I’m off on another wonderful adventure!

Ever since I was a child, I’ve always wanted to go on an African safari.  With the time, resources, and newfound interest in photography, I knew the time had arrived.

Speaking with friends who’ve been to Africa, I researched tour companies, focusing primarily on those that explore big game locations and include Cape Town and Victoria Falls. Ultimately, I selected KE Adventure’s three-week Cape Town to Victoria Falls Classic Safari – with four days added onto the beginning of the trip solo in Cape Town.  I like to do this when I travel so I can get over jet lag and travel weariness before I meet my group.

Preparation for the trip also included reading Nelson Mandela’s autobiography Long Walk to Freedom and the novel Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton.  Additionally, I’m still reading (it’s nearly 1,000 pages!) James Michener’s The Covenant.

So…I’m off to Africa!

At my first breakfast, I met two terrific women traveling with another group from England and this sweet South African woman from Joburg (Johannesburg) who was in Cape Town to cheer on her daughter running in the Cape Town Marathon that Sunday.  The South African woman insisted that we have a photo together.

With Jayne and her friend, I started exploring Cape Town by taking the Hop On Hop Off bus around the city where I quickly saw the Malaysian neighborhood of Bo-Kaap.

Next big stop:  Table Mountain!  My original thought was to hike the mountain solo, but I was warned against doing that.  Instead, I took the cable car up and down and walked all over the top.

View from the top of Table Mountain – with Robben Island in Table Bay.

Anther view from atop Table Mountain.

This South African woman, exploring Table Mountain with her adult son, rode the cable car up with me and requested that we take a photo together.  🙂

My trusted camera and me on Table Mountain.

From the bus, a view of the Twelve Apostles, a series of buttresses on the sea-facing side of Table Mountain.

Cape Town Stadium, home of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Some public art pieces captured while wandering around the city.

This man chose to pose for me while I photographed the mural in the tunnel going under the highway.  To get from my hotel to the waterfront, I walked through this tunnel at least a couple of times a day.

Another city mural.

Nobel Square pays tribute to South Africa’s four Nobel Peace Prize Laureates: the late Nkosi Albert Luthuli, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, former State President FW de Klerk and former President Nelson Mandela.

From the Peace and Democracy sculpture, also found in Nobel Square.

This buffalo statue is really many separate metal statue pieces placed so that when one looks through a specific square spot, a whole buffalo emerges.

Green Point Lighthouse in Cape Town.

The Cape Wheel at V&A Waterfront.

The wind plays havoc with trees along the coast.

When my friend and Live Oak Music Festival Construction Crew Coordinator Dawn heard I was going to Cape Town, she connected me with one of her best friends, Marrie, who now lives in Cape Town.  Marrie and her husband Roger treated me to a delicious lunch and lively conversation about his exploits as a pilot and smuggler.  I’m looking forward to reading his book, Smugger:  A Memoir.