“I guess I’d say that the most exciting place I’ve been to was Africa. Because it’s another world. it’s not just the cultures and the people. that’s great , but it’s the air. The colors from dawn to dusk. There’s something tangible about it. The cohabitation of man and beast, and beast and beast. Who’ll survive and who won’t. There’s no judgement about it either. There’s no imposed morality. It’s just the way it is. ”

— Robert Kincaid, from the movie "Bridges of Madison County" 1995

Traveling to Africa has long been a dream. A dream which finally was about to come true in January 2014. An experience so divine and Grand that would change our view on travel forever. We chose to quote the words of the photographer "Robert Kincaid" -played by Clint Eastwood in the movie "Bridges of Madison County" , and put in the soundtrack for the movie actually composed by Clint Eastwood. The reason for this is the love we share for this movie and seeing it - woke up an urge to travel to the continent that he so beautifully described in the movie.

Norway is an expensive country to live in. But after doing a lot of research, we ended up with the company called: "Get Africa Travel".

This is a company well experienced and the build up your dream vacation according to your requests.

We were a family of 8 from age of 20 to 60. We had a total of 14 days of which 2 of them would be spent on an airplane. See facts below:

Facts:

Travellers: 8 people

Age: 20 to 60 years old

Travel Agency: Get Africa Travel

Flight time: 23 hours one way ( with one stop in London and one in Johannesburg )

Airline: South African Airways

Price: 16 000 Norwegian KR - each person ( 1970 Euros - 2667 US Dollars)

We all met at the airport Oslo Lufthavn Gardermoen 2 hours before departure which is normal in Norway. First stop was London Heathrow in which we had 2 hours before our next departure to Johannesburg with South African Airways.

In theory 2 hours should be more than enough to grab a bite to eat, shop a little and check in. However in Heathrow we had to take a bus from the plane to the right gate, and go through security. So in other words by the time we sat down to grab something to eat, the flight information monitor said "GO TO GATE" !

Its not the greatest feeling in the world to swallow your food without no time to chewing it and running as fast as you can all sweaty with all your hand luggage. And let me tell you it was no short distance. The size of that airport is unbelievable. The lesson from this, when the information monitor says "Go to gate" you have to GO TO THE GATE right away, unless you are in a walking distance from it.

The flight time was about 13 hours and since it was so late at night, after eating something and watching a movie it was nighty night for all of us. Long distance traveling tips: Earplugs if you can't stand snoring (imagine a snoring symphony).

From Johannesburg we had to take another airplane to Durban. We didn't have much time and we didn't know how to find the right gate. We asked for help from one of the employees of the airport. He seemed very friendly and assured us that he was gonna help us. It was a good thing we asked for help since the gate was far away. But right in front of the gate he turned around and asked for money. He said the normal fee for helping was 300 Rand! Unaware of being scammed, we paid the man the money. I guess the joy of finding the gate since we were literary out of time won over our common sense. If that wasn't enough we met another employee who asked for our passports to take us through the security control. Right in front of the security officers he asked for the standard fee of 300 Rand. Because we were in a hurry we paid 300 rand again.

The Get Africa Travel representative who met us at the airport and transferred  us to our first location: Avalone Guest House in: St. Lucia — The Get Africa Travel representative who met us at the airport and transferred us to our first location: Avalone Guest House in: St. Lucia

The flight from Johannesburg to Durban took less then 1 hour.

On arrival at King Shaka International Airport and after collecting luggage we were met by a Get Africa Travel representative who took us on a 3 hours drive to our first destination, Avalone Guest House in St Lucia where we would spend our first 4 days.

The Avalon Guest House from the backside ( forrest side )

St. Lucia

The 3 hour drive ended in St Lucia at the Avalone Guest House. The hostess Monica greats us upon arrival. Monica is a lovely kind helpful Hostess who run everything at Avalone Guest House. She is so welcoming that you feel right at home ( I hope she don't mind that I put a picture of her here ).

She is a fantastic person with a great personality. Always grants you with a smile and there is nothing she doesn't do for her guests.

The food is fantastic. She makes an omelet she calls the "yes please omelet " and it is to DIE FOR. I ate it every morning and i still dream about it from time to time:)

She even lent us her personal car to drive to the main street, where the restaurants are. It was only an 8-10 min walk, but at night there are hippos in the streets. And believe me you don't want to suddenly find your self face to face with one.

