Victoria Falls ~ Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park, “The smoke that thunders”!

Posted on February 15, 2015 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

Saturday January 31st – Victoria Falls ~ from both the Zimbabwe and Zambia sides

Victoria Falls

Victoria Falls – from Zambia side

Victoria Falls is located on the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia. Fed by the Zambezi River, it is statistically the largest waterfall in the world.

“This recognition comes from combining the height and width together to create the largest single sheet of flowing water.” ~ sevennaturalwonders.org

It is one mile wide (1.7 km) and 360 feet high (108 meters). It is also called Mosi-oa-Tunya which means “smoke that thunders”. As a comparison, Victoria Falls is roughly twice the height of North America’s Niagara Falls and well over twice the width of its Horseshoe Falls. Iguazu Falls, on the border of Argentina and Brazil, comes in at a close second in overall volume.

Considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World, it is also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Fly to Zimbabwe and afternoon cruise on the Zambezi River

Posted on February 14, 2015 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

Friday, January 30th ~ Introduction to Zimbabwe

After breakfast at the hotel we load into two small vans for our transport to the Johannesburg airport. We shlepped our own luggage to the main reception area and I am once again thankful that we are traveling with carry-on sized roller board suitcases.

It was quite a challenge to arrange all of our luggage, plus passengers into the small vans. We were all grateful that it was a short drive from the hotel to the airport since we were crammed in like sardines with luggage filling every spare inch.

Crowded into the van

Crowded into the van 

Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, South Africa, Zimbabwe | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

Cradle of Humankind ~ Sterkfontein Caves and Maropeng Visitor Center

Posted on February 13, 2015 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

Thursday, January 29th ~ South Africa

Early Mankind

Early Mankind

Today started off on the wrong foot. Having been so used to how smooth our Gate 1 tours are run, I find myself impatient with the lack of organization on this tour. Brian is a delight, with a gorgeous smile, but has no practical experience in leading tours.

Yesterday we were kept waiting, sitting on our bus for one of our group members that had not received a wake-up call, and this morning we left over a half hour late, waiting on another group member.

I guess maybe my age is showing, as I find myself getting cranky. My mood did not improve all that much as the day continued, due to our late start, and poor communication, we ended up missing out on much of our walking tour.  Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, South Africa | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Soweto, South Africa ~ Two blondes in a Tuk Tuk

Posted on February 12, 2015 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

Wednesday, January 28th ~ Soweto, South Africa

Bike Tour in Soweto

Bike Tour in Soweto

Our Gate 1 tour came to an end on the evening of the 25th. Tim and I had a couple of days on our own in Johannesburg where we just took it easy and relaxed. I had done some work on photos, a bit of writing on our blog, and not much else. Tim went out on his own a couple of times to scout the area and came up with some eating options outside of the hotel. We also managed to get some laundry done.

On the 27th, we were picked up by a driver and transferred to our next hotel, Protea Midrand, where we met our new Msuna Safaris and Travel group. This part was coordinated by our friends, Ben and Yulia who we had met the previous February in Turkey. It was their email invitation to join them that had put the ball in motion for this trip.

Our new group consists of 20 members, plus our group leader, Brian.

Shortly after our group convened, I asked Brian about the latest news from Soweto, knowing that our itinerary included a 4-hour bike tour there. As you may recall, only three days earlier, our scheduled Gate 1 tour to Soweto had been cancelled due to violence in this area.  Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, South Africa | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Trouble in Soweto – A last minute change of plans

Posted on February 10, 2015 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

Sunday January 25th ~ Near Johannesburg, South Africa

Our plans were to have a half day tour through Soweto, a neighborhood of Johannesburg, but due to a violent outburst that left several dead, and a looting problem, our tour was cancelled. In fact all of the major tour companies were left scrambling to rearrange schedules, feeling that the area might not be safe for us to enter, even on our large tour busses.  Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, South Africa | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Panorama Route ~ Kruger NP to Johannesburg

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

Saturday January 24th ~ Just a beautiful drive along the Panorama Route

Along the Panorama Route

Along the Panorama Route

We knew that the majority of our time would be on the bus today, but what we did not know, was just how beautiful the scenery would be. With well planned stops along the way, the time passed by nicely.

Here is a map that shows the route from our overnight city of Hazyview, just outside the boundary of Kruger National Park.  Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, South Africa | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Kruger National Park, Part 3 – They crawl or fly plus sunset tour

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

Friday January 23rd ~ Kruger National Park (part 3)

Sunset in Kruger National Park

Sunset in Kruger National Park

Besides all of the big and small mammals, Kruger is full of creepy crawlies. Thankfully I did not come across any of the lethal snakes, but others did see both a Puff Adder and a Black Mamba. And no, I am not referring to Kobe Bryant for you Laker fans. Both of those snakes are classified as highly venomous!

What we saw was considerably more tame.  Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, South Africa | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Kruger National Park, Part 2 ~ Smaller animals!

Posted on January 27, 2015 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

Friday January 23rd ~ Kruger National Park (part 2)

Gus got to go along with us today.

Gus got to go along with us today.

This is a continuation of our LONG day at Kruger.  If you missed Part 1, you can click here to see our pictures of the “Big Five”.

As thrilling as it is to see the big, (and I do mean BIG) animals, that is only part of the story of Kruger. It is also home to a tremendous variety of smaller animals, snakes (a lot of poisonous ones), spiders, and a huge bird population.

Here are just some of the “other” animals we got to see “in the wild”:  Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, South Africa | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Kruger National Park Game Reserve, Part 1 – The “Big Five”

Posted on January 27, 2015 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

Friday January 23rd ~ Kruger National Park (Part 1)

Elephants!

Elephants!

For me, today was the highlight of our Gate 1 trip. Included with our tour was a morning game run. We chose to add-on the afternoon game run and a night game run. That resulted in us being in the park from 5:30 in the morning until 8:00 at night. That was too long for some in our group, but I loved every moment of it.

We were divided into three vehicles that each carried 10 passengers, and set out for an all day adventure.

Our group of 10 together for the entire day

Our group of 10 together for the entire day

Kruger National Park is huge, running 220 miles long and 40 miles wide – basically covering the same amount of land as the state of Connecticut, or Wales, or Israel.  Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, South Africa | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Swaziland ~ visit to a school and glass factory

Posted on January 27, 2015 by Tim and Joanne Joseph

Thursday January 22nd ~ Swaziland school visit

I made a new friend

I made a new friend. Isn’t she beautiful!

Swaziland has been greatly effected by HIV/AIDS as well as Tuberculosis.

“Swaziland has the highest HIV infection rate in the world (25.8% of all adults; more in other reports) and a life expectancy of 50 years. From another perspective, the last available World Health Organization data in 2002 shows that 64% of all deaths in the country were caused by HIV/AIDS” ~ Wikipedia

Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, South Africa, Swaziland | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments