As you can tell by the title, this post is going to focus on what’s known as “The Big 5” animals: Elephants, Leopards, Buffalo, Rhinos and Lions. Little FYI – although the Big 5 are not necessarily all of the biggest animals, apparently part of what got them into the Big 5 is the fact that they are the hardest animals to hunt on foot. Phinda is known for having them all but you still never know exactly what you’re going to see, but we got lucky saw everything.

ELEPHANTS: Elephants are so freaking big that they were always a little shocking to me every time we saw them. We had many close-encounters with them and randomly there were a few instances where we saw male elephants who were, ahem, spraying fluid out – looking for a mate. Strange but interesting. Here is a look at some of our elephant sitings!

Well hello there!

Coming right toward us!

Veering off the road, thankfully!

They both went for the profile shot.

So fun!

Here we started off just seeing one elephant coming through the bush but were thrilled when it turned out to be a whole little herd!

Elephant coming through!

Why did the elephant cross the road?

Baby catching up!

A little herd!

Elephants all over!

And this one was just such a cool shot. Thank you for posing!

Watching elephants at sunset:

Chompin’ down in the bushes.

Not a bad way to watch the sun go down!

LEOPARD: The leopard is one of the hardest animals to spot as it is most active during the night when it is very difficult to find and see, however we got super lucky with this one. On one of our evening drives, our ranger had heard that a leopard had been spotted in a certain area so before we went back to the lodge we went “hunting” for it. We stayed out a little later and searched in the pitch-black dark for probably about an hour. I thought that there was no way on earth we would find it, but our ranger was determined, and amazingly, he got it! It was SO beautiful to see in person and the leopard actually walked very close (like, maybe a little too close) to our vehicle so we got a great look at him. It was hard to capture with photos at night but here are a couple.

Coming for us!

So gorgeous!

Our tracker shining the light on him.

BUFFALO: The buffalo were the one animal that we generally just saw more or less from a distance, usually in packs out on the plains or at the watering hole.

Buffalo grazing beside zebras.

Wildebeest, buffalo, zebra.

Buffalo and rhinos.

RHINO: There are 2 types of rhinos: white and black. The black rhino is a little smaller and critically endangered and although Phinda does have them and we saw some tracks, we never spotted any of the black rhinos. However, we saw lots of white rhinos! We got really close to them a few times but also saw them out grazing a lot as well.

So prehistoric looking!

Crossing the road.

Even being this big, they still blend in a little!

On one of our morning drives we actually went tracking rhinos on foot, and while we didn’t end up spotting any on the walk (which I was quite OK with – yikes!), we did have an awesome 2 hour hike through the bush.

Sticking close to our ranger and tracker as we tracked rhinos on foot.

Just nature running its course.

LIONS: I pretty much had the Lion King soundtrack playing in my head for our entire trip, so I was always very excited to see lions. The first time we spotted some, we had spent about 45 minutes following some tracks way off-road and we came upon a lion and lioness just in time to watch them mating!! It was so awesome. Apparently, according to our ranger, that lioness originally had 3 cubs but her baby-daddy took off and then other male lions killed 2 of her cubs. So, in an attempt to save her final baby, she left the cub with another mama lioness and went to seduce a lion into mating with her. She basically pretended she was in heat and mated with this new lion for about 3 days so that he would accept her cub as his own. Crazy, no!?

Mating lions!!

Check out those teeth!

Gorgeous.

Just a little yawn.

Relaxing.

Then, a few days later we found this pair again but she had reunited with her cub and a couple other lionesses had joined the pride! So neat!

How many lions can you spot?

Such big and powerful animals.

The pride.

Amazing!

Separately, we found a different lioness who had 3 baby cubs with her. She had recently killed a wildebeest and they were hanging out around and feasting on the carcass.

Mama sitting up on the mound.

Trying to capture the moment!

Mom with her 3 cubs.

Profile.

Straight on.

Little cub getting hungry!

Diving right in! This was so crazy. You could hear the chewing of the tendons – it was kind of graphic…

And here comes another!

Wow – so that sums it up for our Big 5 sitings! Next up we’ll cover what we affectionately call the “Fun 5!”

Other posts in this series — Cape Town: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Wine Country: Day 5, Day 6. Safari: Part 1.

Thus far I have been documenting our South Africa trip on a day-to-day basis, but for the safari, I decided to break it up into three posts, first covering the experience and then the animals: the Big 5 and the “Fun 5 +.” So first, the experience:

We arrived to the game reserve, Phinda, on Thursday late afternoon and stayed for 4 amazing nights. Phinda is a private game reserve in the northeastern part of South Africa, south of Kruger. It is 23,000 hectares and has 6 different camps on the reserve. We stayed at Phinda Vlei which has a main lodge and 6 private cabins to accommodate a maximum of 12 guests at the camp. In a word, the experience was magical. Here, let me give you a tour.

Let’s start at the main lodge:

Main lodge.

View from within the lodge looking out into the vlei.

Next, I’ll take you to the cabins. Each couple had their own private cabin. From your cabin, the only view is out into nature as you can’t see any other cabins or the main lodge which made it feel like total retreat.

View of the cabin.

Each cabin had their own private plunge pool.

View from the bed.

Internal view of the bath area looking out onto the deck.

Looking back into the room.

Amazing, right?!

Now let me walk you through the daily schedule.

5:30am – Friendly wake-up call!
6:00am – Meet at the main lodge for coffee, tea and biscuits.
6:15-10:15am – Morning drive

Sunrise.

Our tracker, Tulani in the front.

Pretty old tree.

About half way through the morning drive, around 8:30, we would pull over for a little “Sunrise Stop.”

Setting up shop with some wildebeasts in the background.

Sunrise set-up: coffee, tea and hot chocolate, homemade granola bars, and some local Amarula for a little kick in your coffee.

Coffee with a view!

Then we would continue the drive.

Incredibly beautiful property. And can you spot the zebra!?

Love the landscape.

Big sky.

One more.

Upon returning around 10:15am, we would have an amazing breakfast at the main lodge.

Breakfast overlooking the vlei.

I think the breakfasts there were Michael’s favorite meals of the trip!

Each couple got a huge tray of granola, yogurts, fruits, veggies, cheeses, meats, juices, etc. and then they would do your hot breakfast made-to-order.

Continental!

Our favorite breakfast visitors were the monkeys who were actually quite skilled and aggressive about snatching up food!

Monkey! High in the tree.

Sitting on the roof like he owns the place.

Lunch was served at 2:30pm but we usually ate so much for breakfast that we skipped lunch, so in between game drives from 11:15-3:15 we just had down time. This was some of our favorite time – it was the definition of relaxing. Take a nap, read a book, go for a swim, take a shower…be happy!

Just reading by the pool.

Our new friends, nyalas and impalas!

Apparently the pools have been known to attract all sorts of animals from time to time, even including elephants!! but we were pretty happy with the nyalas and impalas.

Michael going for a quick dip.

A baby nyala nursing from his mama!!

Seriously so relaxing.

Busy afternoon at the pool!

At 3:15pm we would go back to the lodge for a little afternoon tea and snack before heading out for the evening game drive.

Heading out with our ranger, Dumi, and our tracker, Tulani!

Sunset.

Apparently you can’t have a game-drive without stopping for drinks, so around sunset we would pull over for snacks and sundowners.

Sundown setup: dried sausages, dried mango, nuts and DRINKS!

Cheers!

Grotesque or picturesque?

So pretty.

The lodge did so many little things to make the experience special. One night we returned to our cabin only to find the room filled with candles and the tub filled with bubbles. Another night, on our evening drive, we came upon a tree strung with champagne for us!

On safari, champagne grows on trees.

And every night, dinner was different. Our first night, we dined out on the vlei in front of the lodge around big tables together.

First dinner out on the vlei.

The next two nights we had private tables set out at the lodge.

The food was always exotic and fabulous.

The friendly genets liked to join for dinner.

