I’ve been home for twelve days now, and my trip to South Africa already feels like a dream. It was a dream! Every little thing was perfect. When we arrived at the Johannesburg airport, the gentleman who was escorting us to the tiny airport that housed all the little bush planes said to me hopefully it won’t be the last, when I said it was our first time to South Africa. From your lips, sir, to god’s ear.
Nicole’s Favourite Things: The South African Safari Edition
Oh, I’m Driving My Life Away
We were in three different parts of South Africa, and each place was quite different in terms of landscape and animal populations, and we booked with a company called And Beyond. The woman who arranged all our transportation and accommodations is called Tonya Siebert, and she was fantastic. I highly, highly recommend them. Game drives happened twice daily, and each drive was between three and four hours long. A friend asked if I was ever bored, and the honest answer is no. I don’t think I COULD get bored, because there was always something new and different to look at. It was incredible to see animals up close, just living their lives and doing their thing, not caring one bit about the car full of people taking their photo.
On our very first game drive, right after we saw these lions, our guide stopped the car and suggested we get out to stretch our legs and have a drink. I assumed he was just reminding us to hydrate, so I opened the glass bottle of water they had given me, and started to chug. Then I saw what they were setting up.
It was a full bar with snacks. A FULL BAR WITH SNACKS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BUSH. This happened on each drive; in the morning they would serve coffee, tea, or an absolutely delectable beverage called Mochachocolottamarula, which is basically coffee with hot chocolate mix and a delicious liqueur called Amarula. I had one every single morning and I plan to make this a part of my Christmas holiday celebrations.
This brings me to my next point.
Food, Glorious Food
I had nothing but amazing food for the entire time that we were there. The travel company had sent us a lot of paperwork to fill out, and one part of it involved food preferences. For each meal, I was given a special menu that had my name on it and every single thing was incredibly delicious and was similar to the regular menu my husband was given, that did NOT have his name on it. For example, if he was offered steak, I was offered a cauliflower “steak,” if he was offered a pasta dish mine would not involve meat. The food was so fresh and flavourful, and I have to mention the avocados, which were the best avocados I have had in my life! Every day my menu was different, varied, and universally delicious.
I was also introduced to the South African Pinotage, a wonderful red wine, and enjoyed my favourite Aperol spritzes as well. Also, when they made a gin and tonic, they made a gin and tonic.
One thing I loved about the lodges is that they were equipped with a water filtration system, so drinking water is simply served in glass bottles. There was no plastic and no waste. Any food scraps were sent to local pig farms, and grey water was used for irrigation.
Is This The Real Life?
The accommodations were stunning as well at each of the lodges. Kirkman’s Kamp, in the Sabi Sands, was probably the most convivial; it was quite small, so we got to know all the other travellers, and there was a bar that everyone would go to post-game-drive-pre-dinner, which made for a very fun atmosphere.
Ngala Safari Lodge was gorgeous, and featured a swimming pool that elephants would come to drink out of every once in a while. This happened while we were there but we missed it; later that night we heard the elephants making a lot of noise, and hyenas screaming. I don’t know what happened, but this is why guests are not allowed to walk by themselves after dark.
The most interesting and luxurious accommodations of all were in Phinda Forest Lodge. Each room was a separate structure in the sand forest, and each structure was built around the trees, literally.
People Who Like People
Each safari vehicle was equipped for six guests, and I did wonder what the others would be like. It’s always a bit of an unknown when you join a group, and I always hope for the best. I am happy to report that all of our safari-mates at each of the three lodges – eleven other people in all, from all over the world – were all incredible and I am so happy we met them and spent so much time together.
Every second night each lodge would host a boma dinner, which takes place in an enclosed, open air area, and involves a family-style buffet dinner. Each safari group, along with the guide, would be seated at one table, and there was often traditional singing and dancing around the firepit. Of course I loved that, but as a people person, I also loved eating dinner with a big group and learning everyone’s stories. I am a person who wants to know the story of your life, even if it doesn’t get us out of Chicago.
