South Africa (Safari) -Day 2- Of Pink Gin & Elephants

Renting the car from the hotel was the beginning of an easy trip out of the city. Admittedly the most challenging part of our drives when in foreign countries is getting out of the metropolis, but because the way Joburg is structured we were already in an easier part right off the highway.  Jumped in the car, turned on our South Africa playlist, and hit the road! A much easier drive that we were honestly expecting, with highway the whole way and some beautiful scenery (including the Highlands Meander which was super hilly and lovely)—after about 3 hours and fifteen minutes we were in the Mpumalanga area; exactly what Google maps projected!

The Nkomazi Game Reserve entry was very clearly marked and we were greeted at the gate at the 1pm arrival time, directed to a secure parking spot, and then welcomed with cold beer/ cider in the welcome tent by a lovely guide named Celebrate (who is our guide while we’re here).   Quick detail—Savanna cider is awesome, much more refreshing than the British versions J  Another couple was starting their stay as well so we chatted with them a bit and found out that they are South African and live about an hour and a half from here, so this is a quick 2-day trip for them (lucky ducks). They were raving about Nkomazi and its merits—a small, single lodge on 15,000 hectares whereas on other properties they feel much more crowded since there are more people/trucks/tents and you have to time the animal viewing so you rotate through.  Sounds like we made the right choice!! On the driven in the land rover from the main gate, we started seeing some wildlife—a small taste of what was to come!

We received an awesome surprise—all 10 tents are actually full right now, so we somehow ended up in the royal suite! We have way too much space for the two of us, but certainly aren’t complaining. All tents have a plunge pool and outdoor bathtub, but we actually have two tents (one with our bedroom, bathroom and small sitting area and the other is what we’re calling the party tent as it’s basically a big lounge) and a big deck that has a large plunge pool, the bathtub, and an outdoor shower. Absolutely incredible.

After settling in a little, we met up for tea at 3pm in the main tent where we met some of the other guests, had a few bites, and started getting really excited for the game drive that kicked off at 4pm.  There are 2 game drives a day—one at 6am and one at 4pm, both for three hours—timed to the best parts of the day to see the animals.  We were off on our first safari and were practically bouncing out of our seats with excitement. 

Not long after leaving the lodge, we saw giraffes (!!!!) and we truly realized that we are here on this amazing adventure.  Won’t bore you with the play by play of driving around looking for animals except to say that the landscape is truly breathtaking here and diverse—the park is backed by beautiful mountains, there is a river (which provides the most soothing white noise) and there are grasslands and rocky outcrops alike.  Managed to see giraffes, impala, kudu, nyala, elephants, and a hippo—so incredible to see close up.  The elephants were eating the whole time and tearing off branches of trees while the hippo was a very lucky spotting!

Before we left for the evening drive, our guide Celebrate asked about our favorite drinks to bring on the drive. They have this great tradition called sundowners where you basically have a cocktail and appreciate the sun going down from a scenic spot (which is basically every other tree in this place!).  Brennan had done some research and found a cocktail called a pink gin (gin, tonic, bitters) that was the traditional safari drink—Celebrate knew it at once and B was very excited to have an authentic, old-fashioned beverage on our drive.

The weather is truly summer here—upper 80s/low 90s and sunny as well.   There’s two ways they do dinner—one in the dining tent, the other in an outdoor setup called the boma. Because the weather was so good, dinner our first night was in the boma which was a truly special way to kickoff the safari leg of our trip.  With a big campfire in the middle and stars shining overhead, it was magical. Throw in some great food and wine and we couldn’t have been more content.

Overall just can’t get over how beautiful it is, how nice everyone is, how luxurious this place feels, and how incredibly fortunate we are to be on this once in a lifetime experience.

South Africa - Day 1 - Alexandria, drop the i

First (and only!) full day in Joburg, so we prioritized before we came and had two things we really wanted to do: 1. A bike tour of the Alexandra township 2. Explore the Maboneng neighborhood.

Despite a late night arrival and some last minute planning, we set an alarm and jumped out of bed bright and early to take care of a few things (ATM for some local currency, breakfast, sunscreen application, etc.) before heading out to meet the bike tour at 9:30.  We grabbed a cab from the hotel to the Marlborough Train Station where the bike tour was picking us up. We stumbled upon the Alexandra bike tour in searching for an alternative to the typical Soweto township tour.  Soweto is the most famous township and has commercialized its tourism to a surprising degree; most people see it from the comfort of a tour bus stopping at key points.  Alexandra was the original township in Johannesburg (founded in 1912) and is less commercialized; plus, it’s just one letter off from Alexandria.

We certainly found a lot of contrasts between our home and the township.  Upon arriving at the train station, we were picked up for a ride into the township to a youth center, where the bike tour is operated out of.  The bike tour was founded by an entrepreneurial Alexandra youth named Jeff in 2010 when he was just 18 years old.  Since then, the operation has grown to include five employees, though it still has a “startup” feel.   We met our tour guides, learned a few Zulu greetings, and then headed out on what turned out to be a private tour.

