My Granny, along with her Mother and seven siblings (her husband was enlisted in the Polish army at the time), were taken captive by the Soviets at 3 AM in the middle of the winter of 1939 from their home in Pinsk, Poland (now part of Belarus) - they were part of the . After their arrest they were thrown on a train for a journey that lasted six days to Archangel, right at the North Pole in Siberia, to work in labor camps - along this journey my Great-Grandmother lost her youngest child - a baby named Marisia - and had to leave her on the side of the train tracks in the snow. Upon arrival my Granny was sent to the lumber mills while her sisters and brothers made bricks and worked crops to provide food for the Soviet troops. Only five of the eight siblings that left that night in 1939 survived sickness, starvation, and inhuman conditions. Corpses lined the pathways, and were only retrieved every three weeks.
Trains then took them into Zambia and the remaining family members lived in a refugee camp. The family was lucky, because so many did not survive this awful journey. Finally, in 1947 the camp was disbanded and each family had the option to move to other British colonies or stay in Zambia. It was at this point, 8 years after they were captured, that Viska - my Great Grandmother, decided never to move again. She never heard from her husband again. For more info click HERE. Warning - it is graphic.
My Mom was born and raised in Lusaka, Zambia. Much of her family now lives outside of Johannesburg in South Africa. When I was younger my Mom, sister, and I traveled to visit them fairly often but after I started working I haven't had the opportunity to get back (my last visit was in 2005 after I graduated from college).
Fortunately, my Mom's brother and sister (Nick and Liz) and their wife and husband (Angie and John) were able to attend my sister's wedding in April of 2014, and it was then the plan to visit our family again was hatched! At that time my Uncle John reserved us a few cottages in Kruger Park, which usually is fully booked a year in advance! From there the itinerary took shape. We are fortunate to have family there that scoped out hotel options, organized game drives in Kruger, booked inter-country air tickets, and invited our extended family and friends for a traditional South African braii.
This was one of the only trips I've been on where I barely had to do any planning at all (apart from the Zambia portion of the trip) - it was nice although I am a bit of a control freak when it comes to spending my vacation time! Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Kruger National Park were planned by family, with input from all of the participants on hotels, etc. I then coordinated Taryn and I's last stop in Zambia.
My Dad, stepmom, stepsister, sister, brother-in-law, and I finally set off for our adventure on the 21st of August. To say we were excited is an understatement! We knew we had a whirlwind trip planned with barely any rest but we were ready to go.
Day One: Saturday, 22 August 2015
Homecoming!
We arrived on Saturday evening and were greeted by my Uncles and Aunts at the airport. I can't describe how emotional it is to see my family - it is so hard to live this far apart. Instantly I felt like I was 'in Africa.' There is a different smell to Africa, a different pulse of energy, and a calming feeling to the constant background noise created by the doves (which makes me very nostalgic and brings me right back to my visits to Africa with my Mom). We were taken to my Aunt Liz and Uncle John's home in Benoni where my cousins Tracy and Collin, their kids, and my second cousin Tommy and his wife were waiting with cold beers and tons of food. The guys got into the Bourbon and we all caught up until about midnight - we all slept soundly that night after our fill of biltong and Castle Light!
Day Two: Sunday, 23 August 2015
Family Braii
Our first full day in South Africa was spent with family and friends over a traditional South African braii. Food was cooked throughout the day, and everyone had plenty of wine and beer! I was able to catch up with all of my cousins, second cousins, and Aunties (which I call my Mom's Aunts as well). This was one of the only full days I could spend with my cousins who were in school and not able to travel South Africa with us.
Day Three: Monday, 24 August 2015
Cape Town Day One
If you are visiting South Africa, you MUST visit Cape Town. Cape Town is located on the south-western coast of the country, and is one of the most multicultural cities in the world. In fact, Cape Town was rated as the best place in the world to visit by The New York Times in 2014.
Our group of ten took the two hour flight to Cape Town early and arrived around 11 AM. We collected our rental cars (about $25/day) and headed to the Radisson Blu, situated on the water, close to the Victoria Alfred Waterfront.
Day Four: Tuesday, 25 August 2015
Cape Town Day Two: Wine Tour!
At 8:30 am our group of ten was collected at the hotel by Lord G (Granwell) from Wine Flies Wine Tours for our full day tour of the wine regions around Cape Town. Lord G took us through the Stellenbosch and Paarl regions and we stopped at five different wine farms along the way. Joining our group were three Australians - we ended up being a pretty rowdy crowd after all that wine! I absolutely love tours such as these because you travel through areas you most likely would not find on your own and meet different, interesting people from around the world!
Our first stop was at Fairview, located in Paarl. Here we tried six different wine and cheese pairings, had a cellar tour, and enjoyed the beautiful grounds of this modern and well-run wine farm. Here they wanted us to 'coat our stomachs' for the long day ahead! My favorite cheese was of course of the goat variety although there was an amazing creamy cranberry option that was pretty tasty!
On the way back into Cape Town after the tour, Lord G stopped at a store and I bought another two bottles of wine which we all passed around the van on the way back! After we were dropped off at the hotel at around 5 PM, the family reconvened at the outdoor hotel bar and had drinks and dinner. The memories made this day with my family are priceless!
