Final Thoughts: South Africa And Botswana

Highlights –

• meeting up with Warren at the airport
• wine tasting tour
• Cape of Good Hope/Cape Point tour
• District Six Museum and visiting the townships
• Visiting Robben Island
• couchsurfing with Hannes for 3 nights
• couchsurfing with Christal for 5 nights
• climbing Lion's Head at sunrise and walking around atop Table Mountain
• people watching at cafes
• lunch in Camp's Bay
• whale watching in Hermanus
• cage diving with Great White sharks in Gansbaii
• riding an ostrich in Outdshorn
• petting cheetahs
• Rasta homestay with Brother Paul in Knysna
• horseback riding in Storms River
• sandboarding, partying, and shopping in Jeffrey's Bay
• Addo Elephant National Park safari
• wineball and hanging out at Buccaneers hostel in Chiantsa
• Xhosa village tour at Bulungula
• dinner and dancing at a Xhosa village in Coffee Bay
• hiking to rock art in the southern Drankensberg Mountains
• riding in a Land Rover up the Sani Pass, hiking and exploring the Kingdom of Lesotho (including a beer at the highest pub in Africa)
• 5-day safari to Kruger Park (seeing all the animals, especially the lions, and buffalo during the game walk)
• staying at Bob's Bunkhouse
• touring Soweto township near Johannesburg
• Apartheid Museum
• eating a smiley (sheep's head) to complete a dare
• 7-day camping trip to Botswana's Okavango Delta (mokoro rides, seeing lots of elephants, hanging out with Dion (guide), and getting to know Ingrid, Richard, and Peter)
• Johannesburg city tour

Lowlights –

• being forced to buy an onward ticket upon arrival at the Cape Town airport in order to enter the country.
• almost having my pocket picked while waiting for a bus on the sidewalk in Cape Town
• not seeing a leopard in Kruger Park (to complete the Big 5 sightings!)
• my first night camping in the Delta – little sleep, cold and wet

Eating –

South African wines, capuccinos, kudu, eland, ostrich (eggs and meat), malva pudding, bobotie, smiley (sheep's head), pap, sausage, Jungle (granola) bars, braii (BBQ) foods, avocados, salads w/chicken.

# of Days Couchsurfing –

8

Average Cost Per Day –

$77

Dave Lee

Dave is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Go Backpacking and Feastio. He's been to 66 countries and lived in Colombia and Peru. Read the full story of how he became a travel blogger.