Oh, the Places We'll Go

There are thousands of porters that work on Mt. Kilimanjaro, and many of them work in less-than-ideal conditions.  While in the region, we had the opportunity to meet with Karen Valenti, a woman doing amazing work to help improve porter conditions on Kili.  I wrote a World Nomads blog post on the subject, which can be found here, or copied below.

Kilimanjaro Porters – Helping Them Help You Up The Mountain

I’ve never had anybody carry my stuff for me before.

At least, not on a trekking trip.  And to be honest, I was a little bit uncomfortable about it.  See, I consider myself a fairly avid backcountry hiker, spending many weekends each summer in the Colorado wilderness.  The thought of hiring someone to carry my food, tent, clothes, sleeping bag, etc, just seems like cheating.  So, when my wife and I arrived at the Machame trailhead of Mt Kilimanjaro, I was appalled to find 12 people there to assist us up the mountain!  As it turns out, there is no way we would have made it up Kili without them (at least, not in 5 days), and I have come to highly respect Kilimanjaro porters and the often dire working conditions they face every time they set foot on the mountain.

Kili porters working too hard

“My team, they are not just porters, they are mountaineers,” boasts my guide, Goodluck (yes, that is his real name).  And he’s right – these guys are heaving heavy, awkward-shaped, poorly packaged gear up some of the most challenging non-technical trekking routes on the planet.  And, they are doing it in almost any weather condition, often with very poor equipment (I saw more remnants of old shoes and boots on the trail than I care to remember).  These guys have to be tough, but too often on Kili, they are working harder than they should be.

Why are things so rough for porters?

They are the low link on the Kilimanjaro food chain, there is lots of competition for work (over 15,000 porters work on the mountain!), and their low level of education and training has kept them from having a voice.  Here are a few of their most common challenges:

• Climbing companies sometimes fail to pay their porters on time, sufficiently, or at all

• Some porters are not provided with appropriate mountain gear, from clothing to footwear to tents

• Some porters are given insufficient food – as little as 1 meal per day

• Some porters are made to carry well over the maximum weight of 25kg (a regulation set by the park, but often ignored by the climbing companies)

• Some guides (often former porters themselves) require a bribe to be chosen to work

• Some guides fail to distribute guest tips fairly, keeping more than their own share

Fortunately, the situation is improving significantly, thanks largely to the work of Karen Valenti and the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Program (KPAP), a Tanzanian NGO.  Created by the International Mountain Explorers Connection in 2003, KPAP has been fighting for porters rights and welfare through grassroots activism, education, research, and monitoring.  The organization works directly with porters to provide complimentary gear rental, while also working with the climbing companies to ensure they are following ethical guidelines for porter treatment established by KPAP.   Karen, KPAP’s director, is a passionate individual who spends most of her time at Kili trailheads interviewing and surveying porters and climbers to ensure standards are being met.  Climbing companies who have demonstrated their adherence to KPAP standards are granted “partner” status – a label that has become a must-have for any responsible travel providers running trips to Kili.

Kili porters

Interested in climbing Kilimanjaro?

Your travel choices have the power to make a positive impact.  Here’s what you can do to ensure your porters are treated fairly:

• Visit the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Program’s website to learn more about their work

• Climb with one of KPAP’s “partner in responsible travel” companies – both Tanzanian ground operators, as well as international tour companies are listed by country

• If you’ve already selected an operator who is not on the list, KPAP has a list of suggested questions/requirements you can utilize to ensure fair treatment on your trip

• If your favorite tour operator is not on the list (and they run trips to Kilimanjaro), call them up and ask them why they have not joined, and when they plan to

• Be sure to tip well (plan it into your trip budget), and be sure to tip directly to the porters

The first 6 hours of summit day were miserable. We started hiking at midnight, it was pitch black, we were freezing cold from the wind, the trail was loose, rocky skree and it was too cold to stop and rest. We spent hour upon hour of putting one food ahead of the other and wondering if we would actually make it to the top. Our guide claimed that for part of the hike, we were actually sleepwalking! I contemplated turning around on many occasions but remembered it had taken me four days to get to this point and I wanted, I needed, to stick it out. I have no idea if Ted was thinking the same thing because at this point we were too cold, tired, and out of it to talk. The altitude was finally getting to both of us and lightheaded-ness, the mild headaches and the nausea were not fun. When you look at your watch and it’s still in the 3 o’clock hour and you have hours to go, you wonder why you pay to do stuff like this.

