Mom
’s flight arrived late on Friday, January 7th into the Cape Town International airport. I greeted her there upon which she began to cry… thankfully it was out of happiness and not the fact that I was going to be the one to drive her on the “wrong” side of the road to my apartment (pictured). After our joyous reunion, we loaded her heavy, heavy suitcases (heavy because she brought me goodies from home :)) into my rental car and made our way to my flat in Sea Point.
We spent the next few days sightseeing (and a little sleeping and recovering for Mom) in Cape Town. I took her to Boulders Beach where we watched the penguins (pictured) swim in the ocean and play in the sand. I also took her to the University of Cape Town so she could see where I spend all of my time and to my university house where I’ll be living next semester. I gave her just a brief introduction to Cape Town before our big trip was to begin that Monday.
Vic Falls
Our first flight left from Cape Town early Monday morning, January 10th. I had explained to my mother that flying in South Africa is much different that the US, but I don’t think she understood that until she saw that it only took us 1 minute to get from the check-in counter to our gate. Once we were settled at our gate we began to notice that none of the flights were called to board via an intercom system. Instead, people just got up at the scheduled boarding time and stood at the gate. In other words, there isn’t a nagging flight attendant calling people by rows and telling passengers they must wait their turn.
Once in the air, Mom was able to see that South Africans also take their in-flight food and drink seriously. The flight attendants are quick to serve a drink cart, beverage cart, and a meal cart (all of this for just a two hour flight!). Everything is included in the price of a ticket—gin, wine, coke, food. As Mom put it, flying in South Africa is the way that the US used to do it.
We changed planes in Johannesburg and boarded our flight to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. We experienced the same service as we did on the pervious flight and were happy when we arrived 2 hours later at the Vic Falls airport. Upon arrival we had to pay for a visitor’s visa ($30 USD). We stood in line for at least 45 minutes, so to pass the time we took pictures of the Rotary sign (pictured) that was hanging in the lobby… Rotary really is everywhere. After receiving our permit to enter the country, we were greeted by a staff member of the Thompsons Tour Group who took us to our hotel.
As we drove along the roads of Zimbabwe to our hotel, our guide answered our many questions about the country… why they use the US dollar as their currency, what kinds of animals live close by to the Falls, what the current political climate is like, and how Zimbabweans feel about Americans. As he happily answered all of our questions, we passed many baboons and warthogs (pictured) alongside the road.
Mom and I stayed at the Vic Falls Hotel (pictured) on the Zimbabwean side of the Falls. The hotel itself was massive and still kept in its original colonial style. The staff there were very friendly and helped us to our room. We spent the rest of that day relaxing with high tea in the courtyard and walking around the grounds. Later that night we spied monkeys and baboons sneaking into the hotel… I guess they were looking for food.
After a good night’s sleep, Mom and I were delighted to have a private tour of the V
ictoria Falls with our guide. He showed us many things such as the “Strangle Tree” (pictured), a tree that literally strangles another tree and takes it over and kills it, monkeys, and of course the spectacular Falls. Victoria Falls (pictured) are the largest falls in the world and are considered by some to be among the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. Davi
d Livingstone, the Scottish missionary and explorer, is believed to have been the first European recorded to view the Victoria Falls. Livingstone gave the falls the name 'Victoria Falls' in honor of his Queen, but the indigenous name of 'Mosi-oa-Tunya' which literally means the 'Smoke that Thunders' is also used. I personally like Mosi-oa-Tunya because it adequately describes the extreme mist and the noise of the Falls. Thankfully, our guide had raincoats ready for us to use as we walked around! The view was stunning, but towards the end of the tour our guide tried to convince us both to go bungee jumping. Mom cleverly replied, “After you” to our guide :). In the words of Barney Fife, that “nipped it in the bud”.
After taking our second shower at the Falls, Mom and I went and took a two hour river boat cruise down the Zambezi River (pictured). We were treated like queens as we drifted down the river; served tea, coffee, wine, and goodies while on board. We spotted two crocodiles, numerous birds, and many hippos (pictured) all while learning about the river. I don’t know why
, but my mother kept calling the hippos “buffalos”. When we went back to the hotel the reception desk staff asked us if we saw anything and my mom replied, “Oh yes! We saw many water buffalo!” To that the staff said, “Really?!?” Embarrassed and confused, I replied, “No. That’s not true. They were hippo.” This pattern of behavior continued throughout the whole trip with my mother… malaria medication to blame??During our down time in Vic Falls, Mom and I went “bargain shopping” at some of the local markets. The crafts were beautifully handmade and always came with “the best price”. Many of the store keepers tried to haggle with us, but these two smart American women didn’t play into that game J. We even had one guy approach us wanting to sell us Zimbabwean currency (a 3 trillion dollar note) which luckily we both knew hasn’t been in circulation in several years
. All in all, it was fun to see the locals in action.After visiting the beautiful Victoria Falls, we flew back to Joburg and spent the night at the D’Oreale Grande Hotel and Casino (pictured). This hotel was absolutely beautiful and reminded me of something you would find in Las Vegas. Unfortunately we didn’t have much time in Joburg since we had a morning flight to Hoedspruit to catch.
