ELF Travel To …

We spent 3 nights at Inyati Game Reserve. It overlooks the Sand River in the Sabi Sand Nature Reserve, which is adjacent to Kruger National Park. Inyati is small on the accommodation side (only 11 chalets) but the reserve covers a large area which we like (50,00 hectares plus it has transversing rights with a few other private reserves in the area). All meals are either on the outside deck or in the boma (an enclosed area with an open wood-burning fire in the center of the circle).

With a large reserve finding the animals can be challenging. Plus Sabi Sands area had 3 weeks of torrential rains before we arrived so the bush was very lush making it even more difficult to track the animals – but tracking is part of the adventure. Luckily we had sunny skies and a cooling breeze for our whole time there.

Grabiel and Cliff, our guide and tracker, were not only experienced and knowledgeable but also fun. They were amazing at finding the animals. The safari vehicle is totally open, which is great for viewing.

There are 2 game drives a day – early morning and late afternoon. We were up at 5:00 and on the drive by 6:00 a.m. We were back around 9:00 a.m. for breakfast. The afternoon drive started at 4:00 p.m. and we were back for dinner at 8:00 p.m. These are the times that the cats are most active.

Most people talk about seeing the “Big 5” which are the Elephant, Leopard, Lion, Rhino and Cape Buffalo (the term “Big Five” originally referred to the difficulty in hunting these animals – it now is used for the animals most people want to see). We saw the “Big 5” plus so many more equally impressive animals as you will see from our photos.

We have hundreds of photos so picking which ones to include has been difficult – below is a sampling.

There was a herd of 30+ elephants that passed by us several times. When the elephants go around the vehicle they are often so close that it seems they are inches away. Part of the herd grazed outside our chalet the one afternoon – so special to see them up close.

Unfortunately poaching is still a big problem. The reserves in South Africa have now cut the rhino’s horn (so they are left with a stub) in order to deter the poachers – so sad that they had to do this. The two males rhinos below were sparring (and the female and youngster were looking on) – the noise the males made as they charged was incredible.

We had many lion sightings. One night the male lions put on a show taking turns roaring.

The Cape Buffalo enjoyed the water/mud.

And now for the elusive leopard. The female in the tree was so full that her tummy was hanging down between the branches. We also spent time following the smaller male. Unlike the lions, the leopards seldom fight, so they are stunning creatures.

This was our first sighting of a pack of wild dogs. There is a dominant male and female that lead the pack. We followed them on their quest to find prey but glad we didn’t see the catch as they eat their prey alive.

Many different kinds of antelope. The impala were very plentiful.

Zebra were plentiful and the giraffes are one of our favourites.

As we were crossing the river (I posted a video on Facebook of the crossing) we spotted a hippo in the river below the dam.

Many birds

Our friends, Wendy and Gord, joined us for 2 nights (4 safari drives). Unfortunately Inyati was fully booked for the 3rd night. Wendy and Gord’s first safari was 9 years ago at Inyati so it was even more special to once again share an amazing safari experience.

Beautiful sunrises and sunsets.

Thank you Gabriel and Cliff for providing us with so many wonderful memories. Wendy and Gord, thank you for joining us at Inyati – so many laughs and new memories made.

When we left Inyati we stayed 2 nights at Plumbago Guest house in Hazyview before we headed back to Cape Town. Our next blog will be about our time at Plumbago.

We really enjoyed our time in Wilderness. Although the village is small, there are many things to do in the surrounding areas. Also, this is a great place just to relax. Below are the photos from our last week here.

Morning exploring and lunch at Fancourt. As you will see from the pictures below, Fancourt is a beautiful course, but way too difficult for us. So we opted for lunch – very enjoyable.

On the way back from lunch we stopped at a strawberry farm. If we hadn’t already eaten, we would have tried one of the restaurants on the farm. The strawberries were delicious.

As I mentioned above, there is lots to do in the Wilderness area. We decided to visit friends, Ole and Linda, in Plettenberg Bay. We stayed with them for many years and always had a wonderful time. It was nice to catch up – we ended up staying overnight and going to Zinzi for dinner.

On the way back from Plettenberg Bay we stopped at Simola golf course in Kynsna to take a few photos – in the distance we could see East Head where we had lunch with Deb and Karen.

When we got back we headed to the beach – we try to do a beach walk every day.

Friday night (Feb 24th) date night at ilali Restaurant – it is nice to be able to walk to the restaurants in Wilderness. Rhino and the Rasta (R&R) were playing at ilali- we loved their music. The owner of ilali said that R&R are so booked up he is lucky to get them 1 night a month – we will watch for them at ilali next year.

Beautiful sunset taken from our balcony.

