See the World Through My Eyes

From Johannesburg, South Africa I flew direct to Swakopmund, Namibia. I was sad to leave South Africa, but very excited to be heading to Namibia ... I love moving around when I travel, cuz when one adventure is ending, a new one is just beginning Arrving in Swakopmund and stepping out of the airport, the first thing you see is sand dunes! It was instant love!!

I had a very short time in Namibia, only 3 nights, which I spent at the Sandcastle Apartments in Swakopmund, located only 2 blocks from the beach! The drive from the airport to Swakopmund is a very scenic 45min ... Atlantic Ocean on the left, endless sand dunes on the right

My patio door opening to a nice terrace


It had a full kitchen with dishes and all appliances. The nice owners kindly showed me to the nearest grocery store.

Living room ... it had a tv, free wifi , and A/C

The town is incredibly clean! I didnt see a piece of trash / litter anywhere! For real! The downtown area had a lighthouse and beautiful colonial buildings.





The houses were surprisingly modern - sharp edges, angled roofs, loads of windows, and very large! I wasnt expecting that at all! This is not a store, Its a house!!



There is a paved path that runs parallel to the ocean. It went on forever. Everyday I took the scenic path from my apartment all the way to the lighthouse. I never timed the walk, but its probably a 20-30min leisurely walk. Along the path are public beach areas, public washrooms, beautiful flower gardens, restaurants, etc. Locals & tourists alike were walking / jogging, kids were riding bikes, ppl walking their dogs, etc. I felt 1000% safe here! I forgot to take a photo of the paved path, but here are some photos of a path threw one of the flowered areas to get to it.






Near the lighthouse were some women & children dressed like members of the Himba tribes that live in northen Namibia. Whether or not they are actual tribe members, or just in costume, I'm not sure, but I really wanted to visit this tribe and knew I didnt have time to travel north, so I paid a few dollars to buy a souvenir from them and was then allowed to take as many photos of them as I wanted.

This tribe is known for covering their skin & hair with otjize - a mixture of ochre & butter fat.









If you keep walking past the lighthouse, heading south, you will come to a lagoon on the edge of town full of flamingos!! I've always wanted to see flamingos in the wild! (Theres also flamingos at the beach in Walvis Bay).

So beautiful, yet so awkward when taking off, lol!!


Mama flamingo with her babies.

I just love their colors!





Mama Cormorant and all her babies.

Swakopmund faces west, so every evening I walked the few minutes from my apartment to the beach to watch the sunset ... a wonderful place to take everything in, and just be thankful I'm in such a wonderful place!



Sunset view from my apartment window

I make $13 an hour ... if I can afford an African safari, so can you! Mind you, I'm the biggest penny pincher you'll ever meet, but I travel far & wide every year, you just gotta know that the most expensive way to do any vacation is one of those all-inclusive traps. You just need to suck it up, and plan it yourself, and any vacation will be way cheaper! So heres how I went on safari in Kruger NP on my budget ... always always wait for a seat sale. That is #1, as airfare is always the most expensive part of any vacation. I've seen travel agency billboards advertising 8 night safari pkgs for $5999, PLUS tax, NOT including airfare! Thats absurd! Did you know you can do self-drive safaris in Kruger NP for $15 per day, per person? I bet you didnt, cuz your travel agent sure as heck wont tell you, cuz they want your money! I traveled to Africa solo, so I didnt feel comfortable renting a car alone, but maybe you are braver than me, or maybe you have a travel partner. Self-drives are definitely the cheapest option, cuz then your game drives are $15, you can do any other sightseeing (such as Blyde RIver Canyon) in your own vehicle rather than going on a tour, and you dont have to pay to take buses/taxis. Everything is cheaper in Africa than in Canada ... car rentals, gas, food, hotels ... everything. Keep that in mind when planning. Like I said, I traveled solo so I didnt rent a car, but what I did do was the second cheapest option. Upon arriving in Jo'burg airport, instead flying to Kruger (which can be upwards of $800 one way), I took the bus to Nelspruit (closest city to Kruger NP) for $45 one way. When it comes to accommodation, you can stay in lodges/hotels/camps inside Kruger NP from $100-$1600 per night (not inc any game drives), OR you can stay in Nelspruit or Hazyview (I chose the latter as its only 12km from Kruger gate) for $40-$80. If you have a rental car, just drive to Kruger NP gate, obtain your $15 permit, and away you go. Its that simple. The park gates open at 6am, and close at 6pm. By staying in a hotel/lodge just outside of the park, its very easy to spend the whole day on safari in your own vehicle, and just drive back to your cheap hotel afterwards. But like I mentioned, I didnt do a self-drive cuz I was solo, so I did the next best thing ... I booked a 2 day / 1 night camping safari with Bubezi Safaris for $271. That inc my tent (photo below), a morning & afternoon game drive on day 1, and a morning game drive day 2, and breakfast (bring $ for other meals). Still waaaaaaaaaayy cheaper than the $5999 the travel agency was advertising thats for sure!