And finally, oh finally, that beautiful sun started to come up. I was more excited about the sun rising for the warmth than I was for any other reason. However the side benefit was that we could see the top and we were close. The end was in sight. The pink sky was just the encouragement I needed to finish what we started. When you see the crescent of first sunlight on the horizon from the roof of Africa, everything at that moment gets a whole lot better, and man does it feel good!

Never been happier to see the sun rise!

The final few steps to the summit

Too tired to appreciate the beautiful sunrise

Summit Reached!!

Views from the summit

Views from the summit

Kilimanjaro? Bagged it!!

We owe another huge thank you to our friends at Adventures Within Reach for making it possible (and affordable!) for us to experience this opportunity of a lifetime.  If you’re going to Africa, be sure to check out their awesome itineraries.

Climbing Kilimanjaro is no joke. Many people discredit its difficulty because it is a mountain you can hike all the way to the top of without the need of technical rock-climbing gear. However, it is indeed a tough undertaking and the mountain deserves loads of respect.

We climbed the Machame Route, where the starting elevation for the hike is 5800 ft, roughly the altitude of Boulder. That means that throughout our 4 days of ascent, we would be climbing a total of 13,500 vertical feet. That is pretty badass. Luckily we had a LOT of help.

We assumed we would be in a group with other hikers going to the top, but that was not the case. It was just me, Ted, our guide named Goodluck (seriously), our assistant guide named Peter and 10, yes 10, porters to carry the food, tents, gear, etc. for our group. The fact that it was 2 of us and 12 of them was a little overwhelming and uncomfortable however, we were incredibly thankful for their assistance as it was quite nice to arrive at camp each day with the tent already set-up and warm food being prepared.

Our guides and porters, welcoming us to camp with a song. Hiking mountains is WAY easier with their help

Sarah and Goodluck

Though everyone who sets out to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro ultimately wants to get to the top, I’m pleased to report that the 4 days of hiking leading up to summit day are more-than-incredible in their own right: Walking through lush rainforests, seeing silhouette views of nearby Mt. Meru at sunset, camping on cliff edges overlooking spectacular valleys, walking through clouds and catching rewarding glimpses of Kili all along the way. The hiking alone is world class and THEN you get the opportunity to bag a peak.

Amazing views along the trek up

Nearby Mt. Meru in the background

Awesome views from camp

Still a ways to the top

Sunset above the clouds

Our guide was experienced and good. The motto on Kili is ‘pole pole’ (pronounced po-lay po-lay) – which simply means slowly slowly in Kiswahili. You walk slower than you want to (in fact, slower than we’ve ever walked before), but it keeps you from ascending too quickly and it allows you to keep a steady pace with minimal stopping. We’d walk about 6 or 7 hours a day with the maximum we went in one day being 12-13 km (~8 miles). We were both feeling really good, with no negative effects from the altitude – we were ready to conquer this beast.

Our 4^th day of walking got us to Barafu camp (elevation 15,088 ft) around 3pm. Our job was to rest, eat an early dinner, and try to sleep as we’d be getting up at 11pm for our summit attempt. When we left camp around midnight, we were sore, we were tired (we had barely slept) and we were cold. Summit day had begun.

Let me start with the fact that climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak at 19,340 feet, was the hardest physical thing we have ever done in our lives. Ted and I do a fair bit of hiking in Colorado, including several 14ers (14,000+ foot peaks) the past few summers. We even did a 15er in Peru on our hike to Machu Picchu. However, Kili is a 19er and that extra 4000 ft in altitude makes all the difference in the world.

