South Africa: Cape Town Coastlines To Kruger Safaris

You can spend 20-plus hours getting somewhere and still be stunned the moment you step off the plane. South Africa hit us like that. One minute we’re dragging ourselves through a punishing economy-flight journey, and the next we’re rolling into Cape Town with the skyline lit up and the coastline begging for daylight. We talk candidly about the travel logistics, what worked, what didn’t, and the small choices that made the trip easier, like staying near the V&A Waterfront and knowing exactly where to grab water and snacks without wandering far.

Cape Town gives us the kind of “how is this real?” scenery travelers chase: the Sea Point and Camps Bay drive, a wild boat ride out of Hout Bay to Seal Island, penguins in the wild at Simon’s Town, and standing at Cape Point near the edge of the continent. But we also don’t dodge the harder parts. Safety is a real consideration, and so is the visible economic divide. We share what we noticed on the ground so you can plan with clear eyes, not fear or fantasy.

Then the trip shifts from city views to pure bucket-list energy: a Kruger National Park safari. Over multiple game drives we spot four of the Big Five, plus hyenas, warthogs, giraffes, and more, including a moment with lions so close it made us question every life choice that brought us there. We also break down the reality of staying in the park, the lodge experience we wouldn’t recommend, and the airports and airlines on the way home, including why Air France felt like a step up.

If you like honest travel stories with practical tips and big-time nature moments, subscribe, share this with a friend who loves adventure, and leave us a rating and review. What would be the first thing you’d do in South Africa?

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Transcript

Welcome Back And What Changed

Speaker 0:05

This is your captain speaking. If you love travel, and we know you do, buckle your seat belts and keep your tray tables in the upright position. You should be seeing the illuminated fun signs throughout the aircraft because we're about to take off on a chat of epic proportions. Welcome to the trade tables and time zones. The podcast where travel isn't just about taking vacations, it's about enriching your life. We'll dive into the highs, the lows, and the downright absurd moments that come with exploring the world. Whether it's food poisoning on a long-haul flight, trekking to Mine Everest Base Camp, or traveling to Disney parks worldwide, we cover it all. So let's do it one time zone at a time. This is Trey Tables and Time Zones. And this is your host, Josh Bogle.

Speaker 1 1:08

Hey everyone, welcome back to Trey Tables and Time Zones. I'm your host, Josh Bogle. Man, it is so good to be back. First of all, I probably owe you guys a little bit of an apology. I kind of abruptly just stopped uh podcasting for a while and didn't really provide much uh information why. So I think I owe you guys a little bit of an explanation. Um, I know I kind of abruptly just stopped putting out episodes for a while on the podcast, and you know, the simple fact is is life just kind of got in the way. You know, this is uh something I enjoy doing, and while I love sharing adventures and travel and thoughts and ideas with you all, you know, sometimes life just uh is is busy and gets in the way, and then you know, work gets busy and things just happen. So I apologize for not putting out episodes for a while. I am hoping that there will be no more large breaks like that in the podcast and that it will be a lot more steady going forward because I've got a lot of great things to share with you y'all, and and I think uh we'll we'll have a lot of great episodes upcoming. But anyway, I just wanted to share that you know there was no big issue, no one single thing. It was just, you know, life kind of got in the way. But with all that said, we are indeed back, and I am looking forward to putting out several new episodes over the coming weeks. I've had some uh great adventures while I've been gone, and I definitely want to share those with you. And of course, as always, you know, I have my own little spin on travel ideas and takes on different things from hell, from luggage to uh airlines to all types of things. So, you know, I'm I'm I'm not short on opinions when it comes to you know travel and adventure and things like that. So I'm sure there'll be some of those episodes and thrown in there as well, maybe some ramble episodes on, but to give you a little bit of a preview of what's to come here and at least the near future, I'll share some of the uh the trips we're gonna talk about, and um and then we'll jump into the first uh first

Why South Africa Became The Pick

Speaker 1 3:36

episode. So while I was gone, did quite a bit of travel. The first one, and what this episode is gonna be about, is South Africa. It was my very first trip to South Africa, very first trip to the continent of Africa, for that matter, and it was an absolute blast. I have to say, I was taken aback by the raw natural beauty of South Africa. We got to experience the coast and Cape Town, we got to experience Stellenbosch and the wine region, we got to go on safari, got to see quite a bit of the country for the small amount of time that we were there, and so it was an amazing experience. Can't wait to share that with you on this episode. But also, there was a couple other trips. So around Christmas time, we ended up going to Disney World. So we'll have an episode about that. And then during spring break, my wife and I took our two kids to London and then on to Paris and then ended the trip at Disneyland Paris. It was a it was a great trip. It was a little bit ill-timed. I wish it would have been a couple of weeks later, but you know, we it was spring break, so we had to take advantage of the time when we did, and it was kind of just set in stone when we'd be able to travel. But today we are talking South Africa, and man, what an experience that was. So, first of all, I'll give you a little background

The Iceland Supper Club Returns

Speaker 1 5:12

here. As you may recall from the episodes on Iceland, my wife works for a company that does employee trips. And while I am a very big travel planner, as you well know, it is so it is nice every once in a while to not have to plan a trip, not have to do, you know, arrange the airplane and the hotels and the transportation just to have a little bit of a break. I love doing that stuff, but you know, every once in a while it's nice to have somebody else do it. Well, these trips that are through her company are a really great way to do that because they're big international trips, right? They go all over the world several times a year. And it's a great way to have a really cool adventure that you don't have to plan, and to places that you wouldn't necessarily go uh on your own, or places that you are, you know, are further down your list, right? They're they're not at top of mind of where you're just itching to go and you and you want to go experience it, but they just happen to show up and you know, you look at these trips and you're like, oh, now that I look at this, I really want to go do this. And so Iceland was that way for us. We uh got lucky on that trip in that some very close friends of ours that all were with my wife, they also got on the trip. And so we all traveled together and we kind of built a bond and we created a group, uh, a group of friends. It's called the Iceland Supper Club. And the reason it's called Iceland Supper Club is our first trip was Iceland, and we always get together for dinner, you know, every couple of months. We'll get together and have a big dinner out uh with the whole group, and it's a great thing. It's it's it's really it's a bunch of great people, and it's great fun. So when this South Africa trip came up, my wife's work, she reached out to all of the members of the Iceland Supper Club that work there, and they, you know, were like, oh, well, let's let's see if everybody's on board of going on this trip. So we kind of bounced it around through the group and all the couples, it's all uh it's all husband and wives, four sets. We all were like, heck yes, you know, let's do this because it involved a safari and it involved going to Cape Town and seeing some really amazing things that you wouldn't normally get to see, right? And so we uh we got really excited about it and we all put in the lottery for it because it's it basically you you put in to go on the trip, you know, you express your interest, and then if you get picked uh out of the lottery, then you're you're you know, you're good to go. So everybody got picked, of course, and the Iceland Supper Club was now set to go to South Africa. So we were one excited for the trip because it was, you know, the thought of getting to see animals in the wild and seeing some of the places uh, you know, in South Africa and seeing Cape Town, which you know I had always read about how beautiful it was and how striking the coastline and everything was. I was really excited about all that. Now I will say that as you all know, I like to plan my trips. Now I know I just said that this was nice because I didn't have to plan it, but that doesn't mean that I won't bitch about how somebody else planned it. You know, I I I'll have my opinions or my thoughts.

KLM Economy And A Brutal Transit

Speaker 1 8:58

So right out of the gate, we're flying KLM, which I was excited about because I have never flown KLM, but it was flying them in economy. So you know, it's one economy to the next is not that big of a difference. I mean, I know that's not always the case in the very top end airlines, obviously, but economy tends to be economy, you know, no matter what airline you're flying on, at least any of the big major carriers, right? So I was, you know, excited to fly KLM for the first time. We were also going to be transiting through Amsterdam, and I was excited about that because I'd never been through Schopel and wanted to transit through there and just see the airport and experience it. And then it would be from Amsterdam down to Cape Town. Let me tell you, I have been on a lot of long flights, and I have flown some very, very long flights in economy. And I don't know what it was about this flight, but the flight from Houston to Amsterdam was okay. It seemed like it took a long time. I I know it's not comparatively, but it seemed like it took a really long time. And then when we landed in Amsterdam, we had a very small layover window, like it was less than two hours, if I remember correctly. Which, great, you want to get where you're going, but at the same time, when you just come off of a, you know, uh, whatever, uh 10-hour flight, you want some time to be able to grab something to eat, to relax, maybe walk around a little bit, just kind of take a break before you get back on another really long flight, right? So that didn't really happen because the layover time was pretty short. So then we boarded our flight from Amsterdam to South Africa, to Cape Town. My god, longest flight ever. I'm I know it's not the longest in time, but if I thought that the flight from Houston to Amsterdam was long, the flight from Amsterdam to Cape Town seemed to take forever. I mean, we were beat to holy hell. And it wasn't just me, every damn person that I knew on that plane was just beaten to high holy from this flight. I I don't know what it was, I I really don't, but it was just an unbridled beating. I mean, I felt like shit when we got to South Africa. But I was excited and was able to overcome the just beaten down feeling with the excitement of being in the place, right? It was a little hampered because when we landed, it was late. I I don't even remember what time it was, but it was like 10 o'clock or 9 o'clock, maybe something. I mean, it was late, right? It was in at night. And so the opportunity to, you know, kind of unwind or whatever was gonna be pretty rough because of the time we arrived. You know, but we got there, we had to kind of group back up as all the all the people had to be accounted for, you know, then we had to get our luggage and then get on a bus, ride on the bus from the airport to the hotel, get everybody checked in and get their keys, get up to the rooms, you know, kind of all that stuff. So it just took a while, right? I don't remember what time we ended up getting to bed, but it was late. That whole experience of traveling to Cape Town, it sucked. And it just it just wasn't the best. I mean, sometimes that happens, right? I mean, sometimes you have an amazing amazing flights and amazing experiences, and you show up and you're excited and you're ready to go. This one was not that way. I mean, it was just kind of a slog, it just you know, beat you the whole way, and then getting there at the time we did and having to, you know, wait and everything. It was a bit of a beating. And it was also kind of heightened by the I don't want to say shock, but surprise. Well, surprise is probably a bad word too. Um realization. There we go. We'll go with realization of kind of where you were when you're on the bus riding from the airport to the hotel, and there are literally big digital signs over the freeway that are basically telling you do not stop on the freeway, no matter what, high crime area, right? So this is my really first kind of introduction to South Africa is riding on this bus from the airport to the hotel and seeing these signs right after we left the airport of high crime area, do not stop your car on the freeway, you know uh, whatever, these warnings. And I was like, wow, you know, that's uh never seen that one before, frankly. I I just I haven't. I've been to a lot of places and I hadn't seen those types of warnings on the street before. So that was pretty pretty wild. And you know, we had been prepped and told, you know, look, there's there's certainly a higher level of crime in South Africa than some other places that you would go, right? They're the crime rate's pretty, pretty stout, and you know, there's definitely areas that as a tourist that you stay away from. And frankly, that was one of the reasons we wanted to go on the trip the way we did with this group is because we would be in a lot of the more, you know, tourist areas, and while we wouldn't get to see a lot of things that probably I would have frankly liked to have seen or or or experienced because it was, you know, we had to be, it was more of a you know, quote, safe trip. The um advantage to being kind of in those areas for us was was a selling point, really. I mean, like I said, we had never been there, had never experienced, so we didn't know what to expect, right? There's no real way to know what to expect until you get there. So this was kind of a nice introduction. So after a 20-plus hour travel day, and then the bus ride in to the hotel, which, while shocking because of the signs, was also quite pretty. The uh city was lit up, so you could see kind of the skyline, and uh we're trying to take it all in, but also being just wiped out tired.