Borrowing her car is one thing. Driving it, is another story...Since they drive on the "wrong" side of the road, it was an experience of its own with some heart stopping moments. Like after turning in to a street , as I have done many years, it is hard to remember to take the left side! suddenly there might be a car driving towards you, and when you panic and try to shift gear, you suddenly are opening the door because the gear handle is not where it's suppose to be! It is in fact on the left side..... I don't want to get in to details, Monica might be reading this at some time:) Lets just say some of the passengers in the back seat had lost their voices when we finally parked at the restaurant. Screaming at the top of your lungs do that to you:) Lesson: it is not easy to drive on the left side:)

Be aware of adorable thieves:

Monica with her welcoming friendly smile

These little guys were every where they could find food. So adorable but master thieves :) You turn around for one second and your breakfast is gone:) Good luck chasing them.. Nikon D800, Nikon 80-400  ISO 400,  f/ 5,6, 1/125sec — These little guys were every where they could find food. So adorable but master thieves :) You turn around for one second and your breakfast is gone:) Good luck chasing them.. Nikon D800, Nikon 80-400 ISO 400, f/ 5,6, 1/125sec

Vervet Monkey

Recognizable by it's black face and black tip of its tail, the vervet monkey is well known all over South Africa. They live in troops. They usually rest in trees. They pay a visit to people camping or picnicking with the idea of finding a tasty morsel or two.

This little baby is eating from the bag of chips his mother got from me. Nikon D800, Nikon 80-400  ISO 320,  f/ 8,0, 1/60sec — This little baby is eating from the bag of chips his mother got from me.
Nikon D800, Nikon 80-400 ISO 320, f/ 8,0, 1/60sec

DANGERS:

Whats ironic is that we saw this sign at night.

There are signs all over St Lucia - set up mostly for tourists, since locals are aware of this. Hippos come up from the lake at night and wonder in streets. Eating plants, grass etc. The first night after arriving at St Lucia, we walked to the main street in the evening to find a restaurant. After ordering some drinks, one of the guys started shouting "hippo"! And there he was, walking up the main street. This was so surreal. A Hippo... I couldn't believe the size of it. it was bigger then the cars he passed. He just kept on walking up the street.. We were all in shock, realizing sadly too late that we forgot taking picture of the event. The waitress just smiled and said: "welcome to South Africa".

Sunset at St. Lucia by the lake. This looks over processed. But it is in fact the actual colors, with zero processing.

The accual "Beware sign" are every where in town. As a tourist it is important to respect the signs. Hippos are so fast that you simply can't outrun them.

The scenery is so grand and breathtaking that you might find yourself sitting still and glazing at it for a long time, and it truly is an indescribable feeling just to absorb the surroundings. It is Africa, nature untouched, dangerous animals lurking around. And it all is real. And it is all there right in front of you.

Ocean Basket

We went to the biggest restaurant in St Lucia " Ocean Basket" the first evening. There were not many restaurants there so we just picked the one which looked to be the busiest. In my experience the restaurants that are always busy and full, are that for a reason- the food. This was no exception. The food was fantastic, the waitresses were so friendly and the service superb. In fact the food was so fantastic and delicious that we went to the same place all 4 nights. As I said earlier we were 8. And every one of us ordered something different and we all tasted each others foods every night- devine. And last but not least, so cheap.

Ocean Basket is South Africa's favourite chain of seafood restaurants. This was not to our knowledge at that time. And later in Durban which is our last stop in South Africa, We found Ocean Basket again. But this time the food was totally different. Not bad- but not nearly the same as in St Lucia.

Unfortunatly the pictures below are taken with my phone.

The second night we started borrowing Monica`s car. On our drive back we came across 2 hippos. Again Non of us had our cameras with us. Equipped with nothing but iPhone, we struggled to take some pictures. Now imagine taking a picture of an animal that kills most people in Africa in the middle of the night, when its pitch black with an iPhone, from inside of a car...

Amazingly there were 2 of them. They are so hard to see

Cape vidal

World Heritage Tour

Some facts about St Lucia

As the only private town in the world, the village of ST Lucia is completely surrounded by a Natural world Heritage site - the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, formerly known as The Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park. And as it says on their own web site, the iSimangaliso Wetland Park was listed as South Africa’s first World Heritage Site in December 1999 in recognition of its superlative natural beauty and unique global values.

