So now i'm back and fighting the yetlag! Since i've had a lot of time in my hands i decided to create a photobook for those who pi...

Now that my journey has come to an end I decided to write a list of most of the activities and accommodations I used during my trip to Afr...

For my last day I decided to take a Johannesburg tour that takes me to some of the landmarks in the city as well as the Soweto township and...

For my last day I decided to take a Johannesburg tour that takes me to some of the landmarks in the city as well as the Soweto township and the apartheid museum.

First we went through Hillbrow which is the really bad part of Johannesburg. It used to be an area for white people but then immigrants took over and the whites moved to the north. In these streets you can see a lot of people from Nigeria and Mozambique dealing drugs and commuting tons of crimes. It is for sure not a safe place to be! Supposedly the government is cleaning up joburg and after they are done with downtown they are planning to work on hillbrow. The neighborhood reminded me of downtown El Salvador, I would not go there by myself!

After driving through the neighborhood we were taken to Constitutional Hill, a prison where many people like Mandela, Sobukwe, and Ghandi were incarcerated. There was a fabulous exhibition about Ghandi and his trajectory! Too bad we weren't given enough time to really enjoy it and read everything.

The stories were heart breaking just like in Robben Island! The guide talked about the living conditions of the inmates and how they had only 8 showers/ toilets for 2,000 prisoners and all of them were allowed to shower at the same time for 30 mins once a week... Many of them didn't shower for months!

We also learned about the treatment given to whites compared to the black people... My heart was aching for all the injustices that went on in that place!

Then we moved along to the cleanest and best part of joburg (couldn't understand the name of it!) we crossed the Mandela bridge and we arrived to new town!

The guide showed us Chinatown and the funny thing was that we only saw one Chinese person inside a store sitting in front of the window busy with his cellphone! Jajaja quite different than the Chinatowns I've been to!

After a short drive we stopped at "Top of Africa" where we had a panoramic view of Johannesburg. Our guide showed us different viewpoints and shared with us the story of joburg and talked about gold mining, Mandela, Ghandi, businesses, and even the World Cup!

Our next stop was... The FNB stadium! Where shakira performed "waka waka" for the World Cup opening! 

Then off to SOWETO!!!!

This is a township in Johannesburg and I was amazed by what I learned during the tour. One third of Johannesburg's population lives in this township; most of the townships I have visited have a mix of middle to low and very low income class. Soweto, on the other hand, seemed to have a more middle-upper class housing... Or at least people pretending to be in that money bracket... We saw a lot of fancy cars and fancier houses and our tour guide explained the development of Soweto and the housing divisions. Johannesburg is well know for being very dangerous but we noticed that more and more houses had no barb wire or electric fences and the guide said that crime is lowering and the situation in joburg is getting better... 

We stopped at different places and guide told us about how taxis work in the township and how people get around.

Then we went To the Soweto tower and where people can bungee jump AND do a free fall from the top of the tower to the bottom!!! I thought he was kidding! But NO!!!! In one of the towers the have put a net on the bottom so people can just jump in! That is something that I would never do!!! It's crazy!!!! He says that nobody has died, but still the chances of hurting yourself badly and landing in the wrong position and messing your life forever are pretty small!!! Never ever in a million year!!!

Then we drove through the really low income part of Soweto.

I made the driver stop at the zozo housing- cheap houses made of aluminum- and gave away my clothes and shoes to the poor people! I felt like there wasn't a point of bringing back all the tshirts  and pants since i'll never use them again (and if I need them I could easily buy new ones). It felt really good to give them away, the women were taken by surprise since nobody ever stops out of nowhere and gives them a full bag of clothes! I do hope they were happy... And that they fit!

Our next stop was arbishop Tutu's house - Nobel prize winner, and finally Nelson Mandela's house! 

Then we made our way down to the street were in 1976 a bunch of school children from Soweto had an uprising. Kids between the ages of 13-23 didn't go to school and were protesting about the implementation of Afrikaans and english in the school system. The government decided to send police and shoot the protesting children, which killed Hector Pieterson, a 13 year old, along with more than 400 other people. Now June 16th is National Youth Day.

Then it was time for Apartheid museum!!! I've been looking forward to it and found it interesting that in January I left the holocaust museum for my last day in Budapest and then 7 months later I left the apartheid museum for my last day in South Africa.

The experience was almost the same... Me sobbing while reading the banner and watching videos!

I had goose bumps in this museum way more than I did at the holocaust museum and all sort of feelings came to me..  Really weird experience and hard to explain! 

It was a very enriching experience to say the least! I couldn't help but to feel happy for the changes in South Africa and grateful that there were people such as Nelson Mandela who never gave up for the rights of the people and his country!

I've had it with tour groups and people complaining. Half of what the tour guide says I don't understand and most of what he says is...

That's exactly what I said to our safari driver this afternoon! We finally made it to Kruger national park, checked in at the lodge...

That's exactly what I said to our safari driver this afternoon!

We finally made it to Kruger national park, checked in at the lodge and quickly got ready for our last safari.

