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When my boss asked me whether I could cut my trip to Slovenia short so to jump on a FAM-Trip to South Africa with our Partner Drifters and my STA Travel colleagues, my definite answer was YES! Read more
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  • TravelerSouth Africa-Welcome to Safari
    Day 6

    Ticking off our Safari Bucket List Pt. 3

    September 26, 2023 in South Africa ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    So the only things that were still missing on our Bucket List were a lion with a mane and a drinking giraffe. We would see three lions with manes in total. One was chilling on a river bank with his girlfriend, the other two were outcasts. When a pride of lions have an alpha male, it usually scares other males away to secure its spot in the pride. Often times, two brothers would then make a coalition to survive without a pride.
    Oh and yes, in English, there are a lot of funny words for a group of animals. There is a Dazzle of Zebras (because they are so dazzling, standing together?), a Journey of Giraffes, a Pack of Hyenas, a School of Wales and a Pride of Lions.
    What we also saw - what we didn't expect to need on our Bucketlist - were especially cute Hyena Cups. They were hidden on the one side whilst their pack chilled out on the other side of the road. It seemed as if they were posing for the tourists, so that their cups could sleep in peace. And luckily, we were the only ones to sight them!
    We arrived at the end of the park, watching the sun set, and haven't seen a Drinking Giraffe. However, I reckon it was another brilliant Safari drive.
    Our Lodge for the next two days was the Greenfire Lodge in Hazyview which was situated in yet another Private Reserve with Nyalas in it. It also has an honesty bar, where you can choose a drink, put your name on it and pay when checking out. But to everyone's liking, it also had a Wi-Fi router, which was used gratefully of my colleagues. To be quite honest, I didn't like to be on the phone again. I really enjoyed the time offline. No worries, no problems, no communication. I didn't feel the need to talk to anyone. I just send a quick "I'm alive" message to Seb, so he wouldn't worry. That was it. I put my phone away and much rather talked to Takalani about him, his country and experiences.    Read more

  • TravelerSouth Africa-Welcome to Safari
    Day 7

    Graskop Gorge - Jungle and Adrenalin

    September 27, 2023 in South Africa ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

    The next morning, we could sleep in until 7am, which was really weird after all these early wake-ups before. No wonder that most of the others (not me), were already awake at around 5.30am.
    As it was pretty fresh outside (it finally rained, after it hadn't since May), Takalani had put on his Masai cloak to keep him warm. I was pretty glad to have brought my raincoat and Sebs' fleece jacket with me. After a great breakfast, we jumped, yet again, onto our beloved truck and started the Panorama Route. Our first stop was the Gorge at Graskop. It was weird, suddenly seeing South Africa not in a very dry, bushland setting but in a wet, jungle-like one. However, that was a pleasant change. I love green!
    The fog and trickling water created a very mysterious vibe around the place, and when a thunderstorm approached us, our group finally hid inside the café to drink something hot. I chose a hot Chai Latte, which was absolutely fantastic. Gary tried to persuade us in trying either the Zip lining or the Gorge Swing. On the one hand, I'd love to try the swing, especially when it is only 35€. On the other hand, would I hate to jump down into 70m of nothing until a safety harness would catch me and swing me to the other side. So I decided to join my folks at the zip line. We caught a window without any rain or thunder to get right into the experience. We looked like idiots but felt on top of the world afterwards.    Read more

  • TravelerSouth Africa-Welcome to Safari
    Day 7

    Blyde River Canyon & the Three Rondavels

    September 27, 2023 in South Africa ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    The next stop on the Panorama Route was the Blyde River Canyon. It is the third-largest canyon on Earth and the largest green canyon. Blyde in Afrikaans means "glad". And we really were glad to be here. It was beautiful, especially when our luck remembered its job and blew the fog away, so that we could actually see the Blyde River Canyon with the Three Rondavels.Read more

