Dispatch: South Africa & Victoria Falls
- 4 hours ago
- 7 min read
I'm a firm believer in celebrating with experiences rather than baubles. And so, as I dip my toes into a new decade, I also step foot onto a new continent for me: Africa. This trip focused on Cape Town and its environs, a safari on a private game reserve, and Victoria Falls. We decided to travel with Tauck tours (there were roughly 20 guests in our group), but wanted to explore Cape Town a bit on our own before the tour started -- taking a walking food tour through the city, eating a spectacular dinner at The Waterside, and staying over at the wonderful Cape Grace Hotel. The tour covered a few days in Cape Town before heading into the South African bush for a safari experience which was every bit as awesome, inspiring, and life-affirming as we hoped it would be. Then, the icing on the cake was a visit to the most incredible waterfall I've ever seen: Victoria Falls (in Zimbabwe). This truly is a trip of a lifetime and if you can swing it, and are up for a LONG trek to get there, I suggest this be on almost everyone's travel wish list.
Cape Town: The City
Bo Kaap neighborhood of Cape Town
Located where three oceans converge, Cape Town and its Cape of Good Hope are impressive. The Atlantic, Southern, and Pacific Oceans bring with them high and cool winds, but even in the winter (June), the weather was lovely, with lows perhaps dipping into the 40's at night. These same oceans provide for some excellent beaches, seafood (oysters and mussels are renowned), and viniculture, with a climate similar to California's Napa Valley. Further, Cape Town was an important stop on trade routes, which accounts for much of the culinary diversity any foodie will appreciate.
The city feels western and very developed, with a backdrop almost everywhere of Table Mountain, a massive mesa. There are private security guards patrolling a lot of the city, giving visitors an appropriate sense of safety as they explore. Bo Kaap is an area steeped in Cape Malay culture, and is known for its brightly colored homes and cobblestone streets. The city offers museums, galleries, and a large park, Company's Gardens, where the South African Museum and Parliament are located. There are a variety of architectural styles found throughout the downtown area, and the V & A Waterfront is a fun place to spend some time -- similar(ish) to Baltimore's Inner Harbor with upscale residences, lots of shopping, a marina, and hotels. There's plenty to do in town, for sure.
Cape Town: The Nature
Hout Bay
Cape Town sits at the bottom of the African continent and visiting the city's environs brings you to beaches, a colony of African penguins (!), boulders, vineyards and hikes around the Cape of Good Hope and atop Table Mountain (reachable by a rotating cable car should you not want to hike up). The views of the city and Hout's Bay from Table Mountain are stupendous. Baboons and ostriches seem to roam freely around the Cape of Good Hope, which also affords spectacular views.
Cape Town: The Food
Braai Amazing fresh oysters Bobotie Inventive and delicious dessert @Waterside Restaurant
I can't (I refuse to?) explore a new destination without learning about its cuisine, and in Cape Town we took a half-day walking food tour and also ate two exceptional meals which cemented the city's reputation as a foodie destination for me. The Braai is the local version of bbq/ grilled meat, and the oysters/ mussels/ seafood is some of the freshest (and most affordable) you'll find anywhere. Bobotie is a South African version of a meat pie and is quite tasty, and the milk tart (melktert) is sure to satisfy almost any sweet tooth -- it's kind of like a custard pie. FYI, rooibos tea (which you may have seen in stores where they sell tea) comes from a shrub which only grows in South Africa and apparently fixes almost anything that ails you. (Knowledge is power!)
South African Safari & The Big Five
Old male lion
This is, for most, the reason to take a trip to South(ern) Africa. We stayed at the Kapama River Lodge, on a private game reserve adjacent to Kruger National Park. For first time safari folks, many say that a game reserve is the way to go since the animals are protected, the crowds are controlled, and the animals live in closer proximity to each other, enabling a higher likelihood of seeing the big five in a shorter amount of time. (Kruger is huge and the big five don't necessarily live in the same region, meaning you often would need/want to stay at a few different lodges in order to see the variety of animals we saw at Kapama.) Wondering what the big five is? It refers to these iconic safari animals: Lions, African Buffalo, Rhinos, Hippos, and Elephants.