We got a late start for our sundowner safari in Kruger and people in our group kept throwing names of animals they would like to see: cheetahs, hyena, lions, leopards, COUGARS! And I might even heard koala! Lol... The list was big... And unrealistic! 

After two days of amazing game drives the expectation for our Kruger sundowner was very very high! Our tour guide, Simon, was showing us springbok and all the small animals and May had to explain that we have seen many of them so he could skip them and get to the good stuff.

We started our drive around 5pm so we pretty much started the safari by stopping, checking out the sunset and having a drink! Sunset was phenomenal!!! The sky looked like it was on fuego!!! Jaja

Leslie and I at an attempt of getting a nice picture with the sunset!

And then it transformed to the most beautiful colors ever...

Here we are In our echo africa safari jeep!

Our drive was supposed to end around 7pm but by 7 we had seen nothing but springboks, waterboks, and a whole lot of grass! I got to hold the big flashlight and swing it from left to right, down the grass and up the trees to find animals. I finally spotted a rhino and I screamed "RHINO" and proceeded to show it to people! Well, I got too excited and screamed! Jajaja and Simon did not tell me what to do after I spotted an animal so apparently I scared It! Jaja Simon took the flashlight from me and he proceeded to drive and swing the flashlight around... I guess I'm not moving to Africa to be a safari guide! Jajaja 

We kept driving back and forth with no luck! At one point I even thought that we might not see anything but a nice sunset. Many safari trucks kept driving past us and nobody had found anything. Then a truck finally spotted a leopard so we turned around! We got to the leopard and it was simply AMAZING (this is my favorite word, in case you haven't figured that out!). There were two leopards, a mom and a cub... The first time we saw the second leopard was when it approached the other one and gave it a hug! So freaking cute... The whole jeep went "awwww"...  Then they started playing together, it was kind of a gentle chase... One would go away and the other one would move slowly, chase it, hug it and then do it all over again! This went on for about 20 mins until they decided to go away! We were all amazed by the leopards and even Simon said " you guys don't know how lucky you are"... It was beautiful and magical at the same time! Well worth the three hours sitting in the jeep!

(Here is an attempt at capturing the leopard at night)

On our way out of the park we found a herd of buffaloes and then some more rhinos!

When we got back to the lodge (after being scared by buffaloes near the gate) Simon apologized for being so late but we all appreciated his extra time and trying really hard to find some animals for us :-)

So today we left the wild and focused on landscape and scenic views in South Africa! Our first stop was the Bourkes luck potholes... It...

So today we left the wild and focused on landscape and scenic views in South Africa!

Our first stop was the Bourkes luck potholes... It was beautiful, the rocks were smooth and it was one of those places that you actually feel like swimming on them!

On our back we were a little behind with taking pictures and Piet, our guide, said "well, you young people will catch up with the old crowd quickly" and once I caught up he said "well, you are so fit! You are not out of breath" jajajajaja that made me laugh... If I'm on the fittest category that means that our group is very unfit! But luckily, I managed to go up hill and breathe normally!

There isn't much to say about this day but that I slept pretty much 90% of the time I was in the van and woke up when we had to get out of the car.

Our next stop was the Lisbon falls... 

And then we stopped at the pinnacle walk... Which was a 200m walk and the view was a pilar of rocks!

Then we stopped at the Lowvelf where we admired the wonder view... It was a little overcast but still pretty to look at then.

After that we went to God's window where we pretty much saw the same thing as in the Lowfelt But this time we had to walk up a hill for about 20 mins! The view from the top was beautiful and very peaceful!

And since we are so fit and did the walk up hill super fast we had time to go zip lining by our hotel :-)

I don't know if I should be happy or sad by the fact that today was our last 5:30am wake up call for our safari... Ill sure enjoy my tw...

I don't know if I should be happy or sad by the fact that today was our last 5:30am wake up call for our safari... Ill sure enjoy my two extra hours of sleep every morning!

Today we started the drive by finding zebras... My favorite animal! They are so beautiful and love that every one has their unique stripe pattern... Just like our finger prints! I have always liked zebras because it embraces black and white and what I particularly liked about these African zebras is that they also have brown in them! I call them culturally diverse zebras: black, white, and even colored  striped!!! Magnificent! If we could all be like zebras and embrace each others' colors, the world would be so much better!

We also found some rhinos...

And then... The leopard!!!!

This time he was eating the "flying" springbok!!!! It was amazing to see and hear it chewing on the bones! In a way it was repulsing to see this animal eating the poor springbok but that's what nature is all about! We were so close that we could clearly hear the leopard chewing on the bones and pulling the meat out of the springbok... We were all amazed with the sound!

One of the ladies on the tour said "so sad it is eating the springbok!" And Leslie said "that's us every night!" I guess the only difference is that humans don't have to hunt the animals themselves and eat it raw!

Seems like the springbok was tasty!

Some hippos on our way out of Timbavati!

And a beautiful grown male springbok 

Sadly, our time in Simbavati had to end but it was an experience that we will all remember probably for the rest of our lives! 

