Last Morning on Safari + Headed to Cape Town

Although it had been a blur of elephants, big cats and antelope that seemed to fly by, waking up on our last day of the safari, we reflected on all of the amazing people, animals, meals and accommodations we had experienced. It made us realize just how action-packed the trip has already been, and we hadn’t even gotten to Cape Town yet! Our last morning at Dulini Lodge, we woke up to lions roaring at the back of the balcony, which was an all-too-fitting departing gift from the African bush. This made us remember the three lion cubs we happened upon the night before during our game drive, a memory that had somehow been outshone by the pack of wild dogs we got the spend the evening with. Kruger problems, right?

Per usual, we threw on our warm gear, ordered a breakfast that stateside we would pay an arm and a leg for, warmed up with some coffee and hopped into the safari vehicle for one last ride. This safari consisted of a screeching clan of baboons looking down on us from the trees, an up-close-and-personal experience with a giant male giraffe and watching two leopard cubs annoying their mother by biting her ears as she tried to nap in the morning sunlight.

The kitchen packed us a dinner to go and we hit the road back to Skukuza Airport after a few sad goodbyes. What would a trip to Kruger be without one more last minute big five encounter, and halfway to the airport we happened upon a “crash”(group) of rhinos peacefully grazing on the side of the two track dirt road. 

A quick check-in at the quaint Skukuza Airport and we were walking across the tarmac to our 2.5 hour flight into Cape Town. With all the non-stop adventure over the last week, it wasn’t hard to get a little shuteye to pass the time on the flight. Before we knew it, our flight was circling above the ocean off the western cape and descending into beautiful Cape Town.

Renting a car was as simple as it gets, although driving on the opposite side of the road took just a bit of getting used to. As soon as we left the airport, we were immediately thrown into the "Cape Tonian" culture: brightly colored pastel townships dotting the edges of the highway, a Mediterranean-vibe skyline leading up to the rugged oceanic coastline and delicious seafood restraints in every direction. We