Africa Trip
Brief Itinerary
(full detail itinerary following brief itinerary)
| Feb 7 Monday | Flight Boise thru Seattle to London |
| Feb 8-9 Tue-Wed | London to Johannesburg |
| Feb 9 Wed | Gautrain to Sandton, South Africa |
| Feb 9-12 Wed-Sat | Sandton, South Africa |
| Feb 12-15 Sat-Tue | Pilanesberg National Park - Ivory Tree Game Lodge |
| Feb 15-16 Tue-Wed | Johannesburg - At the Protea Airport Hotel (one of our favorite airport Hotels - which we have stayed at many times before) |
| Feb 16 Wed | Flight to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe |
| Feb 16-19 Wed-Sat | Victoria Fall - Victoria Falls Hotel (a very historic hotel) |
| Feb 19 Sat | Drive to Kasane |
| Feb 19-23 Sat-Wed | Kasane - Chobe River Lodge |
| Feb 23-25 Wed-Fri | Chobe River - Chobe Princess River Boat |
| Feb 25 Fri | Flight to Johannesburg |
| Feb 25-27 Fri-Sun | Johannesburg -back again at the Protea Airport Hotel twice on this trip (I think that is 6 total times) |
| Feb 27 Sun | Flight to Durban, South Africa |
| Feb 27 - March 6 Sun-Wed | Durban Area - Blue Water Hotel |
| Feb 28 Mon | Day trip to Lesotho (other Country) |
| March 6-7 Sun-Mon | Flight and stay at the Protea Airport Hotel at the Johannesburg Airport |
| March 7 Mon | Flight Johannesburg to Zurich |
| March 8 Tue | Flight Zurich to Chicago to Boise Rest from Travel in Boise :-) |
Full Detail Itinerary by Day
| Day #1 | Feb 7 Monday | Flight Boise thru Seattle to London (First and Business Class) 787 Dreamliner from Seattle to London one of our favorite planes - very nice plane and quite. About a 9 hour flight, had a nice dinner and slept until about 1 hour before landing (the seats lay down completely flat, just time to have breakfast and get organized for landing.  We are hanging out in the British Airline lounge for about 9 hours + before our next flight. Best idea ever in the lounge - a Shower!!! It was Wonderful!!!  |
| Day #2-3 | Feb 8-9 Tue-Wed |  Flight London to Johannesburg The A380 double decker jumbo jet - a huge plane our first time flying one of these - very excited! If you look closely you can see the row of upper windows where we set.  Debbie (and Bill's feet) on the flight from London to Johannesburg in Business Class - it was great! Very British flight crew. Debbie was referred to as "Luv" Bill was referred to as "Bloke" Very fun  Stairs to the Upper Deck People exiting the plane by the internal stairs. They only used them because one of the jet bridges was not working so we went down the stairs (lucky for us so we could use the stairs on the plane) and used the main jet bridge. Business and Economy on both levels, but first class only on the lower level. We used miles for the flight so we were in business class, if we paid we would have been in Economy class. We boarded in London by a jet bridge directly to the upper deck (they had one to the lower deck also) |
| Day #3 | Feb 9 Wed |  Gautrain at the Pretoria Station Gautrain from Johannesburg to Sandton, South Africa. Sandton is a suburb of Johannesburg. Staying at the Garden Court Hotel, very nice hotel and located close to everything. Definitely a keeper for future trips. (not our photo - I will get a photo) We had dinner at Cilantro's at Nelson Mandela Square. Very nice restaurant in a fantastic outdoor setting on a huge square. Also great for people watching. We had a really light meal because we ate so much during the flight.  |
| Day #3-6 | Feb 9-12 Wed-Sat | A late dinner at the Hard Rock  Bill & Debbie  Debbie has been talking with her new best friend :-) A very nice young gal.   The view of Nelson Mandela Square from our table at the Hard Rock. Super nice table and a wonderful friendly staff. Feb 11 went by Gautrain to Pretoria today about 1 hour trip on the train, walked to the Manhattan Hotel to check it out for future trips, very nice hotel, the 1 block walk from the train station was a little run down area. Then took an Uber to the Pretoria Hardrock Café and area around it for some shopping The 82 degree temperature was really nice, enjoyed setting outside to eat.  We went to a different station at the request of the uber driver, as we knew there are on going conflicts between uber and the taxi drivers. In some areas they pull the uber drivers out of their cars and take there car. The uber driver we got the first time picked us up down the street, just having us walk a 1/2 block to him, because it was safer for him. We are safe just not the uber drivers. Walking back from the Sandton Gautrain station towards our hotel there was a nice looking Barber shop so I (Bill) stopped and got a hair cut. He did a great job! It is a business area so they have lots of practice with business type hair cuts. He said I was lucky to just walk in and get a hair cut, they are really busy with Valentines day coming up. Valentines day seems really big here. |
