South Africa

Aug 23 - Sep 4, 2012
TK18 YYZ-IST, TK40 IST-JNB, Aug 30 SA8846 MQP-JNB, SA369 JNB-CPT, Sep 4 SA304 CPT-JNB, SA222 JNB-GRU, AC91 GRU-YYZ

When Aeroplan had their unannounced business class fare sale in December, I was already in the progress of researching a trip to South Africa, so I was able to lock in the trip for many fewer points than expected.  A friend at work had gone to South Africa last year and recommended going in their winter and using Wild Wings Safari for a safari, which was a great suggestion and an amazing experience.  Although it may be different elsewhere in Africa, the advantage of going to Kruger National Park in the South African winter is that it is the dry season.  As a result, there is less vegetation to camouflage animals, and there are natural gathering places around water where you can easily see more animals.  The cooler weather also meant that we could spend more time out in the middle of the day, and the later sunrise meant we didn’t have to get up too early.  With a points ticket we ended up taking an interesting route through Istanbul and thus had a long layover in one of the best business class lounges in the world.  With two overnight flights, we arrived pretty well rested.  Before the safari we carefully explored Johannesburg and had an enlightening private tour through Soweto.  After two days in Johannesburg, we headed out for four days on safari with our amazing guide and then ended with the beautiful Cape Town area before heading home via Brazil.  Although I had high expectations for the trip going in, these were exceeded.  The country is beautiful and in addition to the safari, it offered much more including inexpensive food and wine.  With my first country in Africa down, I’m ready to start thinking about the next.

Aug 23-25
After two overnight flights, have the day in Johannesburg

Replica of some very early cave paintings in the Origins Museum

Great Hall of Wits University Campus

Aug 26
Full day in Johannesburg and Soweto with private tour

Exterior of the powerful Apartheid Museum

Museum entrance replicates life during Apartheid with separate entrances

Soweto former coal power plant cooling towers painted and turned into bungee attraction

Matchbox house, typical of government housing in the settlements during Apartheid

Informal settlements built out of corrugated metal; shared water and no electricity

Although the homes were not well built, they had a strong welcoming community

Walter Sisulu Square where resistance movement wrote freedom charter in 1955

More of the square; freedom charter become basis of the modern SA Constitution

Nelson Mandela’s matchbox house where Winnie lived during his imprisonment

One of the more interesting displays in the Mandela house

Memorial to June 16, 1976 Soweto Youth Uprising, reaction to forced Afrikaans schooling

Traditional African housing in Credo Mutwa Cultural Village

Some of the art created by Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa a Zulu Sangoma (healer)

Tailings from old gold mines, now being reprocessed with new technology for more gold

Before retreating to our suburban hotel for dinner we drive by a World Cup stadium

Aug 27
Morning drive to Kruger National Park and afternoon safari

After a five hour drive, one of the first animals we saw entering the park; a zebra

One of the many impala (male) we saw in the park

Kudu (male) more interesting antelope varieties and the simple of the park 

Another majestic kudu in the typical winter brush

Bateleur eagle walks on the park road, one of the more colourful birds

Giraffe with red-billed oxpeckers enjoying the ticks

Small herd of elephant

Very cute vervet monkey

Mother lion grooms one of her three cubs, only weeks old

Small family of elephants crosses the road

Mother and baby elephant

One of the smaller creatures; banded mongoose

Two female lions sharing responsibility for their cubs were a big draw

Young elephant along the road

On our way back to camp we were lucky to find this leopard before a tasty late night dinner

Aug 28
After a 5:40 coffee call we go out in the park for a long day on safari

Mother lion with her 3 cubs, right where we left them

One of two hyenas nesting by the road

Colourful goliath heron

The baboons were very active and entertaining; a baby with mother

Crocodile rests on the banks of Sabie River

Young warthog, injured by a porcupine quill

As Simon, our guide, cooks brunch at the rest stop, we have an excellent view of zebras below

Hippopotami right below the picnic area

Saddle-billed stork flies over the park landscape

We were successful in finding hippos out of water

After out of water, my other goal had been finding an open-mouthed hippo

Hippopotami with birds helping to keep them clean

More entertaining baboons grooming each other

Great close encounter with a giraffe

Female lion with tracking collar, part of a group of about eight that we observed

