This post is originally from February 25, 2024

The last few days have been a blur as I feel like we’ve packed in so much in such a short time. Thursday started with a trip out to the town of Philadelphia where Liza used to manage a crystal shop (and by crystals I mean natural gem type crystals). Here we got to visit with her old boss and then have lunch with a couple of friends. After that it was cha ching…dropped some major cash buying crystals and next we were off back to Cape Town to visit Liza’s oldest friend who she grew up with. It was so cute to watch Liza reminisce about days in grade school and it really reminded me of how much she had to give up to live on the other side of the world to be with me. 

Friday was the start of the next adventure. When I met Liza she told me that her dad had always talked about going on a safari. Both her parents who are nearly 80 and lived their entire lives in South Africa have never gone on a safari and seen the amazing wildlife right in their own back yard. The reason being is that is it extremely expensive and earning the South African Rand makes it nearly impossible to experience this luxury. That being said, we knew that when we came back to visit we really wanted to take them on a safari along with her brother’s family. When we told her parents about our surprise about a month ago they were very excited and her dad was giggling like a little boy. 

We packed up the two cars with food for the weekend along with the family and set off to a place about an a hour and a half outside of CT called Goudini. It is in an area nestled in the mountains and surrounded by vineyards. Here, we rented a cottage so we could all stay under the same roof. There are also a bunch of hot spring pools and a giant waterside within the complex so it was a great place for the kids. Side note: I did go down the waterslide (also known as a Super Tube) where it shot you out at warp speed. The heavier you are, the faster you shot…twice was my max before I threw in the towel! 

Saturday we all got up bright and early to drive to a private game reserve called Aquila Private Game Reserve. This reserve is much smaller than the others we’ve been to and although still spectacular with wild animals, it somewhat resembles a glorified zoo. They do have the Big Five along with plenty of other wildlife. The difference in this reserve compared to others we have been to is that they have limited animals. In order to protect them from one another, some are fenced to certain areas. For instance the lions were in their own enclosure. Although the enclosure is huge, it’s not completely natural so they supplement the natural kills with regular feedings. 

The biggest highlight was watching Liza’s parents experience this for the first time.  Liza’s parents were beyond excited. They both told us that they would often watch the animals on tv but never believed they would get to see them with their own eyes in their lifetime. It was magical to be a part of this experience with them. I also loved watching the hippos, elephants and lions. We were so close to the elephants that you could see all the details in their skin. The lions were in perfect view and watching them stretch and seeing their giant toe beans was adorable as ever. I’ve also never seen a hippo out of the water. That was a cool experience even if you could see their poo stained bums. 

It was a quick family getaway with only two nights in the cottage, but before returning back to Cape Town we stopped off at a beautiful vineyard for lunch. I think this weekend will be something that her parents will remember forever and I also hope that the kids will have the memories of being with their Tannie (aunt) on their first safari too. I know it is so hard for Liza to be away from her family and I just hope that these memories will stay with all of them forever.