South Africa Update

I’ve only been in South Africa for a few days, but it seems as if I’ve been here a week. I’ve already taken hundreds of photo and I’m sure I’ll be taking 100’s more before I leave.

So far, in just the few days I’ve been here I went on a safari, got to take part in the helicopter darting and capture of some sable antelopes, visited the world’s biggest hole, went rafting down the Orange river, went on an ATV excursion and visited the 2nd biggest waterfall in Africa: Augrabies Falls. Needless to say, my days have been busy. (Today, one of the guys on the tour broke his arm in an ATV accident. That has been the downer for the trip so far.)

Tomorrow we fly from Uppington to Cape Town. There I’ll be exploring the city, visiting Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned and doing a cage dive with Great White Sharks. After that we take the Blue Train to Johannesburg and see some elephants before leaving.

I’ve already have begun mentally planning a return trip to the region to see more of the country and also explore Lesotho, Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland, and Zambia. Ideally, I’d like to do it by car.

I know several of you in South Africa have contacted me regarding meeting up in either Cape Town or Johannesburg. I don’t know how much time I’ll have in either city. I’m being kept pretty busy, but I’ll try to repsond when I get time. I would certainly like to do at least one meet up while I’m here.

Expect some photos and articles to start appearing on the site about a week after I land back in the USA.

My trip to South Africa was sponsored by South Africa Tourism

15 thoughts on “South Africa Update”

  1. That is such a wonderful and remarkable trip… Traveling is an opportunity for everybody to explore the beauty of the world and to appreciate better life for having the gift of nature. For me, it is the best way to relax and reward myself for all the good works.

  2. Wow. That is such an amazing trip… Traveling is a perfect opportunity to explore the beauty of the world and to appreciate better life for having the gift of nature. For me, it is the best way to relax and reward myself for all the good works.

  3. South Africa is definitely one of my favorite countries- I spent three weeks there and easily could have doubled or tripled that time!

    Regarding the ATV thing, the one time I went was on the sand dunes in Namibia and someone who was riding in front of me wasn’t following the instructor closely. Right on cue after she got warned about not doing that she hit an unseen bump in the dunes and flew head over heels and eventually rolled with the ATV so it landed on top of her. Possibly the scariest thing I’ve ever seen in my life in front of my eyes, though miraculously she was alright.

    Moral of the story for me was a reminder that Africa is awesome but you really need to keep an eye on YOUR safety!

  4. The part about mentally planning your return sounded familiar. I just read a friend’s post about Ecuador and realized that even though we lived there for two months, we missed so much. Sounds like your post here is helping others plan their returns to South Africa as well. We haven’t been yet, but are meeting lots of South Africans here in new Zealand who are offering us lots of helpful tips.

    Thanks for some suggestions as well!

    Warmest,

    Jonathan
    http://www.CarrieAndJonathan.com

  5. South Africa is one of my favorite countries visited to date…I was bummed I couldn’t make it on this trip when they invited me, as the itinerary sounds AWESOME! Can’t wait to read all your adventures there.

  6. Hi Gary,
    Glad you are enjoying SA and are visiting our Mother City – Cape Town. Looking forward to the pics next week.

    Have a save trip back to the US.

    Keep moving…WesternCapeOnline

  7. Seems like you’ve done a lot in the last few days. I really enjoyed the Blue Train ride from Pretoria to Pilanesberg and I’m sure you’ll love it. It’s a bit sobering to see the shanty towns from the other side of the window…If you meet Isaac, one of the servers on the Blue Train, please say hello for me. He was one of the happiest, most hospitable people we encountered on our trip.

  8. We honeymooned in South Africa and did it all: Safari, Shark Diving, Wine Tour, World Cup, Cape Town, Robben Island, Cape of Good Hope… and we loved it. Absolutely loved it!

    I did, however, live in Tanzania for a semester and that is still my favorite part of Africa. It is friendlier, prettier and authentic.

  9. Loved my time in South Africa. Wrote much about it, and still have stories to post. And you will love that Blue Train. Wow. What a great experience. (I took it the reverse route – Preotira to CapeTown)

    looking forward to reading more about your experiences…

    stay adventurous, Craig

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