South Africa – Two Little Wanderers

The final leg of our summer adventure brought us back to South Africa, starting at Port Elizabeth where we rented a car and drove down the beautiful Garden Route over the next few days. This part of the journey was familiar as the Garden Route and Cape Town are very similar to California in every way.

We visited the Tsitsikamma national park with its stunning shoreline with waves crashing, very similar to Big Sur. We took a walk along the coast line walking over the three suspension bridges hanging over the waves. The kids enjoyed watching the cute rock hyrax comfortably nested on the rocks along our hike. Next morning we ventured on another zip lining adventure over the forest canopy and from one 600 year old yellow wood tree to another. Ayaan wasn’t satisfied so we took a Segway tour through the forest floor. The Segway was quite enjoyable and we also became pros after an hour on it. We stopped for lunch at Plettenberg bay and grabbed lunch overlooking the beach with oysters and sparkling wine. Ayaan enjoyed running into the cold ocean and jumping over the waves, while we walked the Plett beach. Our stop for the night was in Knysna, but we stopped on the way at the gorgeous Heads view points that reminded us of the cliffs in Ireland. We loved staying at the Chez Pierre b&b on Leisure island, that was identical to our town of Belvedere and Tiburon. We relaxed in our room, walked to the nearby beach, grabbed dinner at a local joint, and enjoyed some wine picked by Pierre. The breakfast was perhaps as the best of our trip with homemade Belgian waffles, baguette and croissant.

We woke up next morning excited for our adventure activity of the day – paragliding in Sedgefield with one of the most stunning views you can imagine. Ayaan was the first one to run off the cliff, sailing into the skies above us. Ariana was next, followed by Anjali. By the time it was my turn, the wind had died off and I landed up in a field on the floor! We’re so proud of the kids to be brave enough to go on this adventure. We stopped at Dolphin view point and walked along The Point at Mossell Bay, before driving 3 hours to our next stop at Montagu hotel. The kids got a bit antsy on the drive and we all were happy to reach our hotel, order room service and crash.

Anjali and I were excited about the next couple of days in the wine country region of Franschhoek and Stellenbosch. We spent the morning walking the massive 16th century estate of Babylonstoren, owned by Richard Branson. After eating a farm to table lunch at the outdoor Greenhouse, the kids fed the donkeys, we all strolled the gardens, and watched turkeys run around. The wine tasting room was modern and reminded us of Napa, with splashes of Cape Classique, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Rupert & Rothschild was a more exclusive tasting experience with three fantastic wines, two of which we bought. After checking into the Mont d’Or Franschhoek, we returned to Babylonstoren for one of our most memorable dinners at Babel.

In the morning, we drove to another 17th century wine estate called Vergenoegd Low. We took a tour of the property and while we tasted our wine, the kids played in the playground nearby and watched 350 ducks waddle around in the gardens. After lunch in the garden, we drove into Cape Town where we were staying in the center of town.

Cape Town has striking similarities to San Francisco with the fog, beaches, mountains, pier and food. We had a wonderful 3 night stay indulging in everything the city has to offer, including the Apartheid history. We spent the first evening wandering the W&A waterfront and pier, identical to Pier 39 though a bit more upscale, stopping to seals and nibbling through the TimeOut food court.

We spent our first full day in Cape Town driving down to the Cape Peninsula. An absolutely stunning drive along the coast, beaches and mountains, took us through Hout Bay, Chapman’s Peak Drive and Kalk Bay. We arrived at Cape Point hungry, and ate at the Two Oceans restaurant overlooking the Indian and Atlantic oceans. We spent most of the afternoon climbing up to the top of the Cape Point lighthouse, and the famous Cape of Good Hope. The highlight of the day for the kids was watching hundreds of penguins swimming and waddling at the Boulders Beach. This completed our wildlife viewing adventure for the summer!

On our last couple of days, we spent time exploring the different areas of Cape Town. The gorgeous sunset views from Lions head, Signal Hill and Table Mountain were magical. We took a couple of amazing walking tour: one of the colorful Bo-Kaap neighborhood, and the other an Apartheid tour that walked us through this grave history of South Africa. Both were incredible and highly recommend them. We also visited the District Six museum that gave us a deeper understanding of Apartheid. Although a very complex topic, Ayaan and Ariana were interested in learning about it. Anjali and I sneaked out for an incredible lunch at the acclaimed Fyn, African influenced Japanese food. We also had a delicious Indian dinner as a family at the highly rated Vadivelu. Our final activity of the summer was a few fast and fun Toboggan rides, that Ariana said was the most thrilling roller coaster she had been on.