Timbavati- King’s Camp
Have you ever received your luggage after a flight via tractor? Well, I have. Flying into the Hoedspruit airport wa
s very interesting. First of all, as we landed on the runway I noticed a plane to our right hand side had literally fallen and crashed off the runway. Luckily, no one was hurt in that accident. Secondly, we arrived and were directed to go stand outside to await our luggage. Mom and I laughed when we saw the tractor pull 
up with everyone’s bags in tow. After pulling our bags off of the tractor (pictured), we were on our way to Kings Camp. As we were driving down a dirt road our guide was kind enough to stop the car so we could have a good look at the giraffes (pictured) that were alongside the road. Mom screamed (literally) with delight and our driver laughed. He said, “I wonder if you’ll be screaming like that at the end of your trip when you’ve seen so many animals?”We arrived at Kings Camp and were greeted with warm smiles and cocktails (best kind of greeting there is!). The manager Tristan checked us in and showed us around the camp. Along the way he explained some of the rules: (1) No walking alone at night for security reasons (snakes, monkeys, etc), (2) Drinks and snacks are always free and available—so drink up and indulge, and (3) no exercising while you’re on vacation. Mom and I could handle those kinds of rules :). Our daily schedule was as such:
5:30am Wake up call
5:45am Tea/ coffee and muffins served
6:00am Game drive
8:00am Stop in the middle of nowhere for tea/ coffee and goodies
9:30am Breakfast
10:30am Nap time
2:00pm Lunch
3:00pm Showers
4:00pm Game Drive
6:00pm Stop in the middle of nowhere to have a sundowner*
7:45pm Drinks and Dinner
10:00pm Sleep
*Sundowners are cocktails served while watching the sun go down
As you can tell by our “busy” schedule, every day we went on 2 game drives with our guides Sam and Colbert (pictured). These two men were very knowledgeable and were able to tell us a
nything we wanted to know about the area and the animals. Colbert’s favorite phrase was that he was “going to make a plan” to make sure we saw all of the Big 5 and more. Colbert didn’t disappoint us in the least…we saw many, many impalas and elephants (pictured). We also saw leopards, lions, hippo (which my mom still called water buffalo), rhino, buffalo, birds, hyenas, mongoose, kudu, tortoises, zebras, hares, giraffes, a spitting cobra and a black mamba. My favorite animals were 
the leopards (pictured) and giraffes because they both have such wonderful fur patterns and I’ve never seen either one of them before.
Our cabin (pictured) was fabulous (I don’t even think I should call it a cabin because it was so amazing, but
for lack of better words I will). There were two beds complete with mosquito nets, two benches, a wardrobe, a full length mirror, a tea and coffee service set, a lounge area, fully stocked bar, patio area with chairs and hammock, shower, tub, and so much more. Every evening when we were on game drive, someone would come into the room and light candles and draw a nice, warm bubble bath. While we were enjoying the most wonderful food I’ve ever had at supper, they would come back and fix our mosquito netting and leave a chocolate on our pillow. I never been so spoiled and I did not want to leave… but unfortunately all goo
d things must come to an end. I begged the staff to let me stay, but Mom forced me into the car to leave for the airport.
We arrived at the Hoedspruit airport and found out that our plane (coming from Joburg) was delayed. I took this as a sign that we should return to Kings Camp, but once again my mother rained on my parade and said “no”. So we waited in the airport and were served free snacks and drinks since there was a delay. After an hour and a half of waiting for our plane, the staff of South African Airways issued an apology note. I can’t even imagine any of this happening in the US… if your plane is delayed in the US you’re lucky to get an intercom announcement telling you so.
The airlineboarded us quickly and we landed safely in Johannesburg where we were greeted by a guy named Klaus. Klaus then led us to a van with a driver named December who was to take us to Pretoria. Along the way December (one of the most colorful characters I’ve ever met) educated us about the city and about himself. He played a guessing game with us to see if we could guess what his native tongue was. It turns out that it was Xhosa (the click language) and he spoke some to us. Mom fell in love with it and everywhere we went after that she wanted
to hear someone speak as she said “Coo-sah”.
We stayed at the Castello Di Monte hotel (pictured) in Pretoria, another fabulous pick by the travel agent. But again unfortunately we didn’t have much time in Pretoria and weren’t able to properly see the city. The hotel itself though was very beautiful and so we spent some time walking around the property before we headed off to the trai
n station.
