Note: This is part 2 of our 3 part trip to Africa (Cape Town, Kruger National Park, and Victoria Falls). See other posts for detail of the Cape Town and Victoria Falls segments.
After some research, we chose Kruger National Park in South Africa for our family safari trip. We worked with a travel agent in South Africa to select the Lion Sands Narina Lodge which is along the Sabie River. It was WONDERFUL. We stayed for three nights but would have happily stayed longer.
We flew into the small Skukuza Airport, which is definitely the coolest airport I have ever been to.
Skukuza Airport
Our guide for our stay met us at the airport and drove us the short distance to the lodge. He would be our driver for all of our game drives.
When we got to the lodge we were welcomed with food and drinks, which we would soon find out would be plentiful during our stay. We ate so much. And we got to try some unusual game, like warthog and kudu (both of which we also saw on game drives).
Our welcome lunch. Yep, the teens found the WiFi.
Our trip was in Africa’s winter (summer in the U.S.), which is dry season in Kruger. This means the river is low, and the animals spend a lot of time close to the river because water is scarce (and we had no problems with mosquitos). The lack of foliage at this time of year can make it easier to spot the animals. The Narina Lodge is right on the Sabie River, so we saw animals at the river, both from the main lodge and also from our rooms (and bathrooms). Our friend saw a leopard from her outdoor shower on two different days!
Our room – there was a welcome message written in flowers on the bed.All of the rooms had decks with plunge pools overlooking the river. This is where we spent time in the afternoon between game drives.The bathroom also overlooked the river. You could watch wildlife while showering.
There were a lot of monkeys around and you had to remember to make sure all doors and windows were locked so they wouldn’t go into your room. Apparently they can open doors!
monkey selfie
There were two game drives every day, one in the morning and the second in the late afternoon/early evening. This is when the wildlife is most active. Ismael, our guide, drove the vehicle and Collin, our tracker, sat in the jump seat to track the animals.
Our guide Ismael
We always made a stop during the drive for some snacks and refreshments.
Getting ready to pour some “sundowners”The sunsets were spectacular.
Many people hope to see the “Big Five” while on safari; lion, elephant, leopard, rhinoceros, and Cape buffalo. We saw all of the Big Five and so many other animals too.
The Big 5:
The lions had just had a kill so we kept our distance (if you look closely you can see the blood on the face and sides of the lioness). But with most of the other animals we were shocked with how close we got to them. It was so exhilarating to see them up close in their natural habitat.
Here are some photos that I think give you a feel for how close we were to the animals:
This was rare for us to be out of the vehicle but we did get a few opportunities when the Guide and Tracker felt it was safe.
The lions weren’t the only animals we saw who had just had a kill. We also came across a pack of hyenas with blood on their faces and necks.
Giraffes are a favorite of mine, so while they may not be in the Big 5, I loved seeing them.
I had never seen a hippo out of the water before. Apparently hippos are very aggressive and one of the most dangerous animals in Africa.
Hippo by the river
On one of our evening drives our guide had us stay in the jeep while he went to check out a spot he knows. After deciding it was safe, he had us follow him down to the river where a large group of hippos were submerged.
When you look closer you find out many of the “rocks” were hippos – with all eyes on us. I would guess there were at least 20 in the pool.
Zebra were also on my list of “hope to see” so I was happy when we found a herd of them on one of our drives.
One morning after our game drive Ismael took us on a bush walk. He showed us scat and tracks along the way, and explained what he looks for and what clues animals leave behind.
This safari was a such an amazing experience for all of us. We weren’t ready to leave when it was over, and would have loved to stay longer (or to have followed it with a lodge in another area). It is a bucket list trip that I highly recommend to anyone, especially animal lovers.
Planning note: We did take anti-malarial pills for visiting Kruger Park, but none of us got bitten at all (and mosquitos love me). I’m assuming visiting during dry season helps with the mosquitos. The doctor also had us take prescription and OTC medications for stomach issues but none of us needed it.
Note: I am breaking our AMAZING trip to Africa into 3 posts, one for each leg of the trip: Cape Town, Kruger National Park, and Victoria Falls. This is the first post.
