I’m a list girl. I feel like you either are, or you aren’t, and if you are, you will know immediately when asked the question.

Lists create organisation. Organisation creates calm. Calm creates happiness. Simple!

Checklists are certainly a handy part of preparation for travel for me. Apart from the obvious ‘to pack’ list, there are also the lists of ‘must do’s’ for each (highly researched) destination. Then there’s the list for the house sitters; the list of things to do before you leave; the list of handover notes for whoever is doing my role at work, and on this trip in particular the list of animals I wanted to see.

I assume you have heard of the ‘Big 5’?

In Africa, the big five game animals are the Lion, the Leopard, the Rhinoceros, the Elephant and the Buffalo. Contrary to popular belief, however, the term ‘Big 5’ is not a reference to their size but rather it is an old hunting term relating to how difficult and dangerous these animals were to hunt and shoot and was coined by big-game hunters to refer to the top five most difficult animals in Africa to hunt on foot. Now, thankfully, it is more widely used by game viewing tourists and safari tour operators to refer to the top list of five animals they want to see.

And so, I added the ‘Big 5’ to my list.

Please don’t think for a moment that I anticipated, or expected even to see every unique animal that lives in Africa on this trip. In no way was I going to be disappointed about what I didn’t see. To be honest, once I saw the Giraffe in Chobe National Park in Botswana, I would have been happy to see no other animals, such was my happiness and excitement that day. I was however, still on the lookout for the Big 5 animals and before we arrived in Kruger, I had already ticked off Elephant and Buffalo, plus as you may have seen in recent posts over the past few days, we had already seen at least a dozen other animals that I had not previously seen before in the wild.

As I mentioned yesterday, we did get up early on Sunday morning, in the hope of perhaps seeing a Lion, who is much more likely to be spotted around dawn, in the cool of the day. When it’s cool, the Lion are often on the move, seeking out their prey (e.g. Impala) to kill and then eat. Except when either extremely hungry or thirsty, a lion will spend most of the day sleeping or resting under the shade of a tree. Sounds like a good approach!

Our flight back to Johannesburg yesterday was not due to leave until late afternoon, so we figured one last trip into the park before driving to the airport was a good idea. Not because I was desperate to see anything more than we already had, but because I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be part of this special place one last time, even for just a few hours.

Tony and Nicola cooked us a delightful breakfast of eggs, bacon and pork sausage with toast in the morning before we bid fond farewells to each other and set off around 10am. Yet another pass through the Paul Kruger Gate and its formalities and payment, then we drove east the short distance across to Skukuza and turned right (south) to head the 65 or so kilometres to one of the southernmost exit gates, at Malelane. The maximum speed you can drive in the National Park is 50km/hr, and to be honest, you wouldn’t want to drive any faster for fear of missing something you might see along the way. Most of the time we drove at about 30km/hr, with Dave scouring the bush on the right-hand side of the car (and the road of course) and me with my eyes peeled to the left.

The drive took around three hours, and quite a few times in the first couple of hours Dave and I commented on how little we had seen. Yes, we saw more Elephant and of course we saw more of the plentiful Impala, but apart from the odd Kudu we saw very little. There weren’t even any Baboons at the rest camps!

About two thirds through the drive, we stopped for morning tea at a Rest Camp called Alsaai. Here we had a hot (very!) cup of tea and shared a toasted egg and bacon sandwich, served with chips. It wasn’t fabulous but filled us up as we sat and watched the naughty monkeys try to steel food from plates as people left. We then jumped in the car, realising we had better get a move on if we were going to get back to the airport in time for our flight.

Often, when driving through the park, you will come across a few vehicles pulled over on the side of the road (most often safari-style Hiluxes with raised seating). By following their passengers’ eyes, you can quickly work out what they are looking out. Sometimes you pull up alongside them to look also, other times you may just keep on going, especially if it’s something you have seen a few of.

About 10km before we reached Malelane Gate, we came across three safari vehicles pulled over and glanced quickly to see what they were watching. I wasn’t actually concentrating at this point, as we had just re-entered internet reception range and I was figuring out how to get from the gate to the airport.

I was half expecting them to be looking at Elephant or even Zebras, both of which we had seen since we left our morning tea spot. Secretly I was hoping it might be a Lion, or even better the antisocial and elusive Leopard, which is occasionally heard but rarely seen.

I honestly couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the large and super-rare Rhinoceros standing there looking at us! Window down, camera out, and he (she?) continued to just stand about 30 metres from the car. Wow, Wow, Wow.

Sadly, Rhinos are highly sought after by poachers, for their distinctive horn. Rhino numbers have decreased dramatically in Kruger National Park and according to recent statistics, the population in Kruger National Park has decreased by a staggering 60% in the last 10 years. Apparently, there are only around 3500 left in the park. A great deal of work is being done to prevent poaching, so hopefully those numbers start to improve soon.

I feel so privileged to have seen a Rhino in the wild, what a way to finish our time in Kruger!

And so, my ‘Big 5’ list looks like this:

• Rhinoceros🦏 ✅
• Elephant 🐘 ✅
• Buffalo 🐃 ✅
• Lion 🦁❌
• Leopard 🐆 ❌

Sometimes I do like to complete a list quickly, checking things off in succession and feeling the satisfaction of completion. In this instance, I am definitely not disappointed that the list is not yet complete – what better reason to come back to Africa! (Anyone else interested in combining a cricket/wildlife visit to Africa in September 2026?)

We are now back in Johannesburg and after a little shopping this morning I will head to the airport bound for Sydney and then onto Wagga. Dave is staying a couple of extra days with a mate and will travel back home on the weekend.

What a trip. What an adventure. What an experience. Africa is like nowhere else I have been and was truly a wonderful, wonderful place to visit.

It’s time to head back to reality… and to put in place a few things I’ve been considering over the last couple of weeks. More time for well-being being a big one. I’ve pretty much been sick this entire trip which has slowed me down. That is NOT going to happen again. Time to get healthy and be fit and well for our next adventure.