| Day #6-9 | Feb 12-15 Sat-Tue | We are being picked up at the hotel for the 3 hour drive to the lodge and our next area: Pilanesberg National Park - Ivory Tree Game Lodge, South Africa We arrived at 11:30 and relaxed in the main area had lunch and checked into our room at 2 o'clock. Very nice bungalow, big bedroom, with a private deck. Large bathroom with a giant tub, and an outdoor shower all very nice. Went on an afternoon game drive with a great guide and two other couples both from South Africa. They are one of the many people that are staying here as a weekend get-a-way. We never thought about that but it is only about 2 1/2 hours from Joburg (as they call it).   Young lions (the guide thought 1-2 years old) out exploring away from their pride - the guide said that was a little unusual..  A great view point up a steep road to this hill top. (Bill & Debbie)  We had to pull off the road to give right-a-way. We got up about 4am for our 5:30 game drive on Sunday the 13th. Same driver and same couples that was nice. Lots of great scenery, good information about the area and plants - Oh Yah lots of Animals!  Bill up-close and personal with the wildlife.  My best Hippo shot and I had to wait a while for it to surface even that much.  A Nile Crocodile it was faster then I was getting the shot. We got back late to have breakfast - closer to lunch then breakfast. And are just chilling and enjoying our private deck off our bungalow. February 14, Valentines day Morning game drive and we see Rhinos at the very start of the day (we saw Rhinos yesterday, but they never lifted their heads out of the grass so it was hard to tell they were rhinos) They trim the horns to make them less appealing to poachers. Kind of sad, but if it works, the horns do grow back, kind of like trimming your finger nails, made out of the same stuff.  The big find of the day was a Leopard which the guide said he had not seen in a long time, it was also in an area that they are rarely seen. Our guide thought maybe the lions had driven it up the mountain where we saw it. It was very exciting, we were really not expecting to be this lucky.  We also get to see   Giraffes up way closer then the other day.  A lion up-close and personal, very special. The good news is we went out with a guide and 4 other people and all came back safe.  But if the elephant had it's way that would not have been the case. We were watching an elephant herd maybe 20 or so. The big female was keeping a close eye on us. Then one of the young elephants went to cross the road in front of us and tripped over a log that was beside the road. Well I guess that she thought it was our fault that the young one tripped and she threatened us. As the driver/guide backed up she picked up the log and throw it toward us. So we backed up more. She picked it up again and threw it toward us, but she decided she needed a new thing to throw at us, so she kicked the log off the road, then went to a nearby tree and tore a good size limb off the tree and threw that at us while she continued to chase us up the road. About the time the driver backed into a rut in the road she stopped chasing us. Very Interesting and a little scary!! The driver was able to keep a little distance between us and the elephant so the danger was not that great, but the driver said it was going to take some time to get his pulse rate down and get over the adrenalin rush. We decided to turn around and take a different road to the top of the mountain, this one belonged to the elephants, at least for today. Feb 14: Evening game drive We have the same driver (we have had 2 drivers) Feb 15: Morning game drive: Another day of getting up at 4:30, but not to bad we have not totally adjusted to the time change and are waking up really early and going to bed really early. This was the only game drive that was not loaded with animals, we saw some rhinos but that was about it. But the drive and the view were still worth getting up. |
| Day #9-10 | Feb 15-16 Tue-Wed | Johannesburg - back Airport and a stay at the Protea Airport Hotel (one of our favorite airport hotels - we have stayed here many times before. Very Much an airplane theme to everything. Even the mirror in the toilet room  The wing in the lobby  the desk in the room is a wing  We get our own island in the pool to have drinks and snacks. We are flying from Joburg to Victoria Falls. We got exit row seats with lots of leg room and only the 2 of us in the 3 seats so really nice. Small sandwiches and wine for a snack so we are all good. Got a view of Victoria Falls from the plane as we come into Victoria Falls. |