First Night In Cape Town

Speaker 1 16:02

So we stayed near the VNA waterfront, the Victorian Albert waterfront, which is kind of like a big multi-purpose entertainment area, right? So it's got like it's got a mall, it's got restaurants, um, you know, kind of like these open courtyard areas. And so the hotel that we were staying in was very close. The hotel was called the Commodore Hotel. Perfectly acceptable hotel, right? It wasn't, you know, anything spectacular, but it wasn't bad. It was it was just a good hotel, right? Reasonable hotel. The great thing about it was though, was the location, all right? And being close to the VNA waterfront made it nice because it gave um, you know, options for, you know, if we needed something to eat or if we wanted to do some shopping or whatever in a fairly safe area, we could do that, right? But the hotel itself, kind of what you would expect to see in Europe, right? Same kind of hotel. Uh had a breakfast buffet that was actually pretty awesome in the morning, which I really enjoy because as I've mentioned on here before, there's something about the breakfast buffet and its prevalence in hotels, especially Europe, and what they serve on it is just right in my wheelhouse. So I love getting the opportunity to eat uh European hotel breakfast buffet whenever I can. And this certainly provided it. So again, got there late at night, was pretty, pretty tired, uh, met our guide, and uh kind of got a when to be up the next morning, when to, you know, when to meet up, um, you know, when breakfast all things. And the one thing that I always like to do whenever I travel, and I'm gonna be in a hotel for a couple days, right, is to go right when I get there and find a convenience store or a little grocery store or whatever, and go down to it and buy, you know, a bunch of water, uh, bottles of water, maybe some snacks, you know, like a Coke zero a couple of Coke zeros, a sugar-free Red Bull if they have it, whatever, you know, just to put into the room, into the fridge into the room and to have so that if you want something to drink while you're hanging out or whatever, then you don't have to go run out and look for it, right? You can have it readily available. But the concern was, where's the closest where's the closest convenience store? And is it safe to walk there or to get there? So I'll give you a little tidbit of information just in case you're ever staying in Cape Town and you're staying at the Commodore Hotel. If you go out of the main doors of the hotel, hang a right on the sidewalk, walk, I don't know, a couple hundred feet at most, there's a turn back to the right that kind of enters into a courtyard area where once you make that right turn, the hotel, the Commodore Hotel is right there, and there's a kind of a driveway, right, a little road that leads directly straight ahead. If you walk across that little walkway or that little driveway, and then you'll see a set of stairs and go down a flight of stairs, right there is a little convenience store. So you don't really have to leave the hotel grounds. You know, you're not walking aimlessly down the road or anything. You're kind of all staying within this complex. And a little convenience store had, you know, everything that you need to stock up the room. So anyway, keep that in mind if you ever stay at the Commodore Hotel. So that first full day, hop on the bus, and that day was going to involve quite a bit of driving.