My one night was spent in this tent in Skukuza Camp inside Kruger NP. The camp is fenced so you dont have to worry about predators getting in. Skukuza Camp also has bungalows and hotel rooms for rent, but of course that just ups your price. In all honesty, you are in your room only to sleep, the rest of your time you are on your game drive/safari, so does it really matter if your in a tent or a fancy room?? The public washroom facilities were immaculate! Sparkling clean toilets, showers and even a bath tub! The tent itself had a door with lock, 2 single beds, electricity, fan, dresser & night stand. The camp itself is like a town. Theres plenty of options for eating from sit down restaurant, to take away, to groceries. Theres bathrooms, and a gas station too.

Here is my open-air safari vehicle. When you chose a safari operator, be sure to ask what type of vehicle you'll be in. Anyone dreaming of an African safari I'm sure imagines themselves in one of these, but believe it or not, I saw tourists on city buses with tinted windows that didnt open! For real! What kind of safari experience is that???!!! You have to take photos through tinted windows! And you cant even get close to the wildlife cuz your in a big giant bus!!

Alright, enough talking, onto the wildlife photos!




If you choose the self-drove option, drive slow. Very slow. You'll be surprised at how many times animals will be right on the road! Give them space, and stay in your vehicle. If you have to pee, find a restcamp ... they are everywhere.

Rhino vs car

See all the ppl in regular cars ... they're doing self-drive safaris Just give Mr Rhino plenty of space to cross the road and you'll be fine.



Burchell's Starlings


A little frog we found sleeping in our safari vehicle!

My favorite animal ... zebras!

Riverbed

Hyenas on the road!

Male waterbuck

Herd of female waterbuck at a watering hole

Elephant crossing the road! See, I told you animals are always on the road!

Impala with an Ox Pecker ... those birds like to eat ticks off of other animals.

A hornbill in a Thorn Acacia


We almost drove over this itty bitty Leopard Tortoise crossing the road!

Vervet monkey



Handsome hyena. So many ppl hate hyenas. I love them! Orange mohawks & polka dots ... whats not to love?

This is the one and only leopard I saw. Unfortunately it was far away, and I had to zoom in through many, many branches. But it was chillin' up in a tree, just like I was hoping to see one.

Baboons on the road


We parked by a watering hole, there were no animals drinking, and I couldnt figure out why we were sitting staring at the water ... and then this guy popped up

Warthog

A very colorful Lilac Breasted Roller! One of the prettiest birds around


Pied Kingfisher

Another hyena on the road


3ft long Monitor Lizard

Wildebeest

Later on we were driving down a road and spotted 7 hyenas!



As we got closer there was an incredibly putrid smell! The closer we got, the nastier it smelt. All of a sudden a hyena snatched up a rotten buffalo leg and ran off with it! Yuck, no wonder it was so stinky!

More of my favorite animal







Magpie Shrike

Teeny tiny moth



Rhino

Ox Peckers on a rhino's back

I wanted to see Wild Dogs, but didnt actually think it would happen, as they are incredibly rare ... only 350 left in Kruger NP. But all of a sudden there were 6 of them hunting right on the road!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Check out the one wild dog balancing on one leg, lol! I caught him in mid-run)



One decided the best place to take a shit would be right on the road a few feet from our Landy, LOL!


Streeeeeetch






Hippo & a Black Crake

Black Crake checking out its reflection in a pond at a bird hide.

