The Big 5

We were lucky enough to see all of the Big 5. They are called the Big 5 because they are the 5 most dangerous animals to hunt. We also saw many other animals including cheetah, wildebeest, white rhino, white lion, monkeys, giraffe, kudu, warthog, and hippo.

lion

leopard

water buffalo

elephant

black rhino

Game Drives

Lawrence, our tracker, Floris, our guide, BBD, Ann Marie, Zach, Mick



Sunset during a game drive



Mick and Marvin the lion.



On the game drive



This elephant was very interested in Zach and Zach wasn't too happy about it.

The Lodge

Entrance to the lodge



Our chalet. 2 bedrooms



The pool and a viewing deck. We had dinner on the deck our last night there. The animals came right up to the lodge.



Computer/TV room and library



The main lodge - Outdoor eating area and sitting areas. Firepit is on right of the picture. We ate dinner around the fire on our first night. It was a sit down tablecloth dinner with amazing food.

Each day we had tea and coffee at 5 a.m. Breakfast at 9:30 a.m. after the a.m. game drive. Lunch at 3 p.m. Dinner at 8:00 when we returned from the p.m. game drive.

View of Table Mountain from our hotel room

Cableway to top of Table Mountain

At the top of Table Mountain - Robben Island in the background

Hiking at top of Table Mountain

View of Harbor from the top

Robben Island

Our guide and ex-political prisoner in the actual cell where he was imprisoned


A communal cell in F block


Maximum security wing. Fourth window from left is window to Nelson Mandela's cell.



Nelson Mandela's cell where he was held for 18 years.

Quick updates

The last couple days have been at the Game Reserve. Very little time or computer access to post. I have some amazing pics from Robben Island tour and from the game drives. I will try to get those up on Monday. We've seen too many animals to list, but all of the Big 5 - lion, leopard, hippo, water buffalo, elephant - we've also seen cheetah, zebra, monkeys, and many others.

Unfortunately, I did not get a photo but on our last night in Cape Town, Zach gave some change to the street dancers and they invited him to join them. They were all young boys dancing and singing a traditional dance. It was the cutest thing EVER! He was a little embarassed but he did it. On the same night Mick tried both wart hog and kudu at supper. She liked both. I tried crocodile...didn't like it...very strong tasting.

We will go on our final game drive tomorrow at 5:00 a.m. before departing on our long journey home. None of us want to leave.

One final note - the lodge where we are staying - Jackleberry Lodge - is amazing. The animals come right into the grounds. The lodges are breathtaking and they have a small library, pool, and the eating area is so beautiful. I will have to post pictures so that you can see. Also, our guide and tracker, Flores and Lawrence, are the BEST! We are the envy of all the other groups. They find the animals before anyone else and we always get the best views and photos. Flores was able to make the lion from the other Reserve next door roar last night and that started the one on our side to roar.

safaris/internet!

hey everyone. just wanted to let you know our first 2 game drives have been successful! we have already seen the big 5.!!!! (: i just wanted to let you know that the internet here is limited to one computer provided in the lodge's library, so we will not be able to check in as often as we would like!!! got to go,, we are about to go on our 3rd game drive, it'll be a hot one!!!!!

Cape Peninsula Tour 2

Mikaela didn't exactly fall in love with the Ostriches



The baboons and lots of other wildlife roam free throughout the Cape. They are not shy and will take food out of your hand. If you have a bottle of water they will probably leave you alone, if you have a bottle of coke, they will be sure to take that from you.



One of many baboons we saw when waking to the lighthouse on the Cape



At the most south-western point of the continent. Just beyond the Cape and 20km out by boat the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet.