Seals Penguins And The Cape

Speaker 1 19:58

The itinerary was around some kind of scenic nature route, some uh national parks, things like that. So, what we did was took a drive to Sea Point and to Camps Bay, and then we went on a boat ride out of Houtes Bay to Seal Island, and that was insane. The drive, you know, via Sea Point and to Camps Bay is just spectacular. Um, you know, rocky cliffs, kind of you know, right on the side of the ocean. It had kind of a if you've ever been around La Jolla or uh even up near like UCSD and in San Diego, you know, up there on the cliffs, it kind of had that feel, or what you see of, you know, of of like um central California, big sur area, you know, those kind of rocky cliffs leading down to beaches, but it's just it was it was breathtakingly gorgeous, right? The whole ride was just phenomenal. We stopped at a couple places along the way, and then we got to Hout's Bay to go out to this island where all these seals sleep and lay and sun themselves and everything. And I know at least two folks in our group that were not excited about this because they don't necessarily like the um the boat going in the ocean, right? They they get a little seasick, it's just not their thing. They had had some fun uh getting thrown around by the captain in Iceland when we went uh Well Watch. So at first this seemed like it was gonna be pretty calm, but then once you get around this point to where the seals all are, the water gets super shallow real fast. It's beautiful water, right? It's crystal clear, but like you're getting hit by these erratic waves and swells from all different directions around this island. So We're just getting the shit kicked out of us. And uh the captain is trying to keep the nose pointed toward the pointed toward the uh island so that you can see and s and take it all in. But at the same time, there was a couple other boats there. And there's just this crazy erratic uh flow of the ocean, you know, coming at you from all sides. And so, you know, that was a little hard on them, but at least for me, uh thankfully I don't get seasick and getting to see kind of the seals there hanging out and get some pictures and everything, that was actually really cool. And and the boat ride, frankly, was was a pretty nice view of just how big the cliffs and the mountains were right there at the tip, and you know, how pretty and impressive this area is. So once we got done with Seal Island, we kind of, you know, got our got our uh legs up and under us again on on shore, and then we headed to Simon's Town to see this colony of penguins that lives at the beach there. And frankly, this was my first time to ever see penguins in the wild, right? And it was exactly what you would expect. It was really cool to see. They are right there in front of you, and they all hang out on the water on the sand and on the rocks, and then they go out into the water and everything like that, and they're all, you know, walking around and everything. I mean, they're penguins. I mean, who doesn't love a penguin, right? And getting to see that was really cool because you were seeing them in nature, you know, their habitat, and not, you know, in a zoo or on a video or whatever. I mean, they were right there in front of us, which was pretty, pretty badass. And then to wrap up that day, we hopped back on the bus and headed toward Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope Nature Preserve. So Cape Point, it's not exactly the very edge. There's actually a spot, I think they said further down, that is further out in the ocean. So we are about as far south as you could be without being in an Antarctica, and they have a funicular there. Pretty awesome to be like, oh, yeah, you know, the Cape of Good Hope. I've been there and been just about as far south as you can get on land without being in Antarctica. All in all, pretty awesome first day.

Safety Reality And Economic Divide

Speaker 1 24:30

So one thing that you'll instantly notice while driving around in Cape Town is that there is quite the rift between the economic classes. There is seemingly not a huge middle class in South Africa. It is, you know, either fairly poor or fairly well off. There's not there's not a whole lot in the middle, it doesn't appear. And there seems to be a obvious tension in the country. Um, and I'm sure that that tension has been there all along. It just it's probably more it's certainly allowed to be seen more now than it was when than when South Africa was under apartheid. So make no mistake that you are going to see and experience things in Cape Town, especially, I found, that will be a pretty dramatic swing from one side of the economic scale to the other, right? And it happens very fast. And the other thing that we all noticed is that every house of any size and value, especially it seemed, had at minimum a very high fence wall surrounding their houses. And almost always these walls were covered with concentrino wire or you know spikes, some type of deterrent at the top from to keep people from climbing over. And then there was also a ton of signs that would say uh at these houses that would say, you know, 24-hour security or armed response security or you know, some version of those phrases. And it was very apparent that the people that had some level of wealth and comfort were very aware of others who might try to take advantage of that. And that was pretty wild to see. I mean, because there's no shortage of crime in America where I'm from, but you don't see, you know, houses turned into compounds, and there they were definitely turned into compounds. It was it was a very strange, kind of surreal thing to see literally every house that way. And also you would come across the townships, which are predominantly people of African descent living in these townships that were, you know, it was frankly, it was hard to see. I mean, it was they were certainly living in a level of poverty, you know, various levels of of poverty, or at least, you know, lower income status where, you know, they had kind of had to cobble together their own systems, right? Their own neighborhoods, their own ways of getting power, of getting services, and they hadn't been provided those things in the past. And so they had come up with ways of handling in it within those communities. And while it was disheartening to see, you know, the living conditions in a lot of ways, at the same time, I mean, you gotta give them credit for the ingenuity and finding a way to take their situation and make it as good as they possibly can. So, you know, it was it was a roller coaster of emotions and thoughts and ideas bouncing around in your head as you drove around the Cape Town area just because it's something that you don't normally see, and it's such a stark barrier, right? It's such a stark divide between those economic classes and the people there that even though apartheid is gone, and that's a good thing, the blending, you know, and the the upward mobility of all people is obviously not there yet. And so it was a very kind of eye-opening thing. You'd always I'd always heard, you know, about South Africa and the struggles and of Mandela, obviously, and apartheid and all of these things, but to see it, you know, right there is pretty wild. So anyway, it was a great first day introduction of the beauty of of South Africa, but also the very stark reminder of not all things are hunky-dory in in South Africa. There's certainly challenges

