Peace, Love & Giraffes

Chasing dreams and adventure in South Africa

Archive for ‘Travel tips’ Category

Kruger In Photos (spoiler: baby animals ahead!)

In game driving, just as just in fishing, the earlier you start, the better. The air is cooler and the wildlife hungry. Most gates in Kruger open at 5:30 a.m. but it varies seasonally. We arrived at the Crocodile Bridge gate around 6 a.m., paid our conservation fees and proceeded into the park. My first game… Read More

Officially on Safari: My First Wild Animal Sighting

We woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, packed the car, and as most good road trips begin, left an hour later than scheduled. The trip was an estimated 4.5 hours with my poor loving husband agreeing to take on all of the driving (have I mentioned I still can’t drive manual?) Luckily this drive was nothing like the I-95… Read More

Return from the wild

After a week of driving through Kruger’s dirt roads and playing game ranger, today seems pretty uneventful.  When you spend a week searching for a glimpse of an elusive African cat, watching elephants and their babies trek across Crocodile river and baboons hop from car to car, it kind of changes you. The wild things on… Read More

Exploring Melville + Margaritas!

Melville is an artsty, charming town on the Northwest outskirts of Johannesburg. My new friend Chantelle graciously offered to show me around and I jumped at the chance of seeing a new town! We met in Melville at Chantelle’s friend’s house. Her friend is former artist, which explains why the house is just dripping in… Read More

The grass is greener where you water it

I can’t write this blog and pretend that life is all sunshine and rainbows. There have been some unwelcome things to figure out and deal with while in SA. It’s not that South Africa hasn’t met my expectations exactly – it’s gorgeous and overall I feel happy and blessed to be here, but just like… Read More

Visiting Sandton City & Nelson Mandela Square

Sandton is known as “Africa’s richest square mile” and if you are craving a bit of elegance and looking to drop some cash, the Sandton City Mall won’t disappoint. It boasts more than 300 stores, including high-end fashion designers such as Lacoste, Bebe, Guess, Louis Vuitton, Fendi, and Salvatore Ferragamo. You will also find specialty food… Read More

A roaring good time!

The night before we went to the Lion Park  I couldn’t sleep. I felt like my nine-year-old self  before the first day of school. SO excited and totally prepared. I had my outfit picked out, camera charged and research completed. The Lion Park is the number one tourist destination in Johannesburg, and good marketing aside,… Read More

How to deal with culture shock

The first time I visited South Africa was for a month-long vacation. I remember being surprised by the way people said hello and goodbye (what was with all the kissing?), unsure of what to order at restaurants and frustrated when people couldn’t understand me. Because I was on vacation, I didn’t expect to feel like… Read More

Sleepless in South Africa

After a 15-hour flight where sleeping was sporadic, my 14-hour sleep on Saturday was magical.  However, I seem to be paying for it now. It is 2 a.m. Monday morning in Johannesburg (8 p.m. in the states) and here I am – wide awake, eating cold pizza on the couch. I thought I would make… Read More

Dealing with a growing to-do list

Since deciding to make the move to South Africa for a year, all of the major issues that surround making an international move have been taken care of: packing up our apartment and storing our stuff selling a car organizing a visa finalizing a green card finding a home for our cats quitting our jobs… Read More