The Journey Inward

Three of my good friends came back with me to South Africa at the end of July. we had been planning this trip for many months, having frequent zoom calls, and hearing what they would like to see and do. Every time I would have an experience here, one of them would say, “let’s do that!”

After listening to all that they were looking for, I developed a four page Google doc that outlined our adventure.

Here’s how it went down…

Day 1: Overnight flight from Newark to Johannesburg. Pete brought us and all of our luggage to the airport.

Day 2: We arrived to my house in Pretoria around 9 PM the next night. My neighbor had left us some cake, which we ate for what we thought might be considered dinner at this point. Then it was off to bed.

Day 3: We flew about 45 minutes from Johannesburg to Durban and took an Uber to our two-story apartment overlooking the ocean in Umhlanga. We walked along the promenade, and through the nature reserve. It started to rain as we walked to dinner and was pouring by the end. We ate at a restaurant called Bardot. The group was anxious to see monkeys and luckily, we did.

Day 4: After breakfast at African Roots, we took an uber up to Ballito and visited some beautiful tide pools. We hiked and had some glorious views. Back in Umhlanga, we had a delicious dinner at Butcher Boys.

Day 5: We flew two hours from Durban down to Cape Town. After upgrading our rental to fit all of our luggage, we set off in a most colorful suv!!

Our Airbnb was in Green Point, overlooking the ocean. It cost us $63.75 per person for two nights. Each apartment had a washer and often a dryer, so that helped extend our clothing. We drove down to the V&A Waterfront that night to browse shops, eat dinner and watch choirs sing and dance. the Watershed was a big hit, where artisans have stalls and stalls of unique wares.

Day 6: Jan and I walked through Green Point Park and took lovely pictures. We met up with the others at our Hop On, Hop Off bus stop and began our day of sightseeing. Our first stop was the Museum of Contemporary African Art. I left the ladies there and went out to coordinate an alternate experience because the Table Mountain stop was eliminated due to maintenance on the cable car. I wandered into the sweetest art gallery after. Art@Africa and its curator, Leigh were both amazing. I loved the art and even bought a piece!

We stayed on the bus and saw so much of the area, from vineyards to Hout Bay to Camps Bay and the nearby beaches. That night, we took the bus up to Signal Hill for sunset. We had dinner at Timeout Market back at the waterfront.

Day 7: We got up early and got in the car for a big day of exploring. Chapman’s Peak Drive was an exquisitely scenic coastal drive along the Atlantic. We stopped off frequently to enjoy the breathtaking views. We stopped at adorable Noordhoek Farm Village. Making our way down the western coast of the Cape of Good Hope was a highlight. We made it to the park, but didn’t have much time there. We did get to the southeastern most point of Africa. From there we started up the eastern coast to Boulders Bay to kayak with penguins. Our guide taught us so much not just about penguins, but the danger they’re in for a variety of reasons. It was such a wonderful few hours. Definitely memorable and definitely worth it! Our air bnb was gorgeous…three floors…and the town of Simon’s Town was adorable. We had dinner at a pub and got to see some live music.

Day 8: Jan and I took a morning walk and went down along the promenade to see the penguins and the little babies up close. What a pleasure! We set off up the eastern coast after exploring the little shops in Simon’s Town to head down the next cape and again the views were spectacular and the weather, gorgeous! We stopped in Muizenberg and other overlooks along the coast, then Betty’s Bay for another extraordinary penguin experience before getting to Hermanus and doing the cliff walk. Sadly, no whale sightings. We set off later than anticipated, so drove for several hours in thick fog through a dark forest where we encountered no other cars. As the driver, it was definitely not my highlight! We arrived in the town of L’Agulhas late and ate in the only restaurant open. Our Airbnb was so sweet that night.

Day 9: This was the most powerful and impactful part of the trip for me. We walked along the southernmost tip of Africa to a thoughtful monument. As the other others walked through tide pools, I sat on a large rock farther down the beach, and looked out over the confluence of the Indian and Atlantic oceans. Here I was sitting in Mother Africa, looking out over this cape where so many explorers had come, with good intentions and not good intentions. I was not just visiting this continent, but rather living here. I sobbed. It was magical and moving.

After we ate in the cute restaurant and then Jan and I went to the lighthouse and we went in the art gallery and gift shop in the tiny town. It was amazing how non-commercial this place was.

This was our longest leg of driving, as we headed up to Stellenbosch. We walked to the town for a bit and then continued on the airport to return our car and catch our flight back to Johannesburg.

We were due to fly out at seven, but a plane had gotten a flat tire after landing, so we were delayed four hours. It was just a two hour flight, but by the time we got into Johannesburg, it was after 1 am. I got us a hotel in Johannesburg and Walter came to pick us up and bring us there. We got to bed around 3 AM.

Day 10: I was up and out and in an Uber by 6:30 the next morning. I had pieced together an outfit and texted my colleague to ask for a pad of paper. Bleary eyed, I spent my first day in training and catching up with colleagues. Walter took the rest of the crew up to Pilanesberg nature reserve for a three day, 2 night game drive excursion. They had amazing luck on their game drives.

Day 11: I worked while they were up at the lodge.

Day 12: Walter brought everyone back and I gave them all a tour of my school. They were able to meet some of my colleagues. And then took them over to Moreleta nature reserve and Jan and I took a hike. From there, we came home and showered, and then headed to Hazelwood. We had an amazing dinner at smoke and walked around a bit.

Day 13: We headed to Hazel Food market, and everyone found lots of gifts to bring back! From there, we went to Metro Home center so Jan could buy some fabric to replicate some art she had seen. We continued onto Bus Stop 7 market, where we had lunch. Unfortunately, we missed the live music.

I took them to my local shopping center and a boutique that I absolutely love. We had Kauai for dinner. We tried to attend a drum circle, but when we got there, it turned out they had gone to a different location that was too far away.

Day 14: We drove down to Hartbeespoort Dam to see the dam, where we had such a funny experience with a man selling cowboy hats. We also went to a few village markets and bought more souvenirs and gifts. From there, we went to the cheetah conservatory and took a game drive through to see some amazing animals, including hyenas and wild dogs.

Our bed-and-breakfast that night had six bedrooms and a beautiful view of the dam. We brought dinner in from the local Cafe and enjoyed our back patio and balcony. A highlight was the glass shower overlooking the dam.

Day 15: We arrived at the elephant sanctuary and enjoyed a beautiful experience with these gentle giants. We also went through the monkey enclosure, which was hysterical.

We headed back to Pretoria and had dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Blos.

Day 16: Although we’d had beautiful weather until this point, it had now turned cold and we even had a bit of rain. My friends were trying to do laundry, but nothing was drying too quickly, and they were quite chilly in the house. The house is here, definitely retain the cold. They marvel that there was no heat, but in reality, there are not many days that are really that cold.

I spent the day at work and then we came back together for their last night.

Day 17: While I was having my first day of school with the learners, Walter came to get the ladies and took them to Rietvlei for a self drive Game drive through the nature preserve.

We hung out for a bit when I got home, and then Walter drove us all to the airport. We sat together at Mugg and Bean for one last time. Leaving the States had been hard for me after all the time with my kids and friends, but having this set of friends with me, helped me transition back. Still, I had tears in my eyes as they disappeared into the security line. Walter and I drove home feeling all the feels and talking about the trip.

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