started back on our way to Cape Town. We stopped in Hermanus and walked around a bit and then finally made it to the gorgeous city of Cape Town. We got a room at the beautiful Atlantic Gold Guesthouse in Camp’s Bay where our room over looked the ocean.

We then spent the next few days hiking, eating, relaxing, beaching and shopping and finally ended our trip flying out of Cape Town.

South Africa blew my expectations away. This country is stunning to say the least!

 

 

 

Top 5 Places to Swim in Aruba

One of my most favorite things to do is swim in cool places. There’s nothing like a good swim! Aruba of course is an excellent place to cool off in the water, with it’s excellent beaches and unique swimming holes. Here are my top five places to swim in Aruba:

1. Natural Pool – There’s no way you will plan a trip to Aruba without hearing about Natural Pool. It is a great sanctuary of water amongst high and dangerous waves. A rock formation guards this spot to make it an excellent place to swim around. There are even fish that have made there way in to the pool so make sure to bring your snorkel gear. You can’t reach this place in a normal car. I would highly suggesting renting an ATV from Justin’s. They are the only company on the island that lets you get to Natural Pool without going on a tour. When we arrived on our ATV the big groups were just leaving so we had the place to ourselves. Make sure to climb the rocks and find the mini pool just above the natural pool.

1. Boca Catalina Beach – We found this to be the beach to go to if you want to see an abundance of star fish, fish in general, and sea-turtles. If you get there early and swim straight out you should definitely find a couple turtles grazing in the sea-grass. If you swim to the right you will find an excellent snorkeling spot we dubbed “fish city” because it had so many, you guessed it, fish. There were several umbrellas at this location and it’s located right off the road making it an easy find.

1. Boca Mahos Pools – If you visit the old gold mine ruins make sure to bring your swimsuit. While the water on this side of the island is too rough to swim there is a spot you can get in to. If you are at the ruins look to the SE along the water and you will see two ladder prongs sticking up over a ledge. Take that ladder down and you will find a pool of water protected by big rocks. This water is crystal clear and runs under a cave. It’s best if you have some water shoes because when climbing down to it there can be some sharp rocks so be careful.

1. Mangel Halto – This beach is very unique to the others on the island. Mangroves grow all around giving a lot of shade. There are also plenty of umbrellas here. This beach had excellent snorkeling and where we found the most parrot fish. The currants can be strong here so take note of that before hopping in.

1. Palm Beach – Palm beach is the perfect spot to watch the sunset as you wade in the water. The water is bright blue and the sand soft and white. There’s even a dock out aways in the water that’s fun to climb up on and jump off. This beach is among the high rise hotels but is still definitely worth the visit.

Beach Vacation Packing Tips

Who doesn’t love a beach vacation? No matter what beach you’re headed to there are a few things you can pack to make your trip even better. Below are my beach musts with links to the items I use or similar.

1. Waterproof pouch – This is especially important if you are traveling alone or as a couple. When you go to the beach no matter where you are a lot of the time you don’t want to leave your valuables on the beach while you swim. Using a waterproof pouch you can either bring it with you while you swim or bury it in the sand(always put a marker over the spot) to keep your valuables hidden and safe, but still accessible.
2. Pack-able snorkeling gear – If you’re like me snorkeling is necessary when going to the beach. I try and snorkel at every beach I go to so renting isn’t usually feasible. Instead I have a snorkeling kit that doesn’t take too much space in my luggage. The only thing I am not a huge fan of are the half sized fins. I just don’t feel like they give you much more power than your bare feet.
3. Snacks – Many beach destinations, especially islands, have a high price tag on food. I like to pack granola bars and other easy on the go snacks to bring. This way when we head to the beach we can throw a couple things in our bag and not worry about hunger shortening our time in the sand.
4. Travel Towel – If you are trying to pack light a travel towel is a great accessory. They’re small and don’t take up much room in the suitcase and they dry really fast.
5. Sarong – If you do go with the travel towel option I suggest you also bring a sarong to sit on the sand with. The travel towel is small and will dry you off well but as far as laying in the sand won’t do much good. Sarongs are really light material and pack far better than a beach towel. You can lay these out and have good protection from the sand but not a heavy wet dirty towel to have to deal with. Of course you can also wear it for a bathing suit cover up.
6. GoPro – I love my GoPro especially for underwater footage. I’ve been able to get great shots of sea life as well as my husband and I swimming through the ocean. If you are a diver and want to take it deep make sure to get a red lens filter to get the perfect shot. GoPro’s are also best at the beach because you don’t have to worry about sand ruining them. Just make sure to keep it in it’s waterproof case.