South Africa

The closest we will ever get to a lion!

South Africa is one of those places we always wanted to venture to and never really thought we would. Initially looking at doing a trip to South Africa was overwhelming and sticker shock nearly had us shutting down the idea altogether. Luckily after chatting with some friends from South Africa they were so gracious to help us plan an alternative that let us still see the things we wanted without breaking the bank!

I knew that South Africa was obviously South but I didn't realize how far until we planned our airfare and it was a 11 hour flight! It was also weird to think of their seasons being opposite of the US (May, June, July is their winter) my brain is not that globally smart. We arrived to a welcome from our friends that live there, they helped us set up our phones and gave Gus a crash course on driving on the left side of the road then we were off. We decided to stay at a game reserve for our first night to get the experience and enjoy a sunrise safari. We choose Kwa Maratine in Plainsberg National Park near Sun City, it was one of the few we found that would accommodate a four year old. The resort it self was a little older and the rooms were average but the views were beautiful. Our dinner companion was a giant elephant grazing some grass just a few feet from the balcony.

We woke bright and early the next morning for our safari, we headed out during dark and got to see a beautiful sunrise then a 4 hour safari. When I was planning I was bummed I couldn't find an all day safari but after four hours we were glad it was over. We saw some nice animals but as luck would have it really didn't see that much.

beautiful sunrise over Plainsberg National Park during our safari

View from the lookout point, we spotted some Hippos in the lake below

Trey was counting the Big 5, 1 down!

We didn't have our camera the night we saw the elephant right outside but we came upon these guys at the end of our safari 

 Next we headed to Leeuport where we rented a loft from our friend's parents. We really lucked out on this option, the loft had everything we needed along with great hospitality and company along with A-mazing South African food. Plus the location was great with multiple parks within an hour drive. That evening we headed out for a drive through the reserve that's part of the park and enjoyed some gorgeous views.

The next day we headed to Marakele National Park for a private game drive. We were 4 adults and 4 kids (including a small baby) so we were enough to fill our own jeep. We arrived around 8am and started our drive not really knowing what to expect because it was a warmer day. Sydney, our guide, told us earlier some lions were spotted so we headed to that spot hoping to catch a glimpse of them, they were still there and we caught a lot more then a glimpse! At first he was driving on the dirt road and we couldn't see them, I figured that we would maybe try later but no, he drives into the grass and around the lake. We got close enough to the lions that we could see his chipped front tooth. I leaned behind me to our friends and asked if this was normal to be this close in an open jeep and they said no they've never been this close. Then our guide slowly reaches down and picks up his big gun and puts in on the dash! It was a once in a lifetime experience that I probably won't be repeating anytime soon. Our fun wasn't over though, next we headed through the grass in search of an elephant over many bumps and trees, I was certain we were going to get stuck. Thankfully after not finding the elephant he retreated back to the main road. Since it was pretty warm out at this point and most the animals were resting out of sight he asked if we wanted to go up the mountain. It was a beautiful drive albeit sometimes scary and a gorgeous view at the top! We even got to try some local berries right off the trees. Our most treacherous and memorable safari of our entire trip!

4, 3, and 2 year old enjoying our private game drive at Marakele National Park

Sydney and his giant gun watching over us as we take some photos 

We were about 2 meters from this lion at one point, scary!

Emmitte's at the top of Marakele National Park 

Klipspringer, small African antelope that lives in pairs rather than herds 

Waterberg Mountains within Marakele National Park 

Sydney grabbing us some berries, he said it's his favorite snack when he goes up here

 Our gracious friends offered to watch Maddy so Trey and I could enjoy an afternoon together and thanks to them we got a wonderful date day at the spa! We went to Zebula which is near the Mabalingwe National Park and enjoyed an afternoon couples massage followed by some relaxing in the peaceful spa area. We walked around the resort and enjoyed their animal encounters and exhibits. After lunch we headed back to Maddy and enjoyed a wonderful evening visiting with our friends and eating some delicious south african dishes. Our final day in Leeuport came too soon and we took full advantage and enjoyed a lazy day with our hosts. The girls swam and right before dinner get a surprise visit at the gate by some zebras. We took some bread out to them and got to feed and pet them, it was amazing. Maddy got bit because she was holding the bread wrong and was done after that but she still admitted later she liked zebras even if they bite. That evening we took a drive through the nature reserve in search of giraffes because we hadn't seen any yet. We found a family of them eating and lounging and got to get up close and personal with them! What a great visit and wonderful company we had.

Up close and personal with our zebra friends!

pre-bit when Maddy was still interested in feeding them 

Giraffe family in the reserve, we even got to get out and follow them a bit and see these graceful animals run 

petting a wild zebra a new one for all of us!

