Trip Recap! Cape Town & Kruger-area safari

[gringachef]

I asked for assistance with planning this trip a few months back & wanted to say thanks to all of you who responded & gave such great info. 
We got back a week ago today & I'm already wanting to go back. 
I met my sister who was just finishing a stint on Mercy Ships in Madagascar & Durban. 
This is pretty detailed so scroll through for pics. Thanks again for all of the advice!!

Day 1: 
Picked up by a private transfer at JNB. He met me just a few moments after I got off the plane & took me through SA passport control (skipped the long line for foreign visitors) & brought me to our amazing little boutique hotel, The Peech. I would absolutely stay there again if in Joburg. It was in a really quiet neighborhood, just a block or so from where Mandela lived after his presidency ended. The room was modern & beautiful with heated beds, an amazing whole wall of windows & included a delicious breakfast. 

Day 2: 
Picked up by a private transfer back to JNB to catch flight to Hoedspruit. 
Our game lodge, Kapama River Lodge,  met us at the airport in open-top safari vehicle and we simply crossed the road into the Kapama Game Reserve where we immediately started seeing animals! What a welcome! 
The lodge itself was so perfect for us. Very modern & luxurious but I felt like I was in Africa, you know? I can't say enough great things about it there. The food (4 extensive buffet meals a day & amazing wines) was fantastic. 
That evening we headed out for our first 3 hour game drive. We saw 4 of the Big Five that night, including a leopard!!! 

Days 3 & 4: included 2 safaris a day, a large consumption of food & wine & a trip to the cheetah park nearby. We had crazy encounters with elephants, saw lions hunting, eating & mating, saw some very rare nocturnal creatures (Our guide & spotter were amazing). I could go on & on about all of the cool things that we saw but I don't want to bore you guys. 

Day 5: We went on our final game drive, said goodbye to the amazing staff at Kapama & took a flight to Cape Town. We chose the Abbey Manor guesthouse . It was really beautiful, in a great little neighborhood just a few blocks from the bustling Kloof St, and our room was huge, comfortable, beautiful & had the most amazing view of Table Mountain. Our stay here was also wonderful. We uber'd to the V&A Waterfront for dinner & ran into a couple that we met at Kapama so we ended up doing dinner with them at a nice Italian spot there. It wasn't amazing but oddly was quite comforting to have a giant bowl of pasta  

Day 6: We were picked up for our 1/2 Day City Tour where we drove up Table Mountain & spent an hour or so walking around various spots checking out the view. I actually considered going paragliding there & while time didn't allow for it I would definitely do it next time. 
We then started to get a historical tour of the city & about 2 hours into it we decided to ditch the tour & walk around. We ended up doing a little shopping on Kloof & Long st's and grabbed lunch at El Burro Taqueria. Super fun little spot! We walked the mile back to the guesthouse, got ready for dinner & uber'd over to the Old Biscuit Mill & to our dinner res at The Potluck Club.  It goes without saying that dinner was amazing. We had about 75% of the items on the menu between the two of us, lol. Awesome dinner spot:) 

Day 7: Cape Point & Peninsula Tour (8am-6pm) 
We had a spectacular tour of the area including Chapman's Peak, Cape of Good Hope, Boulders Beach & Kirstenbosch Gardens. We had dinner at Hudson's Burger Joint & then bar-hopped along Kloof St for awhile. 

Day 8: Our cage shark diving with Marine Dynamics was canceled the previous afternoon due to high seas  
We uber'd around town to a few spots that we missed or wanted to spend more time in, including the Watershed at the Waterfront where we both found some cool locally-made art pieces, fun jewelry & gifts. We ate lunch at the food market, trying different food at various stalls which was a lot of fun. 

We could have easily spent SO much more time here but I couldn't leave my restaurant for any more time  

[Deleted]

Yay glad you had a great trip!

I probably won't go back for awhile since I used to live there, but the recap is giving me such nostalgia. I lived near Kloof Street and walked that route to work every day. Definitely a fan of Hudsons. I'm glad you made it to Chapmans Peak and Cape of Good Hope.

South Africa is such a wonderful country with so much to explore and I'm looking forward to going back eventually in the future.

[mryrcn]

It sounds amazing. I'm so glad you had fun. Maybe one day I can make it to SA.

