South Africa &
Zimbabwe

Today’s the big day! We start our trip to South Africa as soon as Hugh gets off from work. I am busy getting the last few things done around the house and we are lucky that Hugh is home and ready to leave by 4:30. We decide to drive to Charlotte and have a leisurely dinner at Outback and then check into the Marriott Courtyard our favorite airport hotel. We get settled in, shower, and watch TV for a while before turning out the lights. We have a wake up call for 6:15.

Today will be a long day so we shower and check to make sure we have all our travel papers. We get to the airport via shuttle and check in at Jet Blue. The plane is on time and we decide to have breakfast before the flight. While we are eating we see David and Sandy Dupuy whom we have traveled with in Australia and New Zealand. We get to catch up with them before our flight. We arrive at JFK early! Normally this would be a great thing but today we have all the time in the world. We claim our luggage and attempt to catch the right train to the International terminal. It is 6 degrees outside and windy. We are in and out of buildings and finally we are on the train and arrive at our terminal. Of course it is too early to check in so we walk the shopping mall and then have a late lunch with David and Sandy. Two pm comes and we go to South African Airways. We are very close to the first in line and get checked in and bags checked through with no problem. What a blessing—we find out our flight is not full and we have 4 seats between us. This will be the nicest 19 hour trip that we have had. We continue to walk and stretch before time to board. Our flight boards on time, takes off early and true to ticketing we have lots of room.. We unpack all the iPods, books, candy, and warm socks we have in our packs and then settle in for the duration. South African Air is top notch. We have 20 movies to choose from, TV, Games and sports. The service is exceptional and the food not too bad for airlines these days. They offer drinks including beer and wine frequently and by bed time we are ready for some sleep. We rest off and on but with the stop for fuel in Dakar our rest is broken up. We arrive Thursday evening at 5:30 pm not rested but definitely in better shape than we expected after a 19 hour flight. We are met by our tour guide for Johannesburg and we get to meet our fellow travelers. One couple is on another flight so we wait for them. We have time to change some money and soon we are on a bus for our 45 minute drive to Sandton where we will be staying. Our hotel is the Sandton Intercontinental and it is lovely. It connects to a mall with several restaurants and we take the opportunity to walk and walk plus get a small bite to eat. After dinner we walk just a little more to really stretch and then it’s off to bed. We are tired and tomorrow will be exhausting because of jet lag.

Lights were out early last night but we were awake at 2:30 am. After several hours of tossing and turning we both fell asleep shortly before the clock went off. We are slow to get up, shower, and dress. When we get to breakfast we find that everyone had a similar night. The restaurant has a huge buffet and everyone lingers over tea. At 8:30 we meet our guide and fight the morning traffic to the edge of Soweto and the Baragwanath Hospital. Our guide at the hospital is a young woman in Public Relations names Party. We are given a PowerPoint presentation on the hospital and then a walking tour of the campus to see the facilities. It is very warm and the campus is huge. The facilities are not US standards but they are better than we saw in East Africa. They have a clinic for almost everything and a large medical staff. This hospital is the largest in the world, covering 173 acres and serving 3.5 million people and is the only ER open on weekends in Johannesburg! We are back on the bus, warm and thirsty. With cool water in hand we take a bus tour of Soweto. We stop at the Peterson Memorial and Museum. This memorial commemorates the young boy and other children killed in the uprising against Afrikaans as the National language. In recent years, June 16th has been called Youth Day, but for many years it was known simply as the day of the Soweto Uprisings - a chain of events that signaled the beginning of the end of apartheid. Hector Peterson was among some 30,000 students who took to the streets of Soweto protesting a government edict that all classes were to be taught in Afrikaans - the language of the white minority.

We then drive by the church where Desmond Tutu preached, his home and the homes of Winnie Mandela and Nelson Mandela. We then travel back toward town and our guide points out that we are not downtown because of safety. He shows us several large hotels that have closed and tells us that the government is working to correct this problem and revitalize the downtown area before the World Cup in 2010. We are back at our hotel for a late lunch. Hugh and I head for Mandela Square and a great Thai lunch. The food is spicy and we enjoy just relaxing and talking over what we have seen so far. We spend the afternoon walking in the neighborhood and browsing in the shopping area of Mandela Square. It is sprinkling rain and we head to the hotel for a quick nap before our group welcome dinner. We have dinner as a group in the hotel and the food is wonderful and so is the company. The conversation is lively and everyone has traveled extensively and has lots of fun stories to share. By 10 pm everyone is dragging and ready to try to sleep. Lights were out for us before 11 and we slept soundly through the night.

