Africa…the Dark Continent, Cradle of Mankind, home of Nelson Mandela, of Pharaohs and Zulu Kings. Con-quered by Alexander the Great and the Romans who were in turn conquered by the Carthaginians. Legendary home of Tarzan, Jane, Boy, Timba the Elephant, Simba the Lion and, of course, Cheetah. I spent many hours exploring the Escarpment with Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O’Hara and even Barry Fitzgerald (one of my favorite character actors). I’ve been there many times in books and movies…now I get the opportunity to travel there in corpore.

Due to the good fortunes of her close friend (and fellow Beatonite), Erin Donovan, Amy has the opportunity to accompany her to the Republic of South Africa near Kruger National Park. Looking for the opening to widen my own travel experience, I agreed to underwrite her trip…if I could accompany them. A hard sell but I convinced the two of them to put up with my company for the duration. So, on July 10th, we once again cross the Atlantic, but this time we will fly south across the Equator.

I will meet Amy and Erin in Hotlanta, and then a short 17 and a half hour flight to Johannesburg. We arrive in Johannesburg at 5pm on the 11th, overnight in Johannesburg then catch a local flight to the town of Hoedspruit outside of Kruger.

Hoedspruit is a town of just over 2,000 individuals that sits st the foot of the Klein Drakensburg (the Small Dragon Mountains). Situated on the edge of Kruger, a major part of the local economy is attributed to eco-tourism. We will fly into the Hoedspruit Air Force Base where we will be met and transported to the Ezulwini Lodge.

Ezulwini, Zulu for “Place of Paradise”, is located on 7,500 hectares (approximately 18,500 acres or almost 30 square miles) in the Private Balule Nature Reserve which is part of the 3,000,000 hectares of Greater Kruger National Park. Situated in the northeast corner of South Africa, Ezulwini includes two lodges - Billy’s Lodge offers magnificent views of plains game including elephant, rhino, lion, leopard, buffalo, cheetah and wild dog while River Lodge looks out over the Olifants River, home to hippos, crocks and elephants. We will be treated to two safaris each day, one in the morning and an evening safari conducted by local rangers and guides. The morning safari will be followed by a hearty breakfast and an exquisite dinner will follow the evening safari. And we will dine on local fare with our own private chefs.

Now, South Africa lies south of the Equator, so as we go into our summer, they are just entering their winter. Johannesburg lies at latitude 29.8°S while New Orleans lies at 29.9°N so you would expect their winter to be similar to winter in New Orleans. And so it is. The temperature extremes range from a high of 60° to a low of 42°. (New Orleans ranges from 61° to 42°.) And the average number of rain days in June is 1! I won’t be packing an umbrella.

We will touch down in Johannesburg on Monday at 5pm local time, (10am CST). I hope to post pictures and commentary if possible. To check it out, click below.