We began in Cape Town where we enjoyed the beaches and mountains, took breathtaking cliffside drives, toured a township to learn more about apartheid, walked with penguins on Boulder’s beach, stood atop table mountain, and shark dived with great white sharks in the tumultuous and COLD cape of storms!
And we made sure to watch World Cup matches with people from around the world at local bars and restaurants. Kari and Lori’s bags did not arrive for days and when finally forced to buy replacement clothing came back with only Spain and Germany flags, paraphernalia, and face paint—a huge hit with everyone watching the game. We started a painting booth and by the end of the night, had swathed everyone around us in their team’s colors!
We drove to Stellenbosch and toured the quaint college town famous for its vineyards–enjoyed the South African pinotage specialty.
We then flew to Port Elizabeth on the coast where we watched Germany beat Uruguay for third place.
From there it was on to safaris at Ado Elephant Park and Kichaka Lodge where we watched a family of giraffes eat the tops of trees at sunrise, a lion and her cubs playing— the father roaring so loud it shook our car, hippos, springbok, warthogs, rhino, and birds of prey, and learned about traditional uses of medicinal plants. We even enjoyed a night safari exploration of the Milky Way.
We managed to learn a few words in Afrikaans and Xhosa a tonal, or click language, spoken by the Zulu and other tribes in SA.
All in all it was a trip of a lifetime! And an amazing reunion!