Until then, adios dear readers 🙂

Sara xx

Who hasn’t heard of Kruger National Park, the largest national park in Africa and the oldest in South Africa? The iconic wilderness region is situated in the north-eastern part of South Africa, covering around two million hectares, making it a little smaller than Belgium!

When well-known author, and friend of Dave’s, Tony Park visited Wagga in March this year, Dave and I went along to the Museum of The Riverina to hear his fabulously interesting book talk. Tony was visiting Wagga as part of his Australia-wide month-long book tour to promote his books which include 21 novels set in Africa and ten non-fiction biographies.

The morning following the book talk, we also had breakfast with Tony, and his lovely wife Nicola who divide their time between Sydney and southern Africa. We got to chat that morning a little bit about our (then planned) trip to Africa. They both got me pretty excited about the adventures that could lie ahead for us and especially about the African wildlife, which they both passionately support though their involvement in a number of philanthropic animal support organisations. They even invited us to stay with them!

And so, after saying goodbye to Will and Emma at Cape Town airport, we boarded our plane for Nelspruit Airport, which is about 500km north of Johannesburg and around 100km south of where Tony and Nicola live, close to the Paul Kruger Gate, one of 10 entrances into the Kruger National Park.

Given Will has been to 71 countries, you would think I would be used to saying goodbye to him, but as usual, it wasn’t easy! We had such fun travelling with him and Emma… they are fabulous travel companions – relaxed, fun, easy going and always willing to give things a go. As I mentioned before, if you get a chance to travel with your adult kids, I highly recommend it.

The flight to Nelspruit took a little more than two hours. This time we flew with Airlink, and similar to our experience with South African Airlines, we were very impressed with them. A simple, efficient and polite check-in, on time flight, no lost baggage – and even a reasonable chicken sandwich during the flight.

We’d had an early start on Friday morning as W+E’s flight left an hour before ours, at 8am. They flew to Johannesburg, where they enjoyed a four-hour private car tour of Joeys, driven around by the son of a longtime friend of Dave’s, before they flew out to London on Friday evening. Needless to say, I was pretty weary, especially after navigating and driving near to the airport to fill the car up after we dropped Will and Emma in the departures area… all before dawn, and in the rain! I think I slept for 90 per cent of the flight, but quickly woke up and got enthusiastic as we landed into Nelspruit (now known as Mbombela), then easily picked up our bags and the hire car (a lovely, very new Volkswagen Polo sedan), and began the drive towards Kruger Gate Hotel, where we had booked for the night.

The flight landed around lunchtime, and even though I had eaten the sandwich on the plane, we were not long into the drive and started searching for a lunch venue. The world-wide sign for hygienic, reasonably priced, toilet-provided, but not nutritionally sound, restaurant came into view as we entered the town of Hazyview.

Yep, you guessed it… the Golden Arches – McDonalds!

Should I be writing a McDonalds tour Blog – hmm perhaps not, but this is my third McDonalds visit in three weeks 😉 Who says poor Dave never gets to eat what he wants!

I enjoyed (??) my Big Mac (I reckon they put more special sauce on here then they do in Australia) and Dave his two hamburgers and a chocolate sundae. With a drink each, total cost around A$9. It might not be nutritionally sound, but at least it was cheap! Can I say the service was excellent, the facilities second to none, and their online and app ordering system worked more efficiently than in Australia.

By the time we reached the hotel, I was ready for a nap, but not before booking a post-dinner leg and head massage and enjoying a long soak in the large, deep bathtub. This hotel is reasonably fancy and definitely the most up-market accommodation during this trip. We often take the ‘feast and famine’ approach to choosing holiday accommodation, swinging widely between options that just meet our basic needs and the other end of the scale where we feel like royalty. This was more on the royalty end of the scale, with a bed turn down service and a lovely garden view. With both dinner and breakfast included, plus a morning game drive – it was actually quite reasonable value, though we opted out of the game drive – I just couldn’t face a 4am wake-up!

The promise of a buffet breakfast, however, did get me out of bed by 8am. Who doesn’t love a decent self-serve, full-spread breakfast, complete with both omelette and pancake/waffle station? As expected, I overdid it, and even needed a post-breakfast lie down 😉 before we packed up and checked out – then drove the short distance (2km) to the Paul Kruger Gate, one of 10 entrances into the National Park. Here entry formalities were required, with proof of identification, a detailed form completed, and 952 Rand paid (for two). It’s probably easier and cheaper to get into some countries, and again the rate was much cheaper for locals (200 Rand), but again I am supportive of this approach as it makes it affordable for tourists internal to South Africa.

We drove around the park for about two hours, before departing via one of the other ‘gates’ further south of where we had entered. Phabeni Gate, which was only about 10-minute drive from Hazyview.

What a fabulous couple of hours of safari-ing this was, with sightings of so many animals!

I kept a list as we drove and at times struggled to simultaneously wind my window down, take notes, take photos and contain my excitement, as we regularly spotted wildlife. In total on Saturday, we saw: Baboon; Monkey; Mongoose; Impala; Zebra; Elephant; Kudu; Crocodile; Giraffe; Wildebeest (Gnu); Tortoise and Egret. OMG!!!!

By the time we left the park it was about 2pm, so we ducked into Hazyview for a Wimpy lunch. I can’t quite think of anything comparable in Australia, but Wimpy is a down-market chain fast-food style restaurant often found in shopping centres and in road-side fuel stations. My ‘mixed grill’ was pretty average, but Dave enjoyed his ‘special’ of a hamburger and shake for 79 Rand ($A7) but was disappointed his 1987 Zimbabwean Wimpy Club membership card didn’t get him the 10 per cent discount it once did!

