a trip of a lifetime (guest post, tim and karen, part 2)

Continuing from Part 1 of our guest post, we left you mid-way through our hike from Cape of Good Hope to Cape Point (#4 on the Top 10 list):

The cliffs of Cape Point – 800 feet straight down. About halfway down the cliff, far in the distance, is the “new” lighthouse. It was built after they found the “old” lighthouse was covered in fog much of the time. Oops!

Back at sea level.

  

#3: Chapman's Peak Drive

Not far from Constantia is Chapman’s Peak Drive, a stunning highway route with a rugged mountain backdrop on one side and ocean waters that range in color from turquoise to deep dark blue on the other.

We took this drive on our first day, following our walk in the Groot Constantia vineyard. What a welcome to South Africa!

Tucked into the hills is the pretty beach town of Hout Bay.

Look closely to see a parade of fishing boats returning with the day's catch.

A closer view of the beach at Hout Bay.

#2: Safari Animals

During our stay at Naledi Bush Camp we took 3-4 hour game drives every morning (leaving at 5:30 a.m.), and every afternoon (leaving at 4:30 p.m.). The animals on the drives were amazing, with numerous up close experiences with safari animals. We were literally just a few feet away from elephants, giraffes, zebras, rhinos, hippos, a lioness and her cubs, and a leopard.

The elephants were the star of the show – at least in terms of numbers. We saw elephants every day – sometimes just one or two, other times, large groups. Here’s a group getting a drink at a water hole.

Sniffing us out.

  

One evening we watched four young adult male play in the water of a reservoir. They took turns jumping on each other’s back, trying to dunk each other. It was funny to see a completely submerged elephant stick its trunk out of the water like a snorkel to get a breath!

Here is a close view of a wildebeest.

Giraffes were quite common. We could see them almost every day from the camp’s second floor lunch table. One day, returning to camp from a morning game drive, we drove through a herd of seven!

We were treated to two separate sightings of black rhinos. Reported in 2004 that only 2,400 black rhinos were left in the world, they are under a constant threat of poaching due to the extremely high value of their horns, up to $500,000 per animal.

One of the trip’s best experiences was getting close to a female lion and her two cubs – on two separate nights; almost too close, when she roared to communicate with the rest of her pride on the other side of the river.

We spent hours looking for, and finally, we found a leopard! Even though we were only about 20 feet away, he was almost invisible when he laid low in the grass. Unless his ears twitched or he moved his head you would never see him.

#1: Spending time with Jennifer & Jim

By far, the best part of being in South Africa was being able to share the experience with Jennifer and Jim. We would have been happy to spend two weeks in South Dakota, rather than South Africa, just for the chance to spend time with them, but it was extra special to see where they live and how they spend their days. We got to see where Jennifer works, Jim’s classroom and school, and even got to play ‘Trivia Night’ with their friends at the Woodcutters Arms, a British pub in Hout Bay.

We took a hike into the mountain along Chapman's Peak drive. It was quite windy along the mountain's ridge.

Lunch at a restaurant overlooking Camps Bay. If Jim looks extra happy, it’s because he just finished teaching about an hour earlier and is looking forward to his Fall break.

Jennifer and Karen, taking a break from wine tasting at Buitenverwachting, one of Jennifer and Jim's favorite wineries in Constantia.

A beautiful evening at Llandudno Beach - a great spot for sundowners (a South African term for a drink at sunset).

Hiking above Franschoek.

Coffee break during a morning game drive.