Table Mountain And City Views

Speaker 1 29:48

that those folks face. But anyway, getting back to just straight travel, day two was one of the more spectacular days on the trip for me because we got to do something that I have always seen videos of or pictures of and could not wait to try. And that was Table Mountain. Table Mountain is like this massive rise of mountain behind the city that just frames and backdrops the city, right? But the very top of it is flat. And you can, I believe you can hike up there, but there's a cable car. And obviously, being on a tour, they weren't gonna make us hike. And um, we had uh access to the cable car. I'm telling you what, if you don't like heights, this cable car might not be for you because the damn thing goes almost vertical up the side of the mountain. Like it at this one point, when you're getting close to the top, it is vertical, like rising up out of the it's more of an elevator than a cable car. It's crazy. And also the floor in the cable car itself slowly rotates, right? So you're gonna end up near the window that's kind of open and and everything. And if you don't like, if you don't like that, you're gonna need to get in the middle and kind of stay there, right? Because uh you're definitely gonna get your shot at a view and and feeling the uh feeling the air blowing through it. And it's it's quite a ride. But getting up to the top was so awesome. Uh the views up there were just magnificent. You could see all of Cape Town, you could see out to Robins Island, which we would go to in a couple of days. Um you could see just all over Cape Town and to another uh city that's kind of along the bayside. It's just magnificent views from up there, just gorgeous. And we got a really, really pretty clear day to see it all, and it was just wow. I mean, like I said, to get to do one of those things that you'd always seen and thought looked really, really awesome uh to experience that was was super cool. And you know, the rest of that day was uh we made a couple little stops in Cape Town itself, and then we ended up going to uh to VNA waterfront and um having dinner and just hanging out, having some drinks, going to the hotel bar with some with friends, and you know, just unwinding for the day, and it was it was a really, really good day. So day three was really centered around one thing.

Robben Island With A Former Prisoner

Speaker 1 32:46

And again, sort of like Table Mountain, this thing was something that I had heard about obviously through the news and through, you know, other, you know, watching YouTube videos on traveling and and then being, you know, uh of a of an age to where I remember the apartheid government and the struggles of Nelson Mandela and the ending of the apartheid government and things like that. Like I remember those things from when I was younger. So getting to go to Robin Island, which is where uh Mandela spent, I believe it was 18 of his 27 years that he was imprisoned, uh, was at Robin Island. That was that was a pretty surreal thing. So how it worked is is it was it's an island right off the coast of Cape Town. And right there at VNA waterfront, there's also obviously um a a bay area, right, for boats and and tours and things like that going out. And so we jumped on the ferry that goes to Robin Island and rode out there, obviously part of the tour, and we had a tour guide while we were there to take us through and show us, you know, the island and the facilities. Uh, there was also a um kind of like a driving tour where you have a uh like a trolley basically that takes you around and shows you different parts of the island um and gives you background and history on it. And so what it was, it had been many things along its history, uh including a leper colony, even. But probably one of the most prominent roles that it played was that it was a prison during apartheid. And most of the prisoners that were held there were political prisoners in some fashion, right? Um, had somehow, you know, stood up to the apartheid government, you know, demanded change, whatever um they had done to, you know, try to end their suffering, their the suffering of the come country under apartheid rule. And this was, like I said, this was also where Mandela was held for many years. And I'll tell you what, the driving around part, you know, kind of explaining what all the little facilities and buildings were on the island, that was pretty impactful. But once we got out to go inside the actual prison yards where everyone was held and to see, you know, the cells and the dorms and and how they truly lived. Our tour guide was a former prisoner at Robin Island. He was a political prisoner because when he was young, um he had, I forget, I believe it was uh he had basically started a fire thrown like a Molotov cocktail or something at a some government facility, right? Uh during a protest, he was arrested and sent to Robin Island as a political prisoner, basically, right? Enemy of the state. And so this man led our tour group and it was answering questions and telling us what really happened there and how life was. And it was amazing because you were getting not only firsthand accounts of a place where Nelson Mandela was prison imprisoned, right? Who is he's pr a pretty important figure of the 20th century, especially, right? I mean, pretty, pretty damned important. But you're also getting a real life view from someone who was not Nelson Mandela, but was there for the same reasons, right? Um was fighting for a better life and a better system of government for South Africa than what they currently had. And anyway, it was it was very impactful. It was it was quite amazing to see the struggle, the hardships, and ultimately, you know, the victories that those folks had struggled so hard to to get. And so seeing Robin Island and seeing the cell where Nelson Mandela was held and hearing this gentleman's stories and just the whole scene was amazing to behold, right? I just I loved it. And then, you know, as we're on the ferry, on the way back to the V and A waterfront, what do we see? There's some whales in the water, you know, breaching out of the water. I was just like, eh, this is what do you you know, wow. It's what do you expect? I mean, what a what a magical day. So again, uh that day was was mostly Robin Island and was just just spectacular.