We then drove back towards Paul Kruger Gate to Tony and Nicola’s place and after a warm welcome and unloading our bags, Tony took us for a quick Land Rover ride down to a shared BBQ area overlooking the river. It was so lovely sitting by the water, enjoying a sundowner, and seeing a herd of elephants (complete with a tiny baby elephant) arrive right across the river from us was a big bonus!

Back to the house, and some neighbours of T+N arrived to join us for a delicious Braai (BBQ), cooked over an expertly tended open fire. Dinner included perfectly pink and tender fillet steak, (so delicious with Nicola’s creamy pepper sauce); a juicy and tasty lamb chop; and the obligatory South African specialty – a thick, flavoursome Boerewors sausage, grilled in its well-known spiral shape then cut up before serving.

Nicola had also prepared a couple of delicious salads, fresh crusty bread and some toppings for the foil-baked potatoes (butter, cheese, sour cream) which Tony had also cooked to perfection on the open fire. Not sure why he would want to, but I reckon if he ever gets sick of writing best-selling African thrillers, he would make a great chef 🧑‍🍳 🤣

Our little self-contained guest room came complete with a simple outdoor shower. Deciding whether to shower at night when I couldn’t see what creatures may be around, or during daylight when it was me giving others a fright, was quite a dilemma 🤣. I decided on the night-time option, then into bed!

Sunday

Tony recommended an early start for our best possible chance of lion sightings, suggesting we pass through the gate before 6:30am. A quick breakfast of tea, plus yoghurt with strawberries was prepared and eaten as quietly as possible so as not to wake the others on a Sunday morning! (Apologies to T+N if we failed!) We passed through the gate around 6:20am, completing forms and paying the daily fees again at the office, but this time it was slightly crowded, though still only took about 10 minutes to get our passes and have the car searched for firearms and be on our way in pursuit of more wildlife.

We were not disappointed, adding Hippos; Bushbuck and Buffalo plus Cassowary and Guinea Fowl to our alread extensive ‘Kruger sightings’ list from the previous day.

We travelled about 150km in a triangle, the first corner at Lower Sabi, about 60km east of Paul Kruger Gate, where we had a toastie and hot chocolate at Mugg and Bean, a chain coffee store that strangely has a venue at this remote ‘rest camp’ location. The next leg of our triangle took us north to Tshokwane rest camp where we again stopped, this time for toilets and drinks, then the final leg taking us back southeast to the Skukuza ‘camp’ which is only about 10km before the gate we entered. We stopped in Skukuzu for a look at a hotel that is converted from old train carriages sitting on a long rail bridge over the river… how cool!

We also had a late lunch in Skukuza camp – at another part of the disused railway line – with some restaurant tables even set up inside more old carriages and a well-preserved 1949 steam engine on display. (Dave = Waffles, Me = Pizza)

We arrived back at Tony and Nicola’s mid-afternoon in time for a quick rest then met up with their friends and enjoyed drinks and buffet dinner back at the Kruger Gate Hotel. Good food, lots of stories and laughter, and a really fabulous G+T (or two 😉 ) was the perfect way to spend our penultimate night in Africa!

Our last day in Cape Town was a sobering but great one.

We started the day by making our own simple breakfast in the apartment with groceries that we received the night before, delivered with our pizza dinner. Toast with butter; yoghurt, passionfruit and banana and a hot cup of tea were a pretty good start to the day, and it was good to feel a little normal having a regular breakfast! Of course, we love eating out all the time, but it does get a bit much on the tummy sometimes!

We caught an Uber to the waterfront, which only takes about five minutes driving but at A$4 for the four of us was well worth it! We arrived about an hour before our departure time on the ferry to Robben Island, so followed the wharf around a little and found a restaurant that served breakfast, although we just ordered coffees (hot chocolate for Dave).

I’m yet to have a bad coffee anywhere in Africa and actually this one possibly tops the lot, although it was a fraction on the too large size. Loved the little ginger biscuit on the side.

We then walked to the wharf (Nelson Mandela Gateway), collected our pre-purchased tickets and queued to get on the fairly sizable ferry to head on the half-hour journey across to the island. I was surprised the swell was quite large, but then it is the South Atlantic Ocean!

The trip included a bus and walking tour of the prison and other facilities on the island, and the part where we looked at the cells of the prison area that housed political prisoners until the late 80s was hosted by an ex-inmate who had been jailed here for seven years for terrorism activities in the 80s. We saw the cell where Nelson Mandela was housed for 18 of the 27 years he was imprisoned. ‘John’, who guided us around, told lots of stories of the time he spent here and spoke articulately of his both good and bad experiences and his forgiveness of, and now friendship with, the warders. After seeing and hearing a lot about this island lock-up in the news when I was a teenager, it was interesting and humbling to see the place in person.

The ferry trip back gave me just enough time for a nap to re-energise in readiness for a delicious lunch on the waterfront at a Turkish restaurant overlooking the bay. The Hummus dip was creamy and tasty, and the ‘mixed grill’ platter Dave and I shared was particularly flavoursome and delicious, though way more than even the two of us could eat. Will and Emma both had wraps – my favourite was Emma’s who choose a delightful falafel filling. (PS Thanks Emma and Will for letting me taste everything – appreciate you may have shared some of my germs!)

A quick look around the shops (Will and Emma clothes; Dave and I supermarket) then back to the apartment for a rest before heading to Camps Bay, again via Uber. Camps Bay is the Palm Beach of Cape Town, with super fancy houses, gorgeous wide golden-sand beaches, a hilly backdrop and lots of upmarket restaurants to choose from. We arrived just before nightfall, having booked at a Restaurant called Paranga, which is directly opposite the beach. It’s known for its fresh seafood, so I ordered Salmon Sashimi, followed by Grilled Langoustine and a side of buttered broccolini. Will and Dave enjoyed Angus Beef Burgers and Emma a chicken Salad. I was the only one who was a piggy and had two courses… both of which were fresh, flavoursome and delicious.