Colorful water lilies

A group of rhinos is called a 'crash' of rhinos

Mama & baby rhino

The one and only lion I saw in Kruger NP was unfortunately far away

A pregnant zebra and her baby!!


Awe, baby stripes

Adorable waterbuck with his heart shaped nose and 'target' bum.

Well thats it for my fabulous safari! Whether you travel cheap, or do it expensively, you will see the same wonderful wildlife
One last shot leaving Kruger National Park

I then headed back to Nelspruit and took the CityBug bus back to Johannesburg where I spent the night before catching my flight onward to Namibia! I stayed at the Airport Game Lodge for only $42, and that inc pickup from the bus stop & drop off at the airport the next day, free breakfast, and they even had a few acres of land with some animals, for one last dose of 'safari'. When choosing a hotel I always go for ones that inc free airport shuttle, wifi, breakfast, etc, so that I dont have to pay extra for those things in addition to the cost of a room. Heres some photos of the wildlife at the lodge.
I think this is a blesbok, but I'm not 100% sure on that, as I've never seen one before!

Springbok

Ostrich



Thats it for the eastern part of South Africa. I also visited the Cape Peninsula by Cape Town, but first I head into Namibia ... that'll be the next blog post

So many people who travel to South Africa only go to see Kruger National Park. They bypass the incredible Blyde River Canyon, not even knowing its there! It is the world's 3rd largest canyon, but the world's largest green canyon! So how do people not know its there? Well if you fly from Johannesburg to Kruger, you'll probably fly right over it, and if you drive, you don't see it unless you take the panorama route. I thoroughly research every country I travel to, so that I dont miss out on things like this!

If you're already headed to Kruger NP, the canyon isnt out of your way at all, so you may as well spend a day stopping at the many viewpoints, walking the trails, see the waterfalls, etc. You wont regret it, I promise

So let me start from the beginning. I flew from Livingstone, Zambia to Johannesburg, South Africa. Upon landing I had 4hrs to waste before the bus to Nelspruit departed. I had pre-booked a seat online for the CityBug bus. It was approximately $45, and took 3.5hrs to get there, with one stop along the way for a pee/snack break. The hwy was perfectly smooth, about 100 times better than Saskatchewan roads thats for sure! Upon arriving in Nelspruit it was late so I spent the night at Mecure Hotel for $43. Super nice, with tiled floors, fountains, room had kitchen, heat (cuz it was chilly at night), etc.

The following morning I took a taxi to my lodge near the town of Hazyview, the Hamilton Parks Country Lodge. The views along the way were stunning: green mountains, valleys, lakes, tall African pines, banana plantations, etc. It was a fantastic little lodge, located in the valley, away from the noise of the city.

My room at the lodge.

They even had some resident miniature ponies!

The lodge had a pool and a peaceful grassy area, but sitting around doing nothing is not my thing, so I opted to follow a trail I found and came across some old ruins and beautiful views of the valley!





The following day I went on a Panorama Tour of the canyon, booked through Bubezi Safaris. I was the only one on the tour, and at first was disappointed cuz I was hoping to meet some ppl. But within minutes realized being the only one meant we could stop wherever i wanted, and stay as long/short as I wanted. Quintin, my guide, was awesome! So easy to get along with, was also a photographer like myself so understood the patience required to get just the right shot, and gave me some helpful waterfall photography tips. The fact that he was cute and had the best accent ever had nothing to do with it, lol

Our first stop along the canyon was The Pinnacle.

There is also a waterfall at The Pinnacle if you follow the trail. It doesnt look like much in this photo, but trust me, I'm sitting on the edge of a cliff, and that river is plummeting to the ground right beside me!

Then we stopped at a lookout point called God's Window

Lisbon Falls

Berlin Falls

One of the more touristy stops was the Bourke's Luck Potholes. I think we showed up the same time as a few tour buses. I was quite glad to be the only one on my tour, rather than a bus load of old ppl, lol! This is the view of the canyon area along the trail to the potholes.


Looking down at the potholes

One of the bigger waterfalls at the Potholes


Next up was my fave lookout point over the Three Rondavels ... rocky outcrops that resemble traditional African huts called rondavels.

A short walk from there was this incredible view!!!!!!!