Stellenbosch Wine Country Highlights

Speaker 1 38:35

I uh I I loved every bit of it. The next day on a lighter note and to introduce some adult beverages to the conversation, uh, we got the opportunity to go and visit some of the wine country in South Africa. And boy, that did not disappoint. Uh so we went to two wineries. One was uh Boschendahl. Well, that was the first one we went to, and it was a lovely winery, um, very beautiful little tasting area outside. Uh all these little tables that were set up outside, and they uh we tasted several wines there. Great little visit, um, smaller winery, but really enjoyable. I had a great time. But the real like take the cake part of that day was at a winery called Babylon Storin. And this place, I mean, it was a compound, like it had everything. They make wine there, they also do some um like balsamic vinegar and some other specialty foods and items there. But the wine tour of the facility was amazing, right? We had this host, and I wish I can't remember his name, but I can't remember his, but our host was so good. He was so energetic and knowledgeable and friendly, and really, you know, just you could tell he enjoyed what he was doing, and he was explaining, you know, obviously the process of making wine and everything like that. And then we finished the tour with a tasting. And this was one of the best wine tastings I had ever had. It was nine different wines, and then it also included a plate of charcuterie and different foods and and sweets and things like that to eat with the different wines, and it was an absolute blast. Like I could have stayed there a lot longer than we were able to, um, just to experience more of the grounds and the facilities and all the things that they had to offer there. But the wine was amazing. We ended up uh us, my wife and I, and another couple that we like to travel with, part of the Iceland Supper Club. We kind of joined forces and ordered a bunch of wine and had it all shipped once so that we could um uh it was easier to get it get it back home. Um, instead of doing two different shipments for us both, we just kind of pulled it all together and shipped shipped a bunch of wine home. So we have several bottles of Babylon store and wine down in uh down in our dining room, and uh it's good stuff. It was an absolute enjoyable day, beautiful weather, just a blast. But after the wine, the next day, it was time to say goodbye to Cape Town and to go to the truly the second part of the trip.

Heading To Kruger For Safari

Speaker 1 42:08

Let's get to what is probably I don't know, 75 to 80 percent of the reason why I was really excited about going to South Africa, and that was the opportunity to do safari in Kruger National Park. So, like everyone, I've seen videos and photos and all the, you know, all the Discovery Channel shows and movies and documentaries and everything else about safaris and the wildlife in Africa and let man. This is one of those things that you just like, I can't pass up the opportunity to do this because there's a chance I'm gonna get to see some really cool things and get to see them with no fences, you know, no anything, right? Straight natural habitat. So pretty stoked for this part. So to get up to Kruger, we flew um from Cape Town straight to essentially Kruger International Airport, right? So it's kind of the airport that is the main hub into Kruger, at least for most commercial flights, right? There's other airfields, and in fact, we use one when we left that are um while still used for regular passenger service, are also utilized by a lot of the private game reserves, right? That are around Kruger and Kruger or whatever, that are basically the same thing that we're going to. They're usually just a little fancier. So anyway, flu up there, uh, real easy process. Got landed and hopped on the buses, and these buses were going to basically take us to the park entrance to where we'd meet up with our guides and go on straight into doing a game ride uh on the way to the hotel. So, you know, normal travel, nothing exciting, nothing, you know, earth shattering beyond just you know riding on a plane or riding on a bus. But then we got to the gates of Kruger National Park, and now the fun begins. We meet our guide, he was, I can't remember his name, but he was awesome, right? And he was um really cool, really knowledgeable, uh, you know, got us to see a lot of really cool uh animals in the wild. And so he was awesome, right? And in our Jeep, our safari jeep, was our group of friends, right? Our traveling party that we always like to travel with. So that was exciting too, because we all get to experience everything together. And so what we got to do, essentially, that first day, and then the entire second day, is do several morning and afternoon game rides to go out and just you know see what we can