Gonna bag that peak

Many people prepare for weeks/months/their lives for this particular undertaking. However, we had spent the last few days lying on the beach (at sea level, obviously) in Zanzibar drinking cocktails. Prior to that we had been on and off safari for the previous 2 months which includes ridiculous amounts of eating and hours upon hours of sitting in a jeep. What I’m getting at here is that we were not in the best hiking shape of our lives, yet we were about to take on our biggest physical challenge to date.

Before our climb, Ted reached out to a few friends that had climbed Kili to ask them about the hike and to hear their experiences. He got a few intimidating responses ranging from miserable altitude headaches to incredibly grueling hard work. After hearing these reviews, he decided that there was no good reason to share this information with me until after the climb, and to this day I thank him for that.

With ignorant bliss, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the mountain for the first time on the drive from Kilimanjaro airport to Moshi, the access town. Glowing in the evening sunset, Africa’s biggest peak dominates the skyline, literally popping out of nowhere. It is nothing less than breathtaking.

Kilimanjaro at sunset

We got our hotel just as it got dark. We carbo-loaded on some pasta for dinner, repacked our bags for 6 days and 5 nights of mountain climbing, and did our best to get some sleep before the big trip.

We visited a total of 6 countries in Southern Africa – Zambia, Botswana, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, and Mozambique – but some for only a matter of days, and some for only a matter of hours! That being said, we’ve decided to combine them all together for a regional wrap-up. Below, in no particular order, are our Top 10 Highlights, Bottom 5 Bummers, as well as Favorite Food/Drink and Animal Sightings (new category for Africa!) of our two months in Southern Africa. You can also check out our Best of Southern Africa photo album for some more visual highlights (and don’t forget the African Mega-Fauna album for our top animal sightings).

Top 10

1. 

   Mokoro Ride

   Victoria Falls – What can we say? They are one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World and they are some incredibly impressive falls.

2. Remoteness of the Botswana bush – A safari in Botswana is a unique experience. You are hundreds of miles into the wilderness away from cities, towns, and other people. There are no power lines or fences or signs of civilization. The only way in and out is via bush plane. It’s just you and the animals in the bush.
3. Small plane flights between safari lodges – Due to the remoteness of the safari camps in Botswana and seasonal weather conditions, several times our transport between camps was by small plane. One flight was a total of 8 minutes and Ted got to sit shotgun with the pilot.
4. Mokoro ride – Our safari group in Botswana got treated to traditional Mokoro rides, which are similar to dug-out canoes. Powered only by a long pole, you are gliding just inches above the water and kinda feel like you’re flying.
5. Family-filled January – How incredible is it that both sets of our parents came all the way across the ocean from the Northern United States to Southern Africa to visit us?!
6. View from Table Mountain – Nothing quite like it and I think we appreciated it even more due to the energy we expended to get up there!
7. Morning at Clifton Beaches – Just around the corner from Cape Town’s city center are the most beautiful, tucked-away beaches. We went with the Graces on a weekday and nearly had the place to ourselves.
8. 

   Cheetah!

   Animal Sighting Good Luck Charms – The Martens saw it all in the animal department – including the much talked about Big 5 (elephants, leopards, rhinos, buffalo and lions) plus cheetahs and lots of other good stuff in a matter of days. Ted and I had not seen a rhino or a cheetah before their visit and we’d been on nearly 30 game drives before they came.

9. Bush to Beach to Bush – I wrote about this day in a previous post, and it was really quite awesome. Seeing big animals and swimming in the ocean makes for an incredible day.
10. SCUBA Diving in Moz – We both love being underwater and I wish we got to do it more often. We were very impressed with the coral and the variety of fish in Mozambique.