Hugh and I are up by 7 am rested and ready to go. We have a hearty breakfast and get ready to meet our driver. We are leaving for the airport earlier than everyone else because we have an earlier flight. We are not sure why this is but we are not complaining. We meet our driver at 8:30 am and he is a lovely gentleman who gives us a running commentary as we drive to the airport. It is very nice to travel in a car and we are able to ask questions. We check in at SAA and await our flight to Hoedspruit and LEOPARDS ( of all the big 5 we have not seen a leopard). Our flight boards on time but is then delayed. They have to bleed air out of the hydraulic system, then they have to top off the fluids. Once we take off the flight is easy and Mike from Kings Camp is waiting as we emerge from the woods (yes we have to walk a distance through the brush from the plane). This is a very small airport. We grab our bags and we are off. This is a funny trip, the first part is on pavement then we are on a long stretch of gravel, dusty and rough. On our way we see a family of warthogs, a mom and 2 little ones. The mom seems to be having trouble with getting the kids to do what she wants-it’s the same no matter the species! When we get to the gate to the Timbuvati Reserve we meet with Warren and Cynet. Warren and his wife Lisha are the Kings Camp manager and Cynet will be our guide while we are here. They drive us the rest of the way while Mike goes back for the others in our group. We see elephant feeding by the roadside. African hospitality is so gracious. We are met at the door with cool cloths to clean our hands and faces, cold drinks and lots of smiles. Everyone introduces themselves and tells us what their job is. They speed us through check-in and take us on a tour of the camp ending in our room. WOW! This room is more than advertised on the webpage. We have a king bed complete with luxury duvet and mosquito netting. We have a lovely sitting area and a bath complete with an indoor and an outdoor shower and a claw foot tub. We settle in and head for lunch in a dining room open to the outside. There are monkeys running around in the trees and there is a water hole that we can see. We have time to do some exploring before our afternoon game drive.

We head out at 4 with Cynet and our tracker, Remember. On this drive we see 2 lionesses and watch them sleep, stretch and then begin to stalk some giraffe. We learn that in the night they made a kill. We hope it wasn’t one of the giraffe we saw. We also see the male lion and 4 precious lion cubs. The lionesses have left them to fend for themselves while they hunt for food. Cynet says they may be alone as long as 4 days. We see a herd of elephants, some zebra with more giraffe, and many impala and waterbok. We stop at sunset for wine and snacks. We feel very pampered. We are out until after dark. When we arrive back at our room there is a candlelight bath complete with rose petals waiting for us. Clean and refreshed we head to our welcome dinner called a Boma. It is a lovely meal although with the Boma fire, candles, and the temp outside we are quite toasty. Everyone retires to their room after dinner as we are not allowed to walk unescorted after dark. Johannes is our nightly escort and we have to call 9 and he shows up flashlight in hand. We sleep soundly with great expectations for tomorrow.

Up today at 5 am for our first game drive of the day. We meet our group in the viewing stand and have tea and biscuits before we head out. Cynet and Remember are waiting for us. The Land rover is stocked with water for our trip. Shortly into our drive we find a young male elephant enjoying a very messy mud bath. While we are having fun making photos the whole herd shows up. Cynet moves the rover into the field with them and we sit for a long time watching them feed and interact. There are young of all ages, bulls, and moms. This is a very intimate encounter. We then drive on and run up on a beautiful giraffe and a herd of water buffalo. We literally drive through the herd and get some great shots. We have now seen wildebeest, impala, waterbok, giraffes, zebras, lions, elephants but no LEOPARD. We stop for coffee and tea served by Cynet and Remember. Then we truly begin our quest for leopard and rhino the last of the big 5 that we need for this trip. But alas, with our stomachs rumbling we head back to camp and breakfast.