 Now off to Kruger national park :-)

Zzz... Waking up at 5:30am for game drive is brutal... But worth it! Apparently early morning and later afternoon are the best time...

Zzz...

Waking up at 5:30am for game drive is brutal... But worth it!

Apparently early morning and later afternoon are the best times to go find animals in the wild since its cooler so we have no choice but to get out of bed and get an early start!

Simbavati has been AMAZING! In the morning they had hot water bottles and blankets ready for us to take in our game ride... We bundled up and off we went to search for animals...

The morning drive was not even close to the success we had yesterday! Finding big 4 in such a short period of time was very lucky so to balance things out we had a more quiet morning today! We saw many "small" animals such as impala, kudu, waterbuck, baboons and tons of birds!

The most amazing part of the drive was when we encountered a herd of elephants munching on tree bark! It was magnificent to see how they use their trunk and feet to get the bark off the tree! 

Here are smaller animals... I love the toilet sit butt on the waterbuck!

May and I's (is that grammatically correct?!?!) favorite bird... A very colorful bird, they can have up to 14 colors... BEAUTIFUL

It was a quiet ride, I even got to take a 45 min nap on the bumpy safari jeep! 

Here are our amazing safari guides: Jimmy and Collence

And the three of us during the morning coffee stop in the wild :-)

After game viewing we had the afternoon for ourselves so I napped some more and hung out with the girls until it was time to go on our afternoon game ride.

Once again we had a quiet but exciting ride! We were on the lookout for a leopard in order to complete the big 5! Jimmy had some pressure to live up to our standards and deep inside we knew he would not disappoint :-)

We started the ride by seeing "regular" animals, tons of impalas, springboks, and waterbuks! One of the ladies even nicknames springboks "Mc Donald's animals" because they are everywhere and we are more than happy to skip them and move along!

After about 2 hours of bumpy ride we finally found a leopard... Sitting quietly waiting for to be admired:

Look what we found up a tree...

A SPRINGBOK!!!!! the leopard had killed him for supper and stored it up in the tree so nobody could get to it!!!

Seeing a springbok up in a tree was one of the funniest highlights of the trip! One of the ladies from the tour thought that the springbok made his way up there all by itself so we came up with all sorts of jokes around flying springboks!!! Jajajajaja poor Sherrill we have been making fun of her and the flying springbok for 3 days already!!! We were hysterically laughing at her and I even felt a little bad, she kept saying "I don't know these things!" Jajajajaja... Simply hilarious!!!

After seeing the leopard we were all "happy campers" (if there is such thing as happy campers! Camping is pretty miserable! Jajaja unless is luxurious camping :) ) and it was time for sun downers :-) yeay!

On our way back to the lodge we found a big mama elephant and her baby on the road; it was already dark and we couldn't go so Jimmy started to make noise with the engine and the big elephant moved. she got really mad and started to make noises; she was most likely trying to protect her baby but it looked like she was ready to attack us. We quickly left and the safari jeep behind us apparently encountered a very angry elephant!

When we got back to Simbavati we had a traditional African brai (or bbq) in the back with a huge fire... I had the vegetarian option but tried the Ostrich carpaccio and it tasted like smoked salmon!!! Not bad!

Today we left extra early to our safari in Timbavati!!! When we arrived to our accommodation, simbavati (which means lion that falls fr...

Today we left extra early to our safari in Timbavati!!!

When we arrived to our accommodation, simbavati (which means lion that falls from a star), we were received with warm towels and fancy juice! 

It is such a difference from my last month of traveling!!! We took a "comfort" level safari so this is extra luxurious for my Africa standards! ALL the employees know our names and the name of our rooms, they are very attentive and the service has been phenomenal!

Once again I am in a room all by myself and it is so nice! Single accommodation without paying for it! I'm loving it :-)

After lunch we went on our first game ride!!!!

We are 9 total in our group so I have decided not to take pictures! I will sit and enjoy every second of it instead of being camera ready all the time. Usually I'm sitting next to May and I get to put in requests for pictures (she MIGHT think I'm a little bossy... i'm on her ear whispering how to make the pictures "better" jajaja) We are such a good team: she takes the pictures and I edit ;-) win win situation!

Our first ride was beyond FABULOUS!!!!! within an hour and 15 mins we saw 4 out of the big five.

The big five are the "most dangerous animals to hunt and the ones who kill the most humans" (per tour  guide) these animals are: elephants, rhinos, leopards, buffaloes, and lions.

First stop... Elephants

Then we saw giraffes and zebras

Then the one I have been waiting for... Rhino!!!!!! With a baby one!! I wanted to run, grab the baby and take it home with me!!!! So cute <3

Then we saw a whole lot of buffaloes!!!!

And finally... LIONS!!!!

It was such an amazing experience! Our guides get really close to the animals, we get to go off road and park the car literally a couple of feet away from them! We need to be mindful to keep our voices low and don't scare the animals!!!

The weather went from hot to cold, good thing we were prepared :-) jajajajaja

At around 6pm we get to do a "sun downer" which is the safari name for "happy hour in the wild!"

The three of us at sunset :-)