So many fun moments have flown by, and we are now ending our adventure in Johannesburg.  The South African safari tour was such a different experience that it seems fitting that it should be the final Travlyn post for this 2017 trip.

Cape Town was a beautiful city tucked in behind Table Mountain, winelands, amazing Kirstenbosch botanical gardens and the coast roads to the Cape of Good Hope with its sea birds, stormy weather and baboons.  Certainly a grand dame in a country which reminded me at every turn of glimpses of Australia (probably due to its Gondwanaland past).

Choosing a couple of pics to signal Cape Town’s diversity has been difficult…but here goes.  Just click on the image to enlarge for details.

The city of Cape Town is dripping with history, old and new.  Very thought provoking images of past injustices and present political pushes……..as in most colonial outpost nations.

The time in Cape Town visiting Robben Island, the wine farm histories and the contemporary business and cultural centres has given me much to use in the cultural awareness course when I return to work.

Then it was a flight to Hoedspruit airforce base and civilian flight airport base as the stopping off point for our safari adventure. What a different landscape and climate!  We stepped off the Dash 8 to 31 degree heat after very chilly winds in the south.

We were booked in to the privately owned Klaserie game reserve south of, but adjoining, Greater Kruger National Park, and with no fences, so the animals just roam wherever.  This was a 5 star luxury camp……..just perfect for a relaxing restful time…..NOT!  The schedule of dawn and dusk drives means 6 hours a day with eyes glued to the landscape looking for the Big 5 from the very comfortable safari jeeps….lol!; eating sumptuous meals and when not recharging for the next drive, watching the camp waterhole for the stream of impala, warthogs, wilderbeast and elephants which come to drink.

The rooms were quiet, with the traditional thatched roof; the decor very stylish and the pool longe chairs very inviting.  The viewing deck and comfy wi fi lounge were handy too.  The best views of the 2 bull elephants taking a mud bath were from the camp waterhole.  Each time we went on a game drive we had dried meats, fruit, rusks for dunking in the hot chocolate in amongst the thorn bushes or from a hide…….check out the rhino mother and her 2 week old baby.

Although we saw 3 of the Big 5 (elephant, lion and rhino) we tracked a leopard but missed it, and the buffalo hadn’t been seen for a week – BUT we saw 4 types of antelopes Kudu being my favourite; tons of beautiful birds – to the delight of the fellow campers of a bird watching group from Idaho in the USA ; 2 prides and some lone male lions; giraffe, wilderbeast, warthogs, hyenas and jackals at a lion kill, and some monkeys that live around the camp.  The excited guide HJ, was over the moon when we saw and spent ages watching a pack of African Wild dogs 3 females with 9 pups – Very rare to see in the wild.  So lucky!

Sadly my photogaphy using the notebook has no zoom capacity, so apologies for the pics that look as if there is nothing there.  Just wish everyone could experience this too.

So we have journeyed to 3 continents and had many, many adventures, but it’s time to head back to the Spring flowers and time to set up our new home.  Thanks for sharing our trip with us.