We took a break and had lunch at a little restaurant. We had delicious toasties (known as paninis in Canada), and milkshakes. There was also souvenir shops set up at every viewpoint & waterfall.

Next up we walked the trail to Lone Creek Falls.

The mist from the falls was freezing cold!



We also visited Mac Mac Falls, but I didnt get a very good photo worth posting. The lookout platform is at a weird angle. I wouldnt bother visiting this one if your limited for time.

Next up was our last stop, the beautiful Horse Shoe falls.



Thats it for the beautiful Blyde River Canyon. My next 3 days were spent on safari in Kruger National Park, but that'll be in my next blog post.

I was staying in Livingstone, Zambia and had booked a 2 day \ 1 night camping safari in Chobe National Park in Botswana. Livingstone is approx 45-60min from the Zambia \ Botswana border. I booked it online prior to arriving in Africa through Kalahari Tours. It was $234US, and included pickup at my hotel in Livingstone, transportation to the border, an escort to help me through customs \ border crossing & get visas (if you know you will be exiting / re-entering Zambia during your stay, purchase a multi-entry visa for $80, rather than 2 single entry visas for $50 each), I was then introduced to a rep from Kalahari Tours on the Botswanan side and led to a ferry that crossed the Zambezi River, where I then met my Game Ranger who made sure I got on the correct safari vehicle. I'm sure if I'd attempted all that on my own, I would've been lost! Also included was a riverboat cruise on the Chobe River, then lunch at a lodge, and an afternoon game drive, tenting accomodation, all meals, and 2 more game drives on day 2 before being brought back to the border, and back to my hotel.

When taking the ferry from Zambia to Botswana across the Zambezi River, there is a point on the river where 4 countries meet ... Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe & Namibia. So for a brief moment I was in 4 countries at the same time

After a quick breakfast at a lodge, myself and others on the camping trip, were led to the river where we boarded a double decker pontoon boat for a cruise along the Chobe River.

Elephants were absolutely everywhere! Every bend in the river was home to yet another herd of elephants. It was incredible to watch them coming out of the trees \ hills to drink from the river, and play in the water



Adorable baby elephant!!







I saw a total of 4 pods of hippos chillin' in the river! I LOVE hippos!




Mama & adorable baby hippo




More elephants ...



Charging elephant

Pooping elephant, lol!

Cormorant

Baby croc

Nile Crocodile

"Monster" tree

I wish I had been on a smaller boat like the 1 in this photo ... look how close they got to these impalas!





Fighting ellies!

Sniffing the air for danger

Another charging elephant


After the 3hr riverboat cruise, we stopped for lunch at a lodge. Afterwards we switched to an open-air safari vehicle for a 3hr game drive through Chobe National Park.





Giraffe snuggles


Impala ... "Who's on my bum?"

THIS is the photo I came to Africa to get!!! More than anything, I wanted to see a giraffe bending down awkwardly ... and I got TWO of them, plus the 2 matching giraffes in the background! I couldnt have choreographed it better


A herd of giraffes is called a 'journey of giraffes'


Adorable baby giraffe





We got REALLY close to a herd of elephants! Uncomfortably close!




Poke ... this little ellie kept bugging the other one to play

Here he's nudging the other one, lol! He even ended up sitting on top of the other one! He just wanted someone to play with!

Love this one!

Peek-a-boo!

My favorite elephant photo!





Baby elephant trying to suckle


Dung Beetle


My game ranger, Sinka, holding a Leopard Tortoise


Dragonfly on someone's hat

Puku - a type of antelope I never knew existed! Looks very similar to an impala, but its bigger and furrier.

One of the hi-lights of the day was finding this lion eating a warthog!!!!!!



We were only a few feet away! So close I could hear bones crunching and guts squishing! Totally disgusting, yet totally awesome at the same time!



We later came across a 2nd lion ... this one wasnt all bloodied up





Traffic in Chobe

Impala

Around 5pm we drove down to the shores of the Chobe River to watch all the animals come for a sundowner. The first animals to show up were a troop of baboons.

A young baboon playing with elephant poo






Adorable baby baboon! Look at those big ears!

Baby baboon playing with a rock


Mama & youngster drinking from the Chobe River

Then some giraffes showed up at the river



Fighting giraffes!