Big Five Sightings And Lion Encounters

Speaker 1 45:22

see. And over that two-day span, we got four of the big five. We missed out on one of the big five, and that was the Cape Buffalo. But everything else we saw, we saw the lions, we saw leopards, we saw the elephants, we saw the rhinos, but didn't get the Cape Buffalo. I think there was one Jeep in our group that actually did see some Cape Buffaloes, and so I think they completed the big five, but we only got four. But in addition to those, we saw warthogs, which were hilarious, especially because we have video of an entire family of mom, dad, and two babies of warthogs crossing the road in front of us, literally in a line with their tails up in the air, just trotting across the across the road. It was awesome, right? I mean, unbelievable. We also saw hyenas, and actually we saw several hyena moms with their pups. So that was pretty cool. Um we saw I think I think they were baboons. I think so. I think there are baboons, but you know, a a variety of monkey, baboon, whatever they were. Um just all types of wildlife, giraffes, um, several of the different kinds of um animal, prey animals, right, that are a lot like deer, right? Some of the smaller impallas and things like that. We saw those. I mean, we just saw a ton, and a lot of it was very close. We had one moment where I had full pucker going on, and that is because we were in the safari vehicle, right? We were in the safari truck, we're sitting there, and these two lions, male lions, walk up right up to the road, and then turn and are walking kind of beside our truck. Now I'm telling you, we were no more than like six, eight feet from these lions that were just walking along the side of the road. I mean, there was a moment there where I was like, we are way, way, way, way too close to these lions, but it was all good, right? Um, we did also get to see a lioness with her kill, kind of on a little dry island in the middle of one of the ri the Sabi River, I believe. Um she had killed it. It was kind of like an Impala type animal. She had killed it, she had obviously eaten the first bit of what she wanted, and she had passed out of sleep, and she was laying right there asleep next to it. Like, you know, it was it was it was crazy. It was unbelievable. The amount of photos that we all took, videos, everything that we could get our hands on to document this trip, this experience, right, of of being on safari and seeing these animals in the wild was just amazing. And it's such a huge area, and it's you know, it's it's what you've always seen, right? I mean, it's some of it almost feels like desert, but then there's these waterways that cut down through it that are, you know, the watering holes and the watering spots and trees built up around those, those areas, and it's it's it's phenomenal. I will tell you that if you ever get the opportunity to do safari, do it because it is an amazing experience. Now, I know a lot of you have seen videos of these really fancy uh lodges, right, where you can stay uh for uh for safari. And it's they're usually you know small resorts with really amazing settings and amazing rooms and food and everything like that.

The Lodge Letdown And Bad Buffets

Speaker 1 50:05

We yeah, let's just say we didn't have that experience. So there's an area, a gate into Kruger called Scooza. I think it's Scooza is the kind of the name, right? And it's um almost like a little village area right there around the gate. There's some restaurants and there's a hotel and some of the uh parks, administrative offices and things are there. So we were staying in this gooza or sco scooza resort lodge, right? And it was a hotel. I mean, it wasn't great at all. It was this kind of meh the buffet for dinner, which is really the only option. There was a couple other little restaurants in the village area, but I mean it wasn't anything to write home about. So we just went to the buffet and man, what a freaking shit show that was. Like they were getting all of these these uh orders in, right? From I guess room service and from inside the restaurant and everything like that, and it was printing on a machine, like a computer register machine, close to one of the doors. Well, we could see it, and it's just spitting out ticket after ticket after ticket, and they're piled up, right? And they're just ignoring them all. Like they're just they just don't care. Apparently, there had been some staff party or I can't remember exactly what the situation was, but anyway, they had some of the staff had just gone home, and so they had basically two guys that were running this restaurant and had no clue how to do any of it, right? It took forever to get acknowledged in this place to get even like a drink, right? And then the drinks took forever, and then you know, the buffet wasn't being refilled very fast, so it was just kind of empty. It was it wasn't great. I'll just put it to you that way. It wasn't great, obviously not one of my favorite hotels or restaurants. It pretty much sucked. Breakfast pretty much the same. I it it it wasn't great. And like I said, the room, it wasn't great either. Uh the the hotel was very, very much tired, right? It was in need of some refurbishment that was probably not gonna happen. So while it was a place to sleep, and you know, whatever. It just it just didn't have what I was hoping it would have when we first saw the itinerary and be one of those places where um it didn't have to be like a super swanky, you know, lodge for a private reserve or anything like that. But I was hoping it would be somewhat, you know, nice. This this this wasn't. So if you're going to be staying somewhere around Kruger and you're not gonna be staying on a private lodge, private reserve, then I would I would skip this one unless you just didn't have any other options because it's it's not great. So we spent those two days in Safari. I filled up my brain and everything else full of images of of all these different animals and their natural habitat and just getting to see it and experience it and go bouncing across the Kruger National Park in search of all these animals was a a truly amazing experience. And uh I would do it again in a heartbeat, and I just loved it, loved it, loved it. So that was basically the end of our trip.

Airports Homebound And Air France Relief

Speaker 1 54:40

It was time to go home. So the flights home were kind of like the flights to South Africa. It was it was a little bit of a beating. Um, so what we ended up doing was we flew from Hodespirit Airport, which is uh an Air Force base for the South African Air Force. Um, and they've they've got two runways, I believe, is what when I originally looked up. One that is utilized by the military, and one that is a runway utilized by um a couple of airlines in South Africa, uh, and then also some of the private lodges, right, for their aircraft or their fly-ins. And I will tell you this: it was the swankiest, coolest little airport I've ever been to. They had an awesome little cafe, awesome little shops, you know, great coffee, snacks, um, you know, made-to-order kind of food and snack kind of items. It was pretty damn sweet. Like I you can see why they process a lot of private aircraft and also a lot of the private lodges um bring their guests through this airport because it is very well tailored for that type of situation. So was really happy with that. I flew from there to Johannesburg. And Johannesburg, uh, that airport, it was it was it wasn't great either. I mean, it was pretty much a beating, and there was like a you were constantly have to fight off maybe not scams, but like these people trying to constantly, you know, quote unquote help you with either luggage or directions or whatever, but they all expected money, right? They were wanting like tips or whatever inside the terminal, like not through security, obviously, but inside like the check-in area of the terminal landside. So I was just like, really? Like we're we're allowing this. And so anyway, we we ended up going through security, getting to the gate, going to get some food and stuff like that. And it I mean the airport was fine, it was it certainly nothing great, but it was you know, it did its purpose eventually. Flew Air France home. Um flew Air France from Johannesburg to Paris and then Paris to Houston. Uh Air France was fine. Uh, they were better than KLM. I know they're basically owned by the same group. Um, and you could see that in some ways, but I think having flown both of them, you know, within a whatever, uh two-week span, I will say that um Air France is economy, their economy is certainly more enjoyable than KLM's economy. Um one thing that made that nice too is that we were able to get access to one of the business class lounges, the Air France business class lounges in the terminal we were flying out of. So um we had to pay, I forget it was a small fee to pay to get in, but we were able to do it. Um, and we were the only couple out of all of our friends that managed to get into the lounge. So uh I know my wife went to the spa for a little while. I think they offered like a I can't remember if it was a 30-minute massage or 30-minute facial or whatever. Anyway, she went and did that, and we were able to hang out in there, have some have some food and some drinks and just kind of relax and recharge before we get on the last flight home. And so um, you know, we did that, enjoyed it. It was it was a nice lounge, it was perfectly acceptable. Um, no real complaints there. And then we flew from Paris to Houston to home. So, all in all, an amazing trip. Um, an amazing trip with amazing friends and got to see some really, really awesome natural wonders. You know, Cape Town is a beautiful city and a beautiful landscape and certainly worth visiting. Is there crime and is it, you know, a place where you definitely need to stay on your toes? Absolutely. But the scenery and the experiences that we had at least were certainly worth that little bit of extra diligence on the traveler's part to make you have an a an enjoyable time because it was it was a good time. We had a lot of fun and it was very, very beautiful. Then the safari portion, uh you could probably tell from the way I discussed it, like is amazing, right? It was just that's all I can say. It was amazing. The hotel, meh, but the actual being in the truck out in Kruger, watching for animals and watching them interact in their natural habitat and getting to see animals that we don't typically see in the U.S. unless it's a zoo, was a phenomenal experience and one that I will certainly never forget. So I'm super thankful that I got to experience that with my wife and with my close friends because that made it that much better. But it's it's an experience that I will have to say, whether it's in South Africa or you know, if you're doing one out of like

Final Thoughts And Next Travels

Speaker 1 1:00:56

Kenya or uh uh Tanzania or wherever you're doing a safari, right? Whether it's Kruger or the Serengeti, does not matter. Go if you can, because it is such a cool thing to see, to see the sunset over Africa with all those animals and all those experiences. It is absolutely worth it. So that's it for this episode. I have several other trips that I'm gonna be doing triple ports on coming up here soon. So be sure and be on the lookout for those. Also, you'll see a uh shorter episode be coming out soon that is gonna be a multi-part and it's gonna follow my fitness and weight loss journey to get back into shape for going to uh Nepal to go trekking and mountaineering. So be on the lookout for those. Those all should be coming out here in the near future. It's great to be back, it's great to talk to everybody again, and I can't wait to be thrown out throwing out more and more content for you guys to check out. And so with that, we'll see you on the next one. Thanks. Bye.

Speaker 1:02:18

This has been Trade Tables and Time Zones. Worldwide travel is one of the funnest things you can do in life, and it's our passion to talk about the good, the bad, the funny, and the ugly. Nothing is off limits. We hope you've enjoyed the show. If you did, make sure to like, rate, and review. We'll be back soon. But in the meantime, find us on Instagram at Trade Tables and Time Zones. And for questions or comments, send your email to TradesandTimes at gmail.com. Take care and see you next time on Trade Tables and Time Zones.