I'm happy to report that in a mere two and a half days, over 5 game drives (sunset and sunrise), we were able to see the Big 5, and so much more. We were whisked through the reserve in an open-topped comfortable jeep with 3 stadium seated rows, a driver, and a spotter who sat on a jump-seat precariously riveted to the front of the jeep, over the left headlight. Dirt tracks were generally followed (some off-roading took place as well), which crisscrossed much of the reserve. Evening game drives included sundowner snacks and drinks under the African skies (we were able to see the southern cross on clear nights). Watching and tracking animals which we typically see in zoos was surreal; almost Disney-esque in their perfect, seemingly on-cue, appearances.
Life at the lodge was extremely comfortable, and the food was tasty and plentiful. The guides were impressive and well-experienced, and the entire experience was one of subtle luxury (despite the fact we didn't stay at one of the UBER-luxe lodges). If there are adequate words to describe the experience of taking a safari in the African bush, I don't know them. There's good reason a trip like this tops many folks' dream trip list.
Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe)
Ethereal power @ Vic Falls
All things being relative, Victoria Falls, is in the neighborhood of South Africa and if you love waterfalls and enjoy visiting the seven natural wonders of the world, you really should try to make some time for a stop here. We visited when the Zambezi River (the natural border between Zambia and Zimbabwe) was running high, and the falls were truly beyond impressive. (They made Niagara Falls seem like baby waterfalls).
The night before our visit to the falls we took a pretty touristy sundowner cruise on the Zambezi River. The sunset was lovely, but the (Nile) crocodiles and, especially, the hippos were the memorable parts of the experience for me. One rhino decided to yawn just as we were floating by, and holey-moley did we get a show! (The rhinos seen on safari were lazing in watering holes, with the tops of their heads and eyes pretty much all we saw -- except when we startled one and he sped across the road and hydroplaned into a pond too quickly to photograph). So, seeing a gaping hippo mouth was beyond great.
Discovered by the explorer David Livingstone in 1855, Victoria Falls is one of the largest and most powerful waterfalls in the world, both in terms of width (up to over 5,000 feet wide) and height (up to 355 feet). There is a lush rainforest microclimate produced by the falls which we discovered as we were provided rain ponchos before our walk to numerous scenic lookouts. The falls, dubbed smoke that thunders, are so fierce that we became sopping wet even with the ponchos on, and if you are considering a visit there I suggest you wear water shoes, as there was no way to keep our feet dry. Despite the rain, so strong we couldn't even see the falls in front of our faces at a few of the scenic lookouts, the awesomeness of the experience is one I'll never forget. Some prefer the Zambia side of the falls for viewing, but the walk along the Zimbabwe side offers a wider view of the falls, which is why our tour stayed there. The only thing which would have made this visit better for me, was a helicopter ride over the falls, which is absolutely possible if you have the time (which we did not, sadly).
Some Closing Thoughts
As I mentioned, we took a Tauck tour, and it was as seamless and comfortable as we could have wanted (shout out to the best tour director out there, Chantal). You certainly don't need to take an escorted tour, but the convenience and assured safety and comfort of a tour like ours is an excellent way to go for many travelers. To be clear, there are many tour operators offering tours like ours -- be sure you find one which best meets your budget and interests.
It would be remiss of me to ignore the societal friction and inequalities in South Africa. Tours like the one I was on don't delve too much into the colonizing past and its impacts today (they do touch on it, of course). There are some tours out there which are more socially-oriented should you want less of a white-washed experience. To wit, our tour ended at Johannesburg airport, and while many of us had hours of free time before our flights home departed, we were strongly advised not to explore the city (Jo'Burg) on our own out of an abundance of caution. Should you want to spend time there and delve into Apartheid history, I'd suggest arranging a private tour, or finding a tour which includes Johannesburg on the itinerary.
Save up your pennies, folks, because I put this trip into a must-see category, and it doesn't come cheap. Bonus points if you can take your kids -- we didn't and I'm a little bummed we couldn't experience these wonders as a family. But, hey, it didn't suck as a mileston birthday present, either!
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