A year ago we decided that we wanted to go on safari and we thought that South African would be as good a place as any to try it out. We started planning, even before we went on our trip to Peru. In the beginning we debated about going with a tour group, but decided to plan it ourselves, and I am glad that we did.

We did a lot of research using tripadvisor for our time in the cities. When it came to the safari, we used a site called Bush Breaks. I found the staff of that site to be very resourceful, and they helped me find a perfect safari.

Sam and I both read Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela by Nelson Mandela in preparation for the trip. After that book we diverged in our reading. Sam read Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah. I read My Traitor’s Heart: A South African Exile Returns to Face His Country, His Tribe, and His Conscience by Rian Malan. Sam liked Noah’s book, because it chronologically picks up where Mandela’s book ends. The book I chose was a bit of a tough read, because it lays open the brutality of apartheid in a way Mandela’s book spares us from envisioning.

We flew from NYC to Johannesburg. It is a really long flight and South African Airways is a mediocre airline. There is not that much food or drink, none of it is great, and the media selection is paltry. Take a book and some sleeping pills.

In short, this was a wonderful trip. I want to go back to South Africa, and see much more of the country. I took a lot of photos and you can find them all here.

Here is what day 1 of our trip looked like.