Maddy and her two friends we visited, they had a blast swimming and playing!

beautiful girls and beautiful scenery 

The next morning we headed to Johannesberg with a couple stops along the way. First we visited the Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve. Here Maddy got to pet a tiger and we had lunch with some giraffes on a rooftop deck. They also have a predator park and a nice park for driving around and doing your own safari. We had a blast visiting and wish we would have planned more time to enjoy everything it had to offer. Next we headed to the Cradle of Humankind sites, this was my nerdy/cultural experience for this trip. We visited the Sterkfontein Caves where we got to crawl around inside the cave and see where some of the oldest humanoid fossils were found. Then we visited Maropeng which is more of a fun conceptual hands on museum that has some fossils. We explored here for over two hours including a random boat ride in an indoor river and we were the last ones out the door after they turned off all the lights! That evening we met our friends for dinner at a casino that has a bunch of restaurants and a nice waterside dining. We enjoyed a wonderful meal and I got to try ostrich for the first time, delicious. I also get to check off Pinatoge, a South African wine, off my must-try list, it was a dry red wine with a strong taste, not really for me but not bad. Maddy was beyond exhausted and started screaming during dinner that her ear hurt. Thanks to a local pharmacy that let me use their otoscope and gave me some meds for her we got to skip an unnecessary trip to the ER and all got to rest sooner.

although we saw the leopard in captivity it still counted on our Big 5 search

the elusive Buffalo rounding out the Big 5 search 

look at those smiles! 

Maddy thinks this photo is hilarious, she said 'look he has a beard!' 

My brave girl wasn't too sure about petting the tiger by herself

This greedy giraffe didn't share, it was obvious he was the boss

We bid farewell to our friends the next morning and flew to Capetown for our last few days in South Africa. Because we only had 3 full days in Capetown plus our arrival day we decided to try and maximize our time by using tours and visiting other places either early or late. This isn't how we typically explore because Maddy needs a slower pace but figured it would work for a couple days. Our plans was to checkin to our apartment then head to table mountain to enjoy the late afternoon views before it closed. Of course, our plan didn't go as we hoped but we did finish the evening with a meal from the local grocery store and a new apartment in the same building that didn't smell like mold. Overall it wasn't the day I planned but we still counted it as a win by the evening.

Early the next morning we headed out on a full day cape peninsula tour with Cape Convoy. It was a wonderful day of exploring and fun. We visited the Cape of Good Hope, Boulders Beach, Cape Point and multiple coastal towns. Maddy got to see the warm weather penguins we had been talking about before our visit and I got to geek out on being at the Southern tip of Africa. Something for everyone! That evening we headed to the V&A Waterfront to explore and have dinner. Our guide gave us the name of a local kid friendly restaurant, Spur's, that had a playroom and good food, perfect for our family. While Maddy played Trey and I enjoyed a nice dinner together and got to reflect on our day. We walked around the waterfront that evening and got to enjoy the ferris wheel (twice because maddy asked), funny street shows and play grounds. We took a taxi versus walking at night and we were all ready for bed.

View of Cape Town from the Rhodes Memorial, a surprise stop on our tour 

coastal visit with the iconic brightly colored changing rooms

Maddy's enjoying a fun break during our touring 

it was interesting to hear stories of how many ships would get lost and wrecked trying to round the Cape 

Practicing her surfing skills, she's a natural just add water 

long stairway up to Cape Point lighthouse, gorgeous windy views at the top

A couple at Boulders beach, maddy said they were like her and Blake, her bff

lounging on the beach on a sunny day 

Maddy was having a blast! 

It was amazing to watch them swim 

Chapman's Peak Drive

When I did research on Cape Town everyone suggests doing the wine routes, since we didn't have a car I decided we would just find a wine tour, easier said then done when you are bringing along a four year old. Thankfully we found Wine Flies and they allowed Maddy to come with, they were more laid back and less snobby about the wine too which was nice. We toured 5 vineyards and sampled 25 wines, it's a LOT of wine. And we even skipped the 4th vineyard because we were feeling a bit overwhelmed by the wine and let Maddy play. Looking back a full day is probably too long if all you are doing is sampling wine, it's not for the weak for sure! Although at one of the vineyards we saw a bike wine tour, they go to 4 vineyards, drunk and peddling sounds awful, by the end we were very thankful to have a driver! That night we decided to stay in and attempt to cook ostrich for ourselves, it turned out okay seeing that we were both still kinda tipsy from a day of wine drinking! We all crashed early and had a peaceful wine-assisted sleep.

start of our wine tour, maddy's not too sure 

one of the venues for wine tasting 

About half way through our tour, we aren't enjoying ourselves one bit, as you can see ;-P

My favorite winery: Fairview Wine Estate did a wonderful cheese and wine pairing and was beautiful 

After a local lunch we got to sample wine right out of the barrel 

Our final day in Capetown we headed to Robbin Island first thing in the morning. This was a must see for me and all of us really enjoyed it. First you ride a ferry 30 min to the island, then you take a bus around the island and finally you tour the prison with a former prisoner as your guide. The whole tour takes about an hour and a half and you have just enough time to catch your ferry back, I wish we would have had a bit more time to explore on our own but it was a nice morning. That afternoon to make up for dragging Trey on an all day wine tour I arranged for us to have an afternoon beer tour. I wasn't really looking forward to it since I'm not a beer drinker but I was pleasantly surprised by the history and knowledge our guide had. We visited four breweries with Super Cool Beer Tour and I tried all the beer, I still don't like beer but I'm glad we got to explore some more local neighborhoods and visit new places on our final afternoon.

tip of Robbin Island, Cape Town in the distance 

View of the prison that held primarily political prisoners 

one of the common rooms in the prison were prisoners slept 

Private cell on Nelson Mandela during his time on Robben Island 

one of the stops on our beer tour with food pairings, I figured out if I'm forced to drink a beer i should drink a light one 

We flew back to Saudi the next morning from Capetown and we were sad to go. South Africa was a magical place and not like an other place we have visited. Hopefully we have the chance to make our way back one day!