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Southern Africa
  • Pat Esler
  • Tracey Esler
  • Pat Esler
  • Tracey Esler

Southern Africa

A 30-day adventure by Pat & Tracey Read more
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  • Trip start
    August 20, 2026
    Southern Africa

    Melbourne

    August 19 in Australia ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    We had an early birthday celebration for Willow last night, and Matthew very kindly dropped us at the airport this morning.
    Just as we were getting in the car we had a video call from Tim, Charlie and Jessica, which was lovely. Charlie is looking super happy and healthy for a two-week-old.
    Although we are a bit sick of airports and flying, having only been back from Europe for a month, at least we are flying with a proper airline this time (Singapore).    Read more

  • Southern Africa

    Johannesburg

    Aug 21–22 in South Africa ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Just another night's sleep between flights. The flight from Singapore was ok, landing about half an hour early.
    When we got to the baggage carousel Pat's bag was missing. There were no more bags to come from our flight, and there was a similar bag on the carousel, except it was a bigger size, had a padlock on the zip, and had a Priority tag, indicating Business Class. The staff managed to phone the owner of that bag, who obviously had my bag. Fortunately he was still at the airport.Read more

  • Southern Africa
    View from 14th floor of Radisson
    View from 14th floor of RadissonPeter, Anita, Ulla, Mark, Tracey& PatReturning from Beach walk to coffee at the end of the pierBeach walk, Port ElizabethOn the pier, PE

    Port Elizabeth

    Aug 22–23 in South Africa ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Leaving Jo'burg we encountered a very"helpful" porter (wearing a uniform & looking very official) who almost grabbed our passports and checked us in at one of the automatic machines. When we got to bag drop we discovered he'd taken us to the wrong place, printed out useless bag tags & tried to request payment. Fortunately, we hadn't yet acquired any rand and neither had we asked for assistance, so he left empty handed.
    Continuing in this eventful South African arrival, the wind at Port Elizabeth was gusting to 80km/ hour. Sure enough, as we started to land the plane was buffeted wildly. About 4 metres off the ground, there was a surge of power and we lifted off again. Luckily, after a tense 10 minutes, we landed on our second attempt. The passengers applause was heartfelt.
    Peter & Anita greeted us at the airport & after check in at the Radisson, we headed to Ziggys waterfront pub and enjoyed a lovely lunch & live music. South Africa is abuzz with expectation, as tonight the Springboks play the All Blacks.
    Peter & Anita took us on a guided tour around Port Elizabeth and its beautiful coastline. A mongoose (we think) scooted across the road at one point. The day ended with dinner at Charlie's Pizza & Pasta, a cosy resto next to our hotel.    Read more

  • Southern Africa
    Lazy Lion guesthouse, Knysna
    Night 1. Kynsna, Dinner overlooking the specky narrow sea inlet with the waves surging.Lazy Lion guesthouse, KnysnaRobberg HikePeter & Trace Robberg PeninsularThe crew on Robberg PeninsularRobbergIt was steep and at times treacherous.Lots of seals around the PeninsularPeter conquering RobbergPat conquering RobbergA bit of a scramble over sometimes wet rocks - PeterMark RobbergLooking back along Robberg towards "The Island"Anita contemplating "The Island"Anita - Robberg Hike

