The day was finally here! I boarded the lite rail out of Seattle, tired but excited for the long journey to South Africa. The train ride gave me time to mentally prepare for the slog ahead of me: 14 hour flight to Dubai, 8 hour layover and finally a10 hour flight to Cape Town. There are several choices when it comes to South African flights, but I …

So, the ultimate question: Kruger or Hwange? This is a tough one, and ultimately comes down to a person’s taste, travel style, budget as well past travel experiences.



Head to Kruger if….

You’re intent on seeing the Big 5

You enjoy creature comforts, such as 24-hour electricity, AC and Wifi

You would like to experience …

Bomani and Camelthorn, sister lodges along the Ngamo Plains, offer some of the most intimate and quiet game-viewing experiences in all of Africa. You are guaranteed to be one of only a few people in this remote part of the park, and the experience is truly incredible because of that. While it is not possible to view the Big 5 in Hwange (rhinos …

If I thought South Africa offered wild, intense game viewing, Zimbabwe completely blew this out of the water. There are no fences surrounding Hwange, and the atmosphere of wildness carries over into Victoria Falls town, where elephants sometimes wander outside the park and down the quiet streets of Victoria Falls. Unlike South Africa’s …

Kruger is South Africa’s largest national park and one of Africa’s biggest, covering an area of 7,523 square miles. Kruger is also home to the Big 5 – lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and rhino – and is one of the best places on the continent to see these formidable animals. Kruger National Park itself is quite busy, and …

Days in the game reserves are both busy and relaxed, and one should be ready for early mornings and early evenings, with plenty of free time to read, nap and relax in between the 2 daily game drives. The day begins with a 4:30 wakeup call, either on your bedside telephone, or, if there are no phones in the room, by a ranger knocking on your …

The Cape has 18 official wine routes, all of which are among the most scenic drives in the world and feature wine estates that date back centuries. Most Cape wine estates are characterized by large, classic Dutch-style buildings and sprawling vineyards with picturesque mountains serving as their formidable backdrop. The European influence here is …

I’m not a foodie by any sense of the word, but Cape Town may have done its part in convincing me that I need to become one. From a serious coffee culture, to foodie markets and world-class restaurants, Cape Town is quickly rising to the culinary capital of Africa. The cuisine is a mix of Cape Malay, South African and Indian, tastes from …