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Category: Africa

  • Lions, Ostriches & Bungee Jumping, Oh My!

    Lions, Ostriches & Bungee Jumping, Oh My!

    After getting our bearings in Cape Town for a couple of days, we took a quick flight to George to explore the other side of the Western (and a small part of the Eastern) Cape.  We (Toby) cautiously drove on the wrong side of the road to Knsyna, a small town we were calling home base for a couple of days of adventures.

    Knysna is a sleepy town with not a lot of nightlife, but has some decent restaurants by the harbor with ridiculously cheap bottles of delicious South African wine.

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    Harbor in Knysna

    From there we set off on three days of adventures.

    Adventure #1 – Bungee Jumping off Bloukrans Bridge

    I had been bungee jumping in Bali – at a nightclub, at 2am, off a 60 meter ledge over a pool.  Bloukrans Bridge is 216 meters high.  It’s the highest natural bungee jump in the world. I couldn’t wait.  Toby, not so much, but he wasn’t going to say no to an adventure.  Once we arrived to Face Adrenalin they weighed us, we signed our lives away and then we could watch the jumpers before us from a distance, or up close on a TV screen in the little café.  I felt the anticipation start to build more and more.

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    Bloukrans Bridge – 216m bungee

    Once it was our turn about 20 of us walked out to the middle of the bridge.  They have music blasting and the staff is awesome.  The jump order went from either heaviest or lightest, alternating between the two until you ended up in the middle of the group.  They asked who wanted to go first.  I hesitated.  The heaviest guy went first which gave me just enough time to really get my heart beating out of my chest.

    A few minutes later my ankles were strapped and they were carrying me out to the edge of the ledge.  1, 2, 3…FLY!  It was absolutely incredible (except perhaps the biggest wedgie that occurred as they hoisted me back up to the bridge) and I can’t wait to do it again whenever we make it to Queenstown, New Zealand!

    Adventure #2 – Oudtshoorn

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    Cheetah Cubs at Cango Wildlife Reserve

    The ostrich capital of the world.  Yup.  That’s a thing.  We had heard about this place from Toby’s friend whose wedding we would be attending later that week.  When I found out you could actually ride an ostrich it seemed only natural that we make our way there.

    Our first stop was actually the Cango Wildlife Ranch where we were able to play with cheetah cubs.  As a lover of all cat-family animals I was in love.  The rest of the ranch was set up like a small zoo – with peacocks, meerkats, crocodiles and turtles as a handful of other animals you could check out along the way.

    After our cheetah experience we headed over to the Cango Ostrich Farm where I was able to ride an ostrich.  They blindfold them to make it easier for you to get on, you hold it by the wings and then it takes off around the corral before I was gently dragged off to safety.  To this day I think it is one of the highlights of my trip – for all of my friends and family.

    Adventure #3 – Walking with Lions

    Before our flight back to Cape Town to kick off wedding festivities, we headed over to Botlierskop Private Game Reserve.  We had been going back and forth on whether it was worth the cost to walk with lions – after doing it, in my opinion, it is 100% worth it.  We ended up being the only ones on the walk with about 6 staff and our guide.  We walked with a younger brother and sister and watched them frolic around the grass, climb trees, and just generally enjoy their walk.  After that it was time for our first game drive, which I’d definitely recommend if you don’t have time to make it to Kruger National Park.

    Walking with lions Botlierskop
    Walking with lions Botlierskop

    Our time in that part of South Africa was up, but many more adventures awaited us in Week 2 of our journey.

  • Adventures from Cape Town

    Adventures from Cape Town

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]For the first couple of days and second week of our South Africa trip we used Cape Town as our home base. Although people talk about the city being dangerous and private security is everywhere, I had a great time and never felt unsafe.

    Where To Stay

    Urban Chic Boutique Hotel – we opted to stay on Long Street our first few nights in Cape Town since we knew we’d be staying in a house in Camps Bay the second week. The hotel was small but nice and breakfast was included. There were a few bars we hopped around to at night but if I did it again I’d probably opt to stay at the beach the entire time.

    Camps Bay – as I just mentioned, we rented an awesome house with a pool overlooking the water in Camps Bay. We were with 15-20 people at any given time so a house was a great option for us as spent most nights hanging out and having a braai [barbecue in South Africa], but the neighborhood was cute and coastal regardless.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”499″ img_size=”500x” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

    What To Do (in Cape Town)

    Hike Table Mountain! Definitely not one of the hardest hikes I’ve done, but still challenging and so worth it for the amazing views. There is also a cable car (which we happily took down) but make sure to double check that it’s not closed due to wind if that’s the route you choose to go.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”500″ img_size=”500x” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Visit Bo-Kaap – this neighborhood isn’t far from Long Street, where we stayed the first couple of days, and doesn’t take very long to visit. We just wandered around and took in the colorful buildings before finding a place nearby to have a quick snack and some drinks.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”501″ img_size=”500x” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Paraglide off of Lion’s Head – this was a spur of the moment decision. The last day we were there we were enjoying some lunch (and drinks) and started to see paragliders landing on the grass across the street from us. Curious, we decided to find out what it was all about and discovered that you could hike a bit up Lion’s Head Peak and then paraglide back down to the beach. Unfortunately, I can’t remember where we were eating or what the company was that we went with – but if you’ve got an itch for more adventure when you’re here it’s a fun time![/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”496″ img_size=”500x” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Victoria & Alfred (V&A) Waterfront – a little touristy for my taste but we wandered around, found drinks and food and enjoyed the views. My favorite part was probably the shopping – check out the Watershed and V&A Food Market if you find yourself in the area.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

    What To Do (day-trips from Cape Town)

    Shark Diving! No matter if it’s your cup of tea or not, you’ve probably heard of Shark Alley in South Africa. Although it makes for a pretty long day trip from Cape Town – I think it’s worth it (and you also don’t have to make it a day trip – you can always stay somewhere else along the way or stop there on your way to another part of SA. I was a bit nervous about being claustrophobic in the cage but it was fine — honestly I was concentrating too hard on how freezing I was. The water was about 40 degrees Fahrenheit. You’d basically hold your head (and hands) above the water until they’d tell you to duck down if a shark was swimming by. Depending on how much the sharks are swimming by could make a difference on how long you end up in the cage. I think we lasted about 20 minutes. There were opportunities to go back in again but I passed while shivering on the sun deck.[/vc_column_text][vc_media_grid element_width=”6″ gap=”10″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1470274741783-b81bd7d5-0872-6″ include=”494,495″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Hout Bay, Seal Island, Chapman’s Peak Drive, Boulder’s Beach, Cape of Good Hope – yes, all of that was in one LONG day trip. We started out with a quick stop in Hout Bay before hopping on a boat to check out Seal Island. Then we made the drive over Chapman’s Peak (beautiful) before arriving at Boulder’s Beach where you can go visit the penguins. After that we drove close to the Cape of Good Hope where we each got a bicycle to ride a couple of miles to Cape Point – the most southwestern point of the African continent.

    Tips – It gets windy at the Cape of Good Hope! We hike up to the top of the Light House and I thought we might blow off. Also, your tour guide will probably warn you about baboons before you hop on your bike. It’s true. They are scary. And loud. On our ride down we saw some baby baboons in a tree and stopped to look at them. Moments later their parents came running over making wild dog type noises and scaring the crap out of us. Not sure I’ve ever been so happy to have a getaway bike at my disposal.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_media_grid grid_id=”vc_gid:1470274784832-749c2e4c-d0a0-4″ include=”498,497,493″][/vc_column][/vc_row]