Sunrise Safari and Arrival in Cape Town - South Africa (Part Three)

An early morning allowed us to see the sunrise and many animals waking for the day!

 This jackal approached our jeep and then backed up, jumped through the fence and walked on by!

 As we said goodbye to the park, the safaris, the animals, we were not sad as we were off to the next part of our adventure.

On the way back to Joburg, we stopped at this unbelievable canyon. Blyde River Canyon. We did not know we were stopping here and it was a nice surprise. According to Wikipedia, 'The Blyde River Canyon, officially the Motlatse Canyon is a significant natural feature of South Africa, located in Mpumalanga, and forming the northern part of the Drakensberg escarpment. Located in the Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve, it is 25 kilometres (16 mi) in length and is, on average, around 750 metres (2,461 ft) deep. The Blyderivierpoort Dam, when full, is at an altitude of 665 metres (2,182 ft). The canyon consists mostly of red sandstone. The highest point of the canyon, Mariepskop, is 1,944 metres (6,378 ft) above sea level, whilst its lowest point where the river leaves the canyon is slightly less than 561 metres (1,841 ft) above sea level. This means that by some measure the canyon is 1,383 metres (4,537 ft) deep.

While it is difficult to compare canyons world-wide, Blyde River Canyon is one of the largest canyons on Earth, and it may be the largest 'green canyon' due to its lush subtropical foliage. It has some of the deepest precipitous cliffs of any canyon on the planet.'

The vastness of this canyon, the green, the water, the rocks, allowed us time for climbing, running and reflection. 

 Arriving at the airport, we loaded the plane for our flight Cape Town. These smiles never get old!

Our hotel was very 'hip'. The Radisson Red, inspired by art, music and fashion, on the Waterfront was a drastic difference from our last accommodations. The boys were excited for their own bed equipped with their own TVs and headphone jacks!

 The view from our window. The mountain in the background is Table Mountain. More about this in the next post. 

We were exhausted and everyone slept (including Alden which was incredible!) until almost noon. We took the day to explore the water front area and then hopped on the Red Bus for a tour of the city. 

The water front area is full of art, designed by local artists and inspired by nature. 

 The Red Bus took us all around the city. Each of us had earbuds the plugged into the bus giving us a guided tour including so much history. Cape Town's history includes Portuguese, German, and Dutch influence. 

 While the eastern side of town lies on the bay, the western side lies on the Atlantic Ocean. According to the tour, many famous people visit and stay in this area due to the pristine beaches and views. Off the coast lies an island. Similar to Alcatraz, Robben Island was originally used as a place for exile and then became a prison and once held Nelson Mandela. Now, used as a touristic area it has a museum and acts as a wildlife conservation site. 

 Created for the 2010 World Cup, Green Point Stadium lies near the Atlantic ocean!

The story goes, according to the tour, that the wind is so powerful coming from the ocean and bounces off the buildings back onto the trees. 

After our tour we decided to check out the aquarium eager to learn about different types of marine animals. 

 After entertaining the boys, we headed to the waterfront area again and visited a local brewery. Next to the brewery was the Ferris wheel and a park. The boys played while mom and dad tried some local brews. 

 After sunset, we enjoyed the night time views, walked around, had some ice cream and headed to bed knowing we had an early morning!

Next up, Table Mountain, Cape Point, and Boulder Beach!

Kruger National Park Safari - South Africa (Part Two)

Day two of our safari had us waking early for a breakfast of poached eggs, sausage and beans and heading off to Kruger National Park, which was about a 45 minute drive.

Kruger National Park History website states:

The surface area of Kruger National Park is 7,580 miles² (19,633 km²).

• The park was first proclaimed in 1898 as the Sabie Game Reserve by the then president of the Transvaal Republic, Paul Kruger. He first proposed the need to protect the animals of the Lowveld in 1884, but his revolutionary vision took another 12 years to be realized when the area between the Sabie and Crocodile Rivers was set aside for restricted hunting.

• James Stevenson-Hamilton (born in 1867) was appointed the park’s first warden on 1 July 1902.

• On 31 May 1926 the National Parks Act was proclaimed and with it the merging of the Sabie and Shingwedzi Game Reserves into the Kruger National Park. 

• The first motorists entered the park in 1927 for a fee of one pound.

According to Wikipedia, Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers an area of 19,485 square kilometres (7,523 sq mi) in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in northeastern South Africa, and extends 360 kilometres (220 mi) from north to south and 65 kilometres (40 mi) from east to west. The administrative headquarters are in Skukuza. Areas of the park were first protected by the government of the South African Republic in 1898, and it became South Africa's first national park in 1926.

To the west and south of the Kruger National Park are the two South African provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga. In the north is Zimbabwe, and to the east is Mozambique. It is now part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, a peace park that links Kruger National Park with the Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe, and with the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique.

The park is part of the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere an area designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as an International Man and Biosphere Reserve (the "Biosphere").^[6]

The park has nine main gates allowing entrance to the different camps.

Our open-air vehicle had to drive on the highway to get to the entrance to the park. While we could see animals such as monkeys, zebras, and antelope, the fast pace and early morning made it very cold. We dove under the provided blankets, zipped up our jackets and snuggled!

