South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia (2004) - shoshtrvls

Day 3 (continued)

shoshtrvls — Wed, 25 Aug 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Then it was on to Cape Point, where we climbed to the lighthouse and took our time at the tide pools. We also saw our first monkey of the trip.

Day 3 (continued)

shoshtrvls — Wed, 25 Aug 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Next it was on to The Boulders for penguin viewing and lunch.

Day 10

shoshtrvls — Wed, 01 Sep 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Best. Day. Ever.

First, Penn took us to his village. It was amazing. We learned more about Zululand, and South Africa, in one morning than the entire rest of the trip. We stopped at the local school, where the kids gathered to perform for us; we visited Penn's family and his home (a one room hut) and had a great experience.

Then, to top it off, on the way back we finally, finally got up close and personal with the elephants. Indeed, almost too personal, as they charged our jeep several times. We were even able to see a baby nursing. Amazing way to end our stay here.

Day 9

shoshtrvls — Tue, 31 Aug 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Today we went to Hluhluwe game reserve ... and it was fantastic. Not only did we see the usual suspects, but also water buffalo, crocs, monkeys and ... finally ... lions. Lots of lions, lazing in trees and lounging near a water hole.

Man, we thought we'd go the whole trip without seeing a single cat. All hail to Penn, who has eagle eyes.

Day 8

shoshtrvls — Mon, 30 Aug 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Nyala, giraffe, zebras, warthogs and elephants far in the distance.

Day 7

shoshtrvls — Sun, 29 Aug 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Rhinos, hippos, monkeys and lots of birds and warthogs. A game walk in the afternoon.

Also, shopping -- I bought a huge beautiful basket and a few other things.

Day 6

shoshtrvls — Sat, 28 Aug 2004 00:00:00 GMT

We settled into a regular pace, two game drives a day, lots of lazing around in between. A bit too relaxing for me.

Today's drives involved rhinos, giraffes, zebras, and monkeys.

Day 11 (cont.)

shoshtrvls — Thu, 02 Sep 2004 00:00:00 GMT

We arrived in Johannesburg and checked into the only thing that made this city worthwhile, the Westcliff hotel. We had dinner at Moyo, an African "theme" restaurant that would have done Steven Starr proud.

Day 15

shoshtrvls — Mon, 06 Sep 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Our last day in South Africa, we took a tour of Soweto.

Day 14 (cont.)

shoshtrvls — Sun, 05 Sep 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Johannesburg is not the greatest city in the world, but returning to our hotel, the Westcliff, made it a lot more bearable.

Day 14

shoshtrvls — Sun, 05 Sep 2004 00:00:00 GMT

I was up with the sun, and did what I had come to do ... I bungi jumped off the Zambezi Bridge. First jump of the day and it was a great way to end the trip.

Then it was time to start the long journey home, flying first back to Johannesburg.

Day 13

shoshtrvls — Sat, 04 Sep 2004 00:00:00 GMT

This was our adventure stay. We started by visiting the falls, and then it was off to the Zambezi River, where we partook in various death-defying stunts, like the zip line and the gorge jump.

In the afternoon, we did an elephant safari -- not very interesting, but Ellery enjoyed being with the elephants.

Day 12

shoshtrvls — Fri, 03 Sep 2004 00:00:00 GMT

This was pretty much a travel day, leaving Johannesburg and heading up to Victoria Falls.

Day 11

shoshtrvls — Thu, 02 Sep 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Our last day at Zulu Nyala.

A quick morning tour nabbed up some final shots and viewings of the hippos and rhinos, including the baby. Then it was time to say good-bye to Penn and begin the trip to Johannesburg.

Day 5

shoshtrvls — Fri, 27 Aug 2004 00:00:00 GMT

We flew from Capetown to, I believe, Durban, and were picked up and taken on a very long drive to our game reserve, Zulu Nyala. Not fancy, but very comfortable and homey.

Our guide for the week was Penn, a true Zulu native, and the only such guide at the reserve. We couldn't have been luckier.

Coming into the reserve, and on our first game drives, we caught sight of Nyala, warthogs, Zebras, giraffes and various antelope.

Day 4 (continued)

shoshtrvls — Thu, 26 Aug 2004 00:00:00 GMT

We then headed for Stellenbosch, where we rode horses at Spier and tasted wines at several vineyards.

Day 4

shoshtrvls — Thu, 26 Aug 2004 00:00:00 GMT

We started this day with a visit to Kristenbosch Gardens before heading north of the city.

Day 3

shoshtrvls — Wed, 25 Aug 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Today was a total tour day.

We started by walking around the shopping area in the Harbor at Cape Town, and took the cablecars to the Top of Table Mountain for a nice view of the city and Lion's Head.

Days 1 - 2

shoshtrvls — Tue, 24 Aug 2004 00:00:00 GMT

We left Philadelphia on August 23 and arrived in Cape Town on the 24th.

We started our trip by walking in and around the shops in Capetown and then took a cable car up to the top of Table Mountain.