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Two of our members recently travelled to South Africa for a holiday filled with safaris and many other adventures. Many different parts of South Africa were visited, including the world famous Kruger National Park.
Among other things I’ll be visiting Cape Town, Kruger National Park, the Drakensberg Mountains and Victoria Falls (on the Zambian side). I’m hoping to see some zebras, elephants and rhinos, as well as cheetahs and plenty of other cool cats!
Our members flew on Qantas over to South Africa. The daily flight from Sydney to Johannesburg flies during the daytime, and far enough south that a glimpse of the Antarctic ice sheets can often be had. Depending on the winds of the day, the flight doesn’t always fly far enough south. But on this occasion the winds were very much favourable and the flight flew as far as 65 degrees south – enough for a more than just a glimpse!
The cabin literally came to life, with just about all of the excited passengers taking to their feet to try and get a glimpse of the amazing scenery out the window. And those views were nothing short of spectacular!
Our members spent half a week in the south-western city of Cape Town, a large, vibrant city packed full of things to see and do. Two of the must-sees for tourists in Cape Town would have to be Table Mountain and Robben Island, where South African icon Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for 18 years – two thirds of his total time in prison. But there’s plenty more to see and do in the city, and the Cape of Good Hope is not far away either.
From there our members travelled along the famed “Garden Route” through to Port Elizabeth. One of the stops along the way was in Jeffreys Bay, which was full due to an international surfing competition that was taking place. This just so happens to be the same competition where Australian surfer Mick Fanning was competing when he was infamously approached by a shark, several days later.
Of course, if travelling to South Africa, doing a safari is a “must”! On this trip our members spent two nights in the famous Kruger National Park, plus some extra time in a private game reserve outside of Kruger. It sounds like there were plenty of animals to be spotted.
We spent a few hours on Wednesday afternoon driving around on the lookout for some interesting animals. And we weren’t disappointed! In that first afternoon we saw not one, but seven rhinos in the space of an hour!
By the end of the week, we’d seen all of the Big 5. We also saw many other animals including zebras, giraffes, elephants, hyenas, warthogs and impala. Lots and lots of impala.
The trip report contains many travel tips about Kruger National Park, and South Africa in general. So, it’s worth a read if you’re considering a trip there.
A visit to Livingstone was in order to finish off the trip. Very close to Livingstone is the world famous Victoria Falls, which lie on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. They are certainly a sight to be seen! Many visitors have an opinion on the best side for viewing, but it seems that on this trip, the Zimbabwean side was the preferred choice.
It would certainly seem that southern Africa has a lot to offer to adventure-seeking tourists! Find out for yourself HERE.
