Thursday 24 January 2013

When PIXIE goes to South Africa

christmas day table mountain

I thought I'd share some photos from my travels around South Africa over the past few months. I took hundreds and hundreds but most of them are just close ups of elephants or of me and my sister playing Air Hockey and pulling weird faces.  See that mountain, though? I freaking climbed that! Table Mountain is a real biatch but the views are amazing and there's also a cable car if you don't feel like trekking at a ridiculous incline for hours on end!

As always, I went with an almost empty case and on the return ending up with a hefty excess baggage fee but, I swear, I barely even bought anything. There is an amazing shop in SA called Mr Price. It is hella amaze. I may or may not have filled my case with a bounty of brightly coloured clothes from there. 



bo kaap cape town

Bo Kaap has to be my favourite part of Cape Town. Sure, there is nothing to actually do there but if, like me, you enjoy taking photos in front of people's brightly coloured homes then you'll love it. 
bo kaap

Packing for holidays for me tends to involve throwing a few tees and shorts in a bag and making it work (Tim Gunn would be proud). I ended up just wearing variations of these (and the Mr Price hoards) for almost 2 months.

pot holes

We travelled to Kruger National Park and spent a couple of days driving around. I can't even explain how amazing it is to see such beautiful animals up close and in the wild, where they belong. Elephants crossed the road meters away from us and zebras, giraffes, springboks, gazelles, hippos and water buffalos roamed the fields. But the most amazing thing was, when we were almost giving up on a sweltering day creeping around the park, seeing a leopard slink out of the grass heading straight towards us just a couple of metres away then jump into a nearby tree. It was the single most amazing thing I've seen and might just be my 'witness something majestic.' We sat watch s/he for about half an hour and I could just feel my cat lady status grow. A freaking leopard! 

mandela, apartheid museum

The Apartheid museum in Johannesburg was really informative and well laid out. It's a great stop to learn more about South Africa's history. I also visited Robben Island which I would recommend, but just make sure you take a travel sickness pill and sit on the top deck unless you want to lay in fetal position the whole way there. Ahh, I'm pathetic.

cape point
hermanus beach

Also, because I'm vegan I make sure to check HappyCow before I go anywhere to find the best places to eat. Masala Dosa, down Long Street in Cape Town, was amazing! Literally the BEST masala dosa I've ever had. Oh God. I think we ate there maybe five times and I'm being scarily serious. Check out Eastern Food Bazaar too. Possibly the best food I've ever eaten and so much of it! Neither of these places are actually vegan restaurants they just have alot of veg options on the menu and are just downright amazing.

seal island hout bay

Ahh. I miss South Africa already.

2 comments:

  1. Beautiful views- it sounds like you had such a good trip and those are some pretty houses! I've been to West Africa before but I really wouldn't mind going to Cape Town.

    Thankyou for the comment on my post, and it's nice to know Im not the only one who hasn't seen the ending lmao. I watched the original Frankenweenie and couldn't get over the dog with the paint and such. Thankyou for telling me about it! x

    www.blankbones.blogspot.co.uk

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  2. you lucky, lucky lady!! My main squeeze is south african and he always speaks very fondly of its natural beauty and the animals. What took you there?

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