For our last night, we were surprised to have dinner totally out in the bush. We thought we were on our way back to the lodge when we pulled up to this scene. It was obviously impossible to capture on camera but it was MAGICAL. We sat together with the other couples from our vehicle and our guides and was such a special way to end the trip.

Arriving at our dinner in the bush.

Tables set up in the bush.

They even had a bonfire!

Whew. It was amazing. And we haven’t even gotten to the animals yet! Next up, the Big 5…

Our second day in wine country started with a lovely breakfast at our hotel.

Breakfast at Avondrood.

After breakfast, we headed over to Babylonstoren, a beautiful vineyard known for their extensive gardens. You can do an official tour of the gardens and property, but we didn’t quite have the time so we just meandered through them on our own and then stopped for a glass of wine at the restaurant.

Welcome to Babel!

Making some bread inside!

Yummy farm-to-table products.

Adorable little store.

Gorgeous setting.

Can you spot the turtle?!

Love the garden and vineyards set against the backdrop of the mountains.

Lavender for days. Smelled so heavenly.

Cheers to Babel!

After Babel, we headed to La Motte – a great vineyard with fabulous wine on a gorgeous property. They actually have some hiking trails available but again, we were shorter on time so we settled for a simple wine tasting instead.

Driving up to La Motte.

Michael in front of the entrance.

In front of the tasting room.

We loved both Babel and La Motte and would say that they should be at the top of your list to visit in Franschhoek and if you have time, I suggest hiking La Motte, doing the garden tour at Babel and eating in their restaurant. Although we didn’t try the food there, after seeing the garden I have to think that the food must be great.

For lunch we went to The Kitchen at Maison Estate. It’s a great restaurant in a beautiful setting, the deck spilling out into the vineyards of the property.

The Kitchen.

Love the table!

Cozy setting.

Their bread and butter was amazing.

Michael, triumphantly holding some more wine.

Happy diners!

Later that afternoon we spent some time on the main street downtown, sipping on coffee, exploring all of the little shops and admiring the local art. Then we got ready for a big, special dinner at The Tasting Room at Le Quartier Français. The Tasting Room is ranked as one of the top 100 restaurants in the world (#72!) and we had so much fun experiencing why! We did their surprise, 8 course tasting menu with wine pairings. Unlike most places like this, you don’t receive the menu until the end of the meal so each course is a surprise experience. Also, some of the “wine pairings” were actually beers or cocktails – whatever they felt went best with the dish – so that was fun and new! Another very unusual thing is that after the third course, Michael and I received different dishes for each course so that you were able to experience more from the chef! It was 4 hours of feasting and fun and is another MUST do! But like the Test Kitchen you have to book early – they fill up!

After 4 hours of feasting!

Other posts in this series: Cape Town Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4. Wine Country Day 5.

On Tuesday, September 9th, Michael’s 32nd birthday, Michael and I drove from Cape Town to wine country! There are two neighboring wine regions: Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. We were going to be staying in Franschhoek but Stellenbosch was kind of on our way so we made an early afternoon stop at one of the best vineyards there, Rust en Vrede, just to take in the views, the vino and the vibe of Stellenbosh.

Entering the Rust en Vrede estate.

The birthday boy!

Cheers!

Vineyards + mountains = beautiful!

Our next stop, again in Stellenbosch, was to the restaurant at Delaire Graff Estate. This is an absolute MUST visit for lunch where you can sit outside and enjoy the amazing setting, views, food, service…everything was just perfect. It was definitely my favorite vineyard but I really loved it for a lunch stop as the restaurant was so special.

Beautiful setting for lunch!

Oysters and white wine to start.

Another little something something.

Just enjoying the afternoon.

Fish & chips. Amazing.

Birthday love!!!

I never wanted to leave!

After the long, amazing lunch we headed to our fabulous B&B, the Avondrood Guest House. The Avondrood came as a recommendation from friends who stayed there and I cannot say enough about how great it is. It’s a small, 4 room guest house and the grounds are so charming, the service was awesome, we just loved everything about it.

The lovely room.

Beautiful main house.

They had an awesome “honesty bar” so each night we would go back, grab a book, pour a glass and just relax… SO nice.

