November 30, 2019 – December 28, 2019
November 30 – December 1: After approximately 14 hours of air travel (3 airplanes) and 12 hours spent in airports, we made it to South Africa!
Bedford, South Africa
December 2 – 6: We were so fortunate to get to stay with the Pringle Family on their farm near Bedford. Before leaving Port Elizabeth we stopped at the SANCCOB Sea Bird Rehabilitation Centre, and got a quick tour of the penguin areas. We’ve seen a number of animals already just driving from Port Elizabeth to the farm: monkeys, baboons, antelope, warthogs, kudu, zebras, and ostriches. We’re not fast enough with the cameras yet to get pictures, but we will hopefully post some soon. In the meantime, the kids are enjoying farm life – collecting eggs from chicken coops and playing with puppies have been a big hit with both of them.
Umlani Bushcamp, South Africa
December 6 – 11: We made our way to Umlani Bushcamp via Dullstroom. We spent some time at Umlani in December of 2007 when Chris was working in Mauritius and I came to visit him for Christmas. Instead of staying in Mauritius we travelled to South Africa and made our way to Umlani for an unbelievable safari experience. Fast forward to 2019, we couldn’t wait to bring Maggie and CJ to this amazing place to experience 2 game drives a day at an off the grid camp.
Namibia
December 12 – 22: We travelled around Namibia, staying at different campsites along the way. We started in Namib-Nauklauft (Sossusvlei) then made our way up to Walvis Bay and Swakopmund. From there we travelled to a campsite appropriately called St. Nowhere along the Skeleton Coast. After a very long drive we made it to Brandberg Mountain for a night then stayed near Otjiwarongo in order to visit the Cheetah Conservation Fund. We had an incredible time in Namibia and wish we could have stayed longer!
Cape Town, South Africa
December 22 – 28: We spent Christmas in Cape Town, South Africa. It was a relaxing 6 days with some needed downtime. We enjoyed stopping for a picnic while driving along parts of the Cape Peninsula, and we had a delicious Boxing Day dinner at De Volkskombuis in Stellenbosch. We didn’t get a chance to climb Table Mountain due to the wind and some fog, but that gives us another reason to come back!