The 332 000 hectare Park contains three major lake systems, eight interlinking ecosystems, 700 year old fishing traditions, most of South Africa’s remaining swamp forests, Africa’s largest estuarine system, 526 bird species and 25 000 year-old coastal dunes – among the highest in the world. The name iSimangaliso means miracle and wonder, which aptly describes this unique place. The endless beaches stretch 220 kilometers from Maphelane in the south to Kosi Bay on the Mozambique border. You can walk for hours without meeting a soul. It is truly magnificent.

We were picked up by our guide from Shaka Barker Tours at 08:00 for a full day Cape Vidal tour. This tour included the full day, off road exploration of this prisine ( Eastern Shores) area and ecological overview of the area, wonderful game-viewing, bird watching. It also included coffee and drink break with home backed cookies, a short walk to Mission Rock (fantastic view), and then a visit to Cape Vidal with snorkeling and barbecue lunch.

The trip was fantastic. So informative and our guide stopped and talked about the eco system and the plants and everything on the way. We learned a lot about their traditions, how they eat a certain fruit , that makes you throw up. In this way you get read of any bad things you might have been eating. And if that don't help, he said, then we go to the doctor.

Our guide teaching us about the fruits of the jungle

Our fist coffee and drink break with home backed cookies. I don't know if its me, but everything tastes better in the wild:)

I can still taste the great taste of coffee and the cookies

Short walk to view point started with this sign:)

When we arrived at the place where guides have their coffee break, there were some other guides there with other group of tourists. I remember at one point i turned around and saw that every one of them where gathered around something on the ground with their cameras and trying to take pictures. I though this was funny because for a second I imagined it to be a dangerous snake - spider or something. But see if you can tell from the first picture what it was. The answer is obvious in the closeup picture:

This is what I saw...Can you see the dangerous animal they are trying to take picture of?

this is what makes Africa so interesting. After a while you begin to see the circle of life. How everything has a meaning. How nature provides for every different speacies.

what guy wouldn't want to drive one of these?

The truck is from world war 2 I was told. And with some maintenance they are still running. Things were made to last in the old days they say. It seems to be true. And when they say "off road", they mean OFF ROAD! Literally through the bushes and jungle.

African Jacana - These birds are referred to as "Jesus birds " since they walk ON water the guide told me. — African Jacana - These birds are referred to as "Jesus birds " since they walk ON water the guide told me.

African Jacana: (picture above)

The Jacana is a shoreline feeder found in the north east of the country. It inhabits waterholes where there is thicker vegetation particularly water lilies. As it walks across these floating plants it pecks at the surface of the water and forages under leaves looking for food.

The beach in Cape Vidal - Snorkeling and lunch

Sandy beach as far as eyes can see.. miles after miles...breath taking

Arriving at the place where they had prepared barbecue, there were snorkeling equipment available so we all dived in the ocean. The water was fantastic. It was actually my first time to swim in the Indian Ocean. The water - clear and so many different colorful fish and just amazing underwater world.

Lumix FT5

Before this trip to South Africa, I had spent much time researching which camera to buy for underwater pictures and videoes. I found out that with the budget I had for such a camera, the best one recommended on all websites would be the LUMIX FT5 from Panasonics. It`s a robust camera water proof down to 13meters/43ft - and shockproof 2m-6,6ft. It captures in full HD and has Leica lens, with GPS and Wifi. Overall I am very happy with it. I took some nice shots diving with it. It feels good not to worry about water or sand and just abuse a camera and it can take it.

Barbecue

Indian Ocean...weeeeee   Taken with Lumix FT5 — Indian Ocean...weeeeee Taken with Lumix FT5

The pictures taken with my lumix FT5 might not show how good the food tasted. But it was indeed incredible. It was home made sausages, different types of meat and grilled bananas. It was the first time I tasted grilled banana. A bit skeptical I finally tasted it and oh My God. It was devine:) All served with beans and salad. Wine or soda/water, for drink. As Hemingway wrote: " a feast to die for"...

Other wild animals we managed to take picture of:

Boat cruise - St Lucia Estuary

One exiting cruise we attended was to St Lucia Estuary. St Lucia Estuary is a town in Umkhanyakude District Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The town is a well known tourism region, The Elephant Coast is in the southernmost part of the iSimangaliso Wetland park. There are several Tour operators in the area. We used the Shaka Barker Tours again since we were very pleased with them from our previous tour to Cape Vidal.

We were picked up at Avalon Guest house at 16:00 hours and brought to this magnificent lake. The whole lake is not more then 2 meters deep, the guide told us. This is again one thing I recommend travelers to experience. Fantastic scenery, wildlife, hippos, birds, crocodiles and more. The boat had a licensed cash bar and toilet facilities and takes only 2 hours.