Chobe River



Male kudu


Egyptian Goose

Sunset over the Chobe River


After the sun set we drove to our camp. There were 8 tents set up in a semi-circle, and 18 camp chairs set in a circle around the campfire. I assumed supper would be hotdogs & hamburgers, but the game rangers-turned-cooks made us beef stroganoff, steamed veggies and dessert.

Sleeping in a tent alone was scary ... it is NOT quiet at night! Nocturnal birds, animals & insects could be heard all night long!

At 12:30am I had to pee. But since I was alone, I didnt have anyone to watch my back as I walked to the bush toilet, aka pit latrine. I shone my flashlight all around a few times, looking for any eyes glowing in the dark! When I didnt see any I quickly just peed beside my tent as fast as I could, and then jumped back in! And no joke, no sooner had I climbed back into my sleeping bag, I heard a lion roar!!!! I nearly crapped my pants! I was JUST outside and there was a lion nearby! The camp was not fenced, so anything could wander past my tent! I also heard an elephant trumpet, and something lumbered past my tent! I think I slept 1hr total, lol!

Bush shower

Good morning ... I survived the night!

The morning game drive began at 6:30am. Unfortunately the 1st 3hrs were very quiet. We saw a few impala & warthogs, and lots of birds, but no big game til later in the morning.
Lilac-breasted Roller - Botswana's national bird

Vulture




Guinea Fowl, aka 'Chobe Chicken'


Warthog

Kneeling down to eat


Ox Pecker eating ticks off of an imapala


The excitement began when our ranger got a call about a male lion sighting! He put pedal to the metal and raced across the park to get us to the lion before he disappeared into the bush! We raced 'Dukes of Hazard' style, swerving around corners on the sandy roads, and flying over bumps, lol, it was so much fun ... and we got there in time. There was 1 male and 2 females relaxing by a tree. When we neared, the male went into 'pounce' position. That was a tad nerve racking cuz he was within 8ft of our open-air vehicle!




There was a buffalo that the lions were following, but nothing ever happened. We were hoping to see some action.

There was a herd of impala across the road, and every single one of them had their eyes on those lions! They were so focused on those lions that they didnt even pay us any attention! But whichever impala takes its eyes off those lions would probably end up their lunch!



Impala bum

Fish Eagle

Nile Crocodile



Martial Eagle eating a mongoose ... can you see the mongoose's tail hanging down?

Warthog in a mud wallow

He was enjoying rolling around in his very own mud bath

3ft long Monitor Lizard


Cape Buffalo & Cattle Egret


We parked near the Chobe River and watched a herd of 250 Cape Buffalo swim across.


There were 3 crocs lurking in the water waiting for a straggler! As the last baby buffalo crossed the river, a croc attacked and killed it The saddest part was that the momma buffalo stood at the water's edge mooing/calling for her baby long after the rest of the herd had moved on!

Ox Peckers eating ticks off of a buffalo's back

We came across this lone buffalo sleeping beside the river (not the smartest place for a snooze considering all the crocodiles lurking in the river), with a pesky cattle egret & ox pecker bothering him.



Pied Kingfisher

Beautiful Chobe River

Thats all for Botswana! I then headed back into Zambia for a few more nights before flying to South Africa. That will be in the next post.

I began my 3 week journey through Africa in Livingstone, Zambia. I stayed at the Chrismar Hotel for 5 nights. The hotel was fantastic. Free breakfast & wifi were included. There was a nice pool area with a swim-up bar.
My zebra-printed room

The bathroom


Outdoor breakfast area

Pool area


My hotel was only about a 10min drive to Africa's largest & most powerful waterfall ... Victoria Falls! It cost $20US for admission. I went alone, and felt completely safe. There were lots of tourists, and well marked paths. You cant get lost.

There were raincoats to rent for $1US

I didnt actually get wet though. There are definitely lookout spots where you can get soaked if thats what you want, but if you are like me and hate water and are carrying an expensive camera, there are ways to stay completey dry as well.
Just dont cross this bridge if you want to stay dry! Theres SO much mist its like being in a shower! It was actually too much mist, and blocked most of the waterfall. I was actually a tad disappointed cuz there really wasnt too much to see, except mist. Beyond this bridge is the falls, but you cant even see them The waterfall is 5604ft wide, but you really only see 1/8 of it.

