windycitydiver
Guest
Map of SA: South Africa Map (Royalty Free)
Johannesburg:
Pictures: Picasa Web Albums - Brandon - Johannesburg,...
What an amazing 3 weeks my brother and I had!! I flew Chicago, Newark, Sao Paulo, Johannesburg (northern part of country). He flew Denver, Frankfurt, Cairo, Johannesburg. We met each other at baggage claim where Kris was there to pick us up at 8am Saturday morning. My friends Kris and Niki are teaching at an American International school in Johannesburg for awhile. We stayed with them for 3 nights to start the trip off. It was a great time, and they were great hosts! They have a 3 month old daughter named Arianna and 2 small dogs named Chico and Max. Their house is amazing, and we were able to meet a lot of the International teachers from their school at a BBQ they had at their house. We also went to Rosebank Markets to get some great souvenirs of our trip. On Monday we went to the Cradle of Humankind, where we were given a tour through the Sterkfontein Caves. This is where they just found the fossils of apes, and a lot of people believe this is where humankind started. After a fun 3 days with Kris and Niki, we were off to start the rest of our journey. They were kind enough to let us borrow some much needed essentials: head lamp, rain coats, GPS, bug spray, and books. It was a 6 hour drive from Johannesburg to Kruger.
Kruger National Park:
Map of Park: Kruger National Park - Official Site - Wilderness Trails, 4x4, Adventure, Game Drives, Guided Walks, Mountain Bike Trails
Pictures: Picasa Web Albums - Brandon - Kruger Nation...
Kruger National Park is a great place to go on safari. It is huge, and you can see the Big 5 there (elephant, buffalo, rhino, lion, and leopard.) Unfortunately, we never saw a lion, but we heard from a lot of locals that if we saw a leopard it was even better. And we were lucky enough to see a leopard up close on a river bank. Brandon drove our Hyundai Tucson SUV the entire trip because I dont know how to drive manual! We drove 8-10 hours a day through Kruger and saw lots of animals. Our favorites were the giraffes and elephants. At one point we were surrounded by about 5 or 6 elephants eating. What a sight! We stayed at a different rest camp each night in the park. We stopped at Lataba rest camp for lunch. It had an amazing view over a watering hole. The first night was in Shingwedzi in the north. We had a bungalow which was a concrete building with 2 beds, AC, and a bathroom. Our kitchen was outside on the patio. We had dinner and called it an early night. We were up at 6am since the animals are mostly out in the early morning and evening because its too hot during the mid-day. We had lunch at Olifants, which had an amazing view of the river. We stayed in Satara rest camp that night which had a view of grassy plains. The only animals we saw there were zebras. We were in another bungalow that was the same as the previous night. We met a great family from NYC. Ben (14) and Eliza (12) were traveling with their grandparents for 2 weeks. Brandon and I played rummy on the patio of the restaurant and enjoyed a few buckets of beer. The next day we had lunch at Skukuza where we ate with bats hanging over our heads. Then we found some monkeys playing in a bush. One distracted us while the other one grabbed my bag of chips and proceeded to eat them! Great pictures of that. Our 3rd night was spent at Lower Sabie rest camp. We had a tent that night, and we soon realized it meant we didnt have our own bathroom. So, we literally only slept in that room. We hung out on the patio of the restaurant once again enjoying buckets of beer while uploading all of our great pictures. The NYC family was at that camp with us too, so it was another night of fun. We also met the Klix family from Cape Town. They were on holiday for 2 weeks traveling in a caravan with a camper behind it. They have 5 kids from the ages of 4-13. What a hoot! So happy and welcoming and fun. We then had some great conversations with some South Africans from Johannesburg who were also on holiday. The next morning we got up early, in the pouring rain, and headed to Sodwana Bay to dive. It took us about 8 hours to get to Sodwana.
Swaziland:
Pictures: Picasa Web Albums - Brandon - Swaziland - 4...