Sunday Feb 26th – a gorgeous day. Larry and I walked 8km in the morning – mostly on the beach. The Sea Rescue team were training – they are so good at handling the zodiacs in the waves.

On Feb 26th Doug and Marg Bennett (friends from Huntsville) arrived in Wilderness. This is their first trip to South Africa, and we loved catching up and hearing about their adventures thus far. We had a relaxing meal together at The Girls.

The next morning we picked up Doug and Marg at 7:30 a.m.and we headed to George for a 2 1/2 hour trip by rail on the Outeniqua PowerVan. The PowerVan is a motorized rail bus which departs from the Outeniqua Transport Museum and travels through the Outeniqua Mountains to the top of the Montagu Pass. It travels along the railway line constructed between George and Oudtshoorn at the turn of the century. The Museum houses a large collection of very old steam locomotives and carriages. We hadn’t done the PowerVan rail before so we weren’t sure what it would be like – it was a very enjoyable morning.

We had lunch at the strawberry farm and dinner at Joplins (Joplins has the best steaks). This was a perfect ending to our time in Wilderness.

Feb 28th – We flew to Cape Town today and we stayed at Hout Bay Manor overnight. We will leave our checked bags here and just take carry-on to Inyati. Our flight tomorrow (March 1st) should get us to Nelspruit in time to do our first safari drive tomorrow evening.

Next post will have our safari pictures.

Since Deb and Karen where headed to Franschhoek on my birthday (Feb. 20th), they decided to do a multi-day celebration leading up to my birthday.

The celebrations began on February 16th as we headed up the coast. We stopped for lunch at one of our favourite places, Fynboshoek Cheese Farm, which is near Storms River Mouth. As Deb mentioned in her Facebook post, they wondered how we would have ever found this place.

The lunch was so fresh and so good – we finished it all!

We did a few stops both before and after lunch before we reached our Addo accommodations – Gerald’s Gift House. Gerald’s was basic, but clean, quaint and only 20 minutes from Addo National Park. Their restaurant was very nice as was the food.

Karen loves elephants so that was our focus when we arrived at Addo National Park, but we did see other animals as well. We had arranged for a “hop on” guide which worked out really well. Deb drove, Ace, our guide, sat in the front and Larry, Karen and I sat in the back. We could not have found so many elephants without Ace. Hard to pick our favourite shots so I included way too many.

When we arrived back from Addo, Deb and Karen had arranged with Ruan to have the dining table set for another birthday celebration (balloons, flowers, sparklers, a sash, birthday napkins etc.). We had pizza, wine, cake and many laughs.

Next night Larry arranged for a birthday dinner at Joplin’s – delicious steak, champagne and liqueur.

On Deb and Karen’s last day, they treated me to a morning kayak and hike to a waterfall. Sunny skies, calm waters and perfect temperature for a hike. In the afternoon, we went for a beach walk and Deb and Karen did some bodyboarding – waves were high so I decided to be the picture taker

That night dinner at The Girls, then back for euchre and Amarula – South African liqueur – delicious.

Deb and Karen drove to Franschhoek on Feb. 20th to spend a few nights before they fly home on Feb. 22nd. It was a rainy, windy day so Larry and I picked up our car, visited the George Mall and had a quiet dinner at Salinas on the water.

The time with Deb and Karen has flown by. We did so much and laughed so hard. So many wonderful memories.

After spending 6 days in Hout Bay, we drove along the Garden route to Wilderness (~7 hour drive). Deb and Karen once again did all of the driving, so it was very relaxing for us – we just sat back and enjoyed the scenery. We had a picnic lunch along the way and also stopped at Graham Beck winery – of course we purchased a bottle of Graham Cap Classique’s bubbly to enjoy at dinner.

Wilderness is a very small village on the Indian Ocean, situated a short distance to the east of George and just west of Knysna. We are staying at Wilderness Waters in the Penthouse apartment (same place we stayed last year). Deb and Karen have a smaller unit next door which works out well as we eat our meals here. We have a large deck so we have lots of space for all of us to relax.

A few pictures of our apartment.

Although February 14th started out with rain, it turned out to be a perfect day to have lunch at East Head cafe. After lunch we took a leisurely walk along pathways of The Heads. The heads of Knysna is a place where the ocean comes into the lagoon between mountain heads – great views from the top.

After a fun day at East Head, Larry treated us to champagne and a chicken dinner back at the apartment. Next our evening games – yahtzee (just the ladies) and euchre. As always, many laughs.

The next day we decided to drive to Oudtshhorn to visit the Cango Caves. The 20 million year-old Cango Caves system consists of a series of chambers cut deep into a thick limestone rock layer.

Well I better get this posted. Those who are on Facebook will have seen some of these pictures through Deb’s posts.

