Penguins of South Africa

The whole reason we extended the trip and added Cape Town to the itinerary is because I found out there were penguins. I have seen them at the Camden aquarium in NJ but getting to see them out in the wild was what I wanted.
  We set out one of the morning for Simon's town where a large colony of penguins live. However once we got their the skies opened up making the experience a very wet one.

Even the penguins did not look happy.

After a moment in the rain viewing 2 little penguins, getting totally soaked, we packed it in.  This was not exactly the experience I was looking for but you can not help Mother Nature.
  We continued onward to Cape Point which is the tip of the peninsula. I imagine on a nicer day the views would be spectacular. There were plenty of great spots to stop and take in the view and lots of trails to hike neither we could do.

 Rain and lot of it. So we did the next best thing, lunch at Two Oceans Restaurant. It was the perfect spot to dry off, enjoy a bottle of wine, and great seafood.
At one point the sun appeared for a moment giving us a nice view of False Bay.

Hop on hop off bus in Cape Town, South Africa

After 9 days on Safari we went on to Cape Town for a week of beach and fun. Unfortunately the weather was not on our side it was cold, windy, and lots of rain for the first few days but we made the most of it.

  One of the best ways to get to know any city is to take one of the hip on hop off buses.

It's a wonderful way to see the sights of the city, while hearing about some of the history, and attractions the city has to offer. If you see a place you want to explore just hop off the bus, when your done you hop on another bus. We got a ticket that can be used for a few days allowing us to really get to know the Cape Town.
 One of the stops we got off was the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront for some shopping and lunch.

Since we had the pass for a few days we used the bus the next day to and went on their wine tour, which includes 3 wineries located in Cape Town, Groot Constantia, Eagle's Nest, and Beau Constantia.

Groot Constantia’s revered history tells us how a man’s love of wine established the first wine farm in South Africa. By going back 330 years, we come to understand how 891 morgen of land created the origins of the South African wine industry, and how every owner thereafter contributed to what we know as Groot Constantia today. - See more at: http://www.grootconstantia.co.za/our-story/groot-constantia-history/?id=8#sthash.LZAFVDEp.dpuf

 The first stop was Groot Constantia, which is one of the first or is the first winery of South Africa dating back 330 years ago.

It was a cold day and once again the rain started, so we took refuse in the Manor house for some wine and food at  Jonkershuis Restaurant.

We started with a some local cheeses and a nice bottle of Groot Constantia Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvigno

The food, the wine, and the atmosphere was just wonderful.

The weather did not was not cooperating so after lunch we skipped the rest of the tour and took an Uber back to our condo. Uber in Cape Town, how cool is that?

The Bush Spa at Mfuwe Lodge, South Luangwa Valley Zambia

 One of the best things we did was prior to arriving at Mfuwe lodge was to arrange to have a little pampering. After a 24 hour travel day a massage sounded like the perfect thing. On our first day after our morning safari us girls had a relaxing massage at the Bush Spa in Mfuwe Lodge.
  It was wonderful and I highly recommend a visit to the spa when staying here. We enjoyed it so much we arranged for another day of pampering on our return after 6 nights in bush camp.
This time we treated ourselves to one of their special packages. I choose the Kegelia African healing and firming wrap which uses extract for them African Sausage Tree, followed by a massage.
Great way to end the trip.

 The spa is all open air and overlooks the pond which has many visitors including a pod of hippo's.
Nothing like getting a massage and listening to hippo's, that was a first.

Take a picture not a body, Stop trophy killing!

Like so many of you, I am deeply sadden and disgusted with the news of the most recent lion killed for the soul purpose of having its head and skin as a trophy.

This one selfish person took it upon himself to kill an animal that so many others have enjoyed watching and photographing over the last 13 years.

Cecil (as the lion was known) has been living in a protected area in Zimbabwe with 2 prides he protected, 6 lionesses and 12 cubs until he was lured out of the park by food in the middle of the night so that this selfish man could shoot him with a crossbow. Cecil was only wounded and was then tracked for 40 hours before finally the man shot him with a rifle killing the lion. Before skinning him and cutting off his head he did make sure he got a picture smiling with the dead lion.

What is wrong with this person? Why do people feel the need to kill such a beautiful creature for their own personal enjoyment?

Sitting by the watering hole at Bilimungwe Bushcamp South Luangwa Zambia

Just sitting on your private deck or in the main area at Bili there is just so much to see and many visitors throughout the day.

Harry the resident Hippo doing what hippo's do all day, not a whole lot. On our last night at camp, we were sitting having a after dinner wine when Harry decided it was time to leave for the evening. He left the watering hole right next to where we were sitting, walked across camp, and through a bush out of sight. It was another wow moment, to be so close to a hippo on land.

A family of warthogs came by for a drink and a bath.

A day typical day at Bushcamp, Bilimungwe South Luangwa Zambia

The days start early in bushcamp, 5:30am/5:45am. Someone from camp comes around to each of the rooms with a morning greeting. While staying at Bilimungwe it is Jason who wishes us a Good Morning to start the day.

 At 6:00am a light breakfast is served, coffee, tea, cereal, fruit, juice, muffins, hard boiled eggs, and our favorite toast grilled on an open fire.

  At Bilimungwe breakfast was served around a fire pit next to an open field. Nothing like the smell of a fire, with a cup of coffee watching a group of Buffalo roaming in the bushes.

At 6:30am it is time to start you morning bush walk. Our guide while in Bilimungwe is Manda who is extremely knowledgeable about everything there is in the South Luangwa Valley.

Bilimungwe Bushcamp, South Luangwa National Park Zambia

For the next 3 nights we are staying at a different bushcamp, Bilimungwe. It is still within the South Luangwa National Park, and 1 of the 6 camps operated by The Bushcamp Company.

It was about a 20 minute drive from Kapamba giving us a whole new area to explore. Each of the camps are uniquely.

Bilimungwe or Bili as they call it is made up of 4 large raised thatched rooms each with its own private deck overlooking a watering hole.

The main area is beneath a huge mahogany tree right in the center of camp overlooking another of the 3 watering holes at camp.

End of a wonderful stay at Kapamba Bushcamp

It is amazing how much we have seen and done in just 4 days!!
This is our last morning at Kapamba, I am going to miss this place. It has been an amazing time here.

We have been so comfortable and the team here is great. We have enjoyed getting to know each one of them and had some good laughs as well.

Last night a dinner my son, George entertained everyone with a few magic tricks. We will never forget Mwase face when he did the trick to him.

                                                                Mwase my Buddy.

What a wonderful job he does keeping everyone happy with food and drinks. It has been a pleasure getting to know him.
Last night at dinner they asked if we had any special requests for breakfast. We had french toast at brunch one day which was delicious and the corn fritters the best we ever had so both was requested. 
Sure enough Chef Dixon had both ready and waiting for us at 6:00am. Great way to start the day.

We then went on our last morning walk with Misek, Barron, and Elijah.

A few of the Beautiful found in the South Luangwa valley, Zambia

One of our favorites - The Lilac Breasted Roller, so colorful

A Memorable Sundowner at Kapamba Bushcamp

One of the things we love to do as a family whether on vacation or at home is to watch the sunset. When traveling we take time out to sit and just watch as the sun creates such colors in the sky. It is a great way to end a day. We are enjoying that every night during our night game drives we take time out to enjoy this event which is known in Africa as Sundowners.

On our last night at Kapamba Bushcamp Julius treated us to a wonderful surprise, Sundowner in the middle of the river. Now this is taking things to a whole new level.

We had so much fun that night.