Final stop of the day was to see the African Penguins at The Boulders

Jo'Burg

Flew from Cape Town to Johannesburg today. Flight takes about 2 hours. We are staying at the Michelangelo at Nelson Mandela Square. Very nice hotel in what appears to be a very nice part of the City. The drive from the airport to the hotel was scenic and demonstrated the wide range of socio-economic conditions of the city and the country. We had the opportunity to walk around Nelson Mandela square in the Sandown portion of Johannesburg. We also got to see Nelson Mandela's neighborhood. Off to Kruger National Park tomorrow.

what i think

yo yo yo i am loving this trip. Robben island was very informational and i thought rascisctm died down a lot. I was supprised to hear that people from that prison are still alive (some). the ride up table mountain was amazingly beautiful. we are now in jo-burg and it is a big city!!!

Cape Peninsula Tour

First stop at Sea Point



On the boat to go out and see Cape Fur seals



Z looking out the glass bottom of our boat



Cape Fur Seals



Chapman's Peak and entrance to Chapman's Peak Drive

Table Mountain; New Meat

Went to Table Mountain today. Very beautiful views of most of Cape Town and the surrounding area. Enjoyed some hiking across the top of the mountain.

Enjoyed the V&A Waterfront with some local shopping. We ate at a local South African restaurant. I ate some local game including Crocodile, Impala, Kudu, Warthog, and a venison sausage. My favorites were Kudu and Warthog. I would definitely eat them again and recommend them to anyone. All were good, though, and are worth trying.

today was very exciting. we went to the top of table mountain. it was insanity. very beautiful!! me gusta mucho. the gondola type thing we took to the top was really cool. the floor turned ..sooo yeah..you get the idea (: ha . later we went shopping at V&&A waterfront... yepp (: it was pretty intensee. haha daddayy got this skewer of ostrich., kudu, warthog, crocodile, impala, and a venesin sausage of all of those meats combined. i tried the warthog and the kudu...they were delicious
!!!!!!!! (: i'd definately have them againn (:

Robben Island

Day 3 - morning. We toured Robben Island, the former prison where many of South Africa and Namibia's political prisoners were imprisoned during the 1960's until 1991. Nelson Mandela, of course, was the most famous prisoner. We got to see his former cell and hear from a former political prisoner about his experience at the prison as well as his activities that resulted in his stay there. Extremely interesting to see a place that for so many years served as a world-wide focal point.

The island itself is beautiful and because of its location reminds me of Alcatraz. There is much wildlife on the island and obviously is a key tourist attraction now.

Day 2

Enjoyed a tour of Cape Town, including a boat tour to a cape fur seal area and to both Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope. We got to see African penguins and to enjoy some local food. 1 kilo of mussels in chili sauce was the special of the day. Toured with folks from New York. Interesting cross-section of people. Two of the couples were well traveled and lunch made for a good conversation about their experiences.

Day 1

Long flight from Phoenix to DCA, DCA to Dakar, Senegal, Dakar to Jo'Berg, and Jo'Berg to Cape Town. Enjoyed meeting some new people inlcuding a church group that flew from Phoenix to Jo'Berg before we split company. Airports work somewhat differently in Africa. A couple of false starts when moving from international to dmoestic travel. The airlines still serve food, beverages and alcohol for free.

robben island

heyy. today we went to robben island. it was beautiful...well besides the whole jail thing. that was super dooperly a pooper. id hate to be stuck there for any duration of my lifetime. ..GROSS.
the first part of the tour was on a bus and they drove us throughout the whole island highlighting main parts and buildings. the second part was a walk through the maximum security prisons. we had an ex political prisoner as our tour guide. oddly, he was very happy in expressing his experiences that he had there. we came back and had lunch. now were chillin in the room waiting for the O.K. on table mountain...its just a wee bit cloudy. Check in later (:

Great start

We are ready to start Day 2 of our trip. The weather is cloudy and it looks like it rained last night and could again today. The weather here changes every hour. Yesterday we went between needing jackets and being hot several times. Our tour guide was terrrific! Our van carried all Americans. 3 couples - all from New York- and us. We traveled on a scenic road that had been closed for two years and had only opened at 2pm the day before our arrival. It was a little like driving down Hwy 101 in California. Windy and right near the ocean. Cape Town is a very large city but spread out and includes a very large area. We are staying right on the waterfront and will travel by ferry to Robben Island prison today. I haven't figured out the money conversion yet. A meal is about 75-100 Rand; which I think is around 15-20 bucks.

