Africa Day 9: Surprises

Remember the bad weather that I mentioned that had us change up our plans? Well, thankfully our flight wasn't until the afternoon, so we had just enough time to squeeze in the last of the activities that had been originally scheduled for us - Table Mountain!

Our export local guide had some friends on the inside, so we were able to skip the very long line for the cable car. The cable car was pretty cool - it rotated while going up, so no matter where you were, you could get a 360 degree view of the area.

Once on top we made our way to the abseil base. Ben and I got to go first. We got into our harnesses and safety gear and we were on our way down! It was so cool. There's a part called the "surprise" that was, well, a surprise. At that spot the cliff wall that you were going down disappears! When I got there I said to Ben, "Um, I ran out of rock!" So with a deep breath, I let my feet off the rocks and was suspended in mid-air. It was awesome!

When we got to the stopping point, we got our gear off and waited for Alex and Erika to make their way down. It was fun to watch them as they made their way to the surprise. Once they made it down, Ben and I took off and left them to watch DJ and Poto. We followed the trail back up to the top. We took in the views, had a snack, then started to wonder what was taking the others so long. After awhile we gave up and took an uber back to our hotel since we didn't want to miss our flight. Turns out, the other 4 zigged when they should have zagged. They were rushing to get packed and to the airport on time. Luckily, we all made it. And Ben and I got a bonus surprise - we got upgraded to First Class! After our busy time in Africa, it was very nice to have a comfortable seat on the long journey home.

And then we were home. The best place to be.

Africa Day 8: Making A Splash

As I mentioned earlier, due to weather our schedule was thrown off a bit. That made Sunday our day to see Great White Sharks!

It took a couple of hours to drive to the shark "hot zone." Once there, we had lunch provided while people talked about sharks, their operation, etc. Once everyone signed waivers, we went to collect our gear. A short walk to the shore and we got on the boat. The ride out was chilly. I was not looking forward to taking my outer layers off, even though I knew a wet suit would be waiting for me.

When we got to the site, we were told to get our suits and booties on. I was handed a weight belt and a face mask and told to get it. I was a little confused... I didn't think I would be in the first group! But they hurried me along and into the cage (securely attached to the boat) I went! Once in the (freezing!) water, I realized that part of our group was in the cage too. Oh, yeah, the boat had probably 30 people, so we were just half of the tour. Anyway. The crew on the boat got busy putting chum in the water and throwing decoys out. When they came close they would yell for us to get down into the water to see. Unfortunately, the water was pretty murky so you actually couldn't see much. But, at one point a great white smashed into the cage! That was pretty exciting! My group got out of the cage and were greeted with warm cocoa and towels. As fast as we could with numb fingers and a rocking boat, we changed out of our wet gear.

Ben was in the second group, so into the ocean he went! Ben's group was in the water forever. And no sharks. I felt so bad that I had gotten smashed into by a shark and Ben, who was more into this activity than me, saw nothing. Finally, they pulled the second group out and the third went in. And of course, the third group saw a shark almost right away. After the last group saw a few sharks, they offered to let the second group go back in for a second chance. If it were me, I would have stayed out of the cold water (I was still trying to warm up!), but most of the group headed back in. And thankfully, they saw sharks! It was a cool experience, but wasn't as cool as I thought it would be.

Back in Cape Town we got ready for our farewell dinner. We were picked up by classic cars! We were in a 1930's something or another. Our guy seemed upset that he had to take us to dinner, so we didn't talk much about the car or anything. Dinner was amazing. We had a chance to share our personal highlights as well as thank people in the group. It was so nice. We are truly blessed to be part of such an awesome group of people. 

Africa Day 7: Waddle, Waddle

This morning was glorious. No one stomping up the stairs to get to breakfast. No chairs scrapping against the floor. And of course, poached eggs. MMmmmm....

After breakfast we waited outside for our rides to an unknown adventure. After a few minutes, a fleet of Jeeps pulled up. Our people from the other hotel were already in them, so we were trying to figure out where to put ourselves. Sophia told Ben and me to go to the street corner and wait for our ride. As we walked away from the group we joked that they were trying to leave us behind. Nope! Turns out that we were too many for the number of Jeeps, so a handful of us got to ride in a limo! It was funny... in Vegas there are limos everywhere. Even not in Vegas they are pretty common place. Not so in South Africa. EVERYONE stared at us as we drove by.