| Day #10-13 | Feb 16-19 Wed-Sat | Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe staying at the Victoria Falls Hotel. The hotel is fantastic, it is a World Heritage Site and located with a view of the bridge and the mist from the falls. Very nice for us, but also really sad only 11 guest at the hotel because of Covid in a hotel of 161 rooms. (18 guest on the second day, 38 on the third day) Although we counted 40 if you count the two baboons in the hallway to our room. The hotel seem to be taking advantage of the slow time by doing some remodeling. Way more staff then guests. It is a 5 star hotel with the service you would expect, maybe even more than normal because most of the time at the pool, bar, restaurant and lounges we are the only ones there.  High Tea on the Terrace Restaurant (we had it all to ourselves) over looking the grounds and Falls.  Breakfast on the Terrace, again we had it all to ourselves. The weather is fantastic in the 70's, a little hot and humid in the afternoons if you are walking around in the sun (upper 80's) but great for the pool! You can see how crowded our "private" pool is, we were there for a couple of hours and nobody else. Two days in a row and we had the pool all to ourselves. Our table with what we thought were our packets of Sugar  Our second day High Tea was very eventful. There is a container with sugar packets in it (the red packets) After the food plates were cleared a monkey was walking by our table, when it jumped on the table and grab the sugar packets and ran off to the tree to eat them, very exciting! The waiter said they really like sugar. They reserved "our table" at 3pm for all three days for high tea. They all said it was the best table with the best view in the restaurant - we agree the best table. I did my second run on our last morning in Victoria Falls and the Victoria Falls Hotel. It is in the upper 60 and humid so I only did 3 miles and about 1 mile of walking to cool off. We had a leisurely breakfast on the terrace at the table we have been having high tea at, very nice. The lady we have been talking with a lot by the name of Precious spent time visiting with us, a very nice lady. She was trying to figure out Debbie's ring which is abalone shell so different, she was trying to figure out what kind of stone it was. They are doing a buffet now because they are up to 42 guides. The first day there was only 11 guests, they say the weekend is more people. When we leave there would only be 40, but 2 more are going to check-in, so still 42. |
| Day #13-17 | Feb 19-23 Sat-Wed | Kasane, Botswana staying at the Chobe River Lodge We had a driver from the hotel to the border and then another driver from the border to the Chobe River Lodge, they can's take you the whole way only in their country. The first driver had been out of work since March of 2020, because of the lack of tourists. It was his first day working and he was very happy to be working again. The border crossing between Zimbabwe and Botswana was easy, sometimes they can take a long time! They just dropped the Covid testing requirement 5 days ago, for fully vaccinated people. Ya, two less tests to get!!  Our first game drive - up close and personal with a male lion.  One of many Giraffes we saw this morning. It makes you wander who is watching who. Elephants taking a bath in the pools beside the Chobe River. What fun to see this. I would bet we saw over 500 elephants - it was amazing!  View of our "home in Botswana at the Chobe River Lodge. Photo taken from the bank of the Chobe river looking toward the lodge. When the elephants get to the river they really enjoy playing, especially the young ones. The guide said they can go without water for about 4 days and then they need to drink.  Getting close to sunset as another wonderful day in Africa ends.  A water lily on the Chobe river - a day lily that opens during the day, there are also night lilies that open at night for the night insects. Speaking of insects, Debbie has quite a few mosquito bites even with using bug spray. She is unhappy that mosquitos like her and don't seem to like me and even if they do bite me I don't normally swell or get itchy. We are taking our Malaria pills, so no worry on that front. During the day when it is hot the bugs are not bad, just at sunrise and sunset (and after sunset still some).  The Fish Eagle, a very pretty bird, a lot like our Bald Eagle, but with more white on it's head. Baboons really cute and really taking care of their babies.  A Bird drying it's wings so it can fly. It was quite a storm to watch, from inside the lodge which is two stories tall and open air to the yard and river. We have done another Covid Test - NEGATIVE again so we can travel!!! We are off to the River Boat for 3 days 2 night on the Chobe River. |
| Day #17-19 | Feb 23-25 Wed-Fri | Chobe River - Chobe Princess River Boat Our Penthouse room on the river boat - definitely the nicest room on the boat - and with the run of the whole boat we really enjoyed it. We also had a guide that took us out in a small boat for "game drives", but we could also see lots of game from the river boat also. |