While Brandon was mapping out our driving tour while at Kris and Nikis, he realized that driving through the country of Swaziland was the quickest route to Sodwana Bay. Therefore, we did just that. And we are so glad we did! What a gem! We couldnt believe how amazingly beautiful Swazi was. Green mountains and valleys surrounded us. We had to cross borders which meant immigration. The one from SA to Swazi only took ½ hour since it was early in the morning. However, the border crossing back into SA took over an hour because it was the Easter holiday weekend. Everyone in SA travels over this weekend. Everything is done by hand so it takes a bit longer than going through customs in the States. Since cars are so expensive in that area of the world, most people walk. Therefore, the entire 3 hours of driving through Swazi (on some very well kept roads) we saw tons of people walking. They also might take a mini-bus taxi if they need to go far, but most were walking to their destination. What a difference from what we are used to! We were also stopped at 4 or 5 police check points. They were just making sure everyone was being safe on the roads since it was more crowded than usual due to the holiday. They were so polite and curious about where we were from and what we were doing in their country. One police officer even told us, after looking at Brandons Colorado drivers license, that in their country they dont have to renew their license. Once they have it, they have it for good.
Sodwana Bay:
Pictures: Picasa Web Albums - Brandon - Sodwana Bay -...
When looking at the map, Sodwana is near Richards Bay on the northeast coast. Sodwana was great! When driving in, we realized we were really staying in the bush! We had to drive down a 2 mile road that was literally just sand. When we got to Triton Dive Lodge, it felt as if we were in a movie. Scuba diving South Africa, Sodwana Bay, Triton Dive Lodge Walking through the property felt like we were in Swiss Family Robinson, but without the tree! Wooden boardwalks, little chalets, thatched roofs, etc. So cool! Alta greeted us and showed us to our chalet. It was a little cabin with 2 beds, mosquito nets, a bathroom, and a fan. Peter and Eve run the place, and they were so accommodating. There was a restaurant, a pool, a kitchen area, a huge braai (BBQ pit), and a bar. We thought the coolest thing was the honor bar. You served yourself and just wrote it down on the paper on the bar. Then they tallied up what you drank and put it on your room bill. We had fun with this! Our first night we had dinner in the restaurant. Best pizza on the trip yet! Our chefs there were great. Our first morning of diving was an adventure. We will now forever call our diving in South Africa Adventure Diving. It was so cool. We met the dive boat and crew at the beach in Sodwana Bay. It is a Mecca for diving and deep sea fishing. I couldnt believe the number of boats and people on the beach. It was 7am and crowded. The ocean is beautiful with green small mountains/big hills surrounding the bay. We found Tritons tent and settled in. Every dive shop has its own tent to hang out in. There is a tarp on the sand and then chairs to sit in. We were scheduled for the 7:30 dive and the 10:30 dive that morning. They use inflatable rigid boats to dive. We had never been on one of these before. They put the boats in the water using big farm tractors. Once the tractor pushes the boat into the water with a long wooden pole, we all had to grab the side of the boat and walk the boat into where it wouldnt touch the sand. Then we all jumped in and put our life jackets on. The waves were HUGE that day, and we had fun riding them in the boat. Once we got past the waves, we could take our life jackets off and enjoy the smoother ride to the dive site. Once there, we geared up and rolled off backwards into the sea. The visibility wasnt great, but we saw some cool stuff; rays, turtles, and lots of fish. Our first stop was Caves and Overhangs site. We spent almost an hour under water. Adele was our dive master. Once up, you have to give all your gear to someone on the boat then jump over the side back in. Needless to say, I needed some help!  Luckily the skipper and dive masters were always willing to lend a hand, and Brandon helped me too. We headed back to the beach and sat in the tent to rest before the next dive. All of a sudden, a loud South African man shows up. Everyone had been pretty quiet in the tent seeing that it was early morning and not everybody knew each other. He looks around at everyone and says, What is wrong with you people? Everyone looks depressed! Come to find out, this would be our dive master for our next dive, Shaun. He was hilarious! We had such a great time with him in Sodwana. Such a good time that we met up with him for dinner when we were in Durban! Our 2nd dive that day was at the site called Stringer. We once again saw turtles, eels, etc. Once back on land, we decided we were done diving for the day. We headed out and ended up at Sodwana Bay Lodge for lunch. That was also a neat place with little cabins and walkways, etc. We went back to Triton and decided it was time for some drinks. We headed to the honor bar with the lap top to work on our pictures. We were the first ones there, and others trickled in as they came back from diving. By dinner time the place was packed. Everyone had a great time around the braai, talking, and laughing with each other. We got up early the next day and headed to Durban. It was a 4 hour drive from Sodwana to Durban.