There was another bridge that spanned the gorge. People were bungee jumping from it. The left side is Zambia, and the right side is Zimbabwe.



Even though it was spring time in Canada, it was autumn in Zambia


People had told me there would be baboons everywhere, but I didnt see any for the first 2hrs. I remember thinking "I havent seen a single baboon yet!", and then I happened upon this one sleeping right on the path!! No sooner had I thought that, and a troop of baboons came out of the bushes all around me! They can be quite aggressive if you have food, so just keep all your snacks in your bag until you leave the area ... unless you wanna be mugged by a baboon, lol!



Cheeky baboon

Baboon chillin' on a bench. He wasnt moving. He owned this bench, lol!




Afterwards I went to the Royal Livingstone Hotel for lunch. The views were beautiful of the Zambezi River, looking across to Zimbabwe. The mist in the background is where the river drops 354ft and becomes Victoria Falls! If you like fancy food & high prices, then its a nice place to stop for lunch. If not, dont bother stopping there as everything is over-priced!

My next adventure was at Lion Encounter ... I walked with lions!! I booked the Lion Walk and an Elephant-back Safari as a pkg through Jollyboys for $263US. Expensive, but worth the experience! The price included pickup & dropoff at my hotel, and juice\coffee\tea & biscuits.


Lion Encounter rehabilitates wounded and orphaned lions and eventually releases them back into the wild. Before the walk we were given a saftey\rules briefing. The lions arent tame, but they arent completely wild either. So everyone was given a stick, which was to be used as an extension of the arm. Not to hit the lions with, but to distract them with if they walk your way ... you just tap it on the ground in front of the lion and they swat at it instead of your face!

The lions are free to roam around Mosi-ao-Tunya National Park. No cages. 5min of walking and we came across 3 lions. Two 1yr old cubs, and a young male not old enough to have a mane yet. The 2 young ones were so adorable to watch play and wrestle! One would bite his brother's tail, so then the brother would bite the other's ear, lol! And then they'd roll around wrestling.






Sluuuurp!!







There were 4 guides accompanying us ... one in front, one behind, and one on each side.







Later the same day I went on the Elephant-back Safari.









Me and my elephant, Mashumbi

It was incredible standing face to face with such a massive animal!



Giving Mashumbi treats

The 'safari' was more just an elephant ride than an actual safari, cuz I only saw 1 giraffe veeeeeeeeeeeery far away. It was also incredibly uncomfortable \ border-line painful. Even though you sit on padding, after 15min your legs hurt from straddling a huge elephant, and your butt hurts, and you get a never-ending wedgie, lol! I wouldnt do it again because of that, but I'm very glad I did do it. How many times do you get to ride an African Elephant?! After the ride Mashumbi knelt down for me to sit on her knee. I was to get my photo taken, and then feed her treats, but she was impatient and wanted her treats right away. Heres a photo of her trying to get her trunk into my treat bag, and me peeking over her trunk for my photo op, lol!

And then ducking under for another photo! This is my fave photo from the day

My last day in Zambia I had time for an early morning game drive in Mosi-ao-Tunya National Park before flying to Johannesburg, South Africa.

The park is very small. The safari was only about 2hrs long. There was quite a wide variety of wildlife, but the animals were all a bit too far away for decent photos. If you only have a few days in Livingstone, I would recommend a day trip, or overnight trip to Chobe National Park in Botswana, which is only 40min away from Livingstone. The quantity & quality of the animal sightings there are phenomenal! But that will be a whole other blog post

The park runs along the Zambezi River.

That 'cloud' is not a cloud. It is the mist from Victoria Falls! The mist could be seen from nearly anywhere in town.

Family of ellies

Herd of buffalo on the road

Baby bufflao

Baboon in the morning light.


Zebras, my fave animal



Nile Croocdile on the riverbank

My very first rhino sighting ... ever! I was in Kenya 2yrs ago and didnt see any at all! So I was quite excited to see this guy!!

While staying in Zambia I spent 2 days on a camping safari across the border in Botswana, but that will be in the next blog post