Our first stop was on a hillside that overlooked the Cape Town valley. The views were pretty good. On top we had champagne and took pictures.

We loaded back up and headed down to the sea. Those of us who were up for some adventure got ready to kayak in the bay. The wind and current was in our favor, so it really took zero effort to go the few miles along the coast. The reason for the kayaking... penguins! We saw them pop up in the water and then dive back in. So cool to see them in nature!

After getting out of our kayaks, we changed clothes and headed back out in the Jeeps. That didn't last too long.  They took us to helicopters! They were based on weight, so we had assigned seats. Of course, people wanted to change, so after a few shuffles we were off! The views were fantastic as we flew along the coast. Our pilot (per request) made it an exciting ride getting super close to the ocean's waves. Just about when I had had enough, we landed at a vineyard and greeted with champagne. After a short walk, we were in their restaurant for a wonderful lunch with wine pairing.

After that, we got on our bus and headed to another winery. At this one we got a brief lesson on different wines from that area. Then we were brought into a tasting room to sample the three. After tasting the wines, we were given empty bottles for us to make our own custom wine! It was a fun experience, although I think all of us have a long way to go in our mixing skills!

We had dinner at the hotel that the other of our group was staying. It was a very nice, low-key dinner.

Africa Day 6: Fancy Free

Friday's forecast was for rain and wind. All of our activities required not that. So we shuffled our activities around and ended up with a free day. The "plan" for a bunch of us was to hang out in a cool place with food and drinks.

After a leisurely morning (and being woken by the breakfasters above us), Ben, Meredith and I headed out. We found a place along the shore called "Blue." We ordered drinks and appetizers. We updated the rest with where we were. Not long after that we found out that Blue is where dinner was going to be that night. We decided to finish our order and then find another place.

Just up the street was The Cod Father. Ben said we had to go there. So we did! I am sure glad we did! The place was cozy and slow, so they didn't mind us hanging out for hours. We wanted a wine recommendation, so we ended with the manager at our table. He must have been bored, or entertained by us because he kept finding reasons to sit at our table with us. We didn't mind. He was a hoot! A few hours in, Dori joined us. But everyone else kept ditching out on us. We ended up having so much fun, that we ditched the group dinner and just stayed there. Excellent choice! The food was terrific! The people were outstanding!

An interesting thing about The Cod Father.... they don't have a food menu. They had sushi that you could pick up from a conveyor belt. For the rest of the food, you just went up to the fish counter and told them what you wanted and they would prepare it. I know we had squid. It was fabulous! It was just grilled with seasoning, but it was so tender and tasty. So delicious! The fish we had was good too. I don't remember what kind it was.

When we got back to our hotel, we were told that they moved us into a new room. No more people walking above us! So happy.

The day wasn't how we planned it, but to me it was a perfect day with perfect companions. 

Africa Day 5: Time Flies

Another early morning for our last game drive. Having seen all the animals most of us wanted to, it was a relaxing drive. We saw some more giraffes!

After a delightful breakfast, it was time to load up and leave Ulusaba. Our rangers drove us one last time. We said our good byes and then off in our little planes to the main airport in Kruger. Things took longer than expected so we were pushing the time to check luggage unto our flight. Sometimes it's a good thing that your group is most of the flight... they made exceptions for all of us and we all made it.

I should mention that today was our 15 year anniversary. :) On our flight to Cape Town Ben and I were sitting by Paul. Towards the end of the flight he got up and was talking to one of the flight attendants. We saw hand gestures and looks coming our way. We knew he was up to something! A few minutes later, the flight attendant came over and congratulated us on our anniversary. She said that the captain wanted to invite one of us to the cockpit. I wanted Ben to go. He wanted me to go. We decided on me. I started to get up and she quickly said to sit down and that she would get me later. We then thought that perhaps we had misunderstood her and I would get to go to the cockpit after we landed. Not nearly so cool, but whatever. We went back to chatting. A few minutes later, the flight attendant came back and said the captain was ready for me. I guess we were right the first time!

I got escorted to the cockpit door and then it was opened and I was ushered inside. The captain introduced himself and his copilot. He helped me get settled into the jump seat. He told me about our approach. At this point we were above a huge layer of clouds, so beyond clouds, I couldn't see anything. It was slightly unnerving for me to watch us go through the clouds knowing that we were relying on equipment and maps to keep us from plowing into the side of the mountains. But once we passed through the clouds, it was a beautiful sight! I quickly made out the landmarks the captain had told me about. He pointed out a few more things as we made our way to the runway. And then, we had landed. It was then that the captain told me that the copilot was picking up his mom and sister and flying to Johannesburg to propose to his girlfriend.