Elephant in musth, not in the best of mood, made for a tense few minutes

Same elephant turns his aggression on another vehicle of the same design as ours

Great close-up of a giraffe enjoying some leaves

Aug 29
Last morning drive in the park and then rest of the day in Sabi Sands reserve  

A beautiful buffalo in the early morning

Lucky leopard sighting on the road side

Our closest encounter with a leopard in the park

Small giraffe behind its mother

Somewhat rare and very cute klipspringer

Simon cooks breakfast at our cabin in Skukuza Camp, before we leave the park for Sabi

Lilac breasted roller, a somewhat less exotic sighting in Sabi Sands

Our first off-road experience brought us very close to a hungry elephant

Our first male lion sighting; in the reserve we can go off road and get very close

After a bit of inspiration from our guide, another lion woke up and showed his fighting scars

One of the other similar safari vehicles with tracker up front

Another very close elephant encounter

Our first close up view of rhinoceros

Before our sundowner cocktails and dinner we observe a leopard eating an impala

Aug 30
Morning drive in Sabi Sands reserve and then transfer to Cape Town  

Our second rhinoceros off road close encounter

One of many zebras in the herd we drove amongst

Family of elephants at a watering hole

Hyena waiting patiently for leopard’s impala leftovers to fall from the tree where it’s stashed

Leopard uses a tree to scratch its ear

After the drive and breakfast we rest in our chalet in Inyati Game Reserve, within Sabi

Aug 31
Full day in Cape Town, unfortunately not good weather, so no Robben Island prison tour

Clock tower at Victoria and Alfred Waterfront

Interesting Coke monument to the summer Olympics on the waterfront

Nobel Square honouring prize winners Lithuli (’60),  Tutu (’84), de Klerk / Mandela (’93)

Houses of Parliament; Cape Town is legislative capital; Pretoria is admin capital

Some of colonial architecture on the bar and restaurant lined Long Street

Snapped a photo of Palm Tree Mosque before heading into the hotel for the night

Sep 1
With the better weather we spend the day exploring the Cape

Sea and sky over Cape Town and Table Mountain from Bloubergstrand

Beach fouled by oil from wreck of the Seli 1, broken up by heavy seas the previous night

African Penguin nesting at Boulder Beach as we head south down the cape

Luxury plastic penguin homes

Close up view of one of the hundreds of penguins

Rock hyrax looking a little intimidating amongst the penguins

Full view of Boulder Beach

Looking out at the Cape of Good Hope

More of the spectacular coast on a beautiful afternoon

Looking up to Cape Point lighthouse

Ostriches at the Cape of Good Hope

Ostrich closeup

Heading north up the Atlantic Coast of the Cape

One of a number of paragliders taking advantage of the strong up drafts

View from the spectacular Chapman’s Peak Drive

Sep 2
Left Cape Town for wine region with a stop at Hermanus

Great clear view of Table Mountain and the city from our hotel

Goats, roaming near Paarl, at Fairview Winery, creator ofGoats do Roam wine

After sampling the wine and local cheese we finally get to see the goat enter his house

After sampling the wine and local cheese we finally get to see the goat enter his house

Whale off the coast of Hermanus

Some of the incredible scenery near Houwhoek Pass

Making our way inland towards Franschhoek

Some sheep roaming in front of a mountain range on our way through the pass

Looking back down Franschhoek Pass towards Theewaterskloof Lake

Dutch Reformed Church in Franschhoek at sunset, before heading out for a delicious

Sep 3
Morning drive back to Cape Town for our last day in South Africa

Huguenot Memorial House in Franschhoek with now-cloud-covered mountains behind

Huguenot Monument to the French Reformed Protestants that emigrated to Franschhoek

Heading back into town, looking out at Cape Town and Table Mountain from Signal Hill

Signal Hill to the waterfront with World Cup Stadium

Cape Town City Hall where newly released Mandela first spoke to the people in 1990

The “table cloth” covering Table Mountain, unfortunately too windy for us to go up

Bo Kaap’s colourful houses from our hotel with Lion’s head in the background

Sep 4-5
Depart early morning for 30 hours’ travel home, via Johannesburg and São Paulo