[moorea]

Great trip report and photos! We're going to Cape Town and Kruger in a few weeks - what was the weather like when you were there? Was it warm enough to sit by the pool in Kruger in the afternoon?

[dreamcrisp1]

So glad you had a good trip! I loved seeing your posts and updates on fb!

[scout8]

Thanks for sharing! It looks and sounds amazing. I am bookmarking this as we are planning to do a similar trip as soon as we have enough miles for business class!

[gringachef]

Aug 12, 2016 18:09:31 GMT -5 moorea said:

Great trip report and photos! We're going to Cape Town and Kruger in a few weeks - what was the weather like when you were there? Was it warm enough to sit by the pool in Kruger in the afternoon?

It got into the high 70's & low 80's in Kruger so definitely warm enough to lay out. It was nearly 10 degrees cooler in Cape Town though. If you're going in a few weeks it may be warm enough in Cape Town as well. Have an amazing time! SaveSave

[gringachef]

dreamcrisp1- Thank you SO much for all of your help:) I kind of took a bit of an internet hiatus while there & didn't post as much as I thought I would. I still need to organize my pics to post a FB album as well. I think that I took over 2k so it's going to take some dedicated time to make sense of it all!

scout8- I had enough miles for Bus Class but I booked it only a few weeks beforehand and there were no mileage seats available:( I suffered through the Delta Comfort but being able to lay down would have made a HUGE difference in my life, especially on the way home.

RockNVoll- I wish that I could go back tomorrow. I loved it SO much. Have an amazing time!!

@wandering- I'm sure that every place has it's negatives when you live there but I had a hard time finding many faults in Cape Town. If I ever had the opportunity to live there I would have a hard time saying no. The people were wonderful, the food was outstanding, the vistas unmatched. I was really taken by SA:)

[Deleted]

Aug 12, 2016 18:09:31 GMT -5 moorea said:

Great trip report and photos! We're going to Cape Town and Kruger in a few weeks - what was the weather like when you were there? Was it warm enough to sit by the pool in Kruger in the afternoon?

You'll be catching the tail end of winter. It'll be warmer in Kruger. In Cape Town it can definitely get chilly and rainy. I would definitely bring a light jacket just in case.

[dreamcrisp1]

Aug 12, 2016 18:09:31 GMT -5 moorea said:

Great trip report and photos! We're going to Cape Town and Kruger in a few weeks - what was the weather like when you were there? Was it warm enough to sit by the pool in Kruger in the afternoon?

According to my BF, Cape Town isn't too cold right now. But we're from Canada where it does get cold. It's rainy though. Rains a lot. Remind me before you go and I'll tell you what he says the weather is like there around then! Definitely bring a light jacket as I found when it's windy, it's cool. And it's always windy. lol.

[moorea]

Thank you to those who responded to my temperature question!

I'm expecting cool in Cape Town and wouldn't mind - I like traveling when it's slightly cooler. I can even deal with cold. Rain, ehhh. I booked it knowing it was a rainy time, but I hope it's not too bad. Will bring a rain jacket for sure!

[chicago]

Thanks for the recap! Your photos are gorgeous and I want to go back!!!

[tres3]

what great pictures.

[Deleted]

Aug 12, 2016 21:16:18 GMT -5 gringachef said:

@wandering - I'm sure that every place has it's negatives when you live there but I had a hard time finding many faults in Cape Town. If I ever had the opportunity to live there I would have a hard time saying no. The people were wonderful, the food was outstanding, the vistas unmatched. I was really taken by SA:)

Ha, well there are plenty of negatives...poverty, racism, gender based violence and xenophobia are probably the top that come to mind. 

However, it is a wonderful country and I highly recommend it as a vacation place for anyone. The country is very diverse. I feel that way about many African countries that are overlooked. There are many wonderful places to see and people to meet!

[gigem]

Thanks for the recap and I loved seeing your pics!

Btw so glad you made it to El Burrito, so yummy!

[klingklang77]

Sounds like a great trip! Thanks for the review.

[lovelyshoes]

Thanks for the recap. The pictures are gorgeous and your trip sounds fantastic. It's on my wish list for sure.

[definitelyO]

looks and sounds AMAZING!

[definitelyO]

looks and sounds AMAZING!