We left Cape Town on Saturday, May 6th to fly to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, where we decided to do a safari. The Zimbabwe infrastructure isn’t great (for example, ATMs are almost always out of cash), so we elected to go with a pre-built package with all of the cool stuff scheduled in and paid for so we didn’t have to worry or plan as much.
Read MoreSorry for being so behind on this blog, Samantha and I have been super busy these past few weeks, and were mostly out of internet range. Yesterday we arrived in Istanbul after a long day of travelling, and are really looking forward to this next chapter in the trip. That being said i wanted to recap our last weeks in Africa.
Read MoreI'm not really sure what I expected shark cage diving to be like when Chuck booked our excursion in Gansbaai. I wasn't afraid, though my hair stylist in Port Elizabeth spoke at length about how I should be. I suppose I thought it would be a similar experience to the wildlife viewing we'd done so far--sort of a drive by, take a few pictures and leave, kind of thing.
Not exactly.
Read MoreThe day after Addo Elephant Park, we took another recommendation of our wonderful AirBnB hostess and went to Kragga Kamma Game Reserve, just outside of Port Elizabeth. The reserve had a self-drive option that went around the park, with a stop in the middle of the drive at a cafe overlooking the cheetah enclosure. Unlike Addo, predators in this park are kept separate from their prey.
Read MoreOne of the absolute coolest things to do in Port Elizabeth is to go to Addo Elephant Park.
Addo is the third biggest national park in South Africa, and was our first chance to see wildlife in a more natural setting. Unlike game reserves, the animals at Addo aren't separated into cages to keep, say, the lions from eating the elephants. Tours were available, but we opted to do a self-drive. At the advice of our AirBnB hosts, we packed a picnic lunch and snacked all day while we drove around for about six hours.
Read MoreIt's hard to take a bad photo on South Africa's Garden Route. As our guide at the Villeria game reserve told us, the fynbos biome is one of the most biologically diverse regions in the world. As we drove from Betty's Bay to Hermanus to Cape Agulhas to Knysna, we passed through deserts, jungles, plains, and jagged coastal mountains.
At times, I felt like I was back in Nebraska. We saw some center pivots, and lots of pastures with cattle grazing in them. But then, I'd see a giant ostrich roaming around and snap back to reality.
Hermanus used to be a major fishing village. Now, it's a tourist destination. We spent lots of time hiking along the cliff trails, which was gorgeous. But I have to say, a major highlight for me was watching Out of Africa with Meryl Streep, which was a video option in our AirBnb. As we drove along from Hermanus to Knysna, "I had a farm....in Africa..." kept echoing in my head.
Read MoreSamantha and Charles Parsons went a little overboard when planning their honeymoon. Instead of a few short weeks of travel, they opted for a year-long adventure around the world! Follow along as they leave their home in Denver, Colorado in the United States to travel the globe.
Just click on the logo of the store you want to shop at, and every purchase you make at that retailer will get the Parsons team around 4% - 8% of the cost of your order!
It costs you nothing!
Charles & Samantha Parsons
parsonsworldonline@gmail.com