The 30-minute each-way Uber drive was about A$10, and I do wonder if it was worthwhile us hiring a car, though it certainly made the trip down to the Cape of Good Hope and the wine regions easy.

Time for bed, packing, and a slightly nervous broken night’s sleep; firstly, while I waited for the kids to get home (they were checking out the CT nightlife), then worrying I’d miss the alarm and our plane to Kruger 🤣

Good news, neither ended up being a cause for worry. Kids were home by 11pm (even after visiting Long Street known for its great pubs, but dangerous situations!) and we were all awake, up and at the airport well before our flights and with time to say fond farewells to the kids. But more on that tomorrow!

Cape Town is well-known for a few things, not least of all its wine.

Who could come here and not explore its most well-known wine region, around Stellenbosch, about 50km north-east of Cape Town?

Quite a few people had recommended the Hop-On Hop-off Wine Tram as a fun way to see the see the vineyards and so we booked four tickets earlier this week, choosing the 10:45am departure from Groot Drakenstein Terminal in the Franschhoek valley. (about A$25pp)

We had time for a quick stop off for breakfast – whilst not the best I’ve ever had, I think my eggs shakshuka was still a better option IMO then Dave’s scones or Will and Emma’s pepper beef pies!

I’m running out of time to go into all the detail, but needless to say we all enjoyed the day, hopping on and off trams and buses to experience a number of the region’s wineries. The highlight for me was a nibbles platter to accompany the seven-wine tasting at Babylonstoren wines, where everything on the plate was produced on the farm!

Thanks to Dave who was designated driver and got us back to the apartment safely, via a quick shop at a very large mall in Canal Walk.

Dinner… fabulous Uber Eats delivered wood-fired Diablo Pizza, Tagliatelle Ragu and Burrata with fresh tomato. Whoops, no pictures 😉

After seeing two of the seven wonders of nature across three days (Victoria Falls and Table Mountain), it was time to settle down to some serious foodie travel activities.

You may have read in my blog last week, that when we were in Mauritius 10 days ago, I was feeling unwell, but still managed a great food tour of the capital, Port Louis.

It’s something I try to do in any city I haven’t been to before, especially where that place has a reputation for food. Cape Town definitely has a fabulous reputation for its food!

So, number two food tour of the trip it is!

Cape Town has an interesting history which has seriously influenced its food culture. It is a melting pot of cultures and flavours, resulting in a diverse and exciting food scene. From the fresh seafood caught daily off the coast to the vibrant street food scene, Cape Town is the perfect destination, for a foodie like me.

A couple of months ago I spent some time researching the food tour options of Cape Town and decided on ‘Eat like a local’ which is a small company owned by Rupesh, who also leads most of the tours, as he did on ours. Will, Emma and I met up with him in a coffee shop not far from our accommodation, where he introduced himself and let us know a bit about how the five-hour, seven stop tour would run. We were the only three for today – so had his undivided attention. After introductions Rupesh got us each a coffee (again a great one – yet to have a bad coffee in Africa) plus a little glass jar called Isidudu, containing a soft, warm white maize meal porridge topped with candied walnuts and honey syrup, which he referred to as a ‘private school version’ of a dish traditionally eaten at breakfast across southern Africa. It was warm, sweet, but not too sweet, and not too filling, which was lucky because there were six more food stops to go!

Bo-Kaap was our next stop, one of Cape Town’s most distinct neighbourhoods, known for its vibrant, predominantly Muslim, Cape Malay community and its equally bold flat-roofed colourful houses and cobbled stone roads, all with the backdrop of Table Mountain.

Situated at the foot of Signal Hill, on the fringe of the city centre, and formerly known as the Malay Quarter, the Bo-Kaap’s origins date back to the 1760s when numerous “huurhuisjes” (rental houses) were built and leased to slaves brought here from other Dutch colonies in the east. Most of these groups spoke some Malay, hence this new community becoming known as the Cape Malays. Now the area is highly gentrified but does still reflect its origins and when we stopped at a spice market, we immediately enjoyed all the fabulous aromas and colours from the huge selection of spices, herbs, nuts and snacks. Rupesh bought a few snacks for us to try as we walked to our next stop at a little family-run restaurant, also known for its Cape Malay-style food. I particularly liked the thin pastry, on the crispy and spicy chicken samosas and the fritter (similar to an onion Bahji) was also great. The sweet and sticky koeksisters, rolled in coconut wasn’t so much to my tastes… way too sweet!

I won’t go into all the details but our walk over the next few hours included a visit to the oldest garden in Cape Town where we loved our Rooibos Fynbos tea tasting and lesson (and more food, including biltong and rusks); a chicken curry roti wrap at the inner city take-away, which was probably all of our favourite dish of the day; and the wine tasting at a roof-top bar, where the chef came and explained the wines and told us all about his upmarket VUE restaurant, was so fantastic. (I do love to chat to a chef!). We finished the tour with a delicious version of Chakalaka, a traditional South African vegetable relish, heady with spice, and served with various condiments including bread and yoghurt, all washed down with a ginger beer.

Dave kept himself busy during the morning, including second-hand book shopping and a visit to a shooting range. Sadly, he also visited a Burger King for lunch 😉

You would think we wouldn’t have been able to eat for the rest of the day, but amazingly we backed up for dinner, meeting up with the lovely Ray and Jacqui Cameron at a restaurant in the Waterfront area. The Victoria and Alfred Waterfront is a large, popular precinct housing lots of upmarket shops, plenty of restaurants and open-air entertainment spaces. A little like Darling Harbour (but better!). Ray’s parents were good friends of ours in Wagga, so it was lovely to catch up with them and learn a bit about their lives here in CT.

They gave us good advice and encouragement about our plans for the next day… going out to the nearby wine region around Stellenbosch and joining the ‘wine tram tour’. Cant wait!