Bottom 5

1. Lame NYE – We’d love to have a memorable, exciting story to share about our New Year’s Eve on the trip, but low and behold, we were asleep before midnight.
2. Theft – At the lodge we stayed at in Cape Town with my parents, we had an issue with some sticky-fingered housekeepers. Wily Ted was able to prove their misdeed. The manager was appalled and immediately and appropriately addressed the situation, including reimbursing us for the small amount taken.
3. 

   Bad Bus Ride

   Bus to Tofo Beach – We’re wimps. We didn’t take a whole lots of public transportation in Africa, and I’m using this fairly uncomfortable bus ride as justification of why we didn’t do so.

4. Visa debacles – Let’s just say that in Johannesburg we went to the India Embassy three times (to get a visa), the Mozambique Embassy four times (to get a visa), and the U.S. Embassy once (to get more pages in my passport).
5. Failing to visit Namibia – When we left the US for our trip, we were 100% positive we were going to Namibia. Ted has a travel industry friend and contact living there with his family and we were planning to pay them a visit. Sadly, it didn’t happen.

Favorite Meals and Treats

1. Sundowners – The idea of having a cocktail while watching the sun go down is a good one. We enjoyed our sundowners on the Zambezi River in Zambia, in the Botswana bush, with city views in Cape Town, throughout the greater Kruger Park area, and the list goes on.
2. 

   Ostrich Fillet - Mmmmmmm

   Stuffed Crabs – Mmmm. We discovered these stuffed treats in Mozambique and ate them all week.

3. Unique Game – Never before had we eaten ostrich or impala – and we quite liked it. Other game options included crocodile, kudu (a type of antelope), and warthog!
4. Ocean Basket – OB is a South African chain restaurant that serves fresh seafood, fish and chips, and sushi. They are everywhere and we ate there many a time including with both sets of parents.
5. NatHab Safari Meals – When we were on safari in Botswana, we ate entirely too much amazing food. How they got such fabulous fresh food out into the middle of the bush in order to feed us so well is beyond me.

Animal Sighting Highlights

1. 

   Wild Dog

   Wild Dog – Our one and only sighting of wild dogs was in Botswana. They are endangered and extremely rare to see. Even the guides were excited, that is how we knew we were lucky.

2. Pursuit of first leopard – Francis, our guide in Botswana, is the man. With his animal tracking know-how, his persistence and determination, his off-road driving and a little bit of luck we spotted our first leopards – a momma and two older cubs. You wouldn’t believe the amount of vegetation we got to drive over just to find them.
3. Baby animals – Due to the time of year we were visiting, we got the opportunity to see lots of mommas and their babies. There isn’t anything much cuter than baby lions, elephants, and impala.
4. Elephants – Ted’s favorite animal to see. We saw lots.
5. Giraffes – Sarah’s favorite. Oh, and to see a giraffe running is incredible – it appears to be happening in slow motion.
6. 

   Rhinos

   Game drive with Ocean – Ocean was one of our guides with Ted’s parents and he kept things interesting. Within a couple hours we saw 4 of the Big 5 (elephants, lions, leopards, buffalo and rhinos) and evaded an aggressively charging male elephant!

7. First rhinoceros – Finally! After our Botswana safari and several days in the Kruger Park area we were beginning to think they didn’t exist. But they do!
8. Cheetah with it’s kill – What an amazing site to come upon. We didn’t realize it had just hunted until the little impala almost got away and the cheetah had to finish it off.
9. Surprise night-time leopard sighting – Last night in the Kruger Park area and our way back to the lodge we magically came upon a leopard.
10. Lotsa fish – Between snorkeling with the Martens and SCUBA diving in Moz, we got to see some great underwater animals as well!

Don’t forget to check out the Best Of photo albums here and here.

