South Africa Travel Diary

Hi guys, WOW it’s been forever since I wrote a blog post. First of all Happy New Year to all my wonderful blog readers. So i’s taken me ages to get this blog post up BUT it’s finally here! My South Africa travel diary eekk.

OK so let’s back track a little, South Africa has always been on my bucket list. From wildlife spotting on safari to exploring the world’s most beautiful undisturbed natural beauty spots it was always a part of the world that Abz and I wanted to see and experience.

South Africa is such a diverse country with captivating wildlife and of course home to the Big Five animals. And i’m not going to lie after watching the Lion King when I was like 10 years old I always wanted to go Africa lol.

So if anyone is planning a trip to South Africa and is planning on doing a Safari, take a look at my South Africa travel diary to get some inspo on how to plan, where to stay, and what to do – enjoy x

Oh and be prepared for some seriously awesome pics 🙂

How to plan

As always we booked our holiday through Destinology who are a luxury travel provider. Our travel specialist for this holiday was Cheryl Mallon and she was incredible. We wanted a holiday that offered adventure and relaxation and that’s exactly what we got.  Destinology listened to our requirements and put the perfect customized holiday package together for us. I’d highly recommend them to anyone looking for the perfect getaway.

Safari – Pilansberg Game Reserve

Where we stayed: Shepard Tree Game Reserve 

So the first part of our holiday was the Safari at Shepard Tree Game Reserve. The lodge is beautiful and is located in a private game reserve and had a peaceful and tranquil ambiance. We were literally located right in the heart of the wilderness, with nothing but nature surrounding us.

Staying in the Game Reserve meant that we had a lot more chances of actually seeing the animals. We had 2 game drives daily, one in the early mornings i’m talking 4am wake-up calls and one in the evenings at 4pm. These times are best to spot the animals as during the afternoons it just get too hot for the animals. But honestly guys the Safari was the most exhilarating and soul filing experience of my life.

The game drives normally lasted three to four hours, and were guided by our private game ranger Arno. Each morning and evening we were taken out to the wilderness in an open 10 seater game viewing vehicle.

 

After the morning game drives we came back to our lodge for a well deserved breakfast.

What to Wear?

OK so the truth is, I would have loved to rock up to the Safaris dressed like these next two pictures. But the reality is that you have to dress warm. Especially the time of year we want which was September. The morning safaris were very cold as were the evening safaris. My recommendation is to pack warm and layer.

Our ranger had these thermal safari ponchos on our safari vehicle that Abz and I loved.

It’s definitely worth taking a coat and layering underneath by wearing a warm jumper or roll neck.

What to do?

The main reason for us to visit Pilansberg and stay at a Game Reserve was so that we could experience the Safari. Our time here was all about adventure and going to the morning & evening game drives. In addition to this, on my birthday we booked a hot air balloon ride over the game reserve.

I’d highly recommend the hot air balloon ride, as you get to see the entire game reserve from the sky and do some animal spotting, it’s an incredible experience. The only down side was that we had a 3am wake up call!

Celebration drinks after a successful landing.

After a soul-filing experience at Shepard Tree Game Reserve, we checked out and headed to our next stop.

Sun City Resort – Rustenburg

Where we stayed – Place of the Lost City

We checked into Sun City which is around 1 hours drive from Pilansberg nature reserve. This was the relaxation part of our holiday, which meant no more 4am wake up calls just pure bliss.

Sun City is a huge resort and has 4 hotels. We stayed at the Palace of the Lost City, which is an amazing hotel.

Entrance to the Valley of the Waves, which is the resorts water park and pool area. There’s a lot to do here from the water park, to relaxing by the pool area.

You can get a relaxing foot massage by the pool.

This is the main hall where breakfast is served each morning, it’s so grand and luxurious.

The Palace hotel is truly beautiful, it’s  surrounded by lush botanical gardens crisscrossed with hiking trails which makes it a perfect setting for lots of pictures.

Dining

There’s 3 main restaurants at the Palace hotel which range from fine dining to Steakhouses. However for more casual dining Sun City itself has a self contained entertainment arena that offers a great selection of  affordable restaurants such an Nandos and Bugar bars.

On our last day we decided to do Zip 2000 which is the fastest and longest zip line in the world. It spans 2 kilometers and it was an experience of a life time. Here’s a video from my instagram of what went down. Yes I admit I was terrified and it totally shows in the video but hey I faced my fear and did it!

So after a holiday of a life time it was time to head back to the UK. We had such an amazing adventure and the highlight of the trip was definitely the Safari experience. It was truly soul-filing.

I can’t wait to share my next travel adventure with you all.

Poonam x 

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