I have written before about some of the nature reserves we have visited right here in Joburg such as the Lonehill Nature Reserve and the Melville Koppies. There is another one that we have been meaning to visit for quite some time and we finally did so at the end of September.
Mankwe Dam
Pilanesberg National Park is a Big 5 reserve about 2 hours north of Johannesburg. This is a great park to visit if you are in the Joburg area and maybe don’t have enough time to get over to Kruger. In the past year, we have made a couple day trips as well as a weekend camping trip to Pilanesberg. Sightings haven’t been all that great for us (the cats have eluded us completely on all trips) but of course it is always the luck of the draw when it comes to wildlife. We are always happy to just be out on safari and to see whatever we have the chance to spot so our time in the park has always been enjoyed.
In my previous post I wrote about the first part of our trip to Swaziland and our stay at Hlane. Our last 2 nights were spent at a different park, Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary located a little more than an hour from Hlane. In part 1 I mentioned that the original plan was to spend all 3 nights at Mlilwane however when we called to finalize our booking, we were told that the camp was booked out for the first night for a private function. When we arrived at Mlilwane we discovered that this private function was in fact a celebration of 50 years of conservation in Swaziland with the King of Swaziland in attendance to unveil a commemorative statue. I wonder how many people can say they got bumped because of a King and on their birthday no less, haha.
Impala grazing in Mlilwane Camp
It is somewhat of a tradition for my birthday (July 11th if anyone is taking notes) that instead of lavish gifts, we try and celebrate by taking a trip somewhere, long or short, whatever we can manage that year. When we lived in Europe, as my birthday was smack in the middle of summer, this usually meant some time spent on a beach. Greece, the Amalfi Coast, Croatia… just some of the fabulous places I have spent my birthday. This being the very first year I would be spending my birthday in Africa (and in winter now to boot!) I absolutely wanted to keep with our tradition and sneak in a little birthday excursion.
Hlane National Park Reception
As I am sitting here freezing in Jozi, I thought this might be a good time to write a bit about some warmer days or rather, my trip to Cape Town last month. I was fortunate to get sent down for work to attend WTM Africa, so I decided to go a day early and stay a day after to get a in little play-time as well.
This was not my first time to Cape Town but my first visit since moving to South Africa and because I had already done many of the touristy things, I didn’t plan a single thing. I was just looking forward to being in and around Cape Town, wherever my days would take me.
I had flown in late the night before and woke up to some gorgeous views from our 6th floor balcony in the heart of Sea Point. I really enjoy this neighborhood and have stayed here on each of 4 visits to Cape Town. I probably should branch out one of these times but then why mess with such a good thing ?
Lion’s Head, view from our apartment
Under an African Sun 