Photo Diary: South African Safari

Originally published August 2023

This photo diary is so different from my typical mountain adventure content you might assume my page has been hacked! You can rest assured it was not hacked, I just went on a very fun, once-in-a-lifetime trip to South Africa last month and I’m excited to share some of the photos I took! Alex’s mom generously offered to take her three children and their families on a ten day trip to South Africa and I cannot be more grateful for the experience.

We split the trip between two stunning lodges, Hoyo Hoyo Safari Lodge for the first half and Mjejane River Lodge for the second half and both were so beautiful and unique. Hoyo Hoyo was especially memorable for the elephants that would roll up to a nearby watering hole between 12:15 and 12:30 every afternoon, as if on a tight schedule. After they drank their fill and cooled off by spraying water on themselves, they would wander around and we would get to enjoy an entire afternoon watching them landscape the grounds.

We went on 16(!!) safari drives during our stay. Each day began with a 5:30AM wakeup call, which gave us just enough time to get ready and grab a quick coffee before our morning drive at 6AM. The first drive lasted between 3-4 hours and included a coffee stop at a new, but scenic spot each morning. Then we had a leisurely midday to rest, nap, or contentedly watch the wildlife before we reconvened at 3:30PM for our 3-4 hour afternoon drive that included sunset drinks out in the bush. Going on the drives was thrilling. We never knew which animals we would see or what they might be doing. There were times we would come around the corner and rhinos would be grazing on grass just off to the side of the road. There was a time when we came upon lionesses guarding a kill from a pack of hyenas patiently waiting for their turn at the scraps. And there were so many wonderful moments spent with elephants, zebras, giraffes, and hippos. It’s truly difficult to put into words just how incredible and soul-filling this trip was, but I hope these photos do it justice!