After a terrific meal, I swim and read by the pool and Hugh makes some photos and listens to his iPod. The temperature rises to almost 100 degrees and we finally go to our room to read and rest. We eat a late lunch and stay in the library until the afternoon drive. Cynet and Remember are on a quest for rhino and leopard. We cover a lot of territory because ground trackers are following a rhino. We finally get a visual and spend a lot of time photoing and just being amazed at how close we are to a large white rhino. We drive on and stop in the midst of a herd of impala, have wine and watch the sun set. With 4 of the big 5 checked off our list we head back to camp. Everyone in our group has been to Kenya and Tanzania but no one has seen a leopard. We are beginning to think they are a figment of someone’s imagination. Bathe, dress, eat-The meal is great and so is the company. Again we retire to read.

The phone rings at 5 am and we are off to coffee and tea. Cynet and Remember meet us at the rover and they are single minded—today we see leopard. We drive for a while and expectations are low. Suddenly Remember spots fresh leopard tracks. We spend the next hour following these tracks through the bush in our vehicle, Remember on foot, Cynet and Remember on foot, everyone in vehicle, Cynet with large gun and Remember back on foot. Wow what a job. Cynet spots the leopard kill, a young wildebeest up in a tree. He radios for help and we drive over to wait by the tree. Leopards never go far from their kill. Cynet and Remember scout the area on foot but no leopard. When the other rover arrives, Cynet decides to drive around. Remember stays in the bush. Shortly he radios that the leopard has returned and we quickly drive back. We arrive in time to see the leopard climb up to the wildebeest and begin to maneuver it in the tree. First he licks the hair off and tries to reposition it. The sun is rising and the leopard precariously climbs down the tree with the kill and heads for some shade. We stalk him getting some fantastic shots. Cynet and Remember were heroes today. We head back to camp happy to have finally seen the illusive leopard.

We grab a quick shower, breakfast and then load the van for our trip back to Hoedspruit and our flight to George. The airport is very small and we are surprised that security consisted of girls to one side and boys to the other and open your bag for a quick look. We walk through the woods to our plane and board. The flight is uneventful and everyone catches a good nap. We are met in George by Andre’ who tells us we are waiting around for the next flight that has the rest of our group. This is fine with David and me as our luggage did not make our flight. Luggage and 3 group members arrive on the next flight and we begin our 40 minute drive to Knysna. Eight of us check into the Parkes Manor (hotel website) and one of our group is at another hotel. This is no a surprise to Carmen and she is a good sport about it. We have a very nice dinner at a restaurant overlooking the lagoon. Andre takes very good care of us and soon has us back at the hotel. This B&B is very nice and our room is large. We shower and then it’s lights out. We have had a long and exciting day.

Today we get to sleep in and have a leisurely breakfast. George and Andre pick us up at 9 am and we head to Monkeyland and Storms River. We drive through Plettenburg Bay on our way. This area is dubbed the jewel of the garden Route. It is a beautiful seaside town with long unspoiled beaches. No one is particularly excited about Monkey land until we get there. Monkeyland is the world’s first free-roaming multi-specie primate sanctuary. It is home to hundred of previously caged monkeys, lemur, and apes. You have to look for the animals but we are lucky enough to see all the different species including a blond gibbon, spider monkeys, ring-tailed lemurs and Langer monkeys. We enjoyed watching them interact but we were careful not to stand underneath. We then drive to the Tsitakama Forest for our Tree-top Canopy Tour. Here we will slide on thick cables suspended 25 meters above the forest floor. We will go from tree to tree supposedly enjoying the flora and fauna. I am not sure how much we will see as we are all anxious. When we arrive we immediately get our orientation lecture. They break us into groups so we are not all together. This is disappointing as we wanted to cheer each other on and get photos of any mishaps so we could laugh. Carmen, Frank, and Ray are very apprehensive, Sandy is afraid of heights; but all are good sports and we are soon kitted up or as we would say geared up and in our jeep headed for the woods. Our guides are Pam and Glen. We start out on a ground platform and the first slide is short and slow. We loved it and the safety aspect is excellent. The next two slides are slow but longer and we are gaining confidence. The next five slides are high, fast, and long. This is great. Hugh’s only problem is he does not like to stand on the small platforms and almost stepped off the second one. We are locked on so he would not have been hurt but the platforms are small and the tree moves. We have a wonderful adventure and almost everyone wished there were more.