    Knysna and Robberg Hike

    Aug 23–25 in South Africa ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    After our beach walk, we started our road trip. First stop was at a deep, gorge carved into very fragmented multi-coloured rock. Lunch was on the deck of The Lookout, a beautiful sunny spot overlooking the beach/ sea.
    The Lazy Lion guesthouse. Knysna, was a very welcoming and comfortable stay, which I'd highly recommend - lovely hosts (a Dutch couple) and beautiful breakfast. This is a family run guesthouse and employs a number of young women to help with cooking, serving and cleaning. Unemployment is at 50% in the Eastern Cape province. At every roadworks, you can see multiple people (usually black women) waving flags to alert motorists to the works.
    Dinner at Pizza e Vino.
    24th August. We backtracked a half an hour to reach the Robberg Peninsular, a beautiful outcrop into the Indian Ocean & home to many seals. dolphins, white pointers whales, birds and dassies (rock rabbits). Another mongoose dashed across the road at the entry to the walk. We didn't see the sharks or whales.
    It was a tough but beautiful walk, incorporating steep climbs, rock scrambles and narrow ledge sections.
    Anita & Tracey chose to do the more moderate 5.7km loop while Ulla, Mark, Peter & Pat did the full hard core 8.7km. It took them 3hrs 40mins.
    At dinner at Freshline Seafood Restaurant we all ordered Kob and it was delicious.
    Everywhere we travel, the houses and estates are protected by high fences often topped with electric wires. On the outskirts of major cities are extensive shanty towns and along the roads, many black people walk into and out of town, many trying to hitchike, some touting cash for a ride.    Read more

  • Southern Africa
    Knysna guesthouse
    Knysna guesthouse

    Montagu

    Aug 25–26 in South Africa ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    A picturesque day of driving today, from Knysna to Montagu through the mountains.
    We passed a troupe of baboons on the road early in our trip.
    The sedimentary? rock formations in the gorges and mountains are a real feature. Bands of orange and yellow intermingle with the more usual rocky off whites and the patterns made by the fracturing in the rock create artworks of the cliffs and gorges.
    Pat enjoyed his Ostrich burger for lunch at Nostalgia Restaurant in Outdshoorn.
    Springboks? In a paddock outside town.
    Our guesthouse, tonight, the Montagu Vines, was superb. Open fires in all the rooms, classic solid colonial style with big verandas and lots of pleasant places to sit, both inside and out.
    This evening, we celebrated Ulla's birthday in style at the Bloupunt Winery restaurant, an eclectically elegant establishment. The food - baked Kingslip all round- was excellent. As we were lucky enough to be in the luxury room, everyone gathered there after dinner to round out the evening by finishing off the complimentary wine.
    After a relaxed start, we were treated to another exceptional breakfast and enjoyed the guesthouse grounds for an hour or so. The lovely big mastiff dogs and the abundant and varied birdilfe kept everyone entertained.
    Leaving Montagu, we drove South to Cape Agulhas.    Read more

  • Southern Africa
    Peter summiting Mt Kilimanjaro on the 3d relief map of Africa at Cape Agulhas
    Peter summiting Mt Kilimanjaro on the 3d relief map of Africa at Cape AgulhasUlla, Anita & Tracey at the southernmost point of AfricaCape AgulhasCape AgulhasMark at the CapeRock towers at the Cape

    Cape Agulhas

    August 26 in South Africa ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Cape Agulhas is a windy place! The Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet at the southernmost tip of Africa. Today, the sea was choppy and spattered with white caps, thanks to the 50 km/ hour Easterly. Everyone enjoyed exploring the surrounds, including having fun identifying the different famous bits of Africa on the giant relief 3d continental model.
    Good coffee nearby at "Coffee & Blues " Cafe.    Read more

  • Southern Africa
    Vergelegen Wine Estate
    Vergelegen Wine EstateVergelegen Wine EstateVergelegen Wine EstateLunch at Tokara Wine EstateDelaire Graff EstateFrom our bedroom windowHike from Franschhoek Pass to Uitkyk

    Franschhoek

    Aug 27–29 in South Africa ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    On the way today, we passed some antelope in a paddock outside Kleinmond.

    Saw baboons on the road in Betty's Bay. There were people waving red flags to warn drivers to slow down.
    Beautiful drive along the coast to Gordon's Bay, some whales spotted.
    We visited Vergelegen Estate, granted to the Governor of the Cape in 1700, and had a coffee in the Rose Terrace Tea Room.
    Lunch was amazing at the Tokara Wine Estate, after which we visited the Delaire Graff Estate across the road then made our way to La Villa guesthouse in Franschoek for a two night stay.
    The next morning we drove out to Franschoek Pass and did the hike to Uitkyk. This is a very scenic hike but unfortunately all the vegetation was burnt in a recent fire.
    That evening we had another very good dinner at Arkeste restaurant. Really interesting starter (salmon, soft meringue, savoury icecream!), and delicious venison main (kudu).    Read more

