In February of this year I was looking at going to Africa with a tour group, Gate 1. I decided on the trip I wanted to do and told myself that we would book it when it went on sale. Two weeks later, it went on sale so we booked it. I was really excited to be able to do some of my bucket list items. I let Lars’ sister, Emelie, know she should book it as well and she did! It was a trip we were all excited about.
Day 1: We left for New York City today and since Lars and I have never been before, we got in early to explore the city. We did so much for only having a few hours there. We went to Central Park, ate a hot dog on the stairs of the MET, Times Square, ate pizza, and visited World Trade Center Memorial. It was a fun day.
After visiting New York it was time for our flight. We flew into Cape Town so it was a 15 hour flight. The longest flight we’ve had before this one was 12 hours. The flight was good but I did start to get antsy around the 12 hour mark. I couldn’t wait to get there!
Day 2: Today, in the evening, we arrived in Cape Town. We picked up our luggage, met our tour guide, Adel, and checked into our hotel. We were tired so we grabbed a few drinks from the hotel bar and met one of our new favorite bartenders and then went to bed. We already knew the next day would be busy but we were excited that we had arrived!
Day 3: We got up early and met our tour group before heading out to Table Mountain. We weren’t sure we’d get a good view but it was perfect when we got there. Afterwards we toured the city a bit and then went to V&A waterfront, which is famous for shopping and food. We were supposed to go to Robben Island but it got cancelled due to weather so we had lunch and then did some leisurely shopping.
Day 4: Another busy and fun day! We went to the Cape of Good Hope and stopped at several viewpoints along the way and got some great pics. While we were at the cape, we took the tram to the top of the mountain where we got to watch some whales play in the water. Next stop, after lunch, was Boulders beach. This was the part of our vacation that Lars was most excited about and he said the penguins did not disappoint. This beach is famous for having African penguins on it. They were so cute! We loved seeing them all over the beach. After the beach we went to a botanical garden and walked around enjoying the trees, flowers and the back of table mountain. We ended the night by going out to eat on the beach while enjoying the sunset.
Day 5: Well today was such a unique day! We drove 2.5 hours to our shark cage dive. We got on the boat and... It was rough. I was even wearing my motion sickness patch and I still got sick! Thankfully, Lars and Emelie didn’t get sick. I was able to get in the cage but then I threw up. Which made the sharks like us a bit more although Emelie, who was next to me, didn't like me as much (totally fair). But we saw so so many sharks! It was crazy how close we got to them! I was glad we were in a cage so I felt safe. I was also glad to get back on land where I immediately started to feel better. I napped on the way back and then we went out to dinner. We went to a 14 course African Taste Safari dinner and there was a drumming show at the beginning. The food was really good and the show was fun! It was a great end to a rocky day.
Day 6: We had our first safari game drive today! So we left Cape Town very, very early this morning. We had to be on the bus at 4 am so we got up at like 3:20 am. We got on our flight to Johannesburg and then we took a 2 hour bus ride to our safari lodge. We had some problems with check in because our rooms weren’t ready on time but once we got settled in, it was time for our game drive. We saw antelope, warthogs, rhinos, zebras, cheetahs and a lion! The rhino was my favorite because it got so close to us that it butted her head on our vehicle a little bit. After that we went back to our lodge and Lars rested while I went to dinner. We went to bed early since we were tired from our early morning.
Day 7: Today we did two more game drives. We saw elephants, more types of antelope, two different species of warthogs, zebras, buffalo, hippos, a baby crocodile, baboons, giraffes, and I think that’s everything. It was a good day, we saw so much! In between our game drives Lars and I got massages and they were great! We had plenty of time to relax today too so that was nice. Overall it was a great day!
Day 8: So this morning we had our last safari with our guide, Ben. He was awesome. I couldn’t believe how close we got to the lions! We were following the two male lions when we lost them for a minute but then Ben found them again and they were right in front of us! It was really cool to be so close to them. After the game drive we drove back to Johannesburg and then did a mini city tour of Johannesburg and Soweto, a nearby city. We dropped a few people off at the airport, the ones who didn’t sign up for Victoria falls, and checked into our hotel. We ate dinner at the hotel with some of our new friends and our tour guide, Adel.
Day 9: Today we flew to Victoria falls. Once we got in we had a few hours to relax and then we went to a Boma dinner and drumming. While there we had the 'opportunity' to try worms and Emelie and Lars both tried them. They said they were chewy but not bad. The ambiance at the dinner was amazing but the food wasn't great. We still had a great time though.
Day 10: Today. Was. Epic. Honestly it was my favorite day and that's saying a lot! We did devil's pool first thing this morning and it was exhilarating!! We had so much fun and it was my favorite part of the whole trip. I thought I would be so scared but once the guides made sure we were safe, it was an incredible experience. When they asked who wanted to go twice I was the first one to raise my hand. I loved it! Next up was a helicopter ride over the falls and that was so cool to see how big it was from the air. We finished with that early so we were able to have a leisurely lunch. Then we had our Victoria falls walking tour. We walked along the Zimbabwean side of the falls and took lots of pics. After that, we had a sunset safari cruise. I couldn’t believe how cool this was! We saw hippos up close and elephants too! Plus being on the Zambezi river at sunset was incredible. This was the part of the tour that Lars was most surprised that he loved. He had expected it to be good, of course, but the sunset cruise exceeded his expectations. It was really great. Once we got back from our last tour of the day, we had a goodbye drink with our gate 1 tour group. Afterwards we went out with some of our friends to dinner at this nearby restaurant. We started our day at 6:15 am and didn’t come back until 9 pm. It was a loooooong day but it was so much fun! We all had a great time.
Day 11: Last day. We did the Victoria falls walking tour with our tour group, which was fun to point out to them where Devil’s pool was and a few other points along the way. Then we went back to our hotel, packed up, and got ready to leave. We hung out at the bar until it was time for our flight. We had a 1.5 hour flight to Johannesburg and then a 16 hour flight back to Newark after that. We did not want to head back as we all had such a great time. Honestly, this was probably one of my favorite trips we’ve ever done. We did so much, met some great people/new friends, and had so much fun. I would definitely, highly recommend South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Zambia!
