When we arrived in Cape Town we were a little disappointed to find out that we would not be able to ride the cable car up Table Mountain. We were also very sad to find out that the shark dives were cancelled. This was all due to inclement weather. We did make the best of it by going down to the Cape of Good Hope and seeing some penguins and also stopping by a cheetah reserve and petting a cheetah or two.

Finally we made it to Rocktail where we were able get some diving in. On day one the seas were as rough as could be. I can say that they were the biggest swells I have ever been diving in. We did however have a good dive but no one ventured back out for the second one, which I think the boat crews were very happy about.

 

The next two days of diving were much better and we saw some incredible aquatic life. The animals included a couple of whale sharks, white tips, black tips, grouper, puffers, clown fish, moray eels of all shapes, sizes and patterns. Two pretty unique sharks were also spotted by some, a guitar shark and a tiger shark about 11 feet in length.

Now comes the safari. I can say that I've seen some impressive things in my life but this is way up there on the OMG list. When we arrived at the Phinda Forest Lodge we were taken to the pool for about 30 minutes while our rooms were being prepared. That moment set the tone. It was an infinity pool that looked out on to the savanna, and cold drinks were being served. A wildebeest and some impalas were grazing off in the distance and a large nyala was within five feet of the pool munching on some trees.

 

After being shown to our rooms we had a fantastic lunch and met our guides, Brian and Richard. They took us on our game drives and showed us around for the next couple of days. These two were very knowledgeable and great to be around. Once they briefed us on the rules for encountering the animals we broke off into two vehicles and set out. Not long after leaving the living area we stopped and were shown some fresh elephant tracks. We were that told we would try and find the animal that left them.

 

From that point forward it was game on. We saw cheetahs, wildebeest, rhinos, zebras, giraffes, Cape water buffalo, monkeys, warthogs, elephants and lions among others.

Thanks for taking time to read this, I hope you enjoyed it.


Henry