Another African submission to World Nomads’ Responsible Travel Blog.  The topic this week surrounds eco-initiatives at safari bush camps.  If you’re interested, read on here, or below:

Eco-Successes in the African Bush

Running a safari camp can’t be easy.  In fact, it may be just about the most difficult hospitality gig on the planet.  In addition to all of the nuances of running any old high-quality hotel, you have to do it off-the-grid, in a very remote and hard-to-access location, within a wildlife reserve or park, with highly specialized on-site staff, while running a successful game-drive business that ensures guests see all of the Big 5 animals and more.

Big 5 sighting - Cape Buffalo

Balancing a sustainable tourism plan in this already difficult operating environment can be a tall order for any camp owner.  Some argue that there simply is not enough time (or money) to implement sustainability projects under such demanding circumstances.  Fortunately, many others have taken the opposite approach, believing that operating responsibly is a necessity for survival in the safari business.  After all, visits to the bush are all about viewing animals in their natural environment – shouldn’t a safari camp’s goal be to protect that very environment?

Thanks to the many challenges of running a safari operation, camp owners have been forced to develop some of the leading eco-innovation and efficiency techniques found in the tourism industry today.  Here are some projects that impressed me in the bush:

· Energy – Remote bush camps have two options when it comes to electricity – diesel generators or renewables.  Both systems are used to power battery units to provide power during off-peak times.  While most camps have historically used diesel fuel, those that have switched to renewables are reaping the benefits – reduced energy costs over time, no expensive diesel delivery costs, no noise pollution in the bush, no fuel-burning pollution in the bush, etc.  Solar is the new diesel, both through solar electricity and solar thermal devices.  Cutting edge camps have cut their operational diesel burn to nearly zero, using the old generators only for back-up during maintenance.

· Solid Waste – With no routine trash pick-up (some camps only have vehicle access for less than 3 months a year!), storing waste and recycling can prove to be a challenge.  Add to that the hungry and aggressive animals in these regions, and you have a waste management problem on your hands.  Composting has become a big trend, eliminating over 50% of solid waste volume. Compost pits, however, must be heavily secured and closely monitored – hyenas in particular love to dig their way in.  Recycling is separated at some of the more eco-focused camps, but most parts of Africa lack a location for processing these materials.  Material re-use is woven into every aspect of operations, from food-prep, to housekeeping, to camp decoration.  Leading camps have developed systems for eliminating packaging and excess materials prior to camp delivery, reducing the load on the back end.  Remaining waste is stored in secure cages until it can be transported back to town.

· Water Waste – Water is a precious commodity in the often arid desert environments. Watersheds are very susceptible to disease and pollution, so it is imperative that camp water is properly treated before being released back into the ground.  Old-school septic tanks are rapidly being replaced with cutting-edge bio-digester units that use natural bacteria instead of harsh chemicals to treat waste water.

Waste water treatment facility in the bush

Any single initiative listed here wouldn’t constitute a news-worthy sustainability effort.  However, when these projects are combined in a single property, and these properties are dotted across much of the African bush, we’ve got some pretty impressive and wide-spread eco-innovation.  To me, there’s something darn cool about a lodge that sources, uses, and disposes of all of its own energy, water, and most of its waste in a responsible manner.  Regardless of whether the motivation is out of operational necessity or environmental consciousness, I call these off-the-grid camps an eco-success.

My latest post for World Nomad’s Responsible Travel Blog, this time about luxury “bubble” tourism to Africa.  Check it out here, or have a read below:

African Access – Too Limited to the Rich and Famous?

Botswana is an Africa success story in many respects.  In a continent littered with political turmoil, corruption, famine, and disease, Botswana has emerged as a diamond in the ruff.  In fact, it is diamonds that have brought stability, infrastructure, government services, and capital to the country’s growing economy.  Rich diamond deposits were discovered only a few years after the country earned independence in 1966, and revenue earned from their extraction has funded near-first-world healthcare, roads, schools, and social services.  But the diamonds can only last so long, and with less than 3 decades of reserves left in the mines, Botswana is working hard to diversify it’s economy.