  • TravelerSouth Africa-Welcome to Safari
    Day 7

    Bourke's Luck Potholes

    September 27, 2023 in South Africa ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    Our last stop on the Panorama route (as we wouldn't visit God's Window because of all the fog), was Bourke's Luck Potholes. Bourke has been a man searching for gold. He'd found some gold in this region and bought the land with all his money. He searched for more gold, but never ever found something again. That is why South Africans say "You've got Bourke's luck" when someone has bad luck.
    The Potholes were actually created by water erosion. The water used to flow as if in a pot and stirred around, digging out these strange holes.
    At the spot, the two rivers Treurrivier and Blyderivier join again. Translated, they are called Sorrow and Happiness. The story that gave them their names is the following: As the British people arrived in South Africa, the Vortrekkers (Dutch) were forced to flee into the country, away from the coast. At the Blyde River Canyon, the brave men left their women and children to look out for a good place to live. The women and children made their way to the Treurrivier and waited for their men to come back. As they didn't, they went on, full of sorrow. As they arrived at the banks of the Blyde River, their men arrived there as well, rejoining their families. So obviously, they were all very happy. Nice little story.
    As the Wednesday after the Bank Holiday of the Heritage Day (on Monday) seemed as if it was a school trip day (we've encountered lots of school classes today), there was one here as well. We talked to one of their teachers, who told us about the school system in SA. School is free and 99.9% of children actually go to school in South Africa. However, the classes usually have around 85 kids each. This teacher's class had 106 kids. They had three teachers in, though. However, they neither really have the room capacity for so many children, nor do they have enough resources. Most of the children don't have their own school books, but one class book they have to learn from. I'll try to think about that next time I'm upset about the German school system.
    When driving back to our Lodge, I took some pictures of the truck, as it would be my last chance. This truck was kind of my home for the last week, and I was surely going to miss it.
    Arriving back at the Greenfire Lodge, we had yet another fantastic dinner. Afterwards, we sat all together to play some Uno and sing Karaoke of our Safari Song. This was just the right way to spend our last night in South Africa.    Read more

  • TravelerSouth Africa-Welcome to Safari
    Day 8

    Greenfires' Hazyview Plantation

    September 28, 2023 in South Africa ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    The last morning in South Africa was yet another late morning at 7 o'clock. We enjoyed yet another great breakfast, before joining Henni, the lodges' manager, for a tour around their plantation. Not only do they have room for Nyalas and other wild animals, but they also have a huge plantation. They grow their own lemons, mangos and macadamia and make their own coffee. Henni showed us, how the plant looks like and explained what process it goes through, until they can use their coffee at the lodge and sell it to their customers. First, the plant grows green berries, which become red over time. When they are red, they get plucked and dried for 3 weeks, only using the sun and some yeast. When they are completely dry and have a crinkly black outside, they are ready to be peeled. When peeled, you get the grey shadows of a coffee bean. These have to be roasted and voilà, you've got yourself some coffee.
    There were other things growing as well. For example, a very weird looking tree called the Knob fig tree, which actually grows figs out of their knobs. As it was pretty wet outside, we could also see some amazing spider web works on the ground between the green.
    The plantation tour finished after everyone cracked themselves a Macadamia nut and could taste the pure nut without any salt or sugar added. I honestly like them better just as they are.
    Back at the Lodge, we packed our things and said Goodbye to Henni. Now it was time to get to the airport to catch our flight. We stopped at one of the stands at the streets to get some bananas and drove back to Johannesburg. When we stopped at Milly's, a rest stop, we were surprised to find we haven't left the bush too far behind. There were Gemsbok, and Ostriches and Rhinos as well. That was funny. I was glad when a German rest stop had a free and clean toilet to use.    Read more

  • TravelerSouth Africa-Welcome to Safari
    Day 8

    Tearful Farewell and Goodbye SA

    September 28, 2023 in South Africa ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    For the last time, we jumped into the truck, to make our way to our flight back to Germany. 5hrs of just talking to my colleagues (now friends) and enjoying every bump of the road. Enjoying the changing landscapes of South Africa. Preparing our gifts and thank-yous for Takalani and Gary.
    Takalani has been the most patient, charismatic, funny and knowledgable guide I've ever met. Even when his eyes lids nearly fell down because of a very tiring, long day, he managed to answer my annoying questions with a warm sense of humour. He could fully immerse you into a story and make building-up a tent sound like your life goal.
    And Gary has been the best Marketing Guy I've ever met. He wasn't only able to provide us with enough "Bushy Bushy" stops, but also make a business trip feel like a holiday. I mean, he said it himself. And I never really felt as if this was an actual FAM-Trip. This was one of the best trips of my life so far. And I'll be forever grateful to get this opportunity to fall in love with the brand Drifters.
    As the truck stopped, I knew it was time. Takalani and Gary entered the truck and gave each a little speech. I couldn't hold it any more, and I was glad when I saw the others cry as well. We were so moved from the words and the whole experience, really. We gave them our gifts and thank-yous, which led them to get glassy eyes, too. Gosh, I'd miss the bush. I'd miss South Africa and Drifters. But watch out, I'll come back.
    Promise.    Read more

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