After getting our bags we loaded up into a bus and made our way into the city. In Cape Town we were staying at cute little boutique hotels. Because of this, we had two hotels to accommodate us all. Slightly disappointing to be separated, even if it were only by 600 meters. We were in the second hotel. Our host, Emmy, was fabulous! Just a bubbly lady with happiness following her around. Unfortunately, our room was directly underneath the reception and dining room. And we could hear just about everything.

Soon it was dinner time so we headed out to catch our bus. One of our guides came by with her car and said there was a problem with our bus but they had chartered a city bus for us. Whatever. Soon the bus pulled up. I told Ben, "Look, there are randoms in the bus. That's weird." But whatever. A few blocks into our journey and the most amazing thing happened... the randoms started singing! They were an a capella group! It took us seconds before some of us were up and clapping and singing along. It was so much fun! One song they sang was "Welcome to Cape Town." We sang it for the rest of the trip.

Our destination wasn't what we were expecting. It was someone's house! The lady there offered tours and from her home, cooking lessons. So we all got to help make roti, curry chicken, samosas, and some fried corn balls. We had a lot of fun. And the food was delicious! Although it was a fun time, not exactly what we were thinking would be a nice anniversary activity. We had talked about just going out the 2 of us, but part of the reason we love going on trips is the interactions with the others in the group. We can always hang out just the 2 of us. Had we known though, we may have been selfish (mainly because we were so hungry when we got there and then we didn't eat for another 1.5 hours). But I'm glad we stayed.

Africa Day 4: The Elusive Black Rhino

Early (notice the trend?) the next morning, we went on our morning game drive. Early on in the drive our guide Jason, and tracker Don spotted some tracks that belonged to a black rhino. Don got out of our vehicle and began tracking on foot while we drove around looking for him. The black rhino became our white whale. We looked for over an hour, driving back and forth looking for him. It was frustrating. Mainly because we did not see a single animal while looking for the rhino. Not even an impala.

Interesting fact: The rhinos are heavily poached for their horns. Chinese men think this helps them out in the male department. For this reason, if the guides or trackers see a rhino, they don't report it over the radio. Sometimes they will use code phrases or words, but only in rare circumstances.

After a while we took a break to use the... bush... and eat a little snack. Off of the truck we were given a lesson in identifying animal droppings. I can tell the difference between elephant, white rhino and black rhino, giraffe and impala. Impressive, right? And then Jason grabbed some impala poop and put it in his mouth and spit it out like a watermelon seed. He told us we should all do it. I'm all to embrace the experience, but I do have to draw the line somewhere, and this was it!

We also took a walk. I felt safe with Jason and his gun. But I couldn't help but wonder if he was that quick with it if something were to charge us. Thankfully, we didn't need to find out!

The afternoon was a lazy one with time spent at the pool.

For our evening game drive, I sort of mentioned to Jason that we wanted to be sure to see a giraffe. The other truck had seen several. We had not. The other truck saw a bunch of animals in the morning. We spent our time searching for the black rhino. Well, say no more! The evening drive did not disappoint! We saw the male lions that are usually on the property. We saw giraffes! We even saw a leopard with it's kill in the nearby tree. It was fabulous!

After our drive, we went to a fire pit and had drinks (whisky and ginger for me!), and roasted kudo (deer type animal). We had a dance and singing show. At one point they said we should join the dancing line around the fire. Some of us girls did. And then we had a sort of dance off. Each dancer paired up with one of us. My guy said that I better not let him down! It was awesome!

From there it was back to our lodge for another amazing meal.

Africa Day 3: Up, Up, and Away!

Another early morning for us... this time we had to leave the hotel by 6:30. Only some of our group participated in the first event of the morning... microlight flights! Somehow I ended up being the first one to go. It was amazing! We flew over our hotel, Victoria Falls, hippos in the river, a giant crocodile in the river, elephants wondering around... it was incredible!