Nikon D800, Nikon 80-400mm,  ISO 200,   F/7,1    1/60 sec — Nikon D800, Nikon 80-400mm, ISO 200, F/7,1 1/60 sec

This area is rich in birdlife, and other insects and crabs. Fascinating. . I really recommend this boat trip for any one interested in bird photography as well as scenery.

Nikon D800,  Nikon 80-400mm,  ISO 200,   F/7,1    1/80 sec — Nikon D800, Nikon 80-400mm, ISO 200, F/7,1 1/80 sec

Nikon D800, Nikon 80-400mm,  ISO 200   f/5,6   1/60 sec — Nikon D800, Nikon 80-400mm, ISO 200 f/5,6 1/60 sec

This guy wasn´t happy..  Nikon D800, Nikon 80-400mm,  ISO 200,   F/7,1    1/60 sec — This guy wasn´t happy.. Nikon D800, Nikon 80-400mm, ISO 200, F/7,1 1/60 sec

Since hippo´s are the second largest land animal after the elephant, these immense animals are obviously happy to spend most of their daytime hours submerged in water, which helps to support their incredible weight. The hippo´s eyes , ears and nose protrude from the top of its head allowing it to look, listen and smell when almost totally underwater.

Horse riding

Our horses were saddled and ready upon  our arrival — Our horses were saddled and ready upon our arrival

Monica found a horseback riding trip for us. The good thing about all these tours is that they always pick you up and drive you back to where you`re staying at the end of the tour. Arriving at the ranch about 10 minutes drive, they had already prepared the horses for us. I love horse riding. At least now I know;) I must admit that I have never rid a horse before. So if you have never rid a horse, don’t let this stop you. They are gentle well trained animals, and they walk in line. We had a great time getting close to wild animals. The other animals do not see us humans as a potential threat as long as the human is sitting on the back of a horse. It was amazing...But the fact remains , it is so HARD trying to focus and taking a picture while sitting on a horse!

Black Wildebeest    Nikon D800 , Nikon 80-400mm,  ISO 400, F/6,3  1/640 sec — Black Wildebeest Nikon D800 , Nikon 80-400mm, ISO 400, F/6,3 1/640 sec

Leopard Mountain Game Lodge

Location 2 of our South Africa trip

After 4 days in St Lucia we were picked up again by a driver from Get Africa travel and brought to Leopard Mountain Game Lodge. The trip tok about 2,5 hours. I´ve added a link to the location with google maps.

After about 2 hours, we got off the main highway and got on a dusty road. And thats when the feeling of getting out of civilization kicked in. Again this was my first time in Africa and knowing that there would be no shops where we were going - for miles and miles, kind of worried me. Little did I know at that time that this was gonna be this single greatest experience of my entire life.

Dusty road towards Leopard Mountain Game Lodge

After a while we reached a control post. This was a gate controlled by heavily armed guards. They checked the papers that the driver provided for them. And this took a while. At that time we didn´t quite understand why the security were so heavily armed. Later we found out that it was because of poaching and illegal hunting. Heart breaking, but I get in to that later.

Because of obvious reasons I didn´t want to risk anything by taking picture of the guards or the actual gate. The driver also told me not to.

As i wrote earlier, we had an idea what we were gonna see. But the feeling you get when you see a wild animal in its natural home and not in a "cell" like the zoo, is so rewarding and so indescribable. Its easy to read about it, but you never know and you will never understand the feeling before experiencing it yourself.

The trip from the gate to the Leopard Mountain Game lodge took about 40 minuets. its only about 13 km, but we asked the driver to take it real slow. We wanted to see everything.

This guy was standing right by the road and watching us

Arriving at the Lodge, we were met by welcome drinks and our luggage delivered to our lodge. We were 8 so we stayed 2 and 2 decided in 4 lodges. From outside they look beautiful and cosy. But my God they are so luxury inside. Take a moment to check their official website. You WILL be amazed. So incredibly romantic. And all with spectacular views because of its perfect position and each with their own hammock and private plunge pool.

At Leopard Mountain, the day starts by getting up early. A short walk from our lodge to the main house where coffee/tea and some snacks await. After that our ranger would escort us to the open game vehicle and the journey begins. After that we returned to the main lodge and breakfast awaits. Everything fresh. The waitresses take the order and in my case it was the omelet with everything on. Delicious.

