|
After over 1 month in South Africa, we have finally made it to our safari! How was it? Well to start, we drove for over 3 hours from Durban to a luxury game resort called Makhasa Private Game Lodge. When we first arrived we were treated with warm towels and welcome drinks. After we drank up, we were anxious to see lots of African wildlife but only small deer-like animals, called nyalas, were currently by the lodge. Next we were taken to our rooms to relax and wait for our lunch. I was starving! Our lunch on the first day, which was a salad and pita. I thought it was really small and weak and did not fill anybody up for more than 2 hours. After that was the moment we were all waiting for, our first safari! When we went into our safari vehicle at 3:00 pm, we immediately observed loads of hoofed animals like zebras and nyalas, but the most interesting animal we saw on that game drive was a large male leopard. The leopard was really cool to see up close and was also on our list of animals we were hoping to see as apart of the Big 5. As a result of the lack of lunch, we had to stop in a wide open field to snack. When our guide told us that he had snacks we were surprised, but when he had a whole drink bar in the truck we were even more impressed. My family and I enjoyed drinks and sitting watching our first African safari sunset. After our afternoon game drive, we came back to nice warm towels as well as more welcome drinks. We enjoyed nice dinners every single night with delicious, homemade meals. As for the game drives, following the first day, it was pretty boring. Every single day we had to wake up at the crack of dawn to freezing weather and a wave of weariness. To be frank, I passed out for the 3 other days each morning, but luckily we didn't really see much and I was disappointed. .On our last game drive we had a scary encounter with a rhino that almost hit our vehicle. We were driving back to the game lodge after our evening drive and unexpectedly came across a herd of rhinos on the road. They were impossible to see in the pitch black but luckily our experienced guide stopped in time to avoid hitting the rhino. I think we scared them as much as they frightened us! Our mistake was going to a national park before we went on our safari, so we were used to all of the elephants, zebras, warthogs and other animals. On our 3rd day we also saw 2 cheetahs, a mother and child, just relaxing by the road. In all, our safari was fun for 1-2 days and that was about it. I would recommend this place for about 1-2 days and I would definitely not recommend staying at Makhasa game resort for any longer. **Disclaimer: this is the opinion of the author and does not speak for the rest of his family:)**
1 Comment
Last week, we travelled from Durban, South Africa to Munyawana Reserve in the KwaZulu-Natal region of South Africa. We went there to start our safari at the Makhasa Private Game Lodge. When we first arrived the staff welcomed us with cold drinks, cool towels, and then took our lunch orders while the staff put our suitcases away in our rooms. Our lunch was definitely a bit underwhelming because it was only a small Cesar Salad and loaded with dressing. After we finished our lunch, my dad and I decided to play our favorite game, Rummikub, before our first game drive. Of course, I destroyed him and won 5-ish games in a row. Finally, after destroying my dad in Rummikub, it was time for our first game drive. We met our driver/ranger, Chris, and he was the best. Chris was very enthusiastic and knowledgeable about showing us all the different types of animals in the reserve. On the first game drive we were super lucky and saw a leopard which is one of the most challenging animal to spot. The leopard was beautiful and powerful while we watched it roam, drinking water, and resting. After seeing the leopard we didn’t see much else that evening but the leopard was definitely the coolest animal I saw. Over the next few days, we woke up at 6 am for our morning game drives and went back out at 3 pm for our evening game drives. Over the 8 game drives we had we saw and tracked cheetahs, white rhinos, elephants, hyenas, impalas, kudus, nyalas, zebras, baboons, giraffes, hippos, crocodiles, wildebeest, warthogs, African buffalo, many different types of birds, and our pal, Gary the chameleon. Every day Gary would sit on a tree camouflaged amongst the leaves and wait for us each time. In addition to seeing all the animals we also had breaks each time we went out. Chris, our ranger/driver, brought all the drinks you could ask for and set up a mini bar with snacks and beverages in nice spots near the river. My second favorite part of our game drives was definitely the snacks and drinks. It was nice being in a private game reserve because you can go off path unlike the national parks. When we saw white rhinos we were able to go off the normal trail to go see them up close. Chris even had to clear the path a few times with his machete so we wouldn’t get pricked with the massive thorns by the plants surrounding us. What made things even better, was that we had a private tour for 6 of the 8 game drives. The four safari days included all of our meals in addition to our game drives. Our first meals at