The property was just gorgeous.

Pool and Jacuzzi.

For Michael’s birthday, the manager set us up with a bottle of champagne on ice in the garden and we promptly canceled our late afternoon plans to visit a vineyard and instead laid out on the lawn chairs and just enjoyed the sunset.

I mean, how could we resist?

Champagne ’til the sun went down.

After the most perfect and relaxing afternoon, we went strolling down Franschhoek’s main street, just a 2 minute walk from where we were staying. We walked up and down the entire street (which took all of 30 minutes) and eventually decided that what we really wanted for dinner was just good pizza so we stopped at Col’Cacchoi Pizza. It was some of the best pizza I’ve ever had and was the perfect way to close the day.

Michael had the “Redneck Pizza” which was, not surprisingly, amazing.

When we got back to the Avondrood, we enjoyed their “honesty bar” and curled up with a couple of good books in front of a fire until we were ready for bed.

Other posts in this series: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4.

Monday morning we started the day with a little coffee stop at the famous Truth Coffee Shop in Cape Town. Very cool, very tasty. Definitely worth a stop.

Truth Coffee Shop.

Beautiful.

Next we headed out to drive down the coastline of the peninsula to Cape Point. The cost is absolutely breathtaking, each turn offering views more beautiful than the last.

Pulled over for a quick pic.

More beauty along the drive.

Cape Point is a nature preserve at the tip of the peninsula that you can drive through down to the very tip, the Cape of Good Hope which is the Southwestern most point of the African continent.

At the Cape of Good Hope!

We spotted an ostrich on the preserve!

We also went by the famous Cape Point lighthouse and “hiked” to the top!

Cape Point!

Beautiful views all the way.

Along the hike we came across a friendly baboon!

Michael and our new friend.

I was VERY excited to see the baboon.

It really was impossible to capture the stunning landscape through photos.

Lighthouse!

And this is why we did the trip from Brazil vs the US.

Off the edge!

On our drive out of the preserve we spotted more baboons!

A sweet mother/baby! It made me miss Colt!

Such a pretty drive.

After Cape Point, we headed out to have lunch at the Harbour House in Kalk Bay for, yet again, more delicious food and amazing views.

Harbour House Restaurant.

Our table was right beside the windows which would often get soaked by the waves – it almost felt like you were on a boat!

Great spot!

Cheers!

After lunch we went to Simon’s Town to see the penguins! So awesome!

Simon’s Town.

Penguins!

In and out of the water.

Hello friend.

The penguins had it pretty good.

Another amazing day full of must-dos for Cape Town!

On Sunday, Michael and I started the morning with a lovely church service at a Methodist church that we found near our hotel. Although it was different, it always strikes us how we can go to a random church in a new country and still feel familiar and among family. What a blessing!

Happy Sunday!

After church we headed up to Table Mountain, another major Cape Town landmark. Apparently it is possible to hike Table Mountain, but we chose the more popular route of taking the cable cars to the top. It was quick, easy and we were lucky to have PERFECT, clear weather giving us great views of the city.

Heading up!

Wearing my fun new necklace that I had purchased at the market the day prior.

Beautiful!

Taking in the views!

Living on the edge.

Perfect day!

Fun!

After grabbing a quick lunch at the top of the mountain, we drove over to Signal Hill to go PARAGLIDING! When you’re in a city this beautiful, you want to do everything you can to see it all. Our hotel room actually had a gorgeous view of the hill and we had seen people paragliding and we thought it could be a fun way to see the city and try something new. And since the weather was just so perfect on Sunday, we decided to go for it. When we got there we had to fill out a little paperwork and sign our lives away, then we got suited up.

Getting all suited up by my guide, Constantine!

We each went up with a guide so it was VERY easy – all we had to do was sit back and relax. Michael actually flew with our camera so he was able to take some shots of me flying and of his view.

About to take off.

Just after take-off.

Table Mountain in the background.

Flying high!

Hello Lion’s Head!

Michael lost a shoe during take-off (but he easily got it back when we were finished).

GoPro pic with Constantine!

Over the city.

Heading to the water.

When we were over the water, our guides took us on “the roller coaster” where we spun down super fast. It was definitely a rush but soon we evened out and landed in the pretty, grassy field in the photo. Overall I think I was in the air about 20 minutes and I have to say that paragliding was super awesome. It was such a fun way to see the city and was very easy, smooth and not scary at all. I think it’s another MUST!!! Actually, truth be told we had been planning on doing a helicopter tour and I’m SO glad that we opted to paraglide it instead. Way cooler and made more sense for this city/environment I think.

That evening it was beautiful out so we decided to walk to dinner. The walk was about a mile and a half, mostly along the water, and gorgeous. There were lots of families, kids, people exercising, food trucks… such a fun city! People have often compared it to Rio which I do understand in terms of the beautiful landscape and dramatic geography, but it reminded Michael and I of San Francisco even more. Coming from Brazil it felt much cleaner, better laid out, easier to navigate and generally more beautiful – even than Rio, simply because the city itself is so well-kept.

Back at that field on our walk to dinner.

Walking places always helps me to get to know a city better.

Michael and I wanted to do sushi that night and originally we had planned on going to another spot for dinner, but our hotel really recommended that we do Koi at sunset so they made us a 6pm reservation and I have to say, it was PERFECT.

Sunset dinner over the water at Koi.

We watched the most gorgeous sunset over the water and had the most incredible, special 4 hour dinner. It was just one of those days and nights that you don’t want to end.

Other posts in this series: Day 1, Day 2.

On Saturday morning, we headed out to the market at The Old Biscuit Mill. The website describes the Mill as a vibrant, warm-hearted little village where talented people come together to share, collaborate and show off their heart-felt passion. The Mill is home to day and night markets, dynamic office space, a range of workshops and designer stores, delicious farm stalls, decadent restaurants as well as an inspiring line-up of festivals and productions.

All that’s to say, the market was AMAZING. Out hotel had warned us to eat a light breakfast that morning because the food there is plentiful and awesome. The shops were so cool – tons of gorgeous textiles, wood, leather, clothing, toys… everything! There was a band playing live music. It was so fun and is an absolute MUST DO. If you’re thinking of coming to Cape Town, you HAVE to be sure to be there on a Saturday for the market. Michael and I stayed for hours and although my pictures don’t do it justice, here is a little glimpse of it.

Fun furniture and design.

Toys and textiles.

Adorb outfits.

Flowers.

Food Market!

Amazingness all around!

Noodles and dim sum.

Pizzas.

Paella.

Rooibos Ice Tea.

Argentine steak and empanadas.

Oysters.

Sandwiches and wraps.

Chocolate.

Mushrooms and truffle oil.

Cheese.

Chilli poppers.

So FUN!

After an amazing few hours of shopping, eating and drinking, we headed off to hike Lion’s Head. Lion’s Head is a major landmark in Cape Town and is a very popular hike but we were lucky to have gone on a foggy day which, I guess is why we didn’t see many other hikers out. Additionally, since we didn’t exactly know where we were going, we ended up taking a different trail up the mountain which is a little longer and harder than the most common trail so we actually didn’t see anyone until we were near the top (when our trail merged with the other). It was fun to hike in the fog because at points you could hardly see more than a few feet in front of you, but then the fog would break and you would get incredible views of the city. Plus, the weather was a little cooler and perfect for the hike. At any rate, the hike is not hard, provides gorgeous views of the city and is another MUST DO!

At the start of the Lion’s Head hiking trail.

Beautiful day.

Beautiful views.

Beautiful city.

Fogged in on the trail.

Loving it.

Lions head.

Stopping for a photo as the fog broke.

Cape Town.

Supporting the SF Giants and the Clemson Tigers on the hike.

Such a great hike!

Michael doing the chains.

Fun fog.

Almost to the top.

The views were the best!

That evening we explored and walked around the famous Waterfront area and had a great dinner at Sevruga.

Ostrich and Kingklip & langoustine – yum!

Other posts in this series: Day 1.