Come with me to South Africa!
I went to South Africa!
And let me tell you my life will never be the same. There was so much to see, do and be inspired by. I’ll be honest and admit that this was not something I ever really had a desire to do, but it’s been a dream of Karlos’ (my hubs) and it could not have been a better experience! I’m going to do my best to sum it up in this blog.
South African flag from constitution hill’s courtroom
First things first…we flew delta and that meant our first 2 hour flight from Dallas had to stop in Atlanta. The flight from Atlanta to Johannesburg was 15 hours. Yep, you read that correctly. If you would have asked kid Brittany or teenage Brittany if she would ever…I’m sure she would say hard pass. Alas, I did it and it wasn’t terrible. We strategically flew at night so that our bodies would automatically know to wind down for the evening. The plane was nice and new and large, so that certainly helped. Once we landed, our new friend picked us up from the airport and took us to our hotel.
Left - Jacarandas tree/Right - hotel patio where we had breakfast each morning
Our first few days, we stayed in the city of Johannesburg. Our hotel was nestled in the beautiful Rosebank neighborhood lined with Jacaranda trees. While in Jozi (as the locals affectionately call it) we were able to visit a few places. One of our biggest itinerary attractions was probably the private drive we took at the Lion and Safari park which was several miles outside of the city. We also stopped at the Irene Village market on the way. There were too many good things to see and we did help ourselves to many souvenirs and gifts for family. Oh I can’t forget our trip to Soweto to visit the home of the legendary Nelson Mandela. Random, but I didn’t realize how tall he was.
Photos from the Lion/Safari Park and don’t worry, those cages were only off our safari vehicle for this photo!
Left - male lion/Middle - Karlos and me with our friend Sizwe/Right - a couple lions after feeding
Left - Mandela House/Right - greeting from Zulu people
After leaving the city, we stayed at The Cradle Boutique hotel. This was an incredible way to experience nature, and I felt so many moments of gratitude. The view from our sky room was amazing and so was the food. Eating breakfast in the morning and dinner every evening at the onsite restaurant really gave us an opportunity to take advantage of seeing the landscape as much as possible. There was also the plus of seeing some of the game grazing too. We also had the chance to do a game drive, guided walk (more like hike) and visit the spa, and I highly recommend all three!
Left - view from our room/Right - photo from our game drive of a traditional Zulu iQukwane
When our time was up at the Cradle, we took a one hour flight south to Durban. Our last destination was oceanfront, an airbnb in Umhlanga Rocks. It was a great location. Food and shopping were both within walking distance on and off the promenade. During this trip we visited Ushaka Marine World, Shongweni Village Market and the home of Mahatma Gandhi.
Left - view from airbnb balcony/Right - view from front door of airbnb
There is so much else to mention but I don’t want this post to be too long! Overall, the trip was fantastic and I strongly recommend visiting South Africa for yourself. The people were friendly and welcoming. The food was flavorful and delicious. The country’s beauty was something I won’t ever forget. Basically, the motherland was “motherlanding.” I have hyperlinked several of the places we visited for your convenience. If you have questions about South Africa or any other connections from my trip, feel free to reach out or comment below.
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xoxo,
Brittany
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