We have lunch at the center and are presented with our certificates of completion. We then drove to an indigenous forest and saw a yellowwood tree that was 800 years old. On our drive back we stopped at Bloukrans Bridge and the world’s highest bungee jump. This was frightening to watch and only Ray in our group wanted to do it but no one would loan him the money. We all thought he had lost his mind. We then continued back to Knysna and we drove to the Heads, two large cliffs on either side of the lagoons entrance into the sea. From there we could see the honeymoon cave and a beautiful view. We stopped at the wharf and we shopped and walked until time to board our paddlewheel boat for our dinner cruise. The evening was lovely, the perfect temperature, good company, and enough food and wine for everyone. We were back at Parkes Manor by 10 and packing for a morning departure to Cape Town.

We again get to sleep in. We have breakfast, bring down our luggage and Andre and George arrive at 9. We are driving to Cape Town today along the Garden Route. We will mostly be sightseeing and our first town is George. We flew into here and this is the commercial heart of the Garden Route and it boast 4 of the top golf courses in SA. We continue our drive to Mossel Bay. Mossel Bay is where Diaz landed to replenish his water. Today it is a picturesque seaside town overlooking the Indian Ocean. As we continue on we are beginning to see the Outenque Mountains more closely. We make a stop in Albertinia to visit an aloe shop. These products are made from the aloe ferox plant grown right here. We are given a presentation on their production and then we see all the different products for body care, hair care, health care and bath care.

After a little shopping and exploring outside we continue our drive to Swellendam and lunch. We have lunch at the old jail which has been turned into a nice restaurant and gift store. It is run by local women and the food is fantastic especially the butternut squash soup. The restaurant has crafts, beautiful SA items and artwork. We have time to shop and just walk around the town. We are soon back in the van traveling through the mountains into wine country and then into Cape Town. We are staying at the Victoria and Alfred waterfront in the V&A hotel. Our room is on the top floor and is very nice. After our quick check-in we explore the waterfront and some of the shops. We mostly walk for exercise after a day in the van. We eat fast food because we are still filled from lunch. We get back to the hotel by 10 and get a great night sleep.

Up at 7 and off to breakfast. The buffet here is great and we get to eat outside next to the water. This is a working harbor and it is fun to sit and watch. Today we are off to Table Mountain. The view of the mountain from our hotel is beautiful but at closer examination it is very impressive. We board a cable car that rotates and ascend to the top. The panoramic view is spectacular and we can see the whole Cape peninsula. Andre gives us the guided tour and our photo opportunities are wonderful. We then descend the cable car and head for Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens at the base of Skeleton Gorge. Kirstenbosch grows only indigenous South African plants. The goal of this garden is promoting sustainable use, conservation, appreciation and enjoyment of the rich plant life of SA. Wendy and I hit the spectacular gift shop while Andre buys our tickets. He was too fast and we only got to look. Andre took us on a tour pointing out the plants trees, and medicinal plants. It is a glorious day and we are seeing a lot of the beauty of Cape Town.

After the gardens we visit the Groote Schuur Hospital. This hospital functions as a provider of patient care at the tertiary and higher levels, teaching and research. It was placed center stage when Professor Christiaan Barnard performed the first human heart transplant on the 3rd of December, 1967. We were able to tour the ER area with the shift supervisor and everyone was pleased to see the modern equipment. This is a large hospital with wide corridors, art work, and a friendly staff. One of the sad things to see is the number of HIV children seen in the AIDS clinic each day. After our hospital tour we go to the museum. We get to see the operating suite, equipment, etc. from the 1st transplant. There are a lot of new articles and pictures plus they have the actual hearts preserved. After the hospital we get to return to the hotel and explore, shop and rest before our dinner with a SA family tonight. We are a little anxious about this dinner because we have few details. Tonight everyone dresses up and George picks us up. We are surprised at how talkative George is when Andre is not around. He told us all about his family. We get George to bargain with some flower vendors on the street so we have a hostess gift. We arrive at a beautiful home and gardens (oh well, so they didn’t need flowers). The owners and our host are Nikki and William Booth. Nikki is a caterer who has cooked all over the world. She and her partner, who greets us at the door, use this house for weddings, anniversary parties, and large birthday bashes. William is a well known lawyer. During cocktails we explore the grounds and meet another SA couple who is joining us for dinner. We are treated to a delicious meal and lively conversation. My favorite was the home made ice cream and fruit we had for dessert although the appetizer was wonderful too. Around 10 pm we call George and take our leave. The night is beautiful and as we walk to the car we have our usual night time discussion of where is the Southern Cross. Tonight we all feel that we see it and almost agree on its location.