the lodge were not the best. Not bad, but just ok. For dinner we had a braai which is what South Africans call a BBQ. I didn’t really enjoy it because I don’t like BBQ very much but my parents liked it. After the braai we were informed we were not allowed to walk by ourselves at night due to insure our safety since predators have been seen in our lodge. It was a good idea because the last night we spent there we saw a hyena walking inside our lodge which was a bit cool but also very frightening. The meals improved after the first day and the last dinner we had was the best! I had roasted lamb shank and an apple crumble for desert. It was amazing! Overall, I really enjoyed the Makhasa Lodge. I would probably go on a few more safaris but for now i am safari-ed out. Well, this week has been full of exciting adventures. First off, we drove from Plettenberg Bay to a place close to Port Elizabeth/Gqeberha to our hotel called Zuurberg Mountain Village. We chose this location because it is very close to Addo Elephant National Park, the third largest national park in South Africa. I quite enjoyed the hotel because there were lots of adorable cats wandering around and the rooms were very lovely. The only thing that I didn’t really enjoy was their food. Instead of ordering from a menu there was a buffet. The meat was dry and nothing really had much flavor. Besides the food , and my brothers’ loud snoring, the hotel was very nice. We had two rooms which was great since I had my own bed. On the first day, we drove to Addo Elephant National Park to do a self-drive safari. I was happy that we were not in one of the open safari jeeps because it was cold and dusty on the un paved roads through the park. Although our car was relatively low to the ground, we still had a blast. We saw lots of elephants, warthogs, black-backed jackals, mongooses, Cape Buffalo,and herds of zebra. My favorite animals to see were the elephants at the Hapoor waterhole because there were so many of them with their babies and some were even spraying each other with water which was really cool to see. It was a really fun and awesome experience seeing all these wild animals so close by in person and free (especially as the enormous elephants were walking within feet of our car). Overall I would rate our self drive safari a 8.5/10 because although it was super cool I was a bit tired since I had to wake up at 8:00 am. (Usually I like to sleep until 10:00). Over these past 3 weeks of living and exploring South Africa, I have learned so much more than I could have ever fathomed. I have learned about their culture, language, and history, but my favorite thing about the food culture in South Africa has been Biltong.
First, what is biltong? Biltong is a type of cured meat that originated in South Africa. Biltong is similar to beef jerky in look and texture but has the benefit of being less processed and having a much richer taste. Biltong is made by marinating strips of meat in a mixture of salt, vinegar, spices, and occasionally herbs for several hours. After the meat is done marinating, it gets air dried in a controlled space. Scientists speculate that biltong was first invented in the early 1600s by native South Africans. Biltong can be made with countless different meats and mixtures. These range from local game meats such as ostrich, springbok, and kudu to more familiar meats such as beef and chicken. Biltong is also a high protein low carb snack making it popular with people that are following high-protein or low carb diets. After trying all of these, my personal favorite has been ostrich. Biltong is a staple of South African culture and is a very delicious snack. It has also been a popular snack among my family during this road trip and is a must eat when traveling to South Africa. See you next week! This week we went from the big city of Cape Town to a small town in an area of South Africa called the little Karoo. We drove to Oudtshoorn after visiting the tiny town of Sutherland to see SALT. SALT stands for Southern African Large Telescope which is the largest single optical telescope in the southern hemisphere. The drive through the Swartberg Pass on our way to Oudtshoorn was amazing to experience. There were dramatic cliffs that loomed on either side of the road. There were all shades of greys, oranges, reds, and varieties of white. The rocks looked like they were moments from collapsing on the cars below and appeared to be stacked like an enormous Jenga game. The road was unpaved and extremely rocky which made my dad nervous since we were also driving on the opposite side of the road. We finally made it to Oudtshoorn safely. This part of the journey was spectacular. In Oudtshoorn, one of my favorite activities was going to the Cango Caves. We decided that we were going to do the Adventure Tour , rather than the regular tour, which would include going through tiny spaces and crawling around to get further into the caves than the regular tour but we didn’t expect how hard it would be. We first started the tour in massive areas with all the normal cave formations. We walked around and taking photos of the different cave structures. We learned about cave development including stalactites and stalagmites. As