PS1 = The view from our apartment, (including our bed) is amazing… but even the view from the shower is incredible. No wonder it takes me so long to get ready each day 😉

PS2 = Emma and I also snuck in a pedi-for-two during the afternoon 🙂

Waking up and looking out to a view of Table Mountain and Lions Head was an amazing way to start our few days in Cape Town!

Sunrise was just after 7am, and the light as it rose was simply stunning and it was hard to take my eyes off it and get out of bed! But an exciting day of exploration awaited, so I did get up then undertook a little online restaurant research, which indicated there were lots of good breakfast options nearby. We ended up only about 200m from the building we are staying in on Bree Street, quite close to the city centre, at a little restaurant called Villa 47. Eggs Benedict had two options including one that was carb-free, using grilled whole large mushrooms as the base, rather than English muffins or toast, which I chose, with smoked salmon. It was very good, with the hollandaise freshly made in-house and the poached eggs cooked perfectly. I quite like Eggs Benny, but do not like store-bought hollandaise, and freshly made can also be a bit risky given it includes raw eggs and is kept warm – the perfect conditions for bacteria! Thankfully this wasn’t a commercially made product and it was fresh so not only was the dish tasty – but there also weren’t any ill effects 😉 Dave was happy with his favourite, scrambled eggs on toast and both kids loved their avocado on toast with sides of tomato. The Australian phenomenon of smashed avocado has spread across the whole world!

To give you an idea of costs here – breakfast for four, with coffees was about A$40. (Thanks, Emma, for shouting).

Back to our accommodation, which is on the 23rd floor of a 35-story building at 16 Bree Street. The building has an open-air pool, gym and bar and a very comprehensive security set-up which includes facial recognition to enter the building by foot and fingerprint scanning to enter the car park. After breakfast, we successfully retrieved the car and navigated our way to Table Mountain, where we parked, caught a shuttle bus, then a cable car to the top of the mountain. Hugely impressive and imposing mountains surround the city. I had heard about them and seen them in pictures, but just had no idea how amazing they actually would be. The view from the top was unreal, looking in all directions over the city and the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

Wow! (hmm… more overuse of that word!)

Next, we returned to the car, and took the road down the coast towards Cape Point, the south-western tip of Africa. The drive took around two hours and included the most amazing views from roads that hugged the cliffs beside the coast. I’m glad Will offered to drive! (Did I tell you how much I loved travelling with these two!). We drove past Hout Bay, Fish Hoek and Smitswinkel before entering the National Park not far from the Cape of Good Hope.

Entry to the park was 400 Rand (A$35) but only 50 Rand for locals. Actually, I appreciate the price difference so that locals are encouraged to visit. Might as well hit the tourists who can likely afford it more! It was extremely windy at the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point (no wonder there has been hundreds of shipwrecks here over the years) but we got to see seals sitting on rocks right beside the Cape, ostriches with babies on the roadside, and the lighthouse which has protected ships from the rugged coastline for hundreds of years. The funicular ride up to the lighthouse was a nice bonus – the wind, and to be honest, the steep walkway and number of steps, might have stopped me going up, otherwise 😉

It was nearly 4pm, so with a one-hour drive back to CT city, it was time to head off. Will had researched the best place and time to see penguins near Simon’s Town, which is a famous area for spotting these adorable birds. Boulders Beach charges about A$20 to park and enter the beach area, but at the very next beach (Seaforth) there was no charge, and there were still lots of penguins for us to see. I know we have them in Australia, but I have never seen them before… they were so cute!

I also have a video – but can’t load it onto the blog so will post it on FB.

We diverted our drive back to the apartment for a quick drive-past of Newlands Cricket Ground. I want to come back here and watch an international game some time!

After arriving back at the apartment around 5:30pm, we had a quick rest and shower before walking to Bouchon Bistro, which I had booked a few weeks ago after reading some fabulous reviews. It was a wine bar/tapas bar, and we chose the 3-course tapas menu option, thoroughly enjoying the 12 different tastes we got to share. My favourite was the Gamberi (prawns, but honestly it was all terrific. I really like eating tapas style – no need for menu envy or getting sick of one big main dish. Other favourites were the Curried Mussels, the Hummus and even the side of buttered vegetables was super tasty!

We shared a couple of bottles of wine and were well ready for bed after our walk back to the apartment. Some areas of CT are not safe to walk around at night, but we felt quite safe in a group of four walking home.

What a fabulous first day in Cape Town. We are all keen to explore it some more over the next few days… starting with a food tour tomorrow. Yay!

Dave speaks Shona. He learnt it when he lived in Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia) in the late 70s/early 80s. Over the last few days, he has been refreshing his skills and I cannot tell you the number of times I have seen the look of surprise, followed by a large smile from local people here in Victoria Falls when he greets them, or asks a question in pretty fluent Shona.

Most people in the Victoria Falls area actually speak Ndebele, as they grew up as part of the Matabele people. But many locals here speak at least three languages, including English, which is taught in schools. So, when Dave said, ‘Mangwanani Shamwari,’ as he greeted someone in the morning (meaning ‘good morning, friend’), they definitely understood what he was saying and, assuming he spoke Shona proficiently, they often launched into a long discussion with him, speaking at full pace, to which he answered, ‘Ndino taura chiShona zvishoma,’ meaning ‘I speak Shona a little bit only’!

Dave has a couple of very good friends (shamwaris) from the time he lived here. When he and I met in 1988 I heard lots about his time living in Africa and especially a lot about his good friend Robbie who had been his best mate during his time here, with them both being part of the same Police recruit squad. Being mates while fighting for survival is a sure-fire way to end up mates for life, and that’s certainly what they are.

So having ‘heard’ about Robbie and his beautiful wife Liane, for over 35 years, I was pretty excited, and just a little bit nervous when it was time to meet them. Allan and Sharon Wilson, who Dave has also been friends with for 46 years, also came to Victoria Falls to see us.