My next post will be about my multi-day birthday celebration.

We are pleased to be back in South Africa once again. We flew British Airways this year which is our normal route. Although we liked last year’s direct flight from New York to Cape Town, United almost doubled their pricing, making it just too expensive. Our flight was uneventful, which is a very good thing. We think of it as meal, movie, sleep…repeat.

We are staying in Hout Bay, which is a small harbour town about twenty kilometres south of Cape Town. The town has everything we need, but is not as busy as Camps Bay or Cape Town. Plus it has the added bonus – our friends, Margaret and John, have a condo here. We went for dinner with Margaret and John our first night, and then the next day Margaret and I went to our favourite spa at Twelve Apostles. Larry and John joined us for lunch after – a wonderful way to spend our second day.

We stayed at Chapman’s Peak Hotel for the first three days and then moved to Hout Bay Manor. Although Chapman’s Peak Hotel has wonderful views of the ocean, we really like the ambience of the manor.

Deb and Karen joined us in SA on February 9th, and it has been so much fun touring with them. Deb and Karen are our amazing drivers, so we just sit back and enjoy the scenery. Many laughs along the way.

The pictures below are from our time in the Hout Bay and Cape Town area.

Hout Bay, Hout Bay Manor and the V&A Waterfront

Table Mountain

Chapman’s Peak – on our way to Boulders Beach

Cape Point

We spent a week in Hout Bay area and really enjoyed our time there….so many laughs and memories made with Deb and Karen.

Next stop Wilderness. Once again we are spoiled as Deb and Karen will do all of the driving up the coast (about 7 hours).

My next blog will be of our adventures in Wilderness area.

We left Reserva Conchal on Friday at noon and headed northwest – 4 1/2 hours later we arrived at our hotel, Amor Arenal, in the Arenal National Park. The last hour of the drive was scenic but also a winding road – good thing we are not prone to car sickness. We kept seeing a lake so I asked if it was the same lake – our driver said it was Lake Arenal which sits at the base of the Arenal Volcano. I looked up its size – Lake Arenal is Costa Rica’s largest landlocked body of water with a surface that covers nearly 85 square km – no wonder it took so long to make our way around it. Our transfer drivers both going to and coming from Arenal were excellent and we had lots of space in the van which was nice.

We were really happy that we were staying in Arenal National Park for a few days rather than doing just a day trip – too long a drive for a day trip.

Arenal Volcano National Park is a protected area and is known for its hot springs, in addition to the Volcano. We spent Saturday afternoon at Tabacon Thermal Resort.  Tabacon is the only hot springs hotel in La Fortuna that makes use of the volcanic water – the thermal pools are built along the stream of the river and are surrounded by lush vegetation. Although we really enjoyed our time at Tabacon, we were happy to come back to our small hotel, Armor Arenal.

Now for the pictures from our last two days in Costa Rica.

Pictures from our afternoon at Tabacon

The end of our time in Costa Rica and it seems appropriate to end with an expression we heard often “Pura Vida”.

Our time at Reserva Conchal has flown by. We are into a routine and have really enjoyed the condo and the facilities at Reserva Conchal. Although we had a few days of rain, travelling this time of year (during Oct/Nov peak rain months) has many advantages – very comfortable temperatures and most days a cooling breeze, easy to get reservations at restaurants and never crowded, having the pool to ourselves most of the time and always being able to get a lounge chair at the pool and at the beach.

We will spend our last two days in Costa Rica in the Arenal Volcano area.

Below are a few more pictures from around Jobo (complex where we are staying) and the Reserva Conchal.

We went back to Sentido Norte on our last night and once again enjoyed dinner and the views.

After a few days of rain, the sun is shining again.

As I mentioned in my previous post, the balcony at the condo is a relaxing place for Larry to read and for me to do a few fun projects on my computer….so the balcony was perfect for the rainy days. On Sunday we went to Gracie La Vid in Brasilito for a pasta dinner – they have a very good wine selection, especially for a very small restaurant and bar. As with the other restaurants we have gone to, the owners and staff are so friendly and fun. 

Monday started out rainy, so we headed to Tamarindo to look around and grocery shop at Auto Mercado which has everything we needed and more. Tamarindo has many small surfer shops and spots for surf lessons (which of course we didn’t check out). The beach has rocky areas and is rougher – good surf waves but not for swimming. It made us appreciate Reserva Conchal beach even more. 

After our walk around Tamarindo, we found a small cafe (NOI) for brunch. It turns out that the new owners are from Calgary – they took over NOI in August. The restaurant was busy and it did take a long time to get our food, but it was worth waiting for. Plus, the wait gave us time to chat with a very friendly family from the Netherlands – they were visiting their daughter who is here for 3 months learning Spanish. 