Need to find a power adaptor as we are running out of computer power. I could not find one at any of the stores in PHX.

I think the flight was AMAZING. The most turbulence we had that i know of we bounce about half an inch. today i discovered that i have an addiction to street vendors. ya so keep posting on what is happening there.

exhausted

im oober doober tired after our day of travelling yesterday :( BUT !! today made up for that. i loved out tour of the cape. i especially loved seeing the seals and the penguins !! (: ooh and you definately cant forget the random babboons running around. expecially the one that was sitting on top of the car.! haha ill be back later.... (: peace out.

and a stop in Senegal

We made it!!! We are all exhausted but we are here. Exactly 30 hours of travel. Our plane had to stop in Senegal to refuel which we did not know was going to happen so that spiced up the trip a bit. Kids did GREAT! We will post tomorrow evening after we return from our tour of the Cape.

The Basics

Why South Africa?
Well, why not? Our trip to New Zealand was perfect in every way. While obsessing over the Costco travel website upon our return from NZ, we noticed a special on a package to South Africa. In the end, we did not book that specific package but it made a trip to South Africa seem possible. We were all excited by the idea and again, just like the NZ trip, in the matter of only 2 phone calls we were booked on our trip.

What is the time difference?
South Africa is in the SAST time zone. 9 hours ahead of PHX and CA. 8 hours ahead of NM. 7 hours ahead of NE and TN. 6 hours ahead of PA.

How long is the flight?
Really, really, really, really long. We have to start from the east coast so it will take us 4.5 hours to get to D.C. The flight from DC to Johannesburg is just over 17 hours and since we will then go on to Cape Town, there is another 2 hour flight. We will be "on the move" about 30 hours and flying about 24. That is all assuming there are no travel/weather delays. WISH US LUCK!

Where is South Africa?
South Africa covers the southern tip of the African continent. It borders Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe to the north, and Mozambique and Swaziland to the northeast.

What language is spoken in South Africa?
South Africa has 11 official languages. English - with a local South African flavor - is the most widely spoken.

Do you need special immunizations?
No. However, while on our safari tours we will be in a high risk malaria area so will be on anti-malaria pills for several days.

What is the weather like?
When it is summer here it is winter there. We will be there during spring. Average temperatures in Cape Town in October are around 70 degrees, in Johannesburg the average is around 77 degreees, and in Hoedspruit the average is around 90 degrees.

Where will we stay?
Cape Town - Commodore Hotel
Johannesburg - Michelangelo Hotel
Hoedspruit - Jackalberry Safari Lodge

Itinerary

Itinerary

Day 1 - Leave PHX on early a.m. flight to D.C. (4.5 hours).
Fly D.C. - Johannesburg (17.5 hours).
Arrive Johannesburg and go through customs.
Fly Johannesburg - Cape Town (2 hours).
Total flight time 24 hours

Day 2 - Arrive Cape Town at 9 PM SAST. (12 PM MST in PHX)

Day 3 - Full day tour of Cape Peninsula (beaches, Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, Simon's Town)

Day 4 - Robben Island tour via ferry (AM) Table Mountain (PM)

Day 5 - Day on our own

Day 6 - Fly to Johannesburg arrive. Afternoon on our own

Day 7 - Fly to Hoedspruit

Day 8 - Early AM safari tour & evening safari tour

Day 9 - Early AM safari tour & evening safari tour

Day 10 - Depart Hoedspruit and arrive Johannesburg early afternoon
Depart Johannesburg late afternoon

Day 11 - Arrive DC at early a.m. Fly to PHX via Denver and arrive Valley of the Sun at around noon.