  • Southern Africa
    Our accommodation
    Our accommodationFrom our roomFrom our roomWalking to pizza dinnerUlla, Peter, Pat #2, and Mark heading for the climb up Table MountainThe start of the 600m high rock staircase.Noordhoek BeachFrom Chapman's Peak lookoutFrom Chapman's Peak lookout

    Cape Town

    Aug 29–Sep 1 in South Africa ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    29 Aug
    We drove from Franschoek to our accommodation in Camps Bay, a beachside suburb south of Cape Town.
    We are staying at 3 On Camps Bay Boutique Hotel, with panoramic ocean views from the front, and views of Table Mountain from our bedroom. A walk down the hill this evening for a pizza dinner across the road from the beach.
    30 Aug
    Pat and Mary arrived late last night bringing our number to four couples.
    This morning we climbed Table Mountain via Platteklip Gorge, a very steep 700m high rock staircase. The cable car was a sensible option for a few off us. Peter's sister also joined us for the hike.
    At the top we took shelter from the freezing cold wind for coffee and hot chocolate in the very crowded cafe, before catching the cable car back down. The cable car holds about fifty people, and the floor rotates to give everyone a look at the views.
    We then did the very scenic Chapman's Peak drive down the coast and had lunch at a burger restaurant.
    We grabbed some supplies at a supermarket for a relaxed evening.
    31 Aug
    A fairly slow morning included organising some clothes to be washed, Duolingo, photos, etc.
    We then caught the hoponhopoff bus along the scenic coastal route into the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront area, then on to the city centre for a walk through The Company's Garden. Lots of rats, very tame grey squirrels, not so tame white (albino?) squirrels, people sleeping on they lawns.
    When we got to they next bus stop we realised the next bus was the last of the day (phew!).
    The bus from that so took they long way back out to Camps Bay through a very hilly forested area. At some point the bus hit a pothole and a loud bang vibrated through the bus. We then proceeded very very slowly up a long climb to the next bus stop, with frequent grinding noises indicating this bus wasn't going much further.
    I was all set to call an uber, but there was another bus for us at the stop which continued our route after a detour to pick up someone from Groot Constantia winery.
    Arriving back to Camps Bay later than planned, we just went to Hard Rock Cafe for a quick dinner.    Read more

  • Southern Africa

    Windhoek

    Sep 1–2 in Namibia ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    1 Sept
    A fairly early start to catch our flight to Windhoek, Namibia. We had a pretty good run through the busy morning traffic, and the rental car drop-off to Budget was very easy, with one of the staff dropping us in our car at the terminal door.
    The check-in/bag drop queue was very long, but everything else was pretty efficient, with time for Tracey to buy a new travel shoulder bag, and a relaxed coffee for all before boarding.
    Landing at Windhoek, Pat and Tracey got delayed walking from the plane to the terminal, having to wait while a large plane manoeuvred, resulting in a long queue at the extremely slow passport control. We eventually got through, found our bags and joined the others for the pre-booked transfer to our hotel.
    The road from the airport into Windhoek is a new divided road apparently paid for by China.
    Our esims don't work in Namibia so we only have some hotel/lodge wifi.
    Peter had booked a visit to meet some Bushmen, which was very interesting.
    The drive out to see the Bushmen is mostly along another potentially good divided road, but featuring numerous savage speedhumps, apparently placed to enable people to more safely walk to and from work across the road.    Read more

  • Southern Africa

    Taleni Etosha Village

    Sep 2–4 in Namibia ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    Our Nomad 12 day tour started today with a 6am pickup from our hotel (Arebbusch Lodge) for the drive to our lodge (Taleni Etosha Village) just outside Etosha National Park, arriving late morning and unable to check-in until 2pm. The lodge is very spread out, with a 300m walk to our rooms.
    Before dinner we were driven by guide Nation to a nearby platform on a low Hill for sunset drinks and food. We were excited to see our first elephant, a tiny grey blob in the far distance pointed out by Nation.
    Back to the lodge for dinner, a buffet including meat from several antelopes.
    Peter's birthday cake was delivered by a large group of staff singing happy birthday and trilling(?)!    Read more

