Johannesburg, Kruger, and Durban! Oh My!

I have a few announcements before I dive into talking about going to South Africa:

I got a job this morning :) Yay! It was scheduled for 7:00 AM, but then the interviewer called at 5:30 and asked if I could come in at 6:00...so sure enough, that's exactly what I did.  I was so tired x.x  He said he already knew he was going to hire me when he called to set up an interview, but I'm sure being able to show up an hour early didn't hurt his first impression of me either.  Score? I do think so.  I'll be working Saturday and Sunday from 1:00 PM to 11:00 PM.  I think it works really well with my school schedule and will provide me with enough time to focus on my academics, too.  My job position?  Laundry assistant!  Not exactly what I had in mind, but it is a job and the company is outstanding. I guess buying that money tree actually gave me some good financial luck ;)

Freckles killed my beta fish...again.  So now I'm on number three!  I haven't named him yet because I still think that even though I put him on my bookshelf, Freckles will end his life some time within a 30 day period.  If he survives passed that, I'll give him a name.

So, AFRICA!  Logan and I have everything reserved and paid for.  Our agenda is all laid out!

We will arrive in Johannesburg at 5:30 PM and stay at MoAfrika Lodge, then that morning we will be picked up to begin our three day camping safari in Kruger National Park.  During the safari we will go on three game drives (two during the day, one at night) and a bush walk.  I've read reviews that the food they serve is AMAZING.  On the drive back to Joburg we will see the Blyde River Canyon, one of the largest (and greenest) canyons on earth.

When we get back from the safari, we will spend another night in MoAfrika Lodge.  The next morning we will go get our rental car and visit The Lion Park!  This park is pretty neat.  You drive through and see all of their lions, and then you get to play with and hold the babies!  We will leave around noon and start our drive to Durban (Six hour drive from JoBurg).  Durban is the largest port in South Africa.

We will stay in the Blue Waters Hotel that night.  It is right along the Indian Ocean.  In the morning we will go to the botanical gardens in Durban where they have plants dating back 2.1 million years.  People say it's like walking into Jurassic Park!  The photography opportunities of plants and birds are going to be exploding out of every crevice! At noon we will leave to do something that I've been wanting to do since I was little girl (besides go to Africa, of course)...riding horses on the beach, and then swimming with them!  It will be a six hour round trip ride.  We will spend 2 1/2 hours riding to the beach through the bush, and then we will have lunch on the shore and swim with the horses.  We will ride back afterwards.  Expect A TON of pictures :)  Poor Logan's butt is going to be killing him!  Hee hee hee ;)

The next day we will spend the majority of the morning shopping in one of South Africa's largest shopping centers (so big it has its own hotel!).  We will have lunch at a Beluga and stuff our faces with fresh caught sushi and ostrich steak before heading back to Johannesburg.  We will get to Joburg around 8:00 PM and will lodge at the Misty Hill Country Hotel.  This place should be called a resort, not a hotel!  We will go to the Lion and Rhino Reserve the following day, take a swim at the hotel and relax, then have dinner at a renown restaurant called Carnivore.  They serve very authentic African food such as zebra, gazelle, giraffe, and more.  They literally stab a piece of meat with a spear, cook it over an open flame in front of you, then slice off pieces on your table.  The day we are scheduled to leave we will go to the Maropeng and Sterkfontein Caves which have some of the oldest hominids on the planet.  It is called the Cradle of Mankind because of the numerous important scientific discoveries involving hominid evolution.  I'm pretty excited to see that.  We will head back to the airport around 2:00 PM to drop off the rental car and start the process of heading back to America.  

Going to South Africa will be such an adventure!  I feel safe going with Logan, and I think we will have a fantastic time.  I wouldn't be doing this if it weren't for him.  The circumstances may be different as to why we are going, but I'm not worried about it.  It doesn't change the fact we are friends and share this vision.  Expect a lot of pictures and a lot of new stories!