After 2.5 months of travel, we spent our final hours on the local Camps Bay beach where Ayaan dipped himself in the chilly tidal pools and waves, while Ariana played with mommy on the beach. South Africa was a great way to end our summer adventure, especially since it’s so similar to home!

We were excited for our next leg of the trip, South Africa which Gaurav and I had on our bucket list for over a decade. We’d decided to wait until the kids were old enough to experience it right. A lot of the private game reserves don’t allow young children because the animals are allowed to roam freely within the tented lodges. With Ariana turning 8, this was our time.

We landed in Johannesburg and experienced a relatively seamless 5-hour road trip to Kruger Gate Hotel arriving just in time for a lavish bush dinner. There were several fire pits, music, a combination of south African, western and Indian dishes and a large dessert buffet with s’mores. The next morning, we awoke early for a guided game drive in an open vehicle spotting elephants, giraffes, two lionesses running, a large hippo fairly close to us, and hundreds of impalas, kudu, zebras, nyala and other animals. Towards the end, we were rewarded with a large crocodile, next to another hippo. We returned to the lodge for lunch by the pool overlooking nyala, impalas and a visit from a buffalo and even a white rhino. This was special, and we lounged by the pool watching these animals go about their day. That evening, Ariana and I enjoyed a game of mini golf where we each cheered each other on (I’m so proud of how her cheers always bring me results!) while the boys played tennis. On the way back to our room, Ariana and I encountered a large herd of baboons which was enthralling to watch. From our room, we were greeted with impalas grazing outside.

The next morning, we decided to self drive through Kruger because the roads, infrastructure and signage were extremely tourist friendly. Immediately upon entering the park, we were greeted by two large giraffes right next to our car. We went on to see the hornbill (“zazu” from the lion king), a large herd of baboons, several elephants including babies, large black scavenger birds with red beaks, more giraffes, warthogs (Ayaan’s favorite) and impalas. Our most rewarding sight was a lioness eating a giraffe kill with her two baby cubs nearby. We stayed for a while watching this epic sight, an opportunity created by my insistence on taking the more adventurous route over to our next lodge.

We arrived around lunchtime to Honeyguide Khoka Moya Camp in the Manyeleti Private Game Reserve. As we entered our tent, we witnessed a large herd of elephants passing by to the watering hole near the camps pool, which soon became a popular sight for guests. After lunch consisting of a rosemary-garnished burger (that even Gaurav and Ayaan enjoyed despite not eating beef), we embarked on our afternoon game drive. Our guide, Luis and the completely open vehicle (no doors) were the perfect ingredients for an epic afternoon of wildlife viewing. The sundowner stop at the lake where Luis poured us red wine and then handed out blankets as we ventured back to the lodge had us truly pampered. As it was dark, with the glow of a flashlight, we saw a pride of 4 lions walking right to us. As they approached our vehicle, I heard myself silently gasp “oh my god”, mostly in disbelief of how close they were and how thrilling this experience actually was! The kids did extremely well, sharing in the disbelief as Ariana let out a small giggle of excitement when one of the lionesses passed us by. We retreated to the lodge freely truly lucky to have had this extremely surreal experience.

On our next morning game drive, we got a good start with a single male lion who our guide believed had lost the rest of his family, that he was searching around for. We also saw two hyenas and a cub lying down. That afternoon, we lazed at the pool as herds of elephants visited within a few feet from us, a truly exhilarating experience to be this close in harmony with these magnificent creatures. Our evening game drive was relatively uneventful as we saw the same lone male lion and some giraffes and an ostrich.

The next morning was our last game drive, and it did not disappoint. Luis was determined to have us see a leapord that he heard was in the south side of our game reserve. He was relentless in his search (as leopards are notorious for being discreet) as he took the vehicle through large shrubs and bushes knocking them down until it actually startled the leapord who sprung out of the bush. That movement had us excited, as the view of the leopard completed our ‘Big 5’ sighting across both countries. We then followed the leopard around for a while, and were lucky enough to see him running, hiding, ducking back in and out until we finally gave other vehicles a chance to view this evasive creature up close. After lunch, we departed the game reserve completed satiated with our game drive experience and made our way toward Johannesburg.

On our drive, we passed through the beautiful Blythe River Canyon and stopped for lunch at a Trout river lodge where the kids enjoyed playing soccer with the owners three puppies (including a particularly adorable white French bulldog named Olive) and even got to meet a baby decker. That evening, we checked into the rather swanky Voco hotel in Rosebank, and the kids enjoyed arcade games and bumper cars in the mall next door. We strolled around, and then dropped the kids to the room before heading to the hotel restaurant for a dinner of grilled octopus and truffle risotto. Overall, this leg of our South Africa journey has been one that already has me craving for more of this wonderfully diverse country, and thankful that our plans call for a return in a few days.