| Day #19 | Feb 25 Fri | Flight Kasane to Johannesburg |
| Day #19-21 | Feb 25-27 Fri-Sun | Johannesburg - at the Protea Airport Hotel for the second time on this trip. |
| Day #21 | Feb 27 Sun | Flight Johannesburg to Durban, South Africa. |
| Day #21-28 | Feb 27- March 6 Sun-Sun | Feb 28 we took a tour to drive and tour to Lesotho a very small African County completely surrounded by South Africa. We hired 1st Zulu Safaris for the tour. Our driver was the owner of the company and did a fantastic job and wonderful to talk with about South Africa. We brought suite case full of clothes to give to the locals, they are one of the poorest countries in the world. Living in stone round huts and herding sheep and other animals.   One of the people carrying fuel for the fires in the huts - miles from the hut. What a hard life.  The road up to Sani Pass to from Durban at sea level to 9900 feet. A very rocky mountain road with several stream crossings and a border station leaving South Africa and a border station entering Lesotho and back again, so some paperwork (and a Covid test). The Drive up to the pass, could not get the whole road because of the fog and changing weather. There were times that road was so rough that our 4x4 was at a crawl with several streams to ford across. We were fine with the road coming from Idaho which has some serious mountain roads, but I could imagine someone from flatter driving area could be concerned about the trip.  Another person gathering fire wood and then walking up the road that raises 1000's of feet and then miles to the huts with his load. We had some apples and bananas that we gave him for his journey. Some people call them the blanket people because they all wear blankets for warmth instead of coats.  Debbie having hot chocolate and filling out the paperwork for the board crossing.  Bill having a beer while Debbie does paperwork how unfair is that - huh :-)  I tried to explain to Debbie that we could have free drinks at this pub, but Debbie said " " well I probably should not put that kind of language on our blog :-)  The village lady that we bought blankets and other items with her son, and our guide looking on. What a trip and a long day, but a great tour - back in Durban and straight to bed - well we are old for a long day of touring :-).  We found a great restaurant right on the boardwalk and beach in Durban. About a mile walk from our hotel called "California Dreaming" Very nice menu and drinks on the deck. We always like to find a place that we are really comfortable as a go to place when we travel.  A Stork on the dunes between the Boardwalk and Beach in Durban.  We spent the time at the Ushaka Sea World - with the largest Aquarium in Africa, very good.  Durban Botanical Gardens setting on a park bench relaxing and watching pelican taking off. We took a golf cart tour of the Gardens with a very enthusiastic guide from the gardens (He is very very excited about the Garden and his job) as an over view and then hiked around the gardens. It is very big and well done.  Debbie and Bill enjoying the Gardens.  The colorful bark of a tree.  A bush with red/pink leaves and yellow flowers - very colorful.  Bill & Debbie at the Umgeni River Bird Park in Durban. It was small, but enjoyable - had a great cooling water fall. We got an uber at the end of our Garden and Bird day and went to the California Dreaming for Lunch/Dinner and then a walk back to the hotel - to chill and cool off and watch some movies. Ready for an early night. Fri 4th Having a lazy morning - yesterday we figured out that breakfast is included so we are now having breakfast at the hotel - it is a really big buffet, very good. Downtown shopping area of Durban, we did not shop here, not really a tourist area. It was recommended to us to not wonder around in the downtown area of Durban. We have been all over the beach area and a few other areas and never felt unsafe. We took the Rickshaw Bus for a tour around Durban - only stopped twice and was a very nice overview of the whole town. Sat 5th Our last full day in Durban and our last full nontravel day of our vacation, a little sad. We plan on just having a lazy day at the pool and at the beach. Sun 6th starting our long travel day (days) |
| Day #28-29 | March 6-7 Sun-Mon | Johannesburg at the Protea Airport Hotel - Again. |
| Day #29 | March 7 Mon | Flight Johannesburg to Zurich |
| Day #30 | March 8 Tue | Flight Zurich thru Chicago to Boise |
| Day #30 | March 8 Tue | Boise - time to rest |
| Day #0 | March 9 Wed | Start Planning next Trip |
| May-June | Europe and Eastern Europe |
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