Entering the park, at the pay station, we were able to see our first animals, baboons in the trees.  As I shared with my family, I felt these animals were haunting me. While my family finds it amusing, the animal of my nightmares were not a welcome sight!

The boys came prepared with their binoculars and were eager to see what the park would bring. 

At first, the animals were far from the road, quiet and doing their own thing. We did not mind the distance as the overall atmosphere and beauty of the place enveloped our senses. We began to see elephants, zebras, wildebeests, giraffes in abundance!

One way to locate an animal was to look for stopped vehicles. As we approached a stopped car, our guide pointed out a LION! It took a while to see it as the bush offered camouflage. Zooming in on the camera, it was easy to see a male lion, sleeping under a tree, legs in the air! Comfy as can be!

As we continued on our drive, our guide pointed out a tree full of vultures indicating a fresh kill that led us to an leopard's most recent meal hanging from a tree.  The leopard was hiding behind the tree and was not visible, but they said it would never stray away from the tree. 

 The antelope are referred to as "McDonald's" because there is one around every corner!

There were so many birds of all colors, shapes and sizes!

Inside of Kruger there are a few main, paved roads that stick to the middle of the park. Off of this there exists dirt paths, some well-worn and others a little rough, that you may take. Many of the people we passed, which were not many due to the size of the park, were there on their own and not with a safari driver. 

The animals do not see the roads, but just another pathway. They hear the vehicles, but when at a distance they check it out and move on with their lives. They are not comfortable in anyway - if you get close, they take off!

Our lunch stop was at a camp inside of Kruger. We had time to sit down and enjoy a decent meal while observing the animals around us. The boys were able to run off some energy and even explored some of the local bugs.

After lunch we continued on our drive and were impressed by the groups of animals that we saw!

The night ended with some extremely wind-blown hair and a dinner at the lodge. 

Our visitors at dinner were a little smaller but still intimidating!

A dung beetle, centipede, and frog. Each of these was over 3 inches long.  

Again, we crashed early and had to be up by 4:45 the next morning!

Safari Time - South Africa (Part one)

Traveling to their third continent and seeing their third ocean was another special moment in Zane and Alden's lives. Watching them experience it, learn from it, talk about it, and react to it are moments Greg and I will never forget. 

We had a direct flight (which we DID NOT MISS!) from Brazil to Johannesburg (Joburg as the locals call it). 

We waited patiently for our pick-up to arrive and then headed off for a six hour drive north to the Kruger National Park area. The drive was scenic through the mountains, past the grape fields and corn fields, waterfalls and into the bush. One of our stops was at a truck-stop restaurant with the view of some animals. This excited the boys (us as well) and prepped us for the rest of the drive!

When we arrived, we were greeted by a wonderful staff from the Viva Safaris. They showed us to our cute cabins and then we immediately loaded up for our sunset safari!

We loaded up into the open-air jeep with the other guests and headed off in search of our first animal spotting!

Connecting to our children's 'real life' they set goals for what they wanted to see based on what they currently knew about Africa from research they had done on their own during free time at school as well as Disney's The Lion King and The Lion Guard. Below is the list they provided and the check marks indicate what we did see over the course of our trip!

Kyan - Lion✔

Pumba - Warthog✔

Timone - Meerkat

Beshte - Hippo

Bunga - Honey Badger✔

Thurston - Zebra✔

Ono - Egret✔

Mtoto - Elephant✔

Fuli - Cheetah

Zazu - Hornbill✔

Rafiki - Madrill (monkey)✔

Janja - Hyena✔

Mzingo - Vulture✔

Reirei - Jackal✔

Makuu - Crocodile (sort of)

Shupavu - Skink✔

Bupu - Antelope✔

It did not take long before we saw our first wild animals. This reserve is owned by five families and is outside of Kruger National Park. However, they opened up their fences years ago to allow animals to wander freely between this land and Kruger National Park. Because of this amount of space, you never know what you are going to see! The fences are still up to help identify property boundaries between other properties and to keep animals out. Most of the fences are electric. The area was breathtaking, the animals beautiful. 

We continued to drive around until sunset, which was a sight to see!

After the sunset, we were driven to our dinner in the bush! Picnic tables with linens, candles and flowers greeted us when we arrived. We were surrounded by the sounds of nature, and some other guests including grasshoppers, praying mantis, and other critters! We got a huge kick out of the other ladies that were with us that were jumping around screaming as the grasshoppers landed near them. Of course, they were about the size of my palm, but it was still a grasshopper!

While we were eating a wonderful fire-cooked dinner of chicken, sausage, bean salad, Pap (African Polenta) and a dessert of peaches and cream, we has some visitors! 

A hyena...

 ...and a honey badger!

After dinner, we went driving for another hour or so searching for animals in the dark. Somehow, our guide spotted a chameleon in a tree and I was able to hold it! Difficult to see, but amazing experience!

It is a little overwhelming watching a wild animal come into the spotlight in the dark. They have a 'quiet' rule, meaning, don't overreact when you see them and say, "look!!". Very difficult for children to follow! 

Once home, we crashed. We knew we had an early morning the next day and were still adjusting to the time difference.

Next up - A day in Kruger National Park!