We began our journey with a couple days in Johannesburg, where we rested and enjoyed the purple sea of flowering Jacaranda trees.  From here we flew to Victoria Falls.  We were welcomed by traditional dancers before boarding our train, The Shongololo Express.  Their Southern Cross tour lasts 16 days and includes a variety of excursions (game drives, scenic tours, culture stops, and options such as horseback riding and even budgie jumping) as well as plenty of opportunity to socialize with the other guests.  Train travel was usually during the night; tour transport was in small vans.

Our first excursion took us to the Zambia where we got our first view of Victoria Falls. It was the end of the dry season, so the falls were relatively dry, but still dramatic.  However the vendor's postcards show the falls in their full glory.  You also see the Victoria Falls Bridge which spans 156 meters and links Zimbabwe with Zambia.  It was commissioned by Cecil Rhodes who wanted the “spray of the Falls on the train carriages” and designed by Ralph Freeman, the same engineer who designed the Sydney Harbor Bridge.  Besides the ubiquitous street vendors, we also visited a local market in Livingston.  There's no food on the shelves in Zimbabwe, so every day those Zimbabweans who have some hard cash queue to cross the boarder to buy food in Zambia.  Click to see our photographs - Victoria Falls from the Zamibian side,  Livingstone.


The next day we travelled by van into Botswana to visit Chobe National Park and get our first sightings of game.  Click to see the photographs

The next day we viewed the falls from the Zimbabwe side, before travelling to the Hwange game reserve (in Zimbabwe).   We stayed overnight in the Sikumi Tree Lodge.  Click here to view the photographs.

In Hwange we went on evening and early morning game drives.  We got very close to elephant, buffalo, and five young lion cubs.  Click to view the photographs - Evening Game Drive,  Morning Game Drive, Leaving The Park.

From Hwange we drove to Bulawayo to met up with the train. The following day we travelled by jeep into the Matobo Hills.  Our guides told us about the flora and fauna and the geology and history of this area.  Cecil Rhodes is buried on the summit of Malindidzimu, the "hill of the spirits", a scared place to many of the indigenous people.   Click here to view the photographs.

The next stop, a visit to Antelope Park, was one of the highlights of our trip.  It is a reserve dedicated to the controlled reintroduction of lions into the wild.  As part of the lions' social development, guests can participate in walks with young lions.  This was a great experience.  We also saw elephants at play at this park.  Click to view the photographs  - Walking With Lions!,  Elephants.

On our way back to the train, we visited a local school where the classes performed for us.  This is one of the projects Shongololo supports through their charity program.  Click here to view the photographs.

The next day was our only day of drenching rain.  As luck would have it, this was the day we walked through the ruins of the Great Zimbabwe.  But the gift shop did a cracking business in selling dry shirts.  Click here to see photographs.

The following day was primarily a travel day; we left Zimbabwe and crossed into South Africa.  All the Zimbabweans we met were wonderful people, but nobody had a good word about Mugabe.  Some were even optimistic that political change will happen peacefully, but it's heartbreaking to witness the depravation of the very poor.

Our first stop in South Africa was Sabie; it was also our first chance to visit an operational bank and see stores with goods on their shelves.  We continued by van along the along the Panorama Route where we saw the Blyde River Canyon including stops at Bourke's Luck Potholes, the Three Rondavels, and the Mac Mac Falls.   Click to see photographs - Travel Day & Sablie,  Panoramic Route.

Our next encounter with game was at Kruger National Park and in an adjoining private reserve where we spent the night off the train in the Bongani game lodge.  Here we had excellent game drives with guides who got us extremely close to elephant, rhinoceros, buffalo, and giraffe.  Click for the photographs -   Kruger, Bongani evening game drive, Bongani morning game drive.

The next train stop was in Maputo in Mozambique.   We went first by van then on a river cruise to a beach for the day.   Click here to see photographs of the beach and Maputo.

The rail track into Swaziland was under repair so our vans drove us through the beautiful countryside (though not captured by our cameras) with stops at some local artisans and curio shops.  Click here to view the photographs.


Finally our journey travelled alongside the outlying shantytowns and brought us back to Johannesburg.  In Johannesburg we visited the new Constitutional Court and the excellent Apartheid museum before spending our last night on the train, saying our good-byes, and catching our plane for Cape Town. Click here to view the photographs.
 

We spent our last five days in Cape Town.  The Cape Grace is probably the best hotel we've ever experienced, though we found the Waterfront area too commercial, especially after our journey through the African wilds.  But the days were relaxing and we were able to meet up with our two new friends who we'd met on the train and arrange with our train guide for a couple of private tours of the area.  Click on the headings below to see our photographs from:

around our hotel and visit to the district 6 museum
the Kirstenbosch gardens
Table Mountain
The wine country
Outing to the Cape Point