The four of them flew in from Harare on Friday morning, with Brighton picking them up and dropping them to the Oasis lodge, which was only about 500m from where we were staying. He then came and collected us, and we all met in the lovely open-aired foyer of their lodge and, honestly, it was immediately as if I had known them as long as Dave had.

The next 48+ hours were fabulous, and something I will never forget. We ate every meal together, visited the Victoria Falls National Park together, rode on the Bamba tram together on an early morning sunrise trip and even went on another sunset cruise on the Zambezi with them – this time seeing even more animals than on our cruise earlier in the week.

OK, let’s start at the top.

FRIDAY

Will cooked breakfast for us (eggs, bacon, tomato on toast) and it was nice to have a slower start following our big day on safari the previous day. We had thought about walking to the lodge to meet the Merdjans and the Wilsons, but even by 10am the heat of the sun was getting quite intense. Each day we have had maximums around 32-33C, with overnight temps getting down to the mid-teens.

Dave has repeatedly told me to keep my food expectations low in Zimbabwe, but he could not have been more wrong. But low expectations, and high delivery is a good thing, and I particularly enjoyed my Carpaccio Caprice which was light seared beef with roasted cherry tomatoes and balsamic glaze. Dave loved his sadza, nyama (impala) and relish, which again he ate ‘traditionally’ with his hands. We shared some sweet potato wedges (white) and my ‘Devils Cataract Cocktail’ of whiskey, passionfruit, lime, mint and bitters helped wash my lunch down very nicely 🙂

The ‘oldies’ had a rest in the afternoon, while Will and Emma explored the town a little bit. Robbie had suggested sundowners at the lodge next to theirs, and when we met them and climbed the three flights of stairs to the top of the bar/deck that looked over the town, I was again being amazed by the sights!

Our sundowners arrived up the tower in a manual version of a ‘dumb waiter’ to save the bar staff having to walk up the many stairs. We stayed up on the deck until the sun set, and what a gorgeous sunset it was!

ALL CREDIT TO ROBBIE AND LIANE FOR MANY OF THESE PHOTOS 🙂

We then enjoyed another fabulous meal, this time at the Lodge where the others stayed. I had a super tasty pumpkin, spinach and feta lasagne which was served with a side-salad that had an amazing zesty coriander dressing. The cost was US$12, if you are interested.

SATURDAY

Sometimes early starts are worth it, other times (like going to work), not so much. I remember working the breakfast shift when we owned the restaurant, and that was never much fun!

When the alarm sounded at 4:45am, I was less than pleased, but did get myself up and organised in plenty of time for our 5:30am pickup. Today’s first adventure, booked for all eight of us a couple of months ago, was a sunrise trip on the Bamba tram.

We boarded the single carriage tram in the middle of town and then watched the sun rise as we travelled along the railway line until we stopped in the middle of the Victoria Falls Bridge, which actually sits in no-man’s land between Zimbabwe and Zambia. The bridge was built in 1904, crossing the Zambezi River just below the falls. It spans nearly 200m and sits around 130m above the river – making our mid-bridge end stop a perfect spot for us to take photos and enjoy the view!

After a short wander around on the Zambian side, and a delicious hot cup of coffee (including a tot of Amarula liqueur😋) we headed slowly back on the tram to our original boarding spot and then onto the others’ lodge for a great buffet breakfast along with eggs shakshuka and one of the best cappuccinos I have ever had! I know my expectations might have been low, but it was the perfect temperature, had thick dense froth, and not at all bitter, which is apparently the result of using excellent coffee beans grown right here in Zimbabwe.

There are a lot of adventure activities in Victoria Falls, including a giant swing, bungee jumping and a zip line across the river. I had no interest in any of them, but Robbie worked hard at convincing Will and Emma, and not long after breakfast we headed to town to buy tickets for them to zip line and then for all of us to spend some time in the Victoria Falls National Park. The park cost $50US for entry for foreign tourists and only US$7 for Zimbabweans. The park includes around 35 viewing points of the falls which were all very spectacular! As we moved along each viewing point (around 1km) the spray from the falls became heavier and we were all pretty damp by the time we finished. A little dampness was actually lovely under the warm sun, and we were dry again by the time we got to the Lookout Restaurant that sits looking over the deep gorge not far further downstream from the falls.

Turns out this was an ideal spot for my first cocktail of the day (Cosmo) which was nice and strong and helped ease my nerves as I watched Will and Emma get kitted up and loaded onto the zip line!

There was no queue, and it was extremely well organised which seems to be the norm here and again not what I was expecting. The kids both loved the fall and probably even more so the slow ride and view as they were pulled back up the line!

Unfortunately, I can’t seem to load the video, which I’m sure Emma’s mum Margo will be happy about 😉

A quick afternoon bath and nap, then we met the others mid-afternoon to go on another sunset cruise. This was the same company as the Wednesday cruise, but a different boat, and enjoying a few (!!!) cocktails while watching African wildlife and the sunset was thoroughly enjoyed by all eight of us, and included many laughs and story telling and we meandered along the beautiful Zambezi River.

A small restaurant right alongside the docking point was our dinner venue, and my soup, ostrich fillet with polenta and chocolate lava cake were all great.

We were back at our accommodation just after 8pm, and I was asleep before 9pm, exhausted but filled to the brim with memories that will last a lifetime.

What a day!

Sunday

Our flight to Cape Town via Johannesburg was due to leave at 2pm, allowing us enough time for a last meal and catch up with Robbie, Liane, Allan and Sharon at their lodge. This time we choose a continental buffet breakfast, and given I was feeling slightly yukky in the tummy, I stuck with simple fruit, yogurt and a croissant to start the day. Of course, I couldn’t pass up on another coffee which was every bit as good as yesterday’s! ☕️ When I complemented the young lady who made it, she beamed with pride… ‘I am very well trained and very good at it’ she exclaimed. Correct!

