Africa

In the winter of 2019, I made my first visit to the African continent. Top to bottom, the entire experience blew every expectation I had completely out of the water.

‌The trip itself was divided into three parts: South Africa first, followed by Victoria Falls, and then wrapping up with a safari in Hwange National Park. My friend Ryan had helped to organize this particular trip, and he had two different friends who both lived in Africa who we planned to meet up with once we arrived (having a local to help show you around a new place is almost always a plus – their insight can prove invaluable, provide a place to stay, and local guide).

‌One thing I will say: of all of the places that I’ve visited, Cape Town was probably amongst the most “sketchy”-feeling. This wasn’t a huge surprise, since the city has a reputation for being unsafe…but it was a little surprising just how much we FELT that walking around day-by-day. The entire time we were there, we all made sure to keep a close eye on one other, while also taking care to be extra aware of our surroundings at all times (Ryan’s friend, it turns out, had actually just been mugged the month prior, but fortunately, only had his cash taken). The bay is very walkable and has a “Pirates of the Caribbean”-vibe: there’s a ton of history to be found there, ranging from shipwrecks off the coast, to Nelson Mandella’s cell at Pollsmoor Prison – really, there’s no shortage of stuff to check out. (Also cool: we happened to be there right when the Rugby World Cup was going on…and making it even better, South Africa WON the day we were visiting! Needless to say, it made for a very eventful start to the trip.)

‌We ended up walking around Cape Town for a few days, just taking in the sights and – of course – eating all along the way. One of the major highlights ended up being our hiking of Signal Hill, a local trailhead: the local flowers along the path were in full bloom, the trail featured a litany of spots containing iron hand holds and various scenic overlooks, and – to make it even better – the day we hiked the trail ended up being a picture-perfect day, weather-wise.

‌After a few days, Ryan and I picked up a rental car and drove east along the coast. I’m not exaggerating when I say that at nearly every turn, we encountered one mind-blowing adventure after another: in Mossel Bay, we went cage diving with Great White Sharks. In Plettenberg, we swam with seals*, did zip lining and canyoneering with Afrikanyon. We hiked sections of the famous Otter Trail. We even jumped off of the world’s tallest bungee jump off, Bloukrans Bridge. It was all experience after experience.

‌I will say this: swimming with seals in Plettenberg was probably among the scariest moments across ANY of my trips. For starters: the tour guides take you via boat to the colony across the water, and then – after you sign your life away – basically drops you in the water with little more than snorkel gear and the guide – and ZERO direction. Honestly, I kind of wish we had read more reviews online prior to going…or maybe not gone at all, because truthfully? Seals are freaking SCARY. The vibe they give is terrifying, particularly as they swim through the water, turning their bodies in ways that would make contortionists jealous. They also have a propensity for biting, so fair warning: if you do go, be sure to keep your hands close and fingers close, kids. We saw pictures posted to the company’s reviews after the fact and it was gruesome.

‌Victoria Falls is a bucket list item. We happened to be visiting during the “low flow,” season, which meant that the amount of water running over the falls was greatly reduced. During the high flow season, an extra half-mile-long continuous section of the bank fills to capacity and continues down the river, resulting in a less intense fall. We happened to have chosen slow flow season on a whim, it would be interesting to compare to high flow; however, had we gone during the latter season, we would have totally missed out on one of my favorite parts of the trip, Devils Pools, a natural rock swimming pool that is located on a ledge directly next to the falls – it’s a heart stopping experience (one note: while crossing over to Zambia to visit the falls, it’s helpful to do so with the help of a tour guide, as customs and paying the necessary bribes to get across can be a touch difficult to navigate).

‌Once you’re actually in Zambia, you can then choose to opt for different levels of add-ons before joining a small group to make your way to the edge of falls – which you can quite literally hang over the side of during low flow season. It is an amazing feeling and sight to see. Conversely, the town of Victoria Falls itself is extremely poor – so much so that children there will often try to sell you “one trillion dollar” notes, as inflation has run so high over the years that the local currency is effectively devalued. It’s very sad, and the one unfortunate aspect that comes with the whole Victoria Falls experience.

‌Part three of our trip proved to be just as amazing as the first two. Ryan had a friend who lived near Hwange National Park who, along with her husband, were the caretakers for a local elephant sanctuary. When we visited, it happened to be the dry season, which meant that water for the local animals was particularly scarce. As a result, one of the few places for them to drink from happened to be on their property, where a swimming pool was continually being filled from a natural spring underground. For the entire time that we were there, we watched herd after herd of hundreds of different elephants come to drink from the pool – we sat there for most of the first day watching in awe. Over the following two days, we also went out on safari and were able to watch a few lions, water buffalo, giraffes, and other various animals in their natural settings, which was also very cool. Still, though: nothing quite beats being able to witness the sheer size, power, and gentle grace of such large creatures looking for water in an endless heat.

‌DABLs Decision:
Africa legitimately surprised us at every single turn. I can’t tell you how many times throughout the trip Ryan and I would look at each other in stunned silence and say, “Is this real? Is this really happening?”

‌Africa definitely isn’t the easiest place to travel either to or across, and like every country, it certainly has its own unique perils. It is a very poor place, where people and animals are literally fighting to survive day by day (the slums outside of Cape Town are maybe the worst I’ve seen in person to date). HOWEVER… the ability to experience so many different adventures and emotions within a single country is amazing (and hard to articulate in even just one blog post).

‌On the whole, I’d say Africa is a great place to visit for the experienced traveler, and without a doubt, deserves at least one visit in a lifetime…and quite possibly even more than that.