We found a really good deal for a South Africa: Private Reserve Safari Experience on Travelzoo and jumped on it.
Right before we were scheduled to leave South Africa went into a level 4 lockdown because of COVID, and there were riots going on. We decided to travel anyway.
July 3 – Debbie gets COVID test in Seattle
July 4 – Veryle, Emilee and Ana get COVID test at Advanced Urgent Care 3890 Quebec St., Ste A & B 10 am $125 each
Debbie flew in from Seattle, arriving at 8 PM. Veryle picked her up and dropped her off at Emilee’s, since Emilee has air conditioning and she would be more comfortable.
July 5 We were scheduled to depart Denver at 11:30 AM for Newark, arriving at 5:38 PM, then leave Newark for Johannesburg at 8:45 PM arriving July 6 at 5:45 PM. Ana went to a party the night before and her phone died, she did not get home until 6 AM. Veryle was very concerned. Dan came over and he and Bill were to drive us to the airport since we all wouldn’t fit in one car. While waiting for Debbie and Emilee, Veryle got a text saying our United flight was delayed – we would not arrive in Newark until 6 PM, so would miss our connecting flight, Debbie got on the phone to United and we decided to go to the airport to talk to them there if necessary. She finally got someone on the line and they could not help. We got to the airport and talked to an agent. They were able to schedule us through Frankfurt, 10 hours there, 12 hour layover, 10 hours to Johannesburg. Since we would not arrive in South Africa until July 7, Debbie’s COVID test would not work. She had to take one at the airport for $250. We had upgraded to Economy Plus seats, but had to take what was available. Debbie, Veryle and Ana ended up in the worst seats in economy, the ones that don’t recline right by the restroom. Emilee took Debbie’s better seat further back. Fortunately, we had given ourselves an extra day before going to the reserve. We canceled the hotel we had near the airport and notified the people at Sebatana that we were arriving a day late and they should pick us up at the airport instead of the hotel.
July 6 We arrived in Frankfurt and since it was such a long layover we had to go through customs, get our luggage and recheck it. Since we went through customs we were free to leave the airport. We decided to take the train into Frankfurt. We found a place to eat and had lunch, then walked around a bit. We had our carry on bags so didn’t go far. Plus we needed to use the restroom and didn’t have any German coins (you have to pay a small fee to use the toilet), so went back to the airport. There we several Olympic teams at the airport. Since Canada was closed they had been diverted from Air Canada flights. We kept hearing an announcement that medical mask were required. We had cloth masks and didn’t pay attention. When we boarded the airplane, they handed paper masks to Debbie and Veryle and said we needed “medical masks”. Apparently they figure any paper mask is a medical mask. Again we were in economy seats.
July 7 We arrived in Johannesburg, which was on a lockdown because of COVID. Tourists were allowed to fly in as long as they were not staying in Johannesburg. When driving into Gauteng province people could only enter if they showed they needed to (i,e, a job) or were only passing through. We were met by Uri from Sebatana Game Reserve. He had the proper permit showing he came in to pick us up and we were leaving that day, We went to a hotel and picked Christian and Ann, who were also going to the Reserve, up. Ann had gone to the store so we had to wait for her, There was a bag of goodies on our seat with a sandwich and other snacks. It was a three hour drive (280 miles). We got stopped twice and Uri had to show permits. We saw warthogs and giraffes along the way. South Africa is made up of reserves, which are fenced with high electric fences. Each reserve decides which animals to have. They are free to roam within the reserve. We got to Sebatana and were greeted by the manager and then had a three course lunch. They originally expected about 50 people, but we, along with Christian and Ann, were the only ones who had not canceled with the lockdown. They upgraded us to their luxury room. We settled in and went to the lunch / pool area and had drinks, then a three course dinner. We signed up for all of the optional tours – three hundred Euro each. We went to bed early. It felt good to be able to lie flat, even though the bed was hard.
July 8 We had breakfast at 9, then drove to a spot where Keenun, our guide, described what we would be doing. Breakfast each morning was buffet style with toast, homemade pastries, an assortment of fruit and eggs made to order. The cook had attended three years culinary school so all meals were very good. We went back to the reserve and to the “museum” which is just stuffed animals the owner had shot, and a wine cellar. They didn’t have a wine connoisseur on staff so didn’t do the wine tasting. We then went to the curio shop. We had lunch at 1:00, after getting drinks at the Lion Bar. The lodge looks out over a small watering hole where you can watch the various antelope and Wildebeast. They also have a pool and hot tub, but it was too cold to use them. There were two bartenders, Tambo and Peter. We had the option of signing up for unlimited drinks at Euro 200 per person, or paying by the drink. After looking at the price list we figured we would not drink close to that amount, so just did pay by the drink. Had we been wine drinkers it may have been different, but we ordered a drink (virgin for Ana) whenever they wanted and we only spent Euro 300 for all four of us. From 3 – 5 we went on a game drive where we saw lots of different antelope and giraffe. They put sand on some parts of their roads and the four wheel drive would not engage and we got stuck in one spot, so we all had to get out and push. Back to the lodge and the bar area, where they have wi-fi. Dinner was at 7:00. Again it was three courses and expertly prepared. I believe the first night was warthog.
July 9 We had breakfast at 7:00, then left for Welgevonden Game Reserve Southern Drive. We saw rhino’s, warthogs, and giraffe. We looked for lion’s but could not find them. There was also leopard tracks, but did not see one. We returned to Sebatana and had lunch at 1:00, after drinks. Debbie and Veryle took the Kudu walking trail. At 5:30 we went to a lodge for Tribal night, a group came from Johannasburg and did some tribal dances. They were very energetic, constantly moving and chanting during the dance. Christian and Ann were annoying because they fiddled with their camera’s and talked throughout. We had a native dinner cooked on the fire – rice, chicken and spinach.