It was then time to say goodbye. I’m actually feeling emotional writing this down now, as even in a couple of days I had fallen in love with this amazing location and even more so with these beautiful individuals, now not just ‘forever’ shamwaris of Dave’s, but also of mine.

Even saying goodbye to Brighton was hard 🙂

We have just arrived in Cape Town to a very swish 2-bedroom Airbnb apartment near the centre of the city. Can’t wait to get exploring tomorrow!

By the end of Thursday, I definitely had all three!

I think I have managed on this holiday to severely overuse the word ‘wow’ and Thursday was one hell of a ‘wow’ day.

So far everything on this trip has gone exactly to time. Knowing that was the case, we were up and ready well before the pick-up time of 7:10am, all set and excited to head off on a full day safari in the Chobe National Park in north-eastern Botswana.

This is going to be a pretty quick post, due to being two days behind!

After our pick-up we drove an hour west to the Botswana border, where we again went through immigration formalities to ‘leave’ Zimbabwe, then ‘arrive’ a short 100m later into Botswana. Soon after we arrived in Kasane, where we transferred from our mini-bus to a waiting boat for a 3-hour tour of the Chobe River. There were six passengers (four of us plus a lovely young couple from Guam) and our always-smiling captain who then guided us around the river to explain the area and show us lots of animals. Again, there were many hippos, but alongside the river we also saw elephant, buffalo, crocodiles and lots of impala! We often just stopped the boat and drifted along in silence to see the animals in their natural environment. WOW!

Back to the Chobe Safari lodge where we had boarded the boat, for a surprisingly delicious buffet lunch, including steamed banana pudding, ice-cream and custard for dessert which Dave was most pleased about 😉

We then hopped into our traditional safari vehicle for the ‘land’ part of our safari, and we entered the Chobe National Park about 15 minutes later.

GUESS WHAT?

During this part of the day, I got to see not just one, but about 40 giraffes!!! OMG I was so excited. We also saw mongeese, zebras, more elephants (including such cute little ones frolicking in the mud), lots more impala, egrets, vultures and eagles.

Seeing a giraffe in the wild was my number one item to tick off on this list, so you can image my squeal of delight when I saw the first one! Our great guide taught us so much about each animal, how the pecking order worked, and we even learned that the gestational period for a giraffe is 15 months, and their babies weigh about 70kg born!

Again, this part of the trip was three hours long, and I was pretty exhausted, by the time we got back to Victorias Falls after 7pm, so Dave and the kids went and got take away for dinner and I had a long, hot bath!

Tomorrow’s blog will be longer – with all the details of meeting up with Dave’s friends, Robbie and Liane and Allan and Sharon.

Such a fun and WOW day!

Julie Andrews listed them off as Maria in the Sound of Music.

I’m sorry that this post has been a few days coming. Between very bad internet, being super busy and still not feeling great, it has been a challenge to get the laptop open and get writing.

On Tuesday morning Will and Emma arrived safely into Johannesburg from Hong Kong after a wet, but fun, couple of days there. We found them easily as they came through Immigration, then we moved to the departure area to check in for our flight to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

We had allowed four hours between their arrival and our departure given we weren’t confident how well things would run-to-time. Thankfully, we were proved wrong and had plenty of time for a typically airport-expensive breakfast after we passed though security and outwards Immigration.

Our seats were in the front part of Economy on the South African Airlines flight, and there were only about 30 or so people who got off the plane before us. We had been given immigration forms to complete before we landed, which were checked (glanced at) no less than four times before we even reached the Immigration area!

When we did get to Immigration there were four lines – we joined the line for those countries that need a visa but don’t need to get it before you arrive. Even the countries within that list have different amounts to pay, ours being $50 US per person for a multi-entry visa, which we needed as we planned to visit both Zambia and Botswana while we were here.

Our queue, at this stage, had about half a dozen people in it. Each transaction for payment of the visa, handwriting the visa document then sticking it in the passport, writing the receipt and then hand-transferring the information onto another document and took at least 5 minutes per person. After the wait for ours to be completed I glanced back, and the queues were as far as the eye could see! I think some IT equipment and training could be helpful here!

The lovely Brighton, our driver while we’re in Victoria Falls, was waiting to pick us up and drive us to the Airbnb I had booked. It’s a simple 2-bedroom apartment, but has a full kitchen and laundry, a bathroom with a big deep bath and a small outside garden area. Unfortunately, only the main bedroom and downstairs living area has aircon, so Will and Emma’s room was pretty hot. My sympathy for them soon turned into lived experience when the power went off! The lights and power points use solar, but the other main items (aircon, fridge, washing machine) use town power that needs to be regularly paid for, and even then, only works for certain hours each day.

After check-in we visited the local shop for a few supplies and then went into town for dinner at the lovely Cassia Restaurant, which is part of the iconic Ilala Lodge, very close to the falls. We shared some Crocodile Fritters with lemon Aioli to start (surprisingly delicious) then Dave had oxtail with sadza (boiled thick cornmeal) eating it in the ‘traditional manner’ (with his hands); Emma enjoyed a lovely creamy chicken breast; Will, Beef Bourguignon with polenta and I had a tender and very tasty Springbok shank with mash. We then headed back to the accommodation for what then turned into a very hot and restless night!

Our first adventure in Zimbabwe, and so far, the favourite thing I have done this trip, was a helicopter flight over the falls. Oh wow. What an amazing experience! This was my first ever helicopter ride and what a place to do it! We had 20 minutes flying over the spectacular falls, where the spray rises up to about 400m as the water tumbles at a rate of about 300 cubic metres per second. Thats a lot of water!

Brighton then took us to the border crossing which is right next to the falls. He handed us over to another driver (Mr Sau) who then helped us through passport control out of Zimbabwe and then into Zambia. Livingstone is about 12km from the border, and is Zambia’s 4th largest city, with about 180,000 people. Mr Sau drove us around the town for a look and then onto a restaurant for lunch. We saw some impala and elephant along the way and even saw some zebra when we stopped for a delightful Pimm’s Cup cocktail at an upmarket lodge beside the Zambezi River.