After diamonds, tourism is Botswana’s ticket to prolonged success, and the country has taken a very proactive approach in developing a specific type of tourism – Conservation-focused, high-revenue, low-volume travel.  Ok, that’s industry speak, but essentially what the country is trying to promote is luxury travel to the bush to the select few that can afford it.  If promoted well and monitored closely, this type of tourism could soon overcome diamonds as the #1 industry in Botswana, and hopefully ensure ongoing success for the country’s economy and citizens.

Mokoro Ride

While the conservation-focused luxury travel model certainly has its advantages, it also brings up an important debate – should access to the world’s most amazing places be limited only to those with deep pockets?  On one hand, this type of travel has its benefits for the environment and the economy.  On the other hand, restricting access only to those with extensive financial resources prohibits most of the local population from experiencing their own back yard.  Let’s look at a few of the pros and cons of Botswana’s tourism strategy.

Luxury Tented Camp

Pros

· Controlling environmental impacts – focusing on low-volume visitation means fewer negative environmental impacts on the sensitive African bush and wildlife (fewer people, fewer jeeps, less water, less fuel, less waste, etc)

· Revenue for conservation – High taxes, fees, and levies are charged from luxury travelers, which are put towards further conservation efforts

· Super Eco - luxury travel providers have the financial means to invest in cutting-edge eco and sustainable tourism projects.  Some of the world’s leading eco-lodges can be found in the bush

· Efficient conservation – With only a handful of operators, less money is spent on monitoring and oversight, directing more money towards other important conservation initiatives

Cons

· No access for the masses – Nature is meant to be shared by all, and everyone should have the opportunity to experience the African bush.  First and foremost, the people of Botswana should have reasonably-priced access to their own natural wonders

· Conservation opportunities lost – It is only after you have experienced a place, that you can become a steward of that environment.  If locals don’t have the opportunity to enjoy the bush, how can they be expected to fight for its protection?

· Fewer jobs – low-volume tourism means fewer employment opportunities for the people living near the parks and reserves

What do you think? Should governments restrict access to help curb environmental impacts?  Or should conservation sacrifices be made in the name of making nature accessible to all?  In Botswana’s case, it’s a complicated issue with many additional factors to consider.  Whether you agree with the country’s approach or not, one thing is for sure – Botswana’s bush parks and wildlife are worth a visit…if you can afford it.

Swaziland is a teeny, tiny little country in Southern Africa that most people have never heard of – look on a map and you’ll see that it is nearly encompassed by South Africa. They have a much-loved King (with many wives), their own currency, and a lot of national pride. We didn’t get to experience much of what Swaziland has to offer but we did spend a night there and enjoyed the beautiful green hilly scenery from the car on our shortcut through the country to get from the Kruger Park area to South Africa’s Elephant Coast.

Swaziland's green rolling hills

Swaziland from the car

Spanning the northeastern seaboard, the Elephant Coast is a popular vacation destination for JoBurg folks looking to escape the big city. St. Lucia is the main hub around these parts and thanks to its location on the Indian Ocean (rather than the Atlantic), the water temperature is much more inviting for swimming than we’d experienced at the other beaches in South Africa.

Elephant Coast

Elephant Coast

One of our favorite days with Martens was a bush-to-beach-to bush experience. At the iSimangaliso Wetland National Park, you have the opportunity to self-drive your car through an incredibly beautiful and world-renowned wetland landscape, where you see everything from kudu, to zebra, to rhino, to hippos – only to end up on an amazing strip of white sand beach where you can swim, surf, and snorkel. We picnicked along the beach and then took turns swimming in the beautiful blue water and snorkeling along the small reef near shore. When we’d had enough sunshine for the day, we piled back in the car to look for more animals as we headed towards town.

Kudu

Picnic on the beach

Cape Vidal

Bush to Beach to Bush

I can’t imagine there are too many places in the world where you can see a rhino in the morning, eat lunch with monkeys in the trees overlooking the beach, swim with fish, and then spot dozens of zebra and warthogs on your way home. What a day!

