This post was originally from February 15, 2024

Tuesday morning was the last game drive as part of the tour. No matter how many times you see an impala (because there is one around every corner!) it doesn’t get old! The highlight for me was when two lionesses strolled past our vehicle so nonchalantly. A lot of the land in Karongwe is quite lush and jungly so getting a clear view can be challenging. Having them right next to you is certainly a treat as you can see all the finer details. 

Over the last few days we’ve been trying to get a better view of the hippos. They seem to be a bit opposed to the paparazzi and no matter where we go, they move in the opposite direction. Before our drive was over our guide was determined to get us closer. First he tried to drive on the edge of the lake with our wheels submerged but I think he quickly realized that this would probably leave us stuck and being in the water with the most dangerous animal of them all probably wouldn’t end well. He reversed the vehicle and instead drove between trees. One tree was definitely blocking us so when Liza reached to try to move the branches she got stung. She thinks it’s a horsefly but her reaction is quite severe she has the biggest welt on her arm that is itchy and hot. The end result was well worth the effort as there were about 8 hippos frolicking and grunting in the water and one was even a baby. It’s funny because Liza always jokes that my snoring sounds like a hippo, so hearing them made it all the more real what Liza has to put up with every night! 

We said goodbye to our group on Wednesday morning, but before that we got to do one last drive through the Drakensberg Mountains.

One last pitstop before arriving back to Johannesburg that I have to mention is the Alzu Petroport in Mpumalanga. This is unlike any other petrol station pitstop around the world because it not only is a place to fuel up on petrol, coffee, snacks and souvineers, but also where you can see some of Africa’s finest animals. There is a lookout like a first class zoo, however these animals are completely wild and roaming free. They come to this bizarre petrol station because Alzu is also an animal feed supplier so there are troughs of animal feed as well as water for the local wildlife to munch on. We got quite the show from the resident ostriches. When a male is in heat his legs turn a dark pink colour. This guy was trying his best to impress the ladies by dancing around and even chasing the female ostriches until he tired out. Once he realized he didn’t have a chance with one, he would move on to the next…men!!!

On Wednesday afternoon Liza and I made our way to the airport and flew to Liza’s hometown of Cape Town. I find it so interesting to fly into cities during the day because you can see so much from above. The disparity in places like this is so apparent and you could clearly see how massive the shanty townships are. Below are two photos; in the first you can see the size of one township – it looks completely silver from above, but that is all the tin roofs. The second photo is Khayelitsha, which the township right next to the airport – when you zoom in you can see how dilapidated the structures really are. It sure puts things into perspective how some people live and how incredibly lucky we are compared to so many. 

For Valentine’s Day Liza booked us a table at a hip restaurant in Camps Bay. Camps Bay is where all the boujie people go and is known for its white sand, natural rock pools and views of the Twelve Apostles Mountains. When Liza booked, she asked for the nicest table. It was pretty funny because they actually gave us two tables so we could sit side by side to watch the sunset over the ocean. We sat sprawled out while every other table was as cramped as hell. We got our share of dirty looks and all we could do was giggle. As we listened to a guy singing his live music to very cheesy love songs and watched the sun dazzle us with a perfectly pink sky, it was a perfect way to start our time in Cape Town and celebrate Valentines Day in style! Here is a funny story for you, when we took the Uber back to our Airbnb our driver was conviced that I was Ellen Degeneres. I had to convince him that I was not, and I am sure by my normal sized tip he realized that either she was incredibly cheap or I was not in fact an A-list celebrity from America!