We sat around the table and talked about the amazing things we had seen. Then return to our lodge and relax until the next game drive.

filled with mushrooms , cheese and goodies

sunny side up with crisp bacon and beans

Adam Parker - our Ranger

A tribute to the best ranger i South Africa

We met our Ranger Adam Parker the first day we arrived. Since we were such a big group we were lucky to get our own ranger. Adam is the kind, understanding highly skilled ranger we all came to love. The knowledge of this young man is mind-blowing. He is literary like a wikipedia. Ask him any question you want- from plants to insects - animals - animal behavior and more, and he will answer in debt. Knowing all the "bush roads" like the back of his hand, he took us on adventures every single game ride. We were touched by the respect this man has for animals and even insects.

We all truly learned a lot from Adam. So if you are traveling to Leopard Moutain, be sure to ask for Adam for the greatest educational and fun experience of your life. So, Adam if you're reading this, from the buttom of our hearts, thank you. And any time you decide to come to Norway, you are welcome in our homes.

Coffee breaks

After driving for a while , Adam would stop on perfect spots for coffee and cookies, dry local meat and more. One of the good things about this breaks were the fact that we would pre-order exactly what we wanted to drink - and it all was provided by him.

Coffee with Amarula

Amarula as most people know, is a South African, but what I never had tried was Amarula in coffee. First time he offered Amarula in coffee, we asked if it wasn't early for alcohol. And he replied with a sentence we never forget: "....it is never too early or late for Amarula"...

We always looked forward to coffee and Amarula breaks.

Rhino poaching

“South Africa is viewed as the primary custodian of Africa’s rhinos. With 18,796 white rhinos and 1,916 black rhinos as of last estimates at the end of 2010, this represents approximately 93% and 40% of the total white and black rhino populations respectively. In recent years poaching levels have soared, and the current crisis is creating debates worldwide about the best way to tackle illegal poaching.”

— http://www.savetherhino.org/rhino_info/thorny_issues/poaching_crisis_in_south_africa

It is truly heart breaking to hear how asians miss believes, result in killing animals, in this case the Rhino. The horns contain nothing else than protein you find in your own fingernails. But still these animals are killed brutally each year. The horns are cut off while they are alive. This is cruelty at its worst. Please take a moment and check the web site of "Save the Rhino". We can not just close our eyes and ears and think that this has nothing to do with us, since we live in another continent.

Nikon D800 Nikon 80-400mm     ISO 1600   f/5,6    1/40 SEC — Nikon D800 Nikon 80-400mm ISO 1600 f/5,6 1/40 SEC

WARNING!! THE TRUTH IS PAINFUL TO WATCH!!!!!

Picture BELOW from this page: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/kvanga-the-rhino-wars

This picture from: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/kvanga-the-rhino-wars — This picture from: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/kvanga-the-rhino-wars

Picture above is from this site: http://outlaw.org.za/news/2014/1/20/over-1000-rhinos-poached-in-south-africa-in-2013. As it says on these sites: " If you are unable to financial contribution to this campaign, you still can play a vital role by sharing this link on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and all othersocial media platforms. It is only with all of us working together that we can make this change happen. Share the pictures and let everyone know."

Luch - Dinner

The lunch in Leopard Mountain Lodge is very romantic. After returning from the first game drive in the morning. We are asked what we would like for lunch. There are many options, and everything you order, will be put in a picnic basket and delivered to your Lodge. It is in fact very romantic, sitting on the porch, with the view over Zulu land and eat lunch while listening to the "music" animals make.

Dinner is served after the last game drive. It was literary gourmet dinners. Several courses with dessert and coffee or drinks. There is a menu to order from and each day they change the menu. Shortly put, the dinners and food in general was fantastic.

Ice cold Savanna Light.. Tastes great...

Suddenly it starts to rain, dark sky....And in a blink of an eye, a beam of light fires up the grass...

Adam told us an interesting story about these spiders. The big one in the middle ( picture below ), is a female. The male is further up and much smaller. The male will actually stay away from the female or he will be eaten. The only time he gets close to her, is when he wants to mate. He will then play the strings of the web and the (melody/ vibrations) will hypnotize her long enough for him to mate. And right after that he runs away again.

Nikon D800   ISO 400  f/5,6  1/50sec — Nikon D800 ISO 400 f/5,6 1/50sec

If you find this post interesting, be sure to read Part II which we’re gonna post soon. In the second part I will be writing about our encounter with lions, elephants and our last destination on this trip «Durban». Feel free to leave a comment:)