Up at 7 am today and it is much cooler. We have breakfast indoors and enjoy the view. We meet Andre and head away from Cape Town to the Afrikaans Taal Monument in Paarl. The Sculpture is interesting; it celebrates all the languages of SA. The view from the monument includes the mountains and the wine country. We are now entering the Franschhoeck Valley. Our first stop is the French Huguenots memorial and we enjoy walking in the gardens. Then it’s on to Fairview Estate Winery home of Goats Do Roam wines and other labels. We have a tasting although it is early for most of us. We try the SA Penotage but we are not impressed. It is very harsh on the palate. We travel on to the Constantia Estate where we see a beautiful example of Cape Dutch architecture. We stop for another tasting at the Graham-Beck Winery but Hugh and I explore the grounds after tasting a sparkling white.

It is now lunch time and we head to the Spier Estate in Stellenbosh for an out door lunch. It is good and restful. No one orders wine. After lunch we head to the Lanzerac Estate for another tasting. Carmen, Hugh, and I enjoy the hotel and beautiful grounds while the others taste. On our drive back through the heart of Stellenbosh, Andre gives us an hour to roam the streets and shops. This was a lovely way to work off lunch. Tonight we are on our own and Hugh and I continue our exploration of the waterfront and have a delicious meal at Morton’s on the Wharf.

Today 7 of us along with Andre head for the Cape peninsula. Andre takes us on a trip along Clifton Bay, Camp Bay, and Sandy Bay. The views are spectacular and the beaches are long and white. We arrive in Hout Bay where some of our group takes a seal tour. Hugh and I walk around the fishing wharf and look at the boats. This is a working harbor and very active. We also watch a military helicopter on a training mission doing water rescue. It is amazing how long this aircraft can hover. It is very pleasant here and we enjoy our time in the sun. The boaters return wet but full of enthusiasm. From Hout Bay we head on down the peninsula into the Table Mountain National Park. We stop at the Cape Point Ostrich Farm where we see the mating ritual of several ostrich couples. This farm is a breeding facility and quite busy. Ostrich are slaughtered for food at 18 months before their hormones make the meat tough. Only breeding pairs live longer. From the farm we drive to the Cape of Good Hope.

Andre shares the history on the drive and we are all on the lookout for eland and baboons. The Cape is not the southern most point of Africa, that is actually Cape Agulhas, which lies about 90 miles south-east. The scenery here is wild, rugged, scenic and generally unspoiled. We stop to look at some bondebok with the binoculars and then drive on to the point. At the park we are amazed at the number of baboons we see and how intrusive they are. They bother picnickers and get into cars searching for food. There are a lot with babies clinging to them. After pictures at the point and more at the Cape of Good Hope sign we take the funicular up to the lighthouse peak. We have a lovely lunch at the Lighthouse Restaurant. After lunch we climb up to the lighthouse and enjoy the spectacular view. We then have to walk to the parking lot down a winding steep path.

From the point we travel to Simon’s Town to the Boulder’s Penguin Colony. This is a land based colony of South African penguins (aka Jack-ass penguins). They are so cute and definitely sound like donkeys when they bray. We get to make lots of pictures and enjoy the antics of these adorable little penguins. We arrive back at the hotel by 6. Hugh and I head out for an early dinner at the wharf. We are in bed by 9:30 as we have to be out by 4am for a 6 am flight to Zimbabwe.

