A Week in South Africa

Traveling to Cape Town, South Africa was such an incredible experience. The flight was a loooooong one (14 hours 40 minutes to Johannesburg and then another two hours to Cape Town!) but once our plane touched ground, I was immediately aware of how worth it that time in the air was. 

The physical beauty alone is pretty surreal. The mountain ranges contrasted by gorgeous beaches, all the wildlife in their natural habitat, the epic wine country, and the big open night skies full of the clearest stars I've ever seen....ugh. It all blew me away. It's a place I hope you can all see for yourself in person. 

I'm just going to get corny for one moment. As you may or may not know, music is the sole reason I had the opportunity to take this trip. My band, The New Millennials had the honor of being booked to perform at a stunning wedding in South Africa, and we took full advantage of the journey. What an amazing realization it is to think about how following your truest passion can lead you on such incredible adventures. Traveling halfway across the world and witnessing different walks of life brings enlightenment and knowledge I would have otherwise never known. I feel so blessed to be working for a company with such a great reputation and so many incredible relationships which make trips like this possible. So thank you, On The Move, and thank you to my bandmates and fellow musicians for all being such beautiful souls and amazing travel partners. This is bucket list shit!

With that, I thought I'd not only share all my photos with you, but a few tips in case you find yourself on a similar journey in the near future!

5 Things You MUST DO in South Africa:

  • 1. See a lion. Chances are if you find yourself in South Africa, you'll most likely have plans to go on safari. Nevertheless, my tip still stands: do yourself a favor and book a morning game drive so you can see a real, in the flesh, fluffy-maned lion in his natural habitat. You'll see elephants, rhinos, zebras, and all kinds of other wildlife probably, I just have an affinity for lions. If you do get to go, also make sure you keep your arms and legs in the safari car at all times, unlike me, who almost turned into kitty breakfast. :)
AAAIMG_9107.JPG
  • 2. Go wine tasting. I may be biased, as it's the only wine estate we visited while in SA, but MANNNN, Boschendal has the best vino I've ever put to my lips! It doesn't hurt that the grounds there are impeccably well kept amongst the most stunning views, and the staff are the absolute sweetest. I couldn't resist shipping a whole case back to the US. Whether you get to Boschendal specifically or not, not to fret. There are so many gorgeous vineyards to see in the South African wine country. 
AAAIMG_9762.JPG

 

  • 3. Check out Boulders Beach. Otherwise known as, "Home of The African Penguin!" These little cuties waddle around on the beach all day! It costs about $7 USD to get onto the beach and it's so worth it. I'm still a little mad at myself for not jumping down onto the sand to cuddle some baby pengys. 
AAAIMG_9275.JPG

 

  • 4. Eat something GAMEY. I had ostrich on top of my salad for lunch one day because I wanted to try some authentic South African cuisine and I read it's one of the leanest red meats. It was delicious and tasted just like steak. Other common delicacies include kudu, crocodile, and even giraffe which I find to be a bit disturbing. I don't think I could eat one of my long-necked friends. :( But everything else seems like fair game (pun intended).
AAAIMG_9400.JPG

 

  • 5. Stand at the southernmost tip of the continent. This is just a cool thing to say you've done. It was so windy that I couldn't stand for too long, because it's where the water meets the mountains, but I felt proud of myself anyway. 

MY PHOTOS:

Hope you enjoyed! Feel free to leave a comment!

Love, 

Dani

Danielle DeSantis1 Comment