Monday afternoon the skies cleared before our dinner at Sentido Norte. Sentido Norte is the restaurant in the Casa Chameleon Boutique Hotel – its about a 40 minute drive from the condo, with the last part of the drive taking a long time because of the many pot holes. Friends suggested Sentido Norte for our Anniversary dinner – thank you Tracey and Tanja for your recommendation -as you said, the view was wonderful as was the food, the ambience and the staff. I was asked to hit the fire gong (which let’s everyone know they are lighting the fires in the pool) – our waitress told us afterward that it brings luck and thought it would be fun for me since it was our anniversary (as the video I posted on Facebook shows I didn’t really know what I was doing until after the fact). At dinner our waiter presented us with a complimentary delicious dessert and best wishes. We enjoyed our time at Sentido Norte so much that we are going again on Thursday, which is our last night at Reserva Conchal.

And now for our pictures from our Anniversary dinner at Sentido Norte.

We are in Costa Rica for 13 days to celebrate our 50th Wedding Anniversary. We are so lucky to be spending most of our time at a friend’s condo in
Reserva Conchal (Pacific side, closest main town Tamarindo and the closest
small town is Brasilito).

Reserva Conchal is a 2,300 acre upscale resort community which has been
designed to blend with the native terrain – and it has done that very well. I
have shown below a map of the area just to show how massive it is yet when we
drive around in our golf cart all we see is trees. We are in Jobo (#7 on the
map below) which has only two 3 story small buildings in the Jobo complex.
The grounds are very lush and the condo has beautiful views of the golf course
and ocean beyond – very private.

October/November is the peak rainy season in Costa Rica so we expected rainy
days. For the first 5 days the weather was great: 28C with a nice breeze
most days and no rain during the day. Day 6 and now day 7 the rains have come
in but we are still able to relax on the balcony and enjoy the scenery. Larry
is enjoying his book and I am on the computer or watching my sappy Hallmark
Christmas movies.

With such nice weather the first 5 days, we spent much of our time at the Beach Club. Our typical day – after breakfast at the condo we head to the Beach Club pool, and then off to the beach (which is just beyond the swimming pool). After lunch and another swim, we head out in the golf cart to explore this large complex (Westin is about 4 km away and W about 1-2km and both have their own facilities). The all inclusive Westin is like a small community with over 400 rooms/villas.

The Beach Club is a private members’ club used by the condo and home owners in Reserva Conchal (not part of the hotels). Below is a picture of the Beach Club where we have lunch (and also had dinner on our first night) – the restaurant area is too large for us to capture with our camera so I found this areal view.

Last night (Nov. 4th) was our Anniversary and we were going to go to Sentido
Norte Restaurant for sunset drinks and then dinner – it is about 1/2 hour drive away.
We hear from friends that the views from the bar and restaurant are stunning,
especially for sunsets. Since it rained yesterday afternoon, we decided to
delay our celebration for a few days until the skies clear (which should be
Monday). This way we can enjoy the views. So we had a quiet dinner at home and
watched a movie. We thought the rain was appropriate since it rained on our
wedding day. Rain on your wedding day is said to be good luck and we feel very
lucky. Rain on our 50th may even add to our luck.

A few of our pictures of this beautiful complex and the howler monkeys who are all around but don’t bother anyone. Although they do have a loud call (sounds like a lion to us), even their call is not bothersome.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We arrived in Cape Town on February 5th and now it’s time to head home. Our flight from Cape Town to Newark NJ departed at 7:50 p.m. yesterday (Thursday March 24th) arriving in New York at 5:00 a.m. today, Friday March 25th. The flight from Cape Town to Newark was easy – movies, food and sleep – and the next thing we knew we were preparing for landing.

The easy ended once we landed in Newark. For some reason all passengers (even in-transit) had to collect their luggage and clear US Customs. Luckily our bags were tagged to Toronto, and we were checked in, so we didn’t have to go through the tagging and check-in lines – we just had to take our luggage to baggage drop-off. The crazy part was the security line – we estimate there were several thousand people in line. It took us 2 frustrating hours to get to our gate. Thank goodness we have lots of time.

We are scheduled to leave New York at 10:16 a.m., arriving in Toronto at 11:56 a.m. We had our Covid antigen test Thursday so it is good for USA and Canada (and yes it was negative x 2). Arrive Canada app is also complete so hopefully it will be an easy entrance into Canada.

Travel is never easy, but it was worth it. We had the most amazing weather the whole time we were in South Africa. All accommodations and travel arrangements worked out well.

Thank you South Africa for another wonderful visit.

A few photos from each of the places we stayed:

Wilderness

Olivers and Inyati

Franschhoek and Cape Town