Lions Sands, Sabi Sands South Africa #SafariSA

We arrived in Lion Sands at the 1933 lodge and were stunned by the beautiful surroundings. Our rooms have walls of windows, so when you look out across the Sabi river that flows by, you can see Cape Buffalo, Hippos, Impala, and more. Did I mention there are also monkeys in the trees.

Even the bathroom has floor to ceiling windows. It made me wonder, while an impala watched me showering, exactly who was on safari. Fortunately, the impala had no camera nor facebook account to post to.

The kids could not have been happier with their dormitory style bunk beds. 5 kids ranging in age from 4-10 had sweet dreams every night in their own special kid space. The bunk beds were second only to the pool in their hearts. Where else can you splash around in a pool and then look up and see elephants off the deck?

Finally, we were treated to a South African boma (bar b que) one night. It was delicious and gorgeous.

Tomorrow's post will be full of safari pictures from Lions Sands. We've seen some amazing things here the highlight being leopard cubs.

For more on our trip check out my Safari pals Jamie at I am Not The Babysitter 

and Shannon at The Women Formerly Known As Beautiful

This post is sponsored by More Hotel South Africa and Destination South Africa Travel 

Visiting Cape Town #SafariSA

There are so many things to do in and around Cape Town you really need several days. With just three days we've done our darnedest to see as much as possible. From Wineries to Penguins, we did it. We were so lucky to get to start out from the beautiful More Quarters Redcliffe House. Just look at this entrance and the living room...

          

Our first day found us heading to wine country, through some of the most idealistic villages you can imagine. They reminded me quite a bit of California's Napa valley and other wine regions with lots of great restaurants and shopping. We did a quick stop in Franschhoek for lunch, which I highly recommend. Lots of shopping too.

  

We also stopped at Drankenstein Correctional Facility, which may seem odd. But it's the last prison that held Nelson Mandela and where he was released from. The entrance has a huge statue of Mandela and it is good to see. I would mention that you are not allowed to climbed on it, as the orange suited security guard is coming to tell us. We apologized profusely.

Day two we headed down to the Cape of Good Hope. On the way we stopped to see the Jackass penguins, named for the sound they make not their disposition, at Boulders Beach near Simonstown.

We also saw ostriches and there was a promise of baboons, but they did not appear. So sad.

We finally made it down to the southern most tip of Africa and got our picture. I'm sure it will make my mother's Christmas card this year.



And on the third day I rested and wrote this post. Early tomorrow morning we head to Lions Sands for our last leg of this trip. I'm glad we wrap it up back on safari. Stay tuned for lots of animals. you can follow us on Twitter with the hash tag #SafariSA.

For more on our trip check out my Safari pals Jamie at I am Not The Babysitter 

and Shannon at The Women Formerly Known As Beautiful

This post is sponsored by More Hotel South Africa and Destination South Africa Travel 

Madikwe Safari Lodge South Africa

We arrived at Madikwe Safari Lodge last night and were greeted by their amazing staff with cool towels and cold drinks. We had already seen several animals just on the drive up, giraffes, wart hogs, impala, spring bok, kudu, wildebeest and zebra. I’ll admit I got a bit emotional. It really felt like a life time dream was coming true.

Once inside the lodge your breath is taken away again by the beautiful décor, a mix of simple elegant furniture and nature. They really have mastered the art of combining inside and outside space while maintaining a feel of a 5 star resort.

Our rooms are gorgeous with stellar views of plains where if you’re lucky you can see some of the array of wild life passing by. I have been struggling with jet lag so it maybe that I was just incredibly tired but the bed was perfect and I slept like a baby.We even have a plunge pool on our private deck.

Once we had settled in we were taken out for our first game ride and it did not disappoint. So many great animal sighting and then to top it off some cocktails in the bush. Afterward we had a gourmet dinner under the stars on the veranda/dining room of the lodge.

And today has been just as amazing, but that’s a post for tomorrow.

For more on our trip check out my Safari pals Jamie at I'm Not The Babysitter 

and Shannon at The Women Formerly Known As Beautiful

This post is sponsored by More Hotel South Africa and Destination South Africa Travel 

Going to Africa

Today we take our first leg of our trip to Africa. We fly to New York and stay the night in a hotel for the next morning flight to Johannesburg. That 15 hour flight makes me grateful for the relative shortness of today's flight of 5 hours. Also the kid is very excited about seeing actual snow fall from the actual sky. So a night in New York is very welcome.

I have to send big love to our travel agents at DSA (Destination South Africa) for answering all our tireless, and for them I'm sure, tiresome questions. "What happens if this east coast storm delays our flight?" "Can you move our seats?" "What malarial should I take?" "Can you come over and pack for me?" OK maybe I just thought that last one. But really they have been great setting up all our flights, transit, and tours. Allowing me to obsess about packing and the possibility of being eaten by a lion, which DSA promises me will not happen.

Stay tuned for much more interesting posts after Friday when the real trip begins with our first SAFARI at Madikwe. I. DIE.

You can also see my fellow South Africa Safari mates blogs on our first day out at The Women Formerly Known As Beautiful and I Am Not The Babysitter

Things To Do In Cape Town South Africa

My family trip to South Africa is getting so close and I am getting so excited! Part of our trip will take us to Cape Town, where we will be staying at the gorgeous More Quarters Apartment Hotel. Our insanely fabulously organized travel agents DSA Vacations has planned out two amazing days for us and one free day. Below I'll list all the things we already are doing, please comment if you have any recommendations for our free day or restaurants or anything that we shouldn't miss.

Here's our itinerary:

Taking a cable car ride to the top of Table Mountain to get a birds eye view of this magnificent city.

Tour of the Cape Peninsula. Beginning at Hout Bay, once a fishing community, now one of the most popular residential areas, the harbor still has a charm of days gone by. The fish market "Mariners Wharf" is a must.

Half hour cruise to Seal Island

The famous Chapman’s Peak drive with a 200 meter drop on one side and a 200 meter rise on the other, as we make our way south, following the Atlantic Ocean until we reach Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope.

The Jackass penguin colony which has become well established at Boulders Beach near Simonstown.

The Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, home of some 3 500 species of Southern African fauna and flora.

 Groot Drakenstein Prison  where Nelson Mandela was released in 1990.

Franschhoek in little Swiss town in the mountains.

Cape Wine region: Nelsons Creek Estate, Stellenbosch, and Franschhoek

It's hard to imagine that there is anything DSA has missed, or that we will have any energy left, but I am open to any suggestions for our free day.

(full disclosure: this trip have been heavily discounted by More Hotels and DSA Vacations)