Wednesday September 23, 2015

We are back and settled in after our trip to South Africa. My last post was September 1 and the next day, Sep 2, Bob and Nancy started their big adventure. We left GR in the afternoon and flew to Detroit. We left Detroit at 1839 for our 7h30m flight to Amsterdam. We arrived in Amsterdam early Thursday we only had about 90 minutes in Amsterdam before getting on our plane to Johannesburg, South Africa, an 11h flight. Arrived in Johannesburg at 2100. Needless to say when we arrived in Johannesburg Nancy and Bob were zombies. Our travel folks knew that so they booked a room for us at a hotel located in the airport. We were met by the travel agency when we deplaned and they showed us the way. In fact we were given first class service by both travel agencies. They provided transportation to airports and hotels with a local agent escorting us. We spent a restful night and after a leisurely breakfast headed to our flight to Richard's Bay. We were flying on South African airlines. The flight to Richard's Bay was just over an hour. Richard's Bay is on the Indian Ocean and 3 hours north of Durban. We were met at the airport by a driver from the Zulu Nyala Game Reserve. The drive to Zula Nyala was 90 minutes. Within the Zula Nyala Game Reserve were two lodges the Heritage Safari Lodge and the Heritage Tent Lodge. The Safari Lodge looked like traditional African village dwellings complete with thatch roof. The Tent lodge as the name implies had a canvas roof and sides. We spent three nights in each lodge and enjoyed both. Our typical daily schedule included an early morning game drive of about two hours followed by breakfast. After lunch we went on another game drive. The vehicles used in the drive were open air with seating for nine. The vehicles were four wheel drive with large tires so we sat up high and had great visibility. Our package included three meals a day, buffet style. Our guide throughout our stay was named Peace. He was great finding animals. I grew up watching Tarzan movies and associated Africa as hot and tropical. After all Tarzan just wore a loin cloth. South Africa where we were is about the same latitude as New Orleans. It was still late winter during our stay. The mornings were cool, mid 50s, and it did not warm up until after noon. High temps were in the low 70s. The guides all wore North Face polar fleece. South Africa was in the midst of a long drought. The Zulu Nyala Game Reserve had large herds of Gazelles, Nyala, Cape Buffalo, Zebras and Wildebeest. Wart hogs were everywhere. They also had small herds of Elephants, Hippos and black Rhinos. My favorite animal was the Giraffe. I think they had over 30. The only cat the Reserve had was a single Cheetah. We saw a lot of the Cheetah including her feasting on a recent kill. A large tribe of Baboons also resided on the Reserve. We wanted to see Lions so one morning we took a special trip to another large Reserve. It was well worth the additional cost. In addition to a large pride of lions we saw large herd of elephants. Neither lodge has TVs in the rooms but they did have wifi. The afternoon drive usually ended about 1800. Dinner started at 1900. The food was very good. All the wines were South African and quite good. The only thing we had to pay for were the drinks. However, they were reasonably priced. A good bottle was about $9. Needless to say we usually had a bottle each evening. Each lodge had their own dining facilities. I think Nancy and I liked the Tent Lodge best only because we met some folks we liked dining with. After 6 nights at Zulu Nyala we departed on Thursday Sep 10. The lodge drove us to the Durban Airport. The drive was a little over three hours and we had a chance to see some of the countryside. We passed sugar cane plantations, large pulp wood forests and several costal cities. After six days on gravel and dirt trails it was great driving on a modern bituminous road. All the airports we used in SA were very modern. They had all been upgraded for the 2010 World Cup. Our two hour flight to Capetown went without a hitch. We were met a Capetown by the folks from the travel agency and driven to our hotel, Victoria and Alfred. The hotel was located on the waterfront. Capetown is Africa's answer to San Francisco, USA. It is very cosmopolitan. The waterfront is loaded with fine restaurants. On Friday we took an all day trip down to the Cape of Good Hope. We passed some of SA most affluent areas. White sand beaches and world famous surfing areas. The Cape is the confluence of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. The Cape also has a large colony of Penguins. Yes Penguins. I have the photos. We made a stop at SA's famous botanical gardens. We had dinner on the waterfront. On Saturday we took a tour of the City. The highlight of the trip was taking the lift to the top of Table Mountain. Table Mountain is Capetown's prominent physical feature. It juts 3,000 feet above the city. It was a clear day and we had a great view of the city and Atlantic. On Sunday we bought an all day ticket on a stop and go bus that circles the city. The bus stopped at a lot of points of interest. Our first stop was a green market. Monday Sep 14 and today we are leaving SA. However, our plane did not leave until 2255. Spent some time shopping before heading to the airport. The flight from Capetown to Amsterdam was 11h35m. We landed in Amsterdam on Tuesday Sep 15 at 1030. After a two hour layover we boarded our plane to Detroit. The flight was 8h48. Short time in Detroit before heading home. We landed in GR at 1836. It was a great two week. We flew over 20,800 miles. This trip was our first time south of the equator and we saw some incredible animals, met nice folks and saw a country that until last Dec was not on my radar. I am writing this blog on Wed Sep 23, the equinox. We have been home a week and we are finally back to normal. It took me awhile to get over jet lag. The past week the weather has been great. Temps have been above normal and we have had sunny days. The trees are starting to turn. Fall is great in MI.