After a quick breakfast on our return, we were off to the next adventure - jumping off the Zim Zam Bridge! (So named because it links the countries of Zimbabwe and Zambia). Our options were to do a zip line across the river, bungee from the bridge or swing from the bridge. Ben and I opted to do a tandem (the two of us together) swing jump. The swing really was a lot like the bungee, but instead of bouncing up and down to stop, we swung back and forth. It was so much fun! Unfortunately, Paul took a video of our jump with his thumb in frame the whole way, so we don't have proof of our adventure.

The bridge was an interesting experience. Scott was there. But not really wanting to be. He was upset and swearing at us for "making" him be there. When it was his turn, he was panicked! They told him to let go of the hand rails they had to pry his fingers off. And then he quickly grabbed back on. Finally, they got him to let go and he jumped! And it was a perfect swan dive! It was glorious! When he got back up he had huge hugs and thanks for us for making him go through with it. And then, Poto convinced Sophia to do the swing with him. I am so proud of how people conquered their fears and embraced the adventure!

After the bridge we raced back to the hotel to pack up and leave Zambia. We took a commercial flight into South Africa, then hopped on small (Cessnas) planes to fly into Ulusaba! Ulusaba is Sir Richard Branson's resort. The reception of the resort is located at the end of the runway. They greeted us with champagne. We quickly changed into game drive gear and loaded up into land rovers for our first drive!

Our driver and ranger was Jason and our tracker and bait was Don. I really liked both of them. Anyway, on our first drive we saw some various deers, zebras, elephants, water buffalo... and lions! We found two lionesses and two adolescents. It was right at sundown. It was so cool to see them up close and in the wild. And then, they two cubs went on the other side of our vehicle. Then it got a little creepy... I started to feel like dinner. We left there and met up with the other land rover and had light snacks and drinks. I asked for a vodka soda and somehow ended up with a whiskey ginger ale. It was pretty good! On our way back we rounded a corner and there were rhinos! It was so cool! It was hard to see them in the twilight, but it was cool.

When we got back we quick changed and had a fabulous meal and evening. 

Africa Day 2: Forward Beasties!

Our day started pretty early. Ok, we left at 7:30. But that's still pretty early. LOL We walked down to the water's edge and got into some small boats. Ben warned Dori about the hippos. And, yep, saw a bunch of them not far away from shore. After a very short ride, we were at the edge of Victoria's Falls. We were brought to the shore where there were ropes in the water. They kind of followed some rocks. So, I thought we were walking across the rocks. Nope! We got into the river! (Yes, the river with hippos). It was an interesting swim. Our guide kept us close and we did almost a zig-zag pattern. If you strayed from that, you could feel the current. Oh, and the water was very... refreshing.

After a short swim, we climbed into the Devil's Pool. This is a natural occurring pool right at the edge of the falls. It is a deep pool, so as a result, the water is calm. Even though you are right at the edge of the world's largest waterfall. Did I mention we were at the edge??? It was pretty cool. After we got our pictures taken (on someone else's camera, still waiting on them to give them to me), we went back into the water to swim back to shore. They served us a wonderful breakfast (they had amazing biscuits!) and then we headed back to the hotel.

After a short break, we headed out for our next adventure - white water rafting! We took a truck to the midway point in the Zambezi River's rapids (there are 25 rapids: we started at 10 because some in the first 10 are class 5 rapids. And it would be an all day thing). After a brief safety training, we were given our gear for a hike down the hill. Yeah. We were told that it was a steep climb down, but that doesn't begin to explain it! It was steep. And the "path" was a bunch of branches made into a ladder put on the ground. It was an exhausting climb. My legs were like jello. The branches/logs were slightly slippery. No hand rails. But I made it!

It took a while for the whole group to make it down (interesting fact: the fastest one of the porters can go up and down is 22 minutes). Once down, we loaded up in our rafts and headed out. In our raft was Alex, Kevin, Andrew (Poto), Ben, me and our guide Scott. It didn't take us to long to get to the first of the exciting rapids - 12 a,b and c also named "the 3 ugly sisters" followed immediately by rapid 13, "the mother." We let the other 2 rafts go through first. And they both flipped. We made it through the rapids, in tact. Phew. Once cleared from the rapids, we went into rescue mode and helped get the ones that fell out of the rafts. We pulled Meredith and Scott out. They both were completely speechless and stunned. It took a few minutes for them to snap out of that. And by then, everyone was back in their rafts. (Along with the rafts were a few helpers in kayaks that helped retrieve people and paddles out of the water).