Family photo

Wanting the Martens to have all their animal questions answered, we spent a few nights just outside  Kruger Park in the Thornybush Game Reserve at Kwa Mbili Lodge.  The owners were a South African man and his American wife who had both worked for IBM for years in California before deciding to do something different.  Very different.  They are now raising their two young daughters in the bush and hosting visitors from all over the world at their lovely property.

We had an amazing few days at Kwa Mbili, with several different incredible guides.  Our first, AK, was a South African version of the Crocodile Hunter.  He’d been a guide for decades and it was what he was born to do.  He loves the bush and the bush loves him.  At one point we got out of the Land Cruiser and pursued a rhino on foot before it got away from us!  That was a first!

AK and a tortoise

Our second guide was a man named Ocean.  Though a man of few words, he showed us all the animals.  Ted’s mom was bound and determined to see a lion and Ted and I were crossing our fingers that it would happen.  Within 10 minutes on our drive with Ocean, we rounded a corner to see a gigantic male lion within 10 feet of the road.  Needless to say, Sarah (Ted’s mom) was thrilled as were we all.  Ocean also almost got us run over by an aggressive charging male elephant.  Luckily we were able to reverse fast enough to avoid his pursuit!

King of the bush

This guy was enormous

Ocean delivers the animals

However, our most memorable animal sitings occurred with Kwa Mbili’s owner, Neil, as our guide.  With loads of help from our mighty tracker (a local man experienced in finding and deciphering animal tracks), we were able to see a cheetah (our first!) with his kill.  In fact, the baby impala was still alive when we came upon them.  It was amazing how close the animal allowed us to get to him and how intricate and beautiful the spots are on his body.

Cheetah with a fresh kill

Resting after a big feast

And a top highlight for sure was on our last game drive at the lodge.  After our sundowners and on the way back to the lodge, we came across a leopard in our headlights.  He was literally walking across the road and we couldn’t have had better timing – 5 seconds earlier and it would have still been in the bush and 5 seconds later he would have disappeared in the other direction.  We stopped in awe and he proceeded to walk by us within feet of the car.  I don’t think any of us were breathing at that point.  It was a totally incredible sighting and the perfect way to wrap up our time in the bush.

A bit close for comfort?

As the Graces were in mid-air back to Ann Arbor, Ted and I were once again at the Johannesburg International Airport (visits 4 and 5 of 10) to welcome our second round of parental visitors.  Similar to the Graces, it was the Martens’ first time to Africa and we so appreciate them coming so far to be with us.  Rob, Sarah (Ted’s mom is also named Sarah!), Ted and I have traveled together several times before, so we knew we were in for a good time.

We spent our first couple of nights in the Drakensburg Escarpment, in an amazing hilltop accommodation that Ted and I had identified while previously driving through the area during my parents visit.  Though none of us have been there, we imagine that the surrounding landscape was similar to the Irish countryside – lots of green, rolling hills.  We spent a whole day driving a scenic loop through the region taking in waterfalls, rock formations and exploring caves.

Could be Ireland?

Drakensburg Escarpment

Blythe River Canyon

Sarahs

We then ventured into the Kruger Park for a couple days of self-driving safari.  As Michiganders may spend vacation time on a lake Up North every year, many South Africans make an annual trip to the Kruger Park.  You stay in the park, you drive around looking for animals all day (drinking beer optional) and you BBQ in the evenings.  We channeled our inner South African and did exactly that.  Though Ted and I knew a little bit from our previous safaris, we were by no means a wealth of information, so we opted to do a ranger-guided night drive.  It was totally worth it as we finally saw our first rhino!  Ted and I had been on safari for a total of 18 days (between Botswana and South Africa) so it was long overdue.  Those things are ridiculously intimidating and very pre-historic looking.  The good news is, we had many more rhino spottings still in store for us!

Self-drive safari treats

Self-drive safari treats

Rhinos!

Hyena