4:30 am Andre picks us up for our trip to the airport. We fly on the 6 am flight to Johannesburg and an hour later on to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. The airport at Vic Falls is small and we are met by Schippa and Sandrah. We get our luggage and arrive at the Victoria Falls Hotel in time for lunch but too early to check-in. We are all surprised at how expensive everything is but considering the economy in Zimbabwe we should have expected it. We can only pay in cash, dollars or rands, no credit cards. After lunch we get into our rooms and have time to explore this grand old hotel. This legendary hotel is situated overlooking the magnificent Victoria Falls, one of the seven Natural Wonders of the World. Opened in 1904, it has been the stopping point for royalty throughout the years. We then took a short walk to see the mighty Zambezi River below the falls in front of our hotel. As we walk to our room, our porter tells us that our room was the room for The Queen Mother and Princesses Margaret and Elizabeth (of course Elizabeth was only 17). Our room is nice and we have time to unpack and change before our 4pm cruise on the Zambezi River above the falls. Our captain is very friendly and he makes it clear that he will answer any questions that we have. We board the party boat and make ourselves at home on the upper deck. We are served red and white wine, coffee or tea, and peanuts. We keep our eyes on the river banks looking for wildlife. We see fish eagles and other birds right off but nothing larger. The river is very high and we go up in a small cove to see several hippos at play. It is fun to watch the twitching little ears on the giant animals. We also see two crocs on the river bank. This trip is very leisurely and the boat is allowed to drift quietly as the sun sets.

We head back to the hotel and freshen up before we go to dinner. We are going to dine at a Boma Restaurant. The atmosphere here is very loud and busy. There are African dancers and drummers. We are give large drums so that we can play along. Fred really gets into this. The food is buffet with all the strange meats that we have become used to. My favorite was the butternut squash soup and the bread. Éclairs for dessert were not bad either. At 9:30 we are ready to leave and get some sleep.

Today we are scheduled for a tour of Victoria Falls. We dress in drip dry clothes because we are sure we will get wet. The hotel even provides large umbrellas for the trip. We have a great breakfast and board the van. The mist can be seen all over town and as we get close we fill it in the air. We start our walk on a stone path at the edge of the falls. We are amazed at how little safety equipment there is along the edge. The falls are magnificent. Your can understand why it is called the smoke that thunders. The falls is 1708 meters wide, making it the largest curtain of water in the world. It drops between 90m and 107m. An average of 550,000 cubic meters of water plummets over the edge every minute. It is hard to imagine how loud and high they are. We are able to see all the different sides of the falls and we are truly soaked to the skin by the time we finish. The overall trip was 3 hours.

When we leave the falls we drive to see a 1500 year old Boab tree. We stand in the sun to dry as we marvel at this large old tree. Before returning to the hotel we stop at the crafts market to dicker with the stone carvers there. The people are persistent but very polite. Most of the stone carvings you see in Africa come from this region. Everyone buys and we all wonder about the weight in our overstuffed bags. Back at the hotel Hugh and I change into our swimsuits and head to the pool. We are served lunch at poolside and we spend the whole afternoon swimming, sunning and listening to our iPods. Around 5:30 we head to the room to shower and dress for dinner. Hugh and I are planning on having a romantic candlelight dinner in the grand dining room at the hotel, The Livingstone Room. This is an elegant restaurant that until recently required coat and tie for dinner, now just elegant casual. They do not serve until 7 so we taker a stroll around the property and watch the sunset over the Zambezi. We are seated for dinner at 7 and the ambiance is wonderful as is the food. We have a pianist and we sit for a long time enjoying wine and the atmosphere.

The day we have dreaded is finally here. We have to end our trip and make that long voyage home. We have a great breakfast and walk around the grounds until time to head to the airport. Our flight leaves at 12:30 and before long we are back in Johannesburg. We have several hours to wait for our next flight to JFK. We board and leave on time. After 19 hours we arrive in NYC and clear customs easily. Now to find Jet Blue and wait for our flight to Charlotte. We spend the time with David and Sandy, reading and walking. By the time we board our last flight we are all a little punchy. We arrive in Charlotte and behold all our luggage is also there. The hotel sends the shuttle and 2 hours later we are unloaded at home sweet home. /susan