Fuck The Patriarchy
I love all the animals, and I especially loved learning about their habits and lives. But there was something VERY UPSETTING about the fact that all the female lions hunt and the male lions have first dibs on all the food; the females eat only after the males are done. Female rhinos are always trying to dissuade the males from mating with them if they already have babies, because if they get pregnant too soon the babies will die. It just feels like the world over, males are dominating females and making them weaker, see also the excess of valium prescriptions during the women’s revolution and the emphasis on thinness from the time women got the vote.
YES I AM PROJECTING MY FEELINGS ONTO THE ANIMAL KINGDOM.
My favourite animal is, as I have mentioned before, the elephant. Elephants are matriarchies, but that’s not the only reason I love them. They are such intelligent, incredible animals. The female-led group all help each other raise babies, they support each other, and they rally around each other and their offspring in case of danger. Let us all be elephants!
Plus, baby elephants are the cutest thing I have ever seen. They practice threatening behaviour by flapping their ears out wide, which made us all go awwwww, he’s threatening us. They have to learn to use their trunks, so we watched them dip them wildly in the water.
We also learned that hyenas are a matriarchy. We watched them at their den, and the little cubs were so cute and fun to watch. I used binoculars to get a really close look at them and was absolutely alarmed to see the junk on the baby male. I actually thought it was a fifth leg. It turns out that hyenas have a very high concentration of testosterone, so that even female genitals are, shall we say, elongated. Listen, I’m not drawing any parallels or jumping to conclusions, all I am saying is that it’s a sight to be seen. Or not, depending on your interest in animal genitalia.
Outfit of the Month
Imagine my minor distress on finding out that black clothing is discouraged on safari; I have been diligently shopping my closet for the past several months, but I had to face facts. I needed some new clothes. I have become a big fan of Solbari sun protective clothing, a company out of Australia. If anyone knows about sun protection, it’s the Australians. I purchased a couple of long-sleeved tops in creamy beige and moss green, as well as a long-sleeve light beige button-up top from Lululemon. I wore the long-sleeve tops with my beige Lululemon Dance Studio Crops or my newly-purchased dark green Daydrift pants. Light, loose, comfortable clothing – with elastic waists! – was the order of the day, when you are spending six to eight hours a day in a safari vehicle.
I also wore cute Skechers walking shoes, which have now seen me through Morocco, London, and South Africa. May they travel to more destinations in the future!
I can hardly believe June is almost done, friends. How was your month? Tell me everything. Even if it won’t get us out of Chicago. xo
I have never once wanted to go on a safari until I read this post. It sounds like a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I am impressed by the quality of the lodgings and the food — for some reason, I always assumed food and accommodations on safari would be basic, something like a slightly safer version of camping in a tent. Clearly I was WAY off!
Tell me more about the hippos. I do not know their significance!
I am still in awe over your up-close-and-personal encounters with so many wild creatures. They are so beautiful, and you got to see them IN THE WILD. That is amazing to me. (Also, I am cracking up over your hyena genitalia observations.)
Thank you for sharing this amazing adventure! It looks truly spectacular.
Well to be honest there are those kinds of safaris available but I am a big believer in “you get what you pay for.” This wasn’t cheap by any means but so worthwhile for a trip of a lifetime!
Here is the hippo story and I actually got teary reading it. The short answer is my younger son loved hippos very much. https://girlinaboyhouse.com/2012/08/a-farewell-to-foggy/
The baby male hyena junk was so startling that I actually asked our guide about it because IT WAS LITERALLY AS LONG AS HIS LEG.
I did not expect to learn fun facts about hyena genitalia before I even finished my breakfast this morning.
I guess the highlights of June so far have been a week at the beach and a root canal. Well, I’m not sure that last one is a highlight, but it was a notable event.
Steph, I am here for all your hyena genitalia information needs. I also have information on how long one rhino mating session lasts – average is 45 minutes. At some point you just want to roll over and go to sleep, I feel for the female rhinos.
I loved what the lady said about the giraffe, especially when you had only just resumed breathing; I loved the guys setting up a little BAR!!!! in the middle of the safari; I love how attentive they were to your menu (Elizabeth and Rob are both vegetarians, and I am so touched when the vegetarian alternative is special too). I completely agree with Suzanne that I never wanted to go on safari until now. NOW I want to look at animals just being there.
