South Africa
On arrival in Johannesburg airport we were met by our guide and transferred to a lovely little place called Dundee. We stayed in the Royal Country Inn and had a lovely home cooked meal here. Dundee is situated in the heart of the Battlefields, half way between Johannesburg and Durban. It’s actually the ideal stopover after a long flight.
On our second day after visiting the battlefields of Zulu, we then went to our next stop, which was in Umhlanga in Durban. I would have liked to have spent more time here as it’s on the coast with a beautiful beach. It also has one of the world’s largest shopping centres.
After breakfast we made our way to Hluhluwe and also visited a gorgeous little place called St Lucia. This area is perfect for any boat safaris. It is the gateway to the wetland park. We did a 2 hour boat safari here where we saw loads of hippos and croc’s, our first experience of wild life. After our boat safari, we made our way to Hluhluwe game reserve for our first proper safari. It was early evening time and we saw some spectacular sights and animals.
After our first night staying in a tree house in a game reserve, we made our way through Swaziland. This is a country within a country, so has its own border etc. It is a very poor country but it was nice to see it.
We then spent 3 nights in the Thanda Nani Game reserve. This was just heaven to us. The owner Johan was just so nice and went out of his way to make us feel welcome. It is a 3* lodge but the staff just went out of their way to make us feel at home.
In total we did 5 game drives, in both Kruger national park and also Thanda Nani reserve. We were lucky enough to see 4 of the big 5, along with lots of other types of animals. Kruger National park is about the size of Portugal, so you really do need a good experienced guide/driver. I think we definitely had one of the best; he got us so close to the animals you could almost touch them. It was an amazing experience all together.
We had lunch at the Bongani Moutain lodge, this has to be experienced. It is a 30 minute drive up the mountain in jeeps. You are literally above the clouds. We had a very enjoyable lunch here and it is a little piece of heaven really.
After our 3 nights in Thanda Nani reserve it was time to go home. We had experienced so much in 9 days. I hope to return to South Africa again in the future and see some other parts.
If you’d like to enquire about my South Africa experience please don’t hesitate to call me.