We spent the next three hours visiting the sites of the first primary school and high school in the township, one of our guide’s house, a day care, a gym Richard Branson is financing, the local “mall,” the poorest section of the township and finally Nelson Mandela’s house when he first moved to Johannesburg.  Overall, we were struck by sense of community in the township (our tour guides seemed the most popular guys in town) and also a bit humbled by how different our lives are.  Our tour guides were fantastic and we felt safe the entire time.  This was a fantastic way to see this unique place.

After the tour, we took the train to its downtown terminus (Park) and then grabbed a quick cab to the Maboneng precinct.  Basically, this is Johannesburg’s Williamsburg; there are a lot of shops, art galleries and unique places to eat.  We had lunch at a braai (bbq) place called Sharp!, then spent some time visiting Arts on Main and the various shops, including the David Krut gallery, which had some very cool prints.  Afterward, we lucked into an Uber dropping off another passenger (we can’t be the first people who have Ubered without mobile phones, but it was still a great experience!) and headed back to the hotel for some rest before dinner.

Dinner was at a restaurant called Cube Tasting Kitchen in the Rosebank neighborhood – turned out to be a cool neighborhood, somewhat more residential but also with more restaurants and shops than Sandton, where our hotel is.  The restaurant was fairly small, with an open kitchen, and served a multi-course tasting menu.  It was also BYOB, so we showed up with wine picked up just beforehand.  The meal was great, though there was a LOT of food; it felt like they could use an editor to rein in the chef.  Otherwise, though, excellent, and worth the cab ride.  

Now off to bed and then safari tomorrow!

Amsterdam/South Africa- Day 4- In Which We Cross the Sahara (and then some)

Got up this morning nice and early to take the tram & train to the airport to catch our flight to Johannesburg.  Hard to believe we’re leaving Amsterdam already and on our way to the next leg of our trip!

Really nothing to report: we went to the airport, got on a plane and were on a plane for around 12 hours. Long travel day and very excited to get to Joburg.  New continent claimed!

Amsterdam- Day 3- Clogs, Windmills, & Cheese- oh my!

In typical fashion, there’s always something stereotypical that I get in my head before we go to a new country. In Argentina, it was tango. In Budapest, it was the baths. In the Netherlands, it’s windmills.  Thankfully we’re both game to occasionally play the tourist card in a big way, so this morning we headed out to a town called Zaanse Schans.  From the Centraal train station, it’s about a 20 minute train ride and then a 15 minute walk from there to this little slice of Holland—nice and easy for a quick half day trip!

The best parallel I can draw is a mini colonial Williamsburg; this is clearly a tourist destination but as long as you accept that, it was definitely cool to see some of the oldest surviving windmills rotating in the strong wind.  Zaanse Schans itself was an industrial hub in the 1700s and 1800s—one of the mainstays was shipbuilding but also producing everything from paper and oil to chocolate and starch.  History is covered in a suprisingly modern museum on the grounds that describes the town’s heritage and also has a separate section dedicated to the Verkaden biscuit and chocolate factory.  The latter was pretty fun and interactive with games to have you digitally sort cookies and chocolates into their boxes—Bren and I clearly took up the challenge and needless to say, he crushed me. 

After having some fun inside and returning to a better temperature (it was freezing and the wind was so strong in this area!!), we stopped by their restaurant on property to have Dutch pancakes, popped into the clog shop, and then went to investigate the windmills. Since windmills are clearly not an important part of industry anymore, there aren’t many left so we were pretty excited to get to see a cluster together—definitely more visually impactful than a one-off.  The windmills had been around since the late 1600s so it was a neat slice of the past, especially when contrasted with the dozens of wind turbines we passed on the train ride out.

Headed back to the city around mid-day and had a few more things we wanted to see, but really just wanted to spend our last afternoon in the city wandering the charming streets and canals we had fallen in love with.  In a desperate attempt to see some tulips (note: we are definitely coming back for when the tulips bloom and to go to Gouda!), we stopped by the Blomenmarket.  Described as a floating flower market, this was really just a bunch of cheezy tourist stalls this time of year.  We quickly walked through it and returned to the areas we preferred strolling. 

 For a mouse like me, a good cheese shop was definitely on the list and we found it in De Kaaskamer.  Awesome little store and luckily they will vacuum-pack it for you, so hopefully we will have some great Dutch cheese at home for a bit as a souvenir (fingers crossed). 

Wandered around this area and then through the Jordaan until we started getting tired, hopped a tram back to our lovely home and did some packing.  Last stop of the day was dinner at Kip et T’ij (Chicken & The Egg), for a great comfort meal of chicken, frites, local beer etc—the perfect end to our wonderful weekend in Amsterdam!