Belfast

 

Hi y'a (common greeting from people in Belfast).  We arrived in Belfast in the middle of the afternoon after over 24 hours of travelling.  We had ridden on 2 busses, flown on 3 airplanes and experienced a very long layover in Johannesburg to get here from Victoria Falls.  Wandering into our new hotel room was a relief.  We had a couple of things we needed to accomplish that evening:  unpack, start washing clothes and find some food (no food service at the hotel).  Oh, and one other important thing:  chill and relax after our busy couple of weeks in South Africa.  We did get the first load of laundry done and then went out for food.  We were aiming for a nearby Marks and Spencer (a department store with good grocery store we first used in England) to pick up something to heat up in our little kitchenette.  Oops we got turned around and showed up right after they closed.  Along the way we went past a restaurant that smelled good and I suddenly was hungry.  We ate there, right?  Wrong. We had not yet showered and felt grubby so ashamed to say we got takeout from the nearby McDonalds with a promise to eat better tomorrow.

Victoria Falls

 Victoria Falls is a town and one of the 7 natural wonders of the world and a UNESCO World Heritage site.  It is not the widest nor the deepest waterfall rather it is the combination of width and depth/height of the falls that makes it so special.  We would spend 2 nights in a lovely truly old hotel where you could hear the falls and see the mist from them.  Our rooms were in the former stables building, but still quite quaint and old.  For example, our bathroom had a true clawfoot tub in it.  This hotel is on the Zimbabwean side of the falls so a new country for us.  We wandered around the hotel some, it is truly an old Victorian era British hotel.  As we wandered the hallways, we saw pictures from when the Royal family visited, lots of old travel posters pushing South Africa and relics and skulls.  We would have tea on the terrace the next afternoon.  There were also gorgeous murals around the bar named after Dr Livingstone the European founder of Victoria Falls. Then it was time for our Zambezi River cruise.  

Joburg aka “The City of Gold” aka Johannesburg

Just like its many names, Johannesburg has many different faces.  

South Africa Safari - Sabi Sabi Bush Lodge

Murray drove us to Sabi Sabi.  It was almost like another bush drive as we drove on single track dirt roads with animals in sight, including these zebras.

South Africa Safari - Lion Sands, Kruger National Park

We spent 4 nights in the bush of South Africa.  The first 2 nights we stayed inside of Kruger National Park at Lion Sands and the second 2 nights in Sabi Sabi at the Bush Lodge.  Both are quite nice, but Lion Sands was better for the room and maybe Sabi Sabi wins the view.   Between the 2 lodges we saw all 5 of the big 5 and many other animals and learned a lot about the bush and how its natives survive.  (Lion, Leopard, Rhinoceros, Elephant, Water Buffalo)

Cape Peninsula

 

Today our tour group is exploring the Cape Peninsula.  Not a safari, but we did find wildlife, a bit of history and scenic beauty.

Cape Town, South Africa

Next stop on our South Africa adventure - Cape Town also known as the Mother City.