Highlights from 2 Weeks in South Africa
For the past five weeks, I've been traveling around Southern Africa. I climbed sand dunes in Namibia, saw the Big 5 in Kruger, flew high over Victoria Falls, and traveled more than 1,000 miles overland.
And then I got home and became absolutely overwhelmed by it all. After having so many amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experiences, I was at a loss as to where to begin writing about them all.
So, to quote one of my favorite movies of all time, “Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start.”
My adventure in Africa began in South Africa, a country that I've been desperate to visit for years. All told, I spent two weeks in South Africa, most of the time on a Style Hi Club tour with my dad. It was a luxurious, decadent way to see South Africa – not necessarily my usual travel style, but I have to say that this is absolutely the way you should see South Africa if you can afford it.
With two weeks in the country, we saw and did a lot. But here are my top five highlights:
1. Adventure and relaxation in Gansbaai
We started out slow in the tiny coastal town of Gansbaai. This town is most famous for being close to Dyer Island, where lots of great white sharks can be found. But, thanks so some bad weather, we didn't get to go cage diving with the toothy giants until our very last morning in Gansbaai. Before that, we spent our time riding ATVs through vineyards, going to the southernmost point of Africa (Cape Agulhas), stuffing our faces with seafood, and watching some incredible sunsets.
The shark diving was the highlight of this part of the trip (post coming soon!), but I also appreciated the slow pace of life in Gansbaai – it was the perfect introduction to South Africa. (Oh, and The Roundhouse was probably my favorite place I stayed in SA!)
RELATED: Should You Go Cage Diving with Great White Sharks?
2. Discovering Cape Town
From Gansbaai, we moved on to Cape Town. There, we explored the city in just about every way possible: On foot, in WWII-era sidecars, and by helicopter. We wandered around the V&A Waterfront, visited the colorful Bo Kaap neighborhood, and squealed over the adorable penguins at Boulders Beach. We even took a short trip to the Cape of Good Hope.
The weather wasn't the greatest, though, and so it wasn't until I was back in Cape Town on my own after my Style Hi Club trip that I was able to see (and visit) Table Mountain, and go to Camps Bay for sunset. I was very thankful for that one day of sun!
RELATED: 72 Hours in Cape Town
3. Sipping wine in Stellenbosch
South Africa is known for its delicious wines, with its most famous wine region being Stellenbosch. We spent an afternoon in wine country, tasting wines on a vineyard “safari” at Waterford Estate. I'm not really much of a wine drinker, but this was still a highlight for me. Waterford Estate is STUNNING, and it was a pleasure to sip wines there in the middle of the fall-colored vines.
If you're planning your trip to South Africa and looking for accommodation in Hermanus, Stellenbosch or Cape Town, I'd recommend taking a look at AccommoDirect.com – they focus almost solely on accommodation in Southern Africa.
4. Riding the Blue Train
Thanks to a strong US dollar and a struggling South African rand, our group got to ride the famous Blue Train from Cape Town to Pretoria. This luxury train, with its polished-wood interior and fancy lounge cars, is a throwback to the heyday of train travel. I was impressed by the efficiency of the tiny rooms, the service, the food, and how lovely it was to just relax for a day and a half and watch the countryside slip by outside the window.
5. Going on safari in Kruger
Lastly, the absolute highlight of my time in South Africa was going on safari in Kruger National Park. We stayed at the Jock Safari Lodge, which is a private concession within Kruger that I did not ever want to leave. We saw the Big 5 on our very first game drive, and went on to see things like lions mating, baby elephants charging our truck, wild dogs facing off with hyenas, and much, much more.
If “going on safari” is not on your bucket list, add it. Right now.
RELATED: A Big 5 Safari in Kruger National Park
Weeks later, I'm still daydreaming about Jock and this experience. It was simply incredible and something I know I will never forget. I'm so glad I got to share it with my dad!
I'll be writing more about most of these experiences individually in the coming weeks, but for now, enjoy the photos!
Which part of my South Africa trip would you like to read more about?
Amanda Williams is the award-winning blogger behind A Dangerous Business Travel Blog. She has traveled to more than 60 countries on 6 continents from her home base in Ohio, specializing in experiential and thoughtful travel through the US, Europe, and rest of the world. Amanda only shares tips based on her personal experiences and places she's actually traveled!
Great post! We were in South Africa in January. We had some similar adventures but lots of differences as well. Here’s my post if interested https://larrylootsteen.wordpress.com/2016/06/06/three-weeks-in-south-africa/
The train ride intrigues me. What a great way to see the country! Would love to do that (once we win the lottery of course!).
Beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing your trip with everyone!
Funnily enough, the landscape between Cape Town Pretoria was much less exciting than I was expecting! Some winelands, and then a whole lot of absolutely nothing! But the train ride was great – definitely a must if you can do it!
Glad to hear you had a great trip to South Africa, too!
I cannot wait to hear about the shark diving! that picture is incredible!! Looking forward to all the recaps! 🙂
Luck for you my shark diving post should go up tomorrow!
Yayy! The Southern Africa posts are starting 🙂 I’ve really been looking forward to this as I’m considering a trip there myself next year! Bring on the pretty pictures and awesome stories!
I’ve been to South Africa before, and I’m so impressed with it. We visited many of the same places – which means my favourites are quite similar to yours. I went on a safari in Kragga Kamma Game Park and Addo Elephant Park, which, judging by your pictures, is not nearly as exciting as Kruger. It seems I have to make my way east one day!
Yes, the Africa posts are starting! 🙂 Kruger blew my expectations out of the water! It was probably my favorite park in Southern Africa (though Chobe was a very close second).
The Lion King traumatised me. I can’t stand the sight of hyenas, haha!
I know, right?!? We heard them “laugh” once or twice, too, which just made my stomach flop.
<3 !!!!! This just helped by dilemma about South Africa vs. Tanzania for a safari trip with my mom. Kruger National Park and the Jack Lodge looks incredible! The other highlights you featured here about South Africa are also amazing. Can't wait to start planning! Really looking forward to hearing more. 🙂
Kruger was AMAZING, and the Jock Safari Lodge is somewhere I would absolutely return to. I haven’t been to Tanzania myself so I really can’t compare it to South Africa. BUT, I really really loved South Africa. 🙂
Wow looks an amazing trip, can’t wait to read more about it.
Unforgettable is the word I would use! I’m looking forward to writing a lot more. 🙂
Amanda, this looks like the trip of the lifetime! My boyfriend and I have talked about travelling to South Africa one day – after I show him these pictures, especially after him seeing the one of the Great White, I think he will be pushing for this trip much sooner in our lives haha beautiful pictures!
Do it! Right now is a fantastic time to go to South Africa, too, because it’s really affordable!
It all sounds so-so much fun! We’ve never been to Africa yet and can’t wait to read more of your stories! Especially about the safari… 🙂
It was a great first trip to Africa – I’m still processing it all and am amazed by everything I did/saw!
I am dying to go on Safari and it looks like you got super lucky with all the wildlife you got to see! Your photos are beautiful
We got SO lucky with all our animal sightings. It seemed like every time we went out on a game drive, we saw something that our ranger was like, “You don’t see this very often!”
oh wow! you’ve had an amazing time!
Sure did! It’s a trip I won’t be forgetting anytime soon!
Would love to hear more about the Blue Train! Travelling by train is my favourite form of travel but I’ve only ever really done that in Europe. Had no idea they had such a nice train in South Africa.
Normally the Blue Train is sooooo expensive. But thanks to the rand being pretty weak right now, it was actually a pretty good deal, so it was included in our tour! It was a very cool experience, and it was fun to dress up for a fancy dinner!
I can’t wait to read more. South Africa has long been at the top of my travel list, so I can’t wait to read every last detail!
I have lots to write, so I’m glad you’re excited!
South Africa is amazing! Wish we could have ridden the Blue Train.
Love your pictures! We made the huge mistake of buying a used camera very last minute and not testing it fully. In addition to the other big mistake of not taking our old trusty camera as a backup. So we have wonderful memories but no good pictures!
Aww bummer about the photos – but I guess that means you’ll just have to go back! 😉
Wow! All of these experiences sound incredible. Your photographs do a great job of capturing all the fantastic adventures you had with your father. I have spent a lot of time on safari and never seen wild dogs. What a lucky sighting! Looking forward to reading more about your trip!
We were so lucky to see the wild dogs, and for such a long time! (We probably spent half an hour watching them taunt the hyenas.)
Hi! you talked about the weather…on what month did you went there?
I was in South Africa in May – so kind of autumn-ish.
Your photography has gotten a 10000 better! Congratulations! Great pics, great adventure, and what a story/memory/lifetime conversation that you will always have with your Dad 🙂
Aww thank you! The new telephoto lens I bought for this trip was definitely worth it!
What telephoto lens did you use?
An Olympus 70-300mm. Not the most expensive lens out there, but it did the trick!