we walked along, the spaces became increasingly smaller and smaller until we were squeezing through tiny crevices to reach the next point. There were four chambers: Jacob’s Ladder, The Tunnel of Love, Devil’s Chimney, and the Postbox. Jacob’s Ladder was the easiest since we went through steep built in stairs. The Tunnel of Love was a bit harder since it was super slippery and incredibly narrow for adults. It got its name from the “hugs” that you get from each side of the cave walls as you slid through. The Postbox was very difficult because you had to crawl into a space which was only about2 ft high and then slide down on your stomach which somewhat hurt. The most difficult one was the Devil’s Chimney which you had to climb up slippery rocks and were only able to use the same rocks as hand holds. Overall the tour was pretty good. I would rate it a 8.5/10 because one of the other participants smelled like smoke and onions which made it unpleasant. During this time in the Karoo I experienced a little bit of how life is like outside of the big cities in South Africa. I would recommend visiting the Karoo to discover some of the different landscape, animals, and vegetation that you wouldn’t see in the big cities. Just like that our second week in South Africa is over, what have we done? After leaving Cape Town, we drove to a small town called Franschhoek in the wine country of South Africa. Franschhoek, founded by French Hugonauts around 300 years ago, calls itself the “gastronomical capital of South Africa” and I can see why. We delighted our taste buds with delicious food such as eland and ostrich steak, and tasty wine (well, my parents had the wine). My favorite part of Franschhoek was when we all went to the Boschendal Estate for lunch and wine tastings. This place was awesome because they included us with sparkling grape juice and chocolate pairings too! There were three varieties of grape juices presented to us: red grape juice, white grape juice, and a rosé grape juice. These were paired with chocolates that had complementary flavors and each enhanced the flavor of the other. This was probably the best grape juice I have ever tasted. The complexity and rich flavor of the grape juice made it taste better than every grape juice i've had before. After Franschhoek, we traveled to a small town known as Sutherland. This is the home of S.A.L.T, which stands for Southern African Large Telescope. Sutherland was picked for the location of the S.A.L.T because of the remote location of the town as well as the climate. Remote locations are vital to telescopes because they lack the light pollution caused by nearby cities which would interfere with space viewing. The climate in Sutherland is cold and clear which the telescope needs to be able to see the stars. The plan for Sutherland was for us to go up to the telescope and star gaze, but apparently we arrived on just one of the few days of the year where it was mostly cloudy. The guide informed us that the weather is perfect for stargazing 80% of the year. We were unlucky to have arrived during the other 20%. Although we didn't get to see the stars, we did a tour of S.A.L.T and watched a movie at a very low budget planetarium. They even used fancy lawn chairs for the viewing rather than movie theater chairs. It was definitely an interesting experience! The next destination on our road trip was Oudtshorn, another smallish town. Similarly to Sutherland, more things went wrong! All the reviews for the hotel we were staying at stated about how it was a “paradise” and how “nice” the place was, clearly this was far from the truth. We had traveled to Oudtshoorn to stay at a “Working Ostrich Farm” but clearly the name was deceiving considering the fact that there were only 3 ostriches on the premises. Besides the lack of internet not exceeding the speed of 1mb/second, the place wasn't all that bad. We saw an abundance of wildlife like elands, hippos, nyalas, and ostriches. One of the best parts of this 2 day trip were the amazing meals. In conclusion to our second week in South Africa it has been exhilarating to see all the wildlife and eat all the delicious food, 10/10. So our first week in South Africa is complete. What has been the highlight? The highlight of the first week in South Africa was the City Sightseeing bus that we took to Cape Point Reserve, The Cape Of Good Hope, and Boulders Beach. Both of these areas are well known in South Africa. The Cape Of Good Hope is famous since it was the first all-water route from Europe to Asia and Boulders Beach is famous for its African “jackass” Penguins. The penguins are nicknamed for the donkey-like sounds that they make. The reason I liked The Cape Of Good Hope was because of the dramatic scenic views and hikes from the mountain. When we first arrived at Cape Point, we had to climb up a mountain to see the first lighthouse that helped ships navigate around the rocky beaches. This was before it was decommissioned due to the lighthouse not being visible during cloudy or foggy conditions. After visiting the lighthouse, we hiked down the mountain to do a 45 minute hike to The Cape Of Good Hope, which is the south western most point in the African continent. During the hike our group saw