Johannesburg:
Pictures: Picasa Web Albums - Brandon - Johannesburg,...
What an amazing 3 weeks my brother and I had!! I flew Chicago, Newark, Sao Paulo, Johannesburg (northern part of country). He flew Denver, Frankfurt, Cairo, Johannesburg. We met each other at baggage claim where Kris was there to pick us up at 8am Saturday morning. My friends Kris and Niki are teaching at an American International school in Johannesburg for awhile. We stayed with them for 3 nights to start the trip off. It was a great time, and they were great hosts! They have a 3 month old daughter named Arianna and 2 small dogs named Chico and Max. Their house is amazing, and we were able to meet a lot of the International teachers from their school at a BBQ they had at their house. We also went to Rosebank Markets to get some great souvenirs of our trip. On Monday we went to the Cradle of Humankind, where we were given a tour through the Sterkfontein Caves. This is where they just found the fossils of apes, and a lot of people believe this is where humankind started. After a fun 3 days with Kris and Niki, we were off to start the rest of our journey. They were kind enough to let us borrow some much needed essentials: head lamp, rain coats, GPS, bug spray, and books. It was a 6 hour drive from Johannesburg to Kruger.
Kruger National Park:
Map of Park: Kruger National Park - Official Site - Wilderness Trails, 4x4, Adventure, Game Drives, Guided Walks, Mountain Bike Trails
Pictures: Picasa Web Albums - Brandon - Kruger Nation...
Kruger National Park is a great place to go on safari. It is huge, and you can see the Big 5 there (elephant, buffalo, rhino, lion, and leopard.) Unfortunately, we never saw a lion, but we heard from a lot of locals that if we saw a leopard it was even better. And we were lucky enough to see a leopard up close on a river bank. Brandon drove our Hyundai Tucson SUV the entire trip because I dont know how to drive manual! We drove 8-10 hours a day through Kruger and saw lots of animals. Our favorites were the giraffes and elephants. At one point we were surrounded by about 5 or 6 elephants eating. What a sight! We stayed at a different rest camp each night in the park. We stopped at Lataba rest camp for lunch. It had an amazing view over a watering hole. The first night was in Shingwedzi in the north. We had a bungalow which was a concrete building with 2 beds, AC, and a bathroom. Our kitchen was outside on the patio. We had dinner and called it an early night. We were up at 6am since the animals are mostly out in the early morning and evening because its too hot during the mid-day. We had lunch at Olifants, which had an amazing view of the river. We stayed in Satara rest camp that night which had a view of grassy plains. The only animals we saw there were zebras. We were in another bungalow that was the same as the previous night. We met a great family from NYC. Ben (14) and Eliza (12) were traveling with their grandparents for 2 weeks. Brandon and I played rummy on the patio of the restaurant and enjoyed a few buckets of beer. The next day we had lunch at Skukuza where we ate with bats hanging over our heads. Then we found some monkeys playing in a bush. One distracted us while the other one grabbed my bag of chips and proceeded to eat them! Great pictures of that. Our 3rd night was spent at Lower Sabie rest camp. We had a tent that night, and we soon realized it meant we didnt have our own bathroom. So, we literally only slept in that room. We hung out on the patio of the restaurant once again enjoying buckets of beer while uploading all of our great pictures. The NYC family was at that camp with us too, so it was another night of fun. We also met the Klix family from Cape Town. They were on holiday for 2 weeks traveling in a caravan with a camper behind it. They have 5 kids from the ages of 4-13. What a hoot! So happy and welcoming and fun. We then had some great conversations with some South Africans from Johannesburg who were also on holiday. The next morning we got up early, in the pouring rain, and headed to Sodwana Bay to dive. It took us about 8 hours to get to Sodwana.
Swaziland:
Pictures: Picasa Web Albums - Brandon - Swaziland - 4...
While Brandon was mapping out our driving tour while at Kris and Nikis, he realized that driving through the country of Swaziland was the quickest route to Sodwana Bay. Therefore, we did just that. And we are so glad we did! What a gem! We couldnt believe how amazingly beautiful Swazi was. Green mountains and valleys surrounded us. We had to cross borders which meant immigration. The one from SA to Swazi only took ½ hour since it was early in the morning. However, the border crossing back into SA took over an hour because it was the Easter holiday weekend. Everyone in SA travels over this weekend. Everything is done by hand so it takes a bit longer than going through customs in the States. Since cars are so expensive in that area of the world, most people walk. Therefore, the entire 3 hours of driving through Swazi (on some very well kept roads) we saw tons of people walking. They also might take a mini-bus taxi if they need to go far, but most were walking to their destination. What a difference from what we are used to! We were also stopped at 4 or 5 police check points. They were just making sure everyone was being safe on the roads since it was more crowded than usual due to the holiday. They were so polite and curious about where we were from and what we were doing in their country. One police officer even told us, after looking at Brandons Colorado drivers license, that in their country they dont have to renew their license. Once they have it, they have it for good.
Sodwana Bay:
Pictures: Picasa Web Albums - Brandon - Sodwana Bay -...
When looking at the map, Sodwana is near Richards Bay on the northeast coast. Sodwana was great! When driving in, we realized we were really staying in the bush! We had to drive down a 2 mile road that was literally just sand. When we got to Triton Dive Lodge, it felt as if we were in a movie. Scuba diving South Africa, Sodwana Bay, Triton Dive Lodge Walking through the property felt like we were in Swiss Family Robinson, but without the tree! Wooden boardwalks, little chalets, thatched roofs, etc. So cool! Alta greeted us and showed us to our chalet. It was a little cabin with 2 beds, mosquito nets, a bathroom, and a fan. Peter and Eve run the place, and they were so accommodating. There was a restaurant, a pool, a kitchen area, a huge braai (BBQ pit), and a bar. We thought the coolest thing was the honor bar. You served yourself and just wrote it down on the paper on the bar. Then they tallied up what you drank and put it on your room bill. We had fun with this! Our first night we had dinner in the restaurant. Best pizza on the trip yet! Our chefs there were great. Our first morning of diving was an adventure. We will now forever call our diving in South Africa Adventure Diving. It was so cool. We met the dive boat and crew at the beach in Sodwana Bay. It is a Mecca for diving and deep sea fishing. I couldnt believe the number of boats and people on the beach. It was 7am and crowded. The ocean is beautiful with green small mountains/big hills surrounding the bay. We found Tritons tent and settled in. Every dive shop has its own tent to hang out in. There is a tarp on the sand and then chairs to sit in. We were scheduled for the 7:30 dive and the 10:30 dive that morning. They use inflatable rigid boats to dive. We had never been on one of these before. They put the boats in the water using big farm tractors. Once the tractor pushes the boat into the water with a long wooden pole, we all had to grab the side of the boat and walk the boat into where it wouldnt touch the sand. Then we all jumped in and put our life jackets on. The waves were HUGE that day, and we had fun riding them in the boat. Once we got past the waves, we could take our life jackets off and enjoy the smoother ride to the dive site. Once there, we geared up and rolled off backwards into the sea. The visibility wasnt great, but we saw some cool stuff; rays, turtles, and lots of fish. Our first stop was Caves and Overhangs site. We spent almost an hour under water. Adele was our dive master. Once up, you have to give all your gear to someone on the boat then jump over the side back in. Needless to say, I needed some help!  Luckily the skipper and dive masters were always willing to lend a hand, and Brandon helped me too. We headed back to the beach and sat in the tent to rest before the next dive. All of a sudden, a loud South African man shows up. Everyone had been pretty quiet in the tent seeing that it was early morning and not everybody knew each other. He looks around at everyone and says, What is wrong with you people? Everyone looks depressed! Come to find out, this would be our dive master for our next dive, Shaun. He was hilarious! We had such a great time with him in Sodwana. Such a good time that we met up with him for dinner when we were in Durban! Our 2nd dive that day was at the site called Stringer. We once again saw turtles, eels, etc. Once back on land, we decided we were done diving for the day. We headed out and ended up at Sodwana Bay Lodge for lunch. That was also a neat place with little cabins and walkways, etc. We went back to Triton and decided it was time for some drinks. We headed to the honor bar with the lap top to work on our pictures. We were the first ones there, and others trickled in as they came back from diving. By dinner time the place was packed. Everyone had a great time around the braai, talking, and laughing with each other. We got up early the next day and headed to Durban. It was a 4 hour drive from Sodwana to Durban.