July 10 We had a continental breakfast at 7, which was everything from the normal breakfast except eggs. Then went for a walk with Keenun. We were able to get very close to giraffe. Debbie asked if we could get closer and he said he would rather we didn’t because he didn’t want them to run. We went back to the lodge and to our rooms and sat on the porch to watch the monkeys. When we went to the lodge we discovered we were supposed to have gone for breakfast at 9. They held it for us, so we ate, then had lunch at 1:00. We went on another drive from 3 – 5 and to Christina’s Wallow, which is a building near a water hole where you can watch animals. There was a herd of antelope with a male and females and a herd of all males that he kept chasing away. We returned to the lodge, drinks and dinner at 7:00.
July 11 Breakfast at 5 AM then we left for Pilanesberg National Park. It was a two hour drive. We stopped at a gas station and Debbie bought bags of jerky. It was interesting to drive through villages. The poor live in small metal shacks and those who are employed mostly work for the mines. The government will sell them 40 by 40 plots of land for Euro 60 where they build their shacks, The land is passed down through the youngest son. We saw a sign warning people not to drink and walk. We went by it too fast to get a picture. Inside the park we didn’t see many animals. The guide said their habits had changed because the park was closed for COVID. We did get really close to some rhino and opened the van doors so we could get pictures. The rest stops were interesting – they were fenced, instead of the animals being fenced. We saw elephant, rhino, and zebra, we looked for a leopard. Because restaurants were closed they brought a picnic lunch. A hamburger served cold, which was really good. Kennun forgot to give us condiments, but the sandwich didn’t need them. We returned to the lodge and had dinner at 7:00.
July 12 Breakfast at 6:30 then another drive. Ana decided to sleep in and Christian and Ann went on their own. We saw a female crocodile and then to a champagne brunch. Uri brought Christian and Ann and then they used their GPS to find their way back, Ann would get annoyed with Christian when they walked because they would get close to a herd of giraffe and Christian would scare them so he could watch them run. Back to the lodge and snacks at 3:00 – salmon on crackers and pizza. We left for a bush dinner at 7 at the Flinstone Cave. The young cook, who I think was training was our cook. We had Wildebeast steaks that were tough. For dessert he had fixed a pudding with brandy – he had us sing and he poured brandy for as long as we sang, We sang “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”, which is a song we had talked about earlier. He didn’t get the brandy cooked down enough, so it tasted very strong. We then took a night safari – which was basically driving back to the lodge. We did not see many animals.
July 13 Breakfast at 5:30 then back to Welgevonden Game Reserve. Since we had already seen all of the “normal” animals we were on the lookout for lions, cheetahs and leopards. We found a mother lion and her two cubs. She caught a honey badger for them to play with. We were very close and watched them for awhile. We then went searching for the cats. We heard on the radio that the leopard had been spotted, but we were on the opposite side of the reserve. We went back to the lodge, lunch at 1:00 then another Safari on the Sebatana reserve and champagne at sundowners rock. Dinner was at 7, with a four course meal to celebrate our last day.
July 14 We settled up and left for Johannasburg. Both Uri and Keenum drove us. We got stopped on our way and had to show passports to immigration, since the border between provinces was closed with the lockdown. We dropped Christian and Ann at the airport then went on to our hotel. They couldn’t find it and searched for Radisson Blu on their phones. They dropped us off. It turns out there is a Radisson Blu Gautrain Hotel and a Radisson Blu Standon Hotel. They dropped us at the Standon hotel, our reservation was at Gautrain. It was just up the street, but was uphill and we had our luggage. We had to uber to the correct one. The main entrance has the porters, who took our temperature and sent us to the 3rd floor to check in. They had our rooms ready, but one had a king bed instead of twins, so we checked into the first and had to wait for the second. We walked to the Manadell mall and had dinner. They took our temperature before seating us. Every store has hand sanitizer at the entrance and you sanitize before entering and after.
July 15 We went to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. It was good but very expensive. We needed COVID tests before returning home so arranged to have them done at the hotel. Lesley, from Tours by Locals, picked us up for a tour of Johannesburg. She drove us around. She said the police are useless and there are mafia type gangs who break in and steal things, if the homeowner is there they are likely to just shoot them. Home and businesses are behind walls, surrounded by electric fence and all have armed security companies. We had a late lunch at a small cafe. We couldn’t do food tour because of riots. Lesely dropped us off at the hotel and we walked to a gas station and got snacks, then to the mall again. Ana got a pair of crocs, with the bling amulets. We stopped at dunkin donuts and got donuts for breakfast the next day since we didn’t want to spend Euro 60 at the hotel.
July 16 Lesley took us to Rhino and Lion Park, which is basically a big zoo outside the city, we did see white lions, cheetahs and wild dogs, which we hadn’t seen before. The Cradle of Humankind was closed because of the lockdown, so we went to the botanical gardens. We ate at the cafe there and then walked to the waterfall. It is a beautiful park in the city. Leslie dropped us at the airport. Veryle got tagged for extra security. Our flight left on time and we were in economy plus seats, so were more comfortable. It was a 15 hour flight and Ana slept most of the way.
July 17 We arrived in Newark which was very busy. Debbie managed to change her Denver flight to leave earlier. We went through security. Veryle didn’t have TSA PRE on her pass and had to go through regular security and was not happy. She forgot her phone at security and she and Emilee had to go back for it. Ana wanted Wendy’s but there was a half hour wait after ordering. For some reason they moved Ana from the sitting with the group. Emilee took her seat which was supposed to be window, but was between a window.