a trio of elands, that kinda looks like a gazelle and cow mixed together. I thought this was really cool because this was the first large mammal we saw in Africa. The Cape Of Good Hope national park is also home to ostriches, which can grow up to 2.8 meters or 9.1 feet. When we reached the Cape of Good Hope we even saw some baboons on the beach! The Cape Of Good Hope was definitely the highlight of the 8 hour trip for many reasons. Boulders beach was alright at best, it was way too expensive for what it was. Penguins are cool but it was only interesting for a hot second. Seeing penguins is definitely something you should do but I thought it was expensive for around 21 dollars for all 4 of us for only about 10 minutes of fun. We have the Wild Card pass that allows us to visit all South Africa national parks for one year and Boulders beach was included so it was a fun add on. In conclusion, our first week in South Africa has been great and there will hopefully be more fun to come. This past week in Cape Town has been really busy and fun! My favorite activity of the week was our visit to the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. I saw many different native South African species of plants. There were tons of unique types of flowers, succulents, rare cycads, and so many varieties of aloe. The hills and paths were filled with many blooming flowers that I had never seen before. The garden was beautiful, but also educational, which made my mom happy. While walking through the hills, I thought that I saw a hummingbird but it was actually a South African bird called a sun bird. I thought it was just a different name for the same bird but they are actually completely different types of birds and not even the same species. They look the same because of something called convergent evolution. Convergent evolution is where different species evolve with very similar evolutionary characteristics to help them adapt to the same types of environments and conditions even though they are oceans apart. So they may have the same type of beak, wings, etc but they are not genetically the same. We also walked through an area filled with plants called Cycads. These plants are rare and many are endangered. Even small cycads only around 3 feet tall can be worth over 100,000 USD! Kirstenbosch had an entire trail dedicated to them which was cool. My favorite part of the garden was an area called the Fragrance Garden. All the flowers there smelt amazing and were really pretty. It was very relaxing to smell all of the different scents, feel the different textures of the leaves, and read about their evolutionary adaptations to the Cape Town environment. Overall, I would give the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden an 8.5/10. I would give it this rating because it was beautiful, uncrowded, and interesting but I think we spent too much time there.  Since our NYC trip has ended, now it is time for my first on-the-road post. After a long day of traveling from Costa Rica, we arrived at Newark airport. We grabbed an Uber and finally made it to our hotel after 1AM. We were exhausted. When we woke up we went downstairs for breakfast and shortly after we went to a futuristic art exhibit ,“Mercer Labs”, in the downtown financial district. Mercer labs was a fun experience but I would not recommend considering the price was around $50 for adults and $30 for kids.. After this we went back to the hotel to rest my Dad and I went to a mediocre comedy show. The comedy show was cheap and sketchy and it was just for artists to get a name for themselves. On our 2nd day my parents took us to Long Island to visit with our grandparents. After they dropped us off my Mom and Dad went to the play called “Hamilton”. Mom said this was amazing. I hope to see it next time. On the third day, I went with my parents, sister, and grandma to an Off Broadway play called “The Play That Goes Wrong” which was a 10/10 in my opinion. This play got my approval because it was funny and had a lot of physical comedy. After the play, we were all hungry and thirsty so we went to a Chinese restaurant that served dim sum. I would give the dim sum a 9/10 because it was cheap and delicious.The following day, I had lunch with my sister and aunt while my parents went to a comedy club which was way better than the previous one my Dad and I went to. On Friday, I went with my grandpa and parents to go see the retired WW2 Aircraft carrier “Intrepid”, the submarine nicknamed “Growler”, and the first space shuttle known as “Enterprise”. I wanted to go to the Intrepid museum because they have plane simulators and retired planes. The following day was Saturday and our trip was coming to an end. We packed up our things and moved back in with our parents into the city. On our last day, we went to a spy themed interactive gaming experience where we played short, fast-paced games as a team to earn points. We had to work as a team and improve our “Spy skills” to gain points and rewards. The Spy games were a 7/10. Spy games got this rating because the games were alright and it was very expensive for what it was. In conclusion, our trip to NYC was a trip I will never forget and it was by far the best trip to NYC so far. |
RSS Feed