I’ve had a hard time starting this blog post because I really want to do this trip justice. It was truly a trip of a lifetime, a wonderful experience for every member of my family. First a comment on traveling with teens – I LOVE it. Yes, we like to share new experiences and cultures with our children. But what stands out to me most at this age (currently 16 and 13) is that we get to enjoy them without all the distractions of home. We are at a point in their lives where it has gotten harder to find quality time together. Busy lives of today’s teens don’t always allow for a lot of free time. When they do have it, they want to spend it with their friends, on their phones, in their rooms, or on the computer. And I know it won’t be long before they go off and start their own lives separate from us. So we savor the moments of laughter and conversation that we have with our kids when we are lucky enough to travel with them – knowing that they were much less likely to happen at home when everyone is going different directions.
It also added to the joy of the trip that we traveled with another family, close friends who also have two teenagers. I think we all might be just a little better behaved when we’re with people who don’t live with us every day, who aren’t as intimately familiar with our individual flaws and idiosyncrasies. You have more people you love to turn to with a grin plastered on your face and say “Can you believe we’re here?? This is amazing!”. You know if something goes wrong, you have good friends to keep you company and commiserate with. And adding other teens for mine to interact with prompted some interesting group dinner conversations.
We started our trip to Africa in Cape Town, which is a wonderful city to visit as a family. It is beautiful, full of a variety of things to do and see, really something for all interests. We experienced stunning scenery, a variety of wildlife, culture, history, and great food and wine. And the exchange rate between the US dollar and the Rand is so generous right now that everything felt like a steal.
We had been advised to head to Table Mountain as soon as we had good weather because the Cableway is weather dependent. I pre-booked tickets online before our arrival, which are valid for a 7 day period. It was a nice sunny day when we arrived in Cape Town, so after checking into our hotel we headed to the lower cable station.
Cable car approaching the upper station with Lion’s Head mountain in the background
Once at the top there are magnificent views of the city and beyond. It was a great way to get a visual overview of the layout of the city and surrounding areas.
Cape Town city bowllooking Northlooking South towards the Cape of Good Hope
Is this how you pictured Africa? Not me – I wasn’t expecting so much green and mountains. Such a gorgeous part of the world. We were glad we visited Table Mountain the day we did because there was wind (and a little rain) later in our visit and the tram was closed intermittently.
The next morning we set off on a cultural day tour to learn about apartheid and its impact on South Africa. The first stop was the District Six Museum which is in the former inner-city residential area where non-whites were forced out during apartheid.
plaque outside the museum
The museum includes pictures and other artifacts to give you a feel for what the community was like before apartheid and how residents’ lives were impacted.
The map on the floor of the museum showing what District Six was like before it was bulldozed.
After visiting the museum and getting an understanding of how people were forced from their homes, we visited some of the townships, where people were moved. I was surprised to learn that a majority of Cape Town residents still live in these primitive living conditions.
township outside of Cape Town
At one of the townships we visited we went on a guided walking tour and saw inside some of the homes. When we were choosing our activities before leaving home for the trip, my 16 year-old wasn’t thrilled about the idea of visiting a township because he didn’t want people to feel like they were animals in a zoo for people to come and ogle out. While it was an informative and eye-opening visit, there were uncomfortable moments where we felt exactly like that. But the people in the townships were very welcoming and friendly, and the visits provide some revenue to the residents.
Part of our township tour included a visit to a pre-school.
The children were darling and sang songs for us, and a couple of the kids danced.
After visiting the townships we returned to the city and caught the ferry to Robben Island, the former prison where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned along with other political prisoners. When we arrived on Robben Island, the tour started with a bus ride around the island.
Robben Island
Then you go on a walking tour in and around the cell block where Mandela lived, with tours led by former Robben Island prisoners.
Our tour guide, a former prisoner, standing outside the cell that was Nelson Mandela’s
Nelson Mandela’s cell
This was a powerful and thought-provoking day for all of us.
The following day we went for a complete change of pace. South Africa is one of the top places in the world to see great white sharks, so we ventured out on a shark cage diving trip! Most companies go out of Gansbaii, but we were there at a time of year when you can also go from False Bay, which is much closer to Cape Town. The boat heads out to Seal Island, home to 60,000 seals, which attracts the sharks.
Seal Island
The crew lures sharks to the boat using a fake seal as bait. We put on wetsuits and climbed into the cage on the side of the boat.