Blue Train
The next morning we woke up early to catch the luxurious Blue Train (pictured) from the Pretoria station. Once again, we were greete
d with warm smiles from the staff. As we checked in, the staff asked my mother where she was from to which my mother looked at me with absolute confusion. I replied to the woman, “She’s from the USA.” I’m so glad I was there to translate for my mom!
As you can tell by our “busy” schedule, every day we went on 2 game drives with our guides Sam and Colbert (pictured). These two men were very knowledgeable and were able to tell us a
nything we wanted to know about the area and the animals. Colbert’s favorite phrase was that he was “going to make a plan” to make sure we saw all of the Big 5 and more. Colbert didn’t disappoint us in the least…we saw many, many impalas and elephants (pictured). We also saw leopards, lions, hippo (which my mom still called water buffalo), rhino, buffalo, birds, hyenas, mongoose, kudu, tortoises, zebras, hares, giraffes, a spitting cobra and a black mamba. My favorite animals were 
the leopards (pictured) and giraffes because they both have such wonderful fur patterns and I’ve never seen either one of them before.Our cabin (pictured) was fabulous (I don’t even think I should call it a cabin because it was so amazing, but
for lack of better words I will). There were two beds complete with mosquito nets, two benches, a wardrobe, a full length mirror, a tea and coffee service set, a lounge area, fully stocked bar, patio area with chairs and hammock, shower, tub, and so much more. Every evening when we were on game drive, someone would come into the room and light candles and draw a nice, warm bubble bath. While we were enjoying the most wonderful food I’ve ever had at supper, they would come back and fix our mosquito netting and leave a chocolate on our pillow. I never been so spoiled and I did not want to leave… but unfortunately all goo
d things must come to an end. I begged the staff to let me stay, but Mom forced me into the car to leave for the airport.We arrived at the Hoedspruit airport and found out that our plane (coming from Joburg) was delayed. I took this as a sign that we should return to Kings Camp, but once again my mother rained on my parade and said “no”. So we waited in the airport and were served free snacks and drinks since there was a delay. After an hour and a half of waiting for our plane, the staff of South African Airways issued an apology note. I can’t even imagine any of this happening in the US… if your plane is delayed in the US you’re lucky to get an intercom announcement telling you so.
The airlineboarded us quickly and we landed safely in Johannesburg where we were greeted by a guy named Klaus. Klaus then led us to a van with a driver named December who was to take us to Pretoria. Along the way December (one of the most colorful characters I’ve ever met) educated us about the city and about himself. He played a guessing game with us to see if we could guess what his native tongue was. It turns out that it was Xhosa (the click language) and he spoke some to us. Mom fell in love with it and everywhere we went after that she wanted
to hear someone speak as she said “Coo-sah”.We stayed at the Castello Di Monte hotel (pictured) in Pretoria, another fabulous pick by the travel agent. But again unfortunately we didn’t have much time in Pretoria and weren’t able to properly see the city. The hotel itself though was very beautiful and so we spent some time walking around the property before we headed off to the trai
n station.Blue Train
The next morning we woke up early to catch the luxurious Blue Train (pictured) from the Pretoria station. Once again, we were greete
d with warm smiles from the staff. As we checked in, the staff asked my mother where she was from to which my mother looked at me with absolute confusion. I replied to the woman, “She’s from the USA.” I’m so glad I was there to translate for my mom! The train was indeed luxurious—we had our own butler, sleeping and sitting area, and bathroom. We enjoyed the 26 hours from Pretoria to Cape Town by dining on wonderful food, sitting by the window drinking tea, and taking a tour of a diamond mine in Kimberly at a stop over.
Cape Town
We arrived back in Cape Town on January 18th, 8 days after first departing. I was sad that our wonderful, stress fr
ee journey was over—now it was back to me driving on the “wrong” side of the road and playing tour director for Mom. We visited several shopping malls and areas in Cape Town (no surprise to anyone who knows either one of us), went on a champagne sunset harbor cruise, rode the cable car up Table Mountain (pictured) and enjoyed sunset, and visited Cape Agulhas (the southernmost tip of Africa).
Many times during our trip my mother commented that “others just don’t know what they’re missing”. How true it is! We had the most wonderful trip I’ve ever had and if I had the chance I would do it all over again. Best vacation ever! I really felt like an African Queen!
Cape Town
We arrived back in Cape Town on January 18th, 8 days after first departing. I was sad that our wonderful, stress fr
ee journey was over—now it was back to me driving on the “wrong” side of the road and playing tour director for Mom. We visited several shopping malls and areas in Cape Town (no surprise to anyone who knows either one of us), went on a champagne sunset harbor cruise, rode the cable car up Table Mountain (pictured) and enjoyed sunset, and visited Cape Agulhas (the southernmost tip of Africa).
Many times during our trip my mother commented that “others just don’t know what they’re missing”. How true it is! We had the most wonderful trip I’ve ever had and if I had the chance I would do it all over again. Best vacation ever! I really felt like an African Queen!
