I can't believe it's already been three weeks since we returned from our trip to South Africa {if you missed it, I posted a quick trip overview the day after we got home}. I've been so busy working on the redesign of our master bedroom for the One Room Challenge {and designing rooms for two other people...fun projects that I'll tell you about soon} that we've barely started going through the thousands of photos we took on our safari and during our time in Cape Town.
I can't wait to put together a full trip recap post for those of you who are interested, but since I've been down with a stomach bug today I thought I might as well take advantage of my couch time and share another little glimpse into our travels.
Remember last month when I told you about the fun wedding ring selfie photo tradition that started on our honeymoon in Greece? Well, the tradition continued in South Africa! So without further ado, here's a whirlwind tour of South Africa as seen though our wedding ring selfies!
The first week of our trip was spent on safari in the KwaZulu-Natal region of South Africa. It's spring there now, so the landscape was just starting to green up, but was still quite dry.
This is actually an idea season for a safari because there is not yet much foliage and the grasses are low, making it much easier to spot animals, and because water is in limited supply before the summer rainy season, the animals movements are a bit more predictable, making them easier to track.
On safari, there are some animals you are likely to spot daily, like zebras and giraffes, and others that you are lucky to see even once, like lions {which we were lucky to see}. Some guests told us we would tire of the zebras by the last day of our safari - but I never did. Maybe it's just my love of black and white, but I could happily watch zebras all day long!
During the week of our safari, we took two game drives each day, one in the early mornings and another in the late afternoons. Since we spent most of our time in the game viewing trucks, we had to snap a few ring selfies of those as well.
This game viewing vehicle even had a special seat mounted to the front for a second guide, called a spotter. The spotter is specially trained to track animals using all sorts of visual clues.
In between our twice daily game drives, we had several hours free for other excursions. We spent one early afternoon visiting a neighboring game reserve for an incredible elephant interaction experience. I'll share the incredible story of these elephants with you in another post, but Scott and I both agreed it was one of the coolest things we've ever done - so it was also worthy of a ring selfie!
When our safari came to an end {tear} we drove along the Indian Ocean coast to the city of Durban. Since it was our first time seeing the Indian Ocean - you guessed it, another wedding ring selfie.
We flew from Durban to Cape Town, and quickly discovered why everyone calls Cape Town one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The weather was quite overcast a couple of the days we were there, but we did get lucky with one gorgeous, clear day, perfect for taking the cable car to the top of Table Mountain. Here's a view from the top, looking down over the city.
My husband has loved sharks ever since he was a little boy, and since the waters around Cape Town are the only place in the world where Great White Sharks are known to breach out of the water while hunting seals, there was no way we were going to miss our chance to possibly see a shark breach. We took a boat trip in False Bay to the waters around Seal Island. We got lucky enough to see two breaches before getting in a cage for a much more up close view of the Great Whites! Yup - you read that right! More details{and some video} in a future post - I promise! Seal Island isn't much to look at, but it was definitely an experience worth of a ring selfie!
Cape Town is also home to an extensive wine region {about 10 times the size of Napa Valley}. We were only able to see a bit of the Cape Winelands in the one day we had allotted, but it was amazingly beautiful and I discovered several new wines that are now on my list of favorites! If you've never tried Pinotage - I highly recommend it!
While touring the wine region, we also enjoyed a cheese tasting and a chocolate tasting - talk about a perfect day!
There you have it - a quick tour of South Africa as seen through the eyes of our wedding ring selfie tradition. As soon as we have time to go through all of our photos, I'll be sharing a full trip report, complete with lots of animal photos and a lot more gorgeous scenery around Cape Town.
Labels: photography, tradition, travel