In the cage
When a shark approaches everyone dives under the water to get an underwater view of the shark. This was much less scary than I expected it to be. I was envisioning the shark attacking the cage but they would actually gracefully glide by.
A shark approaches!
Some of our friends chose not to go in the cage but still got a great surface view of the sharks from the deck of the boat.
surface view of one of the sharks we saw
All of us thought this was an awesome experience, whether we dove in the cage or not.
The following day we went on another day tour, this time to the Cape of Good Hope, the most south-western point of the African continent. No, it apparently is not the most southern point, as many people believe. On the drive down the cape we stopped in a few scenic coastal towns and an ostrich farm (where we fed the ostriches – their beaks are strong!).
We hiked up to the lighthouse at the Cape of Good Hope for amazing views in every direction.
distances from the Cape of Good Hope
We then hiked from the lighthouse down to Cape Point.
looking west from the cliffs above Cape Point
It was very windy at Cape Point and our guide said sometimes it is so windy that they have a hard time getting the car door open.
sign at the Cape of Good Hope
One of the last stops of our day was Boulders Beach to see the African Penguins. They were so cute!
Boulders Beach
Phew – we’ve packed a lot of amazing stuff into a few fabulous days. Our final day in Cape Town we stayed in town and explored the City Bowl area. We started with the Castle of Good Hope, a 17th century fort that is the oldest building in South Africa. The military museum there is supposed to be very interesting but unfortunately it was closed during our visit due to Castle renovations.
Castle of Good Hope, with Table Mountain in the background
The Castle Guard performs a key ceremony twice a day which depicts the unlocking of the Castle. This is followed by the firing of the signal cannon.
Key ceremony
We got to fire the cannon!
After the Castle we headed to the Company’s Garden, the large park and garden in central Cape Town.
views of Table Mountain from Company’s Garden
It is a large park with many attractions, including a rose garden, Japanese garden, fish pond, and aviary. Rather than a large open space there were many small areas to explore. We enjoyed the chess set that we came across.
chess set in Company’s Garden
We did some shopping and had lunch nearby, and then the teenagers decided they were ready for a relaxing afternoon. We had covered a lot of ground in the last few days. So the kids headed back to the hotel while the adults did more shopping and wandering. We checked out the Bo-Kaap area which is known for its brightly painted houses.
Bo-Kaap, a primarily Muslim community
Finally, since the kids were back relaxing at the hotel, the adults decided to go wine tasting at a nearby estate. Groot Constantia is the oldest wine producing farm in South Africa. This pretty estate, about 20 minutes from central Cape Town, has been producing wine for over 300 years. We opted for the chocolate and wine pairing tasting, that includes five wines (although they gave us a try of an extra too) with a series of chocolates specially made to go with each of the wines you taste.
Groot Constantia
South Africa is known for making excellent wine. Some day I would love to get to the outlying areas like Stellenbosch and Franschhoek that are said to have excellent wine tasting routes.
We loved Cape Town. We had a variety of experiences, the area is beautiful, and the people were warm and friendly. We would be thrilled to visit again some day. I wish it were closer.
I recently had some long haul flights (10+ hours) and decided to try out compression socks. My ankles and feet often get swollen after long flights. I don’t follow the tips to avoid that as much as I should, like skipping alcohol and anything salty. I really like that glass of wine before a long flight, it helps me fall asleep!
Compression socks come in lots of different colors and patterns now, and some are “sleeves” that are footless. From the reviews I read, the ones with feet are the best if you experience swelling feet (which I do). I opted for these plain black ones. Rather than pick an outfit that goes with knee-high socks, I took mine in my carry on and just pulled them on for the flight after I was all settled in my seat.
(I actually pulled them on under my pant legs.) I could feel them squeezing my calves but not so tight that it was uncomfortable or even that noticeable. They aren’t too thick or warm. I slipped my shoes on over them when I needed to get up or use the restroom.
So how did they work? I give them a B+. I wore them on a 14 hour flight with no swelling afterwards – but I had a lay flat seat. The true test was on a 10 hour flight where I had an economy seat with limited recline, and still chose to partake in wine and salted peanuts. My feet were a tiny bit swollen after that flight – definitely better than I’ve experienced in the past though, and it went away quickly.
I’m happy with my purchase and will definitely continue to use them.
Trips and Tips 