Swistle, after decades of selecting from the 1 or 2 veg items on a menu, it was a delight to have an entire menu just for me! And every meal was so interesting and delicious!
That giraffe really did look into our souls! You realize just how giant they are when they are less than 20 feet away.
Omg. I mean… the baby elephant. The top of the hippo’s heads sticking out of the water. The lions!!! As you may have gathered, I love cats, so I would have loved seeing the lions (in spite of their misogynistic practices).
The food looks incredible!!!
I just went back and looked at the photos again. That baby elephant- I just want to cuddle with him.
Jenny, as a cat person I think you will like the fact that cheetahs and leopards are MUCH more egalitarian. There’s none of this women do all the hard work and men reap the benefits of said hard work with cheetahs and leopards.
The baby elephants – I think that, besides puppies, they are the cutest baby animals on the planet.
The baby elephants! We have a strong love for elephants in our house. Both boys’ lovies were elephants. Paul has moved on from his original elephant lovey which was more of a teething toy, but Will still sleeps with a lavender-scented elephant clutched in his arms. He will play cards and other games with elephant (which he pronounced “elephanty” which is sort of based on the Spanish pronunciation of elephant – they went to Spanish immersion daycares so they learned how to say that word in Spanish first and now Will has anglisized it).
The food, guides, and accommodations sound amazing!!
Elephants are just the most incredible animals! Elefante! I kind of want my own lavender scented elephant now.
Everything about this is amazing! When I’ve thought of safaris, I imagined roughing it – but this looks really comfortable. Plus, it sounds like a place where the animals are wild and free, but safe from humans. I love every photo! The hippos swimming is wonderful! The baby elephants! Every animal! It’s interesting how animals live in their various societies. Sometimes it’s freaky to think about.
OK, I have more questions!
Why did you get special treatment due to friends from NYC?
Why are hippos significant to you?
Driving around for hours, what if you had to pee?
Sorry, I’m so nosy!
Michelle, I think you CAN rough it, when it comes to safaris, but there is a lot of choice out there. We chose the non-roughing it route! I loved learning about their societies too.
I think the people from NYC had a higher echelon of room than we did – we had a nice bar and snacks every night but this one was extra nice and involved a cheese platter and charcuterie board! I think it was a celebration of their last night, and we just happened to be in their group, so we benefitted.
Hippos! Here’s an explanation: https://girlinaboyhouse.com/2012/08/a-farewell-to-foggy/
I purposely didn’t drink much so I didn’t have to pee, but if you did, the guide would find a safe tree for you to go behind.
We are considering a safari. Your results sound great. Would you be willing to share the company through whom you booked?
I have followed you for years, silently till now.
Kathy Potvin
What a fabulous trip Nicole!! Such amazing pics as well. I had no idea that you got so close to the animals. This trip is also high on our list. We are finding it hard to squeeze in the ‘big’ trips with 3 months in Mx, a cottage & lots of family at home plus we are both avid golfers. I have convinced my husband to give up his month of Nov golfing and do a big trip. Maybe 2027 (Asia this year). I know- the year has to expand from 12 to 15 months!
Fantastic, Nicole!
I’ve been on a few safaris myself, and from my experience there really are safaris… and then there are safaris. You definitely got to experience three nice ones!
I’ve never been to Phinda and have often wondered how it compares to the Greater Kruger area. From your photos, it looks noticeably greener – was it also a different feel?
And yes, we need more details on the NYC friends and the “special treatment” situation 😄
I’m with Suzanne. The thought of going on a safari has never really appealed to me… until now. What a delight. It all sounds magnificent and magical and I’m so glad everything went so smoothly.
We just got back last evening and I am in a little bit of a jetlagged fog right now; not really able to muster energy to anything but it’s too early to crash into bed. So reading this post was a delightful distraction from feeling like a should be doing something productive (trust me, there is LOTS that needs doing), and wanting to sleep for one million years.