Since I think it’s probably pretty obvious that my blog is a few months behind, it will come as a surprise to no one that we have already gone to and left Africa. We only spent two months on the continent, but those two months were some of my favorite. We experienced so much and I have a lot to write about our time there! Instead of jumping right in with my posts about things to do in Cape Town or which side of Victoria Falls is better, I thought it might be helpful to give a little bit of background on our itinerary and route, so that you’ll have some context when the location-specific articles start publishing.

The sunsets in Africa were the best I have ever seen!

Our time in Africa can be broken into roughly three main chunks: our arrival in Cape Town, our tour with Intrepid, and our independent travel for two weeks at the end.

Having never been to Africa, we were a little apprehensive when planning our time there. Luckily, I have a friend who lives in Cape Town, South Africa who was more than willing to answer our questions and offer suggestions on where to stay and what to see. Elze’s advice was invaluable and provided us with a sense of security when we arrived. Overcoming jet lag was our first priority, after our harrowing three days of travel from South America. While in Cape Town, we spent some time relaxing and recovering, but also exploring. Elze is more than just a friend; she was also a fantastic tour guide for us who took the time to show us around the area and where she lives. We spent ten days in Cape Town at the beginning, touring Table Mountain, taking a wine tour of Stellenbosch, visiting the V&A Waterfront, and eating a lot of burgers at Jerry’s Burger Bar. We were happy to have this time at the beginning, to become comfortable with Africa, and it made us eager to know more.

Table Mountain provided a beautiful backdrop for views of Cape Town and the harbor.

When looking at where to go in Africa, a few places stood out in my mind. I knew that I wanted to visit Elze in Cape Town, so that made a good place for us to start our travels. Victoria Falls has always been on our radar and it just so happens that connecting those two destinations makes for a perfect three-week tour! Once a general route was decided upon, we quickly found the Intrepid tour “Cape Town to Vic Falls.” The route took us through the desert of Namibia, the national parks of Etosha and Chobe, the Okavango Delta in Botswana, and ended in the town of Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. While initially apprehensive about taking a tour with a group for so long, our concerns quickly faded away once we met our crew and fellow tour members. After just one day together, we all felt more like family and became close throughout the trip. It was sad to say goodbye in Victoria Falls, but I am confident that we’ll all meet again someday! And until that time comes, there’s always Facebook and WhatsApp to keep in touch!

Our Intrepid group quickly became like family to us. This is everyone in front of the Etosha salt pan in Namibia.

The final leg of our African adventure took us across the river to Livingstone, Zambia, where we could visit the falls from the other side. The wildlife was a huge draw for us when deciding to visit Africa, so we booked a game drive that ended up being a private tour where our guide included a free walk-with-rhino experience for us! He said that he didn’t want us to visit without having the opportunity to see the rhinos up-close and personal! What a treat! After a few days in Livingstone, we flew back to South Africa to see more of the country. Renting a car and driving the Garden Route seemed like the perfect way to take our time and go where we wanted. Elephants had eluded us at all the other national parks we had visited thus far, so we made a last-minute decision one evening to get up early the next morning and drive through Addo Elephant National Park. Addo sure made up for the lack of elephant-sightings elsewhere, since we saw well over 100, some of which stood or walked right next to our little rental car! We finally bid adieu to the elephants and hopped our way from small town to even smaller town along the beautiful Garden Route. Finishing on the Cape of Good Hope, we sat on the beach with penguins in Bolder Beach before returning to Cape Town for a few more days before leaving Africa.

We saw so many elephants at Addo, including a lot of little babies! (‘little’ being a relative term!)

There’s so much more to say about Africa – the landscapes, the people, the animals, the food… I’m looking forward to sharing more about our experiences, thoughts, and impressions of the countries we visited! I hope that you will enjoy reading about it as much as I will enjoy writing about it!

Victoria Falls is so long that it’s impossible to fit it all in one picture!