Day Five: Wednesday, 26 August 2015
Cape Town Day Three: Sightseeing!
Finally the clouds cleared when we awoke on Wednesday, so our group headed straight to Table Mountain. Fortunately none of us were hungover from the previous day's festivities!
The cable cars up to the top of the mountain close during bad weather, so timing is everything when it comes to getting on top of the mountain. I have such fond memories of my Dad taking my sister and I when we were much younger, so we were excited to be going back up. We arrived around 9 AM and were some of the first in line with tickets. We took the five minute rotating cable car up 3,800 feet to the top and explored, took tons of photos, and looked everywhere for dassies! We finally found just a few.
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| Can you believe this is the closest living relative to the elephant? For real! |
Our next adventure was to Boulders Beach, widely known due to the colony of African penguins that reside here (yes, there are penguins in Africa!). On my last visit you were able to climb onto the boulders and get up close and personal with the penguins, but they have since made the area a wildlife reserve to protect the endangered animals. On our walk down to the beach we shopped for curios and Taryn and Uncle John got a bit of ice cream.
By this time the sun was beginning to set, so we headed back to the hotel. There we grabbed another round of drinks, and Taryn, Collin, and I made plans to head to one of the best known streets in Cape Town for dinner. We ended up eating at Fork on Long Street. It is a tapas spot with each plate costing only $4-6. Here we tried ostrich and kudu, and it was delicious. The service was amazing - when we asked which bar they would recommend us stopping into after dinner, the staff actually gave us a free drive over.
Day Six: Thursday, 27 August 2015
Cape Town Day Four: Great White Shark Cage Diving
Thursday came early for us, as we had to check out of our hotel rooms and be ready for our ride by 4:40 AM! We had arranged private transport to Gansbaii, the Great White shark capital of the world, to go cage diving with Great Whites! Because our flight left Cape Town at 2:45ish, we had to make sure and be at the airport by 1:30.... and Gansbaii is almost a two hour drive away.
Our driver was so friendly and kind, and he got us to Sharklady Adventures by 7 AM. Here we enjoyed a good breakfast with a LOT of coffee while we were briefed on safety and the rules for getting into the cage to view Great Whites. Our shark expert was Lance Coetzee, and he wasn't messing around. He was strict, and that made us feel as safe as we could be! The group of 18 was split into four groups who would enter the cage together - and of course Taryn got us into the first group! We were all a bit nervous, but more so of the cold water. It was winter in South Africa and although Jo-burg and Kruger were in the 90's, Cape Town was in the 50-60's.
We all climbed onto the boat and set off just a short ways off of the marina and the guys got to work chumming for sharks. On the way out, we had a ton of these large marine birds following the boat, and the crew were feeding them pieces of fish.
When we arrived back in Jo'burg that evening, the family enjoyed some lasagna for dinner and a few beers before we all headed in for an early night. Cape Town was amazing, and we fit so much in in such a short amount of time that we were all exhausted.
Day Seven: Friday, 28 August 2015
Jo'burg: Lion Park
The next day my two second cousins - Jade and Troy - were allowed to skip school and head to the Lion Park with Karen, Taryn, Shelby, Collin and I - it is about 40 minutes outside of the city. This was the same place that the American woman was killed by a lion recently while leaning out of an open window taking photos. Although these lions are in a 'park', the various lion prides do not interact with humans and are allowed to live as 'wild' as possible (minus game killing). There have been a few deaths over the years here because people believe them to be tame. Anyways, we paid the $20 USD for the visit which gives you access to most of the grounds, either a self drive or guided drive through the park (there are three prides), and a quick encounter with cubs. You can also do a "Walk with the Lions" tour here which costs about $60.
When we first arrived we headed to feed the resident giraffes, and also ended up feeding an ostrich that had managed to escape from his area of the park. The staff here are friendly and helpful, and you're given pretty much free range inside this area.
After feeding the giraffe we waited our turn to see the baby lions. Eight people are allowed in with the 4-5 cubs at one time. We enjoyed petting the cats, even though one was pretty wound up! His cute baby lion roar was so cute! They were mostly sleepy as it was the middle of the day, but we had a great time interacting with them.
Our favorite pride are the white lions. They are gorgeous with their light colored eyes and bright fur.
Day Eight: Saturday, 29 August 2015
Safari Day One: Kruger National Park
The next morning we were up bright and early for our ~ five hour drive to Kruger (or you could fly into Nelspruit). Kruger National Park is located on the eastern part of South Africa, bordering Mozambique. It is one of the largest game parks, covering almost 8,000 square miles and about 220 miles long from North to South.
There are 147 species of mammals (all of the Big 5 are here: elephant, leopard, cape buffalo, lion, and rhino), 517 species of birds, and 114 species of reptiles, including extremely poisonous snakes like the Black Mamba. There are also 50 species of fish and 33 species of amphibians - even a bull shark has been caught in the rivers bordering the park. At rest stops before you enter the park, be sure to pick up a Kruger guide to help you identify and 'tick-off' the species you see while in the park - it's an awesome keepsake.