Last stop in Zambia was the Livingstone combined Railway and Jewish Museum, which coincidentally Dave had visited on the exact same date last year. Dave had promised Debora, the museum guide, to come back with his family, and true to his word, here we were! She was very excited!

Our day finished with the perfect evening, a sunset dinner cruise on the Zambezi River. A spectacular ruby red sunset, lots of hippo sightings, and the most delicious meal in Africa so far. What a wonderful, wonderful way to finish our first full day in Victoria Falls…

Have any of you ever travelled with your adult children? The woman from Dubai we met on the food tour in Mauritius told us that travelling with her children is the best thing she could possibly think of, and I totally agree. Last year Victoria and I visited New York together which was fabulous and this trip with Will and Emma is shaping up to be one of the best experiences I have ever had. If I had to choose my very favourite thing to do in thew whole world it would be to travel with my kids (and partners). How lucky am I that I get to do just that!

Quick Poll on: FAVOURITE COUNTRY TO VISIT

Dave: Ukraine (!!!!)

Will: United States

Emma: I’ll wait till I’ve been to more before I decide (she’s up to 68!)

Me: Spain. 2025 Maybe?

Last pic for the day… my VERY favourite son 🙂

Our last day in Mauritius started slowly and deliciously again, with breakfast back at the large table under the gorgeous frangipane tree, overlooking the bay. Today’s spread included little individual mushroom frittatas, freshly sliced ruby red ripe tomatoes, toast, bananas, apricot yoghurt and a super large and delicious passionfruit, cut in two! Of course, a pot of tea was hot and waiting, as was the tropical juice which, in the interest of improving my health through Vitamin C intake, I drank two of!

The guesthouse, and the town of Albion, faces west across the Indian ocean.  It has taken me the whole three days to ‘get my bearings’, possibly longer than usual due to sickness brain fog or maybe it’s just a brain getting older!

As a Sydney kid, my brain wants the ocean to be on the east coast, and for the sun to rise over any houses lucky enough to look over that water.

Mauritius has an east and west coast rivalry in the same way Sydney has for North and South of the Harbour Bridge. Each region thinks theirs is superior, and in the case of Mauritius they compete for the hard for the tourism dollar. The West Coast claims to be drier and less windy, the East Coast warmer and more beautiful. Now I’m not one for weighing in on an argument, but it did seem proper that we should at least see the east coast while we were here!

And so, close to the check-out time of 10am, we packed the car, farewelled our lovely hosts and their particularly lovely old golden lab, and headed east.

The roads were better than I expected.

Not to say they were all good, but we had read that they generally were in poor condition, and while some of them were pretty poor, many, including the larger highways were as good, if not better, than many in Australia.

The drivers on the other hand, well, were ahem… shall I use the word ‘average’? As the rain stated to come down heavily within 15 minutes of us leaving the guest house, I assumed the drivers would slow down and take a little more care. But alas, not so!

Overtaking without knowing what was coming the other way seems very common practice. I did try to take a few videos to share with you (from the passenger seat) but each time I was filming I ended up turning my head the other way at the last minute, because I couldn’t watch – and so I missed the action on the camera! On the plus side, no one drives too fast on the smaller roads. It is VERY common for cars just to pull up, or even park, on roads that can barely fit two cars passing each other, let alone have room for someone to park. Horn use is surprisingly rare, and I guess that’s where Mauritian islanders and Pacific (e.g. Fiji) islanders may have something in common. What I think all people who have been to Fiji love is the slow pace of life and the ‘don’t stress, be happy’ approach the locals take to all they do. Perhaps there is a little of that here too? In the vast majority of cases, we have found the locals here to be polite, friendly and unhurried, but not quite in that same ‘Fiji time’ and never-ending smile way that the Pacific Island nations do!

On the highways, some drivers do drive quite quickly. The issue we observed was that while some do, some don’t, and those dawdling cars, plus underpowered motorbikes, are often nearly knocked over as faster cars and buses whizz by in an attempt to overtake slow vehicles! Sometimes they just casually merge into the next lane, and nearly push motorbikes and cycles into the sugarcane crop, which comes right up to the side of the road in many spots. 

The town of Mahebourg is quite close to Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (no surprises that the signage just calls it SSR Airport!). We refuelled the hire car not long before we took the turn into Mahebourg where we were hoping to find an old railway station which had long since been abandoned. Dave likes to photograph abandoned railway sites so had researched this spot. By now the heavy rain was easing, although the muddy roads and a town centre packed with people visiting the weekly markets made finding a park a little tricky. We did manage to find a spot, and remarkably found the rail site within about 200 metres! Pictures taken… what better to do next on Market Day, but to visit the markets! Mostly there was just a very large number of stalls selling all things useless, but there was also a good fresh food market that in a similar way to the one we saw in Port Louis, had an incredibly diverse selection of fruit and vegetables. Prices were good (estimate 50% of what we would pay in Australia) and again everything was fresh, colourful and nicely presented.  

The search for a previously researched restaurant and a Naval Museum that allegedly housed an old Coast Guard patrol boat failed, and we ended up in a shopping mall to grab a bit to eat in time to get the hire car back and check-in on time for our 4:30pm flight back to Johannesburg.  

It’s a 4.5 hour flight, but with the time change we should land into Joburg around 7pm. We are staying at the same airport hotel we stayed in a few days ago – this time I might actually get to visit the Irish Bar for a bevvie before bed. I am glad to report that while I’m a long way off 100%, I am feeling up to a drink. Little Vodka and Tomato Juice perhaps? Bloody Marys just feel like holidays to me 😊

Tomorrow morning Will and Emma arrive from Hong Kong and we fly to Victoria Falls. Excited? You betcha!