What to See in Kruger National Park (Apart From the Big 5)

A trip to the Kruger Park and the lovely African bush, can still get me as excited as a child at a Christmas tree!

We were lucky enough to see all of the Big 5, but there is so much more to see! I am sharing some of the pics, to hopefully open up the minds of people who think you go there to see the lions!

We have had a lovely week, staying at the magnificent Ngwenya Lodge. These pictures show the view we had from our balcony – Kruger National Park starting right below our chalet.

A few elephants grazing a little further. We had some of them hanging around our view day and night. No 1 of the Big 5, and we did not even have to leave our comfy chairs!

You can’t miss the ever-present Impala. But don’t just rush by, have a good look, they are so gorgeous! Just because there are many of them, doesn’t mean they are less special…

Better looking from the other side!

A sweet little owl, getting ready for the night ahead with a good old nap

...the size of them!!!

Giraffes – so undisturbed by the papparazzi

A close-up rhino, it’s a miracle we still have a few left!

This Hornbill was not camery-shy at all… it gave me this pose in exchange for a few potato fries!

Grazing is hard work if you are a warthog!

A massive herd of buffalo coming for a drink

The queen of the jungle and her little one…

How To Find Free Accommodation – World-wide

I always think everyone must know about this by now, but people always tend to listen wide-eyed when I relate my experiences.

I remember the day I was reading an article in an In-flight magazine between Johannesburg and Durban… my life has never been the same since, and I love sharing my secret with you today.

We have travelled for the last 7 years in a way that I never dreamed possible before. Yes – Home Exchange!

If you are South African like me, your first question might be – “is it safe?” Of course there are never any guarantees in life, but in all the years we have done this, I never had any reasons to feel alarmed in any way. In fact, we have made so many dear friends in places we would never have been before.

If you love to explore and experience the heart of the place, the people, the local cuisine and atmosphere, this is what you need to do! Getting to those places where you can rub shoulders with the locals, is where true experience begins.

It works best if you have a second/holiday home to put up for exchange. That way you are able to do non-simultaneous exchanges where both parties are able to visit in summer, for instance. Being in South Africa, it means we are always in the opposite season than Europe and USA.

If you have to exchange your primary residence, don’t despair, there are always the shoulder seasons or local exchanges. Or how would you feel about a white Christmas, or a skiing holiday in the Alps?

The beauty is that no place is too big or too small to qualify. Even a studio flat, like this one, where we stayed in Zurich, will attract interest, and there are even units in retirement villages for exchange.

This also means that you could take the whole family when you find a big enough place, and it is not necessary to trade size for size – there are many different reasons people travel and you will surely find the perfect exchange partner.

The best way I found to do this is through homeforexchange.com. There are many websites offering the idea, but this one is superior to all of them, with over 10 000 houses to choose from, worldwide.

The way it works, is to decide where you want to go and start contacting people to see if they are interested in visiting your area. Sometimes it takes quite a few tries before you hit the jackpot. But some of the popular cities like Paris and New York, for example, have loads to choose from and you are bound to find a suitable exchange.

For the senior travellers, with more time on hand, the special deal is to do long term exchanges with a similar couple. Really, your biggest expense is the flights. Once you are there, it’s not going to change much to your budget if you stay for a week or a month! You have to eat anyway! Many seniors are interested in long term exchanges, now’s the time to make those dreams come true…

The garden of our Netherlands 'home'

This of course has no age restrictions, and you can even do that with your toddlers. Just look out for a similar family, and the kids would have loads of new toys to keep them busy for the holiday.

You need to be prepared to be a little flexible, though. This is more or less like buying a second hand car – you might have to search for the right deal and take what is available, instead of walking into the nearest dealer and order the exact model and colour you prefer.

BENEFITS

The first and obvious benefit here is to be able to stay for free, chopping thousands off your budget. Often, there is a possibility of exchanging cars as well, saving you another big expense!
The second, for me a biggie, is to be able to really experience the place like a local. Going to shop and eat where the locals do, and not the over commercialised tourist traps; meeting the people. This is something that you will never be able to experience, staying in fancy hotels or resorts.

Another great benefit is that you have a local guide on the other side, ready to help you with any kind of questions, planning and tips of what to see and do. Imagine on your side, the benefits for your guests to have your knowledge of the local area. No hotel employee will take the time to give you that!

In another post, I will share some of my experiences, just to give a glimpse of what to expect. We have done Home Exchanges in Swakopmund/Windhoek, Cape Town, Paris, Scotland (2), Italy, Zurich, Bern and the Swiss Alps, Germany, The Netherlands and the beautiful Gent in Belgium. Coming up in June, are two exchanges in Italy and Ireland. What joy!

Check it out and share your experiences with the rest of us. Feel free to contact me with any questions, I’ll be happy to help where I can. Happy travelling!

America’s Best-Kept Secret – Stunning North-West

A lot of friends and family keep asking me about the area where my dearest First-born lives with her charming husband in America. I always say how lovely it is, but decided to do a post for everyone to see once and for all how blessed she is now surrounded by so much beauty.

Lanette and Ben lives in a small city with a big town atmosphere, called Spokane. It is roughly in the centre of Washington State, close to the Canadian border and a couple hours’ drive from Seattle.

I visited before starting my blog, so this is long overdue. I am inviting all of the lucky people living there to correct me where wrong and to expand where I miss out!

Beauty is always best described through pictures and here it starts:

Spokane River is the heart of the place.

On our first visit they took us to a magnificent place in the Idaho State forrest, driving through gorgeous little sleepy villages, which I always enjoy more than the city bustle. We stopped for a cup of coffee or a snack in a few and enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere of life in Small-town America.

Here’s another one.

One thing I absolutely loved, is the fact that they have rest areas every couple of miles. This has picnic benches, clean public toilets and always lovely green surrounds. Here we enjoyed Lanette’s mean carrot cake for our picnic – she makes the best ever!!

We arrived at our destination for the night. Beautiful log cabins and main buildings in the heart of this huge pine forrest. This is where I had ‘biscuits and gravy’ for breakfast, first time in my life. Believe me, you can’t imagine this menu item without having experienced it first-hand – nothing like what we South Africans would come up with at least…

The next morning was time for the main attraction – hiking through the unspoiled bush to the sweet spot…

This is a natural hot spring absolutely in the middle of nowhere. There are 2 of 3 of them scattered around the river. If this was SA, Forever resorts would have had a massive resort set up here. But there, it is kept in it’s natural state, free for all to enjoy.

We changed to swimwear behind the tree and just lounged in the lovely warm water as the sun was coming up, nobody else around, except for the deer that gingerly came out of the bush to investigate and then fled the scene!

On our way back, we unexpectedly came upon this canyon-like area in the middle of very arid (Karoo-like) landscape.

The second visit, was me alone, without my husband. Lanette met me in Seattle and the two of us spent a few days hanging out there. This was sunrise over Lake Washington, opposite our B&B.

 

Just a few steps up the road…

We were fortunate enough to be exaclty in time for the Scagit Tulip festival – what a sight! We drove North towards a gorgeous little place called Mount Vernon – a dream retirement destination in my view – where all this beauty assaulted our senses!

Colour as far as the eye could see!

The red ones were my absolute favorites, shining in the sunlight like sheer silk.

Winter… I have not experienced that part yet, and must say, I need a bit more courage before visiting that time of year!