My recent trip to South Africa

I recently returned from a couple of weeks in South Africa, which marked my first trip to the African continent. What an amazing country. The people there are so warm and friendly, and I found the progress since the end of Apartheid to be quite remarkable. Granted, most of my time was spent either in or around Cape Town, or on safari...so I was a world away from much of the crime, poverty and disease that plague a good part of the nation. As a visitor, I realized that it was there, but never found myself face-to-face with it.

This photo was taken in the Madikwe area, a malaria-free game reserve in the Northwest part of the country, near the border with Botswana. Not much had been written on this area - at least in the mainstream travel sources I frequent - but I had a hunch it would be spectacular and was not the least bit disappointed. My travel companions, which included my husband and my sister (who I travel with for work), and I were so impressed with Makanyane safari lodge, where we stayed for the duration of our visit to Madikwe. By chance, we were the only guests staying at the property for a three-day period, so the service -- needless to say -- was impeccable. I suspect it would have been top-notch even if the camp were full, though. Our accomodations were unbelievable...definitely the nicest place I have ever stayed, and I have frequented some good ones! Our ranger, an Afrikaans guy named Dylan, was a total hoot and led us into some pretty amazing "siutations". We had remarkable lion sightings, as well as an exciting encounter with an elephant. Of course we spotted a great deal of other types of game, including rhino, various antelope, zebra, giraffe, etc...but the lions were the highlight. Just a few months before our visit, Dylan had been the ranger for First Lady Laura Bush and her two daughters...he had some fun stories for us.

Other than Madikwe, we visited two other safari camps -- Garonga (in Makalali), and Tinga (in Kruger Park). All were spectacular in their own way, but the Madikwe area set the bar very high! In addition to safari, we started off the trip with a few days in Cape Town. We found the Arabella Sheraton to be a wonderful and centrally-located hotel choice in town, and a great base from which to do side trips to the peninsula and Cape of Good Hope (don't miss the Boulders Beach penguin colony!), and the awe-inspiring wine regions of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. I am spoiled living in California to have top-rate wine areas within an easy drive, but the South African wine region has such stunning mountainous beauty that it's well worth a visit even if you aren't in to wine.

My appetite (and my palate) have been whet for a return visit at some point in the future. Next time, I'm hoping to add on the Garden Route in South Africa, a visit to Zululand, and hopefully an extension of the trip to some of the bordering countries. Oh, and I would be remiss not to mention the game-rich Okavango Delta -- if only we'd had the time this trip!