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    Etosha National Park

    Sep 3–4 in Namibia ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    3 Sept
    An early start this morning for a full day game drive in Etosha National Park with local guide Nation.
    We watched the sun rise as we drove into the park. It was cold early in the open safari truck, and we were provided with quilted ponchos to keep us warm.
    We saw lots of springboks and impalas and had a very close encounter with two giraffes right next to that track.
    Most people aren't as interested in birds as us, but we occasionally stopped to see a special one, such as the beautiful goshawk.
    A jackal came quite close before quickly disappearing.
    Lots of beautiful zebras, kudus, a few red hartebeest, groups of beautiful oryx.
    We had a close encounter with a female ostrich being pursued by two hopeful males.
    Etosha is very dry, and many animals, including large groups of zebras and springboks were concentrated around the waterholes, which used to be natural but are now mostly fed by solar powered bores.
    We had a few distant sightings of rhinos, and spotted a large lone elephant heading for a waterhole from some kilometres away, flapping his ears for cooling as he walked.
    About the same time as they elephant reached the waterhole a lone rhino also did, so we got a close look at both of them.
    Heading back toward the park entrance and our lodge, Nation spotted two or three lion cubs under a bush about 40 metres from the road. They were too well hidden to get a photo, and it's amazing the our guide found them while he was driving. Our first lion sighting!
    A bit further along the road Nation saw a safari truck stopped on a track leading in to a waterhole, and we went in to investigate.
    Nation pointed out a large lioness lying in the shade under a low bushy tree. Probably the mother of the cubs we had seen. She had left the cubs hidden and would return to them after a kill. Our second lion sighting!
    A really amazing day.
    4 Sept
    This morning we met our Nomad guides, Dennis and Tobias, who arrived at 10am with the twelve seat Nomad truck to pick us up. There was some confusion as they thought incorrectly that they had to wait until 12 for two other people before picking up the four who had been with them since Cape Town. When this was sorted out we backtracked about half an hour to pick up the other four passengers before heading back up through Etosha NP.
    Once again we lots of animals, including playful mongooses and families of zebras.
    We had travelled a long way through the park when, in an open grassy area, we spotted a lioness in the distance, walking steadily parallel to the road. Groups of giraffes were running to stay away from her. Close inspection of the photos revealed that she had already eaten, with blood visible on her face. Our third lion sighting!
    Our accommodation for the night was at Kupferquelle Resort in Tsumeb, a large spread-out hotel with an olympic sized pool.    Read more

  • Southern Africa

    Divundu

    Sep 5–7 in Namibia ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    5 Sept
    We left Kupferquelle Resort about 8am and spent most of the day driving to Divundu, the 530km taking about 6 hours on pretty good roads. We stopped at Tambuti Lodge for lunch.
    We are at Rainbow River Lodge for two nights. Accommodation is in little cabins spread out up the hill from the Kavango River. Lots of trees and birds.
    The bar/restaurant is on a deck anove the river bank.
    After we got settled in we all headed for the bar. We hadn't been there long when two hippos surfaced in the river just a few metres away!

    6 Sept
    Morning - game drive in Bwabwata National Park (separate footprint!).

    After a quiet afternoon we boarded a boat at the lodge for a sunset river cruise. We headed upstream to a low waterfall then back down past the lodge, seeing a small crocodile, lots of hippos, and lots of birds including a colony of hundreds of Southern carmine bee-eaters nesting in the river bank.    Read more

  • Southern Africa
    Male Kudu
    Male KuduFemale impalaWater buffaloBushbuck2Kudu- beautiful eating

