Maybe it seems we’ve lingered here too long, but we didn’t seem to mind. In the two months we spent in South Africa before heading north for Zimbabwe we visited 5 countries: SA, Mozambique, Namibia Swaziland and Lesotho. We drove 12,000 kilometers, ensured our annual park pass paid for itself twice over, and saw all of the big 5 and then some. We entered a swim race, saw our first rugby match, celebrated a birthday and the new year, and even managed to make new, life-long friendships. In short, we got to know this place pretty darn well.

South Africa really is an interesting country but it is a country which defies easy classification. Many people back home think of South …

We have hardly any space for souvenirs, so our purchases tend to be small and insignificant. I buy myself earrings in every country- usually aiming for something “crafty” made from local materials at an insignificant price ($4 or less!): coconut, coins, shells and sacred stones. It didn’t take a long time for me to start making jokes about purchasing earrings made from South Africa’s famous stone, the diamond. Although Danny continues to point out that he already bought me one of those, I heard a rumor that diamonds are found on the coastline of Namibia pretty regularly. As the first line of the guidebook states: “The shifting sands of the Namib Desert conceal the world’s largest stash of gemstone diamonds.” …

Exiting Etosha we drove quickly through Namibia’s capital Windhoek before crossing the border directly into the Kahalari Desert, and the trans-frontier park shared by both South Africa and Botswana. This park is known for two things: being in the middle of nowhere and being home to a lot of cats. We knew we’d see lions, (the ONLY animal other than wildebeest we’ve seen in every park) but we were looking for cheetah.
We quickly made camp and went out for a drive and found a dead lion. Eventually the animal moved so in fact, it was not dead, just nearly dead. It was skinny and alone. Other visitors told us that earlier it opened its mouth revealing an abscess, probably earned …

Throughout South Africa we’ve been hearing about Cape Malay food, but never really understood what it was.  We knew where the cape is, but what is or where is Malay?  What is this cuisine you speak of?
We went to the Capetown waterfront and asked the security guard the best place for Cape Malay food.  Pointing us in the right direction, we headed off to taste things which we couldn’t pronounce but wanted to try.  So I ordered a chicken curry rootie, unsure what rootie was, but figuring that anything with chicken was safe.  Danny opted for the babottie, a surprise for sure.  What came was delicious, and licking my plate clean so to speak, I was hungry for some more.
A …