We had a little bit of a break on rapids 14-17. And then it was rapid 18 - Oblivion. Once again, we went last. At was another exciting ride! This time only one raft flipped. And the other one lost a member (Jessica). But our raft was still unflipped!

Rapid 23 we were allowed to get out of the raft and ride them ourselves. Of course we had to do that! Although, a few that flipped at the mother decided to stay in the boat. It was much more exciting than I was expecting! One wave totally crashed into my face and knocked my glasses off (luckily I had them tied on).

Our guide Scot was from the UK. When he wanted us to paddle, he would say, "Forward, team, please." But because of his accent, we thought he was saying, "Forward, beasties!" So, that became our team name. We also may have gotten a little cocky and after clearing rapids, we would air guitar for the camera.

After an adrenaline filled day, it was so nice to have a nice and peaceful dinner on the lawn of the Royal Livingstone. 

Africa Day 1: Arrivals and Grubs

After a delightful breakfast at Ten Bompas (Poached eggs!), Ben and I headed back to the airport. At the Johannesburg airport we met up with a few from our group and we all headed out to Livingstone. The flight was short and fine. But man! Immigration was terrible!!

We were at the back of the plane, so we were some of the last in line. There were three desks open. Every single transaction lasted no fewer than 5 minutes. So obviously, the line was very slow. Kevin and Ashley had been near the front. We thought about joining them in line, but figured everyone would get mad at us. So we stayed in the back. And waited. And waited. It was terrible.

Finally we got our stamps and visas, and were on our way. Kevin and Ashley wisely made their way to the hotel without us. Luckily, we still had a driver waiting for us. He got our bags loaded up and brought us to the Royal Livingstone Hotel. It was beautiful! But because we had gotten held up so long at immigration, we didn't have much time to enjoy our surroundings. We got our room, dropped our bags and loaded up!

Our first group activity was to go to an elephant experience. We were able to feed, pet and look at elephants. Elephants are huge!! I didn't fully appreciate their size until I was standing next to one. After that we had a very lovely high tea.

We made our way back to the hotel. And... their were zebras outside our room! Just wandering around, munching on grass. It was so cool to be close to them. While fairly tame (they live on the property so they are used to humans) they are still wild animals. A guy was standing around making sure we didn't get too close.

For dinner we were off in golf carts to a private dinner on the far side of the property. We were greeted by singers, dancers and drummers. They had a huge spread of meats and vegetables. And grubs. A whole big bowl full of them. Somehow my table all decided to give them a try. Honestly, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but I was still choking and gagging it down.

After dinner a few of us got up and danced with the dancers. I'm sure we were pretty entertaining! After a bit, we headed back to our resort. A few of us stayed up and had a drink, but none of us lasted too long after a busy day and an early day ahead of us.

Getting to Africa

A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to travel to Africa for a Maverick Epic trip. And it was epic! So many great memories and adventures. But first, we had to get there.

We left on a Friday morning. Our first flight was to MSP. It felt a little like being back home. On our way between gates we stopped at the rest rooms. I hung my hoodie on the hook on the back of the door. I put our passports and tickets in the pocket. I went about my business. I put my backpack back on. I carefully grabbed my hoodie, making sure everything was still in the pocket. I washed my hands. I reached into the pocket and... no passports! Other pocket... nothing. Floor... no sign of them. I ran out of the bathroom (freaking out) to tell Ben. Then back into the bathroom to check the floors and ask the ladies in there. No passports. Great. We hadn't even left the country, and now we can't leave the country! I was so upset with myself. I reported back to Ben. He was very chill and unconcerned, by the way. As I headed back to the restroom to look again, he went to the closest Delta gate. Sure enough, someone had found our passports and tickets and returned them. Still baffles me as to how I managed to lose them.

Ben used his global upgrades to get us into Business Class. It was so nice to have room, good food and a seat that went flat for sleeping. We traveled to Amsterdam in comfort. Once there we went to the lounge to see if we could get an upgrade to Johannesburg (that leg was KLM and Delta can't confirm upgrades). Luckily for us, we got the upgrades for that leg too! Another pampered flight for us.

We arrived in Johannesburg around 9 pm. We had a driver waiting for us to bring us to our hotel. We stayed at a very nice boutique hotel owned by Starwood (Ten Bompas). The staff took great care of us.  In our room we had "welcome fruits" and champagne. Our shower was also a steam room.

And after a good night's sleep in a real bed, we began our "real" trip.