    Bwabwata National Park

    September 6 in Namibia ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    An 8am start for our morning game drive today. The 12 of us in two open safari vehicles. It was only a short drive through Divundu and across the Kavango River to the park entry.
    Quite unlike the dry Etosha, the section of Bwabwata NP that we visited is along the left bank of the Kavango, and it is full of animals, as can be seen in the photos, all taken in a few hours.
    The highlight of the morning, and possibly the whole trip, was spending time close to a pride of lions comprising three lionesses and about 8 cubs of various ages. Lion sighting number 4!    Read more

  • Southern Africa

    Maun

    Sep 7–8 in Botswana ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    Another big travel day today, crossing into Botswana and driving to Maun (pron. Ma-un). 415km and 6 hours 40 minutes driving time. Botswana has long sections of once sealed roads full of tyre-eating potholes, requiring frequent detours into the dirt.
    We arrived in Maun around 3pm and had a late lunch at the Dusty Donkey Cafe.
    Accommodation at Cresta Maun Hotel. We had a swim and drinks by the pool before a buffet dinner. The room was small, the bed was huge, extending so close to the window you couldn't walk there.    Read more

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    Khwai River camp

    Sep 8–10 in Botswana ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    8 Sept
    We left the hotel at 10am and drove into Maun to meet Modumo, our guide and driver for the Okavango Delta. Modumo's open safari vehicle had four rows of three seats with a roll-up transparent wind break in front of them.
    The road north from Maun is unsealed and fairly rough. We stopped by the track for a sandwich lunch. By early afternoon the journey had turned into a game drive, slowing down, rolling up the wind break, and searching for wildlife. Modumo was an outstanding guide, with a great knowledge of animals and birds.
    We saw (and stopped to see) beautiful birds, had a close encounter with a large bull elephant, saw a waterbuck and some blue wildebeests.
    As we were approaching our camp around 6pm, Modumo stopped on a low bridge to view the sunset through the fork of a dead tree in the water.
    While we watched (and photographed), two huge hippos had a fight right in front of us! Amazing.
    When we arrived at what we expected to be a "tented camp", we were pleasantly surprised to find brand new bungalows spaced along a raised walkway that led to the dining area.
    Apparently floods had inundated the tented camp. Arriving at the camp we were greeted by a group of staff singing our welcome, and damp towels to wash off the safari dust!
    Every time we came and went during our stay the same group was lined up to farewell and greet us.
    We were led to our room by a young man who proceeded to explain the purpose and operation of the room facilities (light switches, taps, etc) in detail. It was really lovely.
    It was dark when we arrived and we were told we must not leave our rooms in the dark due to the danger from elephants and hippos. They weren't kidding.
    When we were all being escorted to dinner we had to wait on the walkway until a bull elephant, metres away from it, had moved away.
    Before dinner we all sat in a circle around a fire for a briefing. Anita's chair tipped backwards in the mud and she landed in the edge of a pond.

    9 Sept
    An early start today for a morning game drive, and walking to breakfast in the pre-dawn light was beautiful.
    Khwai is in the Okavango Delta, where the waters of the mighty Kavango River spread out and evaporate our disappear into the Kalahari sands.
    Just about every pond the size of a large farm dam contains hippos and crocodiles, and wildlife is abundant.
    Highlights of the morning:
    We found a herd of red lechwes, and watched a pretty serious fight between two males.
    We saw a group of tsessebe, a large antelope that can reach speeds up to 90km/hr.
    A family group of giraffes including a baby.
    Back to camp for lunch and a rest before going for a canoe on hippo infested waters surrounded by big scary elephants.
    On the way back to camp we visited a hyena den and watched the pack matriarch carrying for her two cubs as a number of pack members returned to the den. Very special.    Read more

  • Southern Africa

    Khwai to Elephant Sands Lodge

    Sep 10–11 in Botswana ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    10 Sept
    Another early start this morning for a long drive. We got away about 6:30, farewelled by the lovely staff.
    For the first part of the drive we were looking out for animals. We almost immediately came upon a hyena running along the road, and about half an hour later saw two male lions resting! Lion sighting number five, and our first males!
    At Maun we said goodbye to our guide Modumo and continued in the Nomad truck.
    We stopped for the night at Elephant Sands Lodge, which is out on its own north of Nata in Botswana. The main building is next to a large waterhole and the rooms are spread around the waterhole. After dark we had to be escorted to and from the main building.
    Red headed and masked weaver birds were nesting in and around the reception/restaurant areas. Elephants came to visit in the evening.    Read more