There are nine entrances to the park - we came in at the Crocodile Bridge gate, at the most Eastern entrance. From here, our drive to Berg-en-dal Rest Camp took about 3 hours, because as soon as we entered the park we started game watching. Each region of Kruger hosts different species, but we got incredibly lucky on our stay and saw almost every animal we searched for - other than the elusive leopard.
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| This guy was RIGHT next to our car! |
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| Kudu Buck |
Our cottages were basic brick structures, but clean and spacious with brick lanais to relax outside on. We set up shop at Liz and John's 'house', where we spent each of the three evenings chatting with family excitedly about all that we saw that day. There were monkey visitors nightly, and the sounds of African animals all around. Although Berg-en-dal is fenced in, there are stories of the occasional leopard inside and we saw plenty of baboon.
| Found this scorpion on my walkway! |
Safari Day Two: Organized Game Drive
The next day we had organized a game drive through park services for Dad, Karen, Collin, Taryn, Shelby, and myself. Our driver picked us up at about 5:30 AM in an open safari vehicle. Until sunrise we drove through the park with spotlights, while each of us on the outside kept our eyes out for shining eyes in the bush. We saw tons of LBJs, warthogs, and a few giraffe. As it got brighter out, the game viewing got even better. It was still very cool in the morning, so the animals were quite active. Our driver was amazing at spotting animals we would never know were there. She could call out a rhino from hundreds of feet away.
Shortly after that experience we came across another riverbed just in time for an elephant crossing. There were many babies within the group and it was obvious the older elephants were concerned. They were flapping their ears at an unknown predator in the bush, and took a long time before they allowed their family to cross. The babies were so adorable - we learned that they don't have control of their trunks until a year old, so they were flopping about as they ran!
Before our evening braii the group walked down to the dam located just outside of Berg-en-dal's gates. We were in for such a wonderful surprise when we saw two rhino come down for a drink. Also in the dam was a hippo that yawned impressively for us a few times while a smaller crocodile floated on the water. Being in Africa is truly surreal!
Safari Day Three: Family Day Drive & Brunch, Night Game Drive
The next day we set out in three cars down a path we heard had a watering hole. It ended up being literally the supreme game spotting path of the Kruger visit. We finally saw the Cape Buffalo - and not just one or two but a whole entire herd of thousands! We encountered lions once again, as a pride crossed the path right in front of our vehicle - probably headed to the watering hole themselves to prepare for an evening hunt. Rhino were standing right next to buffalo as they drank their fill.
We stopped to prepare our brunch after a few hours driving, and Liz and John put together an awesome breakfast. We were surrounded by vervet monkeys and hornbills as we ate, and as soon as we finished serving ourselves these animals came right up and grabbed food off of the grills!
That evening we all joined in on a night drive organized by park services in an open safari vehicle. We knew we had a better chance of seeing leopards, hippos, and hyenas by night. The people on the exterior seats were given spotlights and off we went! During the first half of the tour we saw mostly LBJs, but halfway through we heard something amazing - a lion's ferocious roar in the dead of night! Towards the end of the tour we came across hippos grazing, and right before pulling back into our camp we saw a huge hyena run across the path.
Often people come to Kruger and only spot a few of the animals they're searching for. We were told we were incredibly lucky to see what we saw in our short time here. I am most thankful for having this experience with my family, in their beautiful country.
Day Eleven: Tuesday, 1 September 2015
Safari Day Four: Morning Safari, Lunch in Sabie, Drive to Jo'burg
Day Eleven: Tuesday, 1 September 2015
Safari Day Four: Morning Safari, Lunch in Sabie, Drive to Jo'burg
On the last day of our safari our group had to say goodbye to Nick, Angie, Karen, Shelby, and Collin early in the morning. Collin and Shelby were headed back to the US this evening, so they drove straight to Jo'burg to get to the airport by 4 PM. We were sad to say goodbye!
Our group which included Dad, Karen, Taryn, John, Liz, and I headed out through a different gate to see a different variety of animals. After a few hours, we headed out of the park through the Paul Kruger Gate. At this gate there is a curio shop that holds items made from locals in the area. Here we bought masks and a few giraffe carvings. While spending time at this gate, a male warthog breezed through for a bite!
We made it home by about six in the evening, and everyone was exhausted and happy. We enjoyed pizza together on our final night in Jo'burg. It was bittersweet that our time in South Africa was coming to an end. Although we were excited for Zambia, I knew that it may be years before I would once again see my family.
Day Twelve: Wednesday, 2 September 2015
Zambia Day One!
On Wednesday we woke early to pack, and say our goodbyes. Although my sister, Dad, and Karen would be returning to Jo'burg after Zambia, I would be heading right back to the US. I spent my last few tearful moments with my aunts and uncles, and said goodbye to my cousins. The time I spent with them was perfect. They truly spoiled us, and we enjoyed every single second. My Uncle Nick took us to the airport, and we both struggled to keep the tears at bay.
We headed off for Zambia at 10:30 that morning. Part II of this post details our Zambian adventure!
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