  • Southern Africa

    Kasane

    Sep 11–12 in Botswana ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    11 Sept
    We left Elephant Sands Lodge about 8am and headed north for Kasane, arriving in time for lunch at Thebe River Safaris. After checking in to our rooms we took a boat trip on the Chobe River which lasted till after sunset. The amount of birds and wildlife we saw was amazing.
    Hundreds of elephants, water buffaloes, hippos, crocodiles, kudus, impalas, waterbucks, giraffes, warthogs.
    The highlight was watching a large group of elephants of all sizes having a mud, dust and water bath on the edge of the river.

    12 Sept
    A 5:45 start this morning for an early morning game drive in Chobe National Park. The 12 of us in two safari vehicles. Our guide was Lucas.
    This far eastern corner of Chobe NP is very busy, probably due to its proximity to Victoria Falls, and we saw many other safari vehicles.
    Lots of birds and wildlife. We saw a large baboon wandering along. Some of us hadn't seen baboons before so Lucas took us to see a group of them.
    We saw a tree full of vultures in the distance, and Lucas told us that there were lions feeding on an elephant, but that we couldn't go there because it's forbidden to drive off track in the NP.
    On our way back out towards the park entry we encountered a lioness walking along the edge of the track.
    Lion sighting number six!
    Back to our accommodation for breakfast, then into the truck for the drive into Zimbabwe to Victoria Falls.
    The border crossing took ages.    Read more

  • Southern Africa

    Victoria Falls

    Sep 12–15 in Zimbabwe ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    12 Sept
    After crossing the border into Zimbabwe it was only a short drive to Victoria Falls town. After some discussion, the Nomad tour bus took us directly to the falls, where we paid our US$48 each to enter the falls viewing area. The water volume isn't very high this time of year, but apparently when it is high you can't see anything for the spray. While impressive, they are not a patch on Iguasu.
    We checked in to the very nice PheZulu Lodge and had a swim and a drink before walking to a nearby restaurant for dinner.
    After dinner the whole Nomad group went to a show.
    13 Sept
    Pat, Peter and Mark had an early breakfast before being picked up for the white water rafting (separate footprint).
    Tracey, Anita, Mary, Ulla and the other Pat had a more relaxed day.
    The adventurous three arrived back alive and mostly well about 4pm.
    We all went for an amazing dinner at MaKuwa-Kuwa Restaurant at Victoria Falls Safari Lodge.
    14 Sept
    The other three couples all flew out today, first to Jo'burg then direct to Sydney. We had an extra night to do not much before heading home. We went for a walk into town for a bit of souvenir shopping and a coffee and had dinner at PheZulu.
    15 Sept
    We had arranged for our taxi driver Leo from the Safari Lodge dinner to take us to the airport. The check-in, flight and re-entry to South Africa were uneventful, although the passport control was slow. We were able to walk to our hotel without going outside.    Read more

  • Southern Africa

    Johannesburg

    Sep 15–16 in South Africa ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Just a night in the City Lodge Hotel at the airport between flights. Good rooms but gf food not at all well done. Small safari accommodation out in the bush was better for gf.

  • Southern Africa

    Singapore

    September 17 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C

    Six hours in the T1 Transit Hotel between flights. Singapore's Changi airport is an amazingly efficient & well planned space, even though it's commercialised to the hilt.

  • Southern Africa

    Melbourne

    September 18 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    What a fantastic trip that was!
    We feel very privileged and grateful to have experienced two very different sides of Africa, from fine dining in South Africa to close encounters with wildlife in Namibia and Botswana.
    We are especially grateful to Peter and Anita for sharing this amazing place with us, and also for the company of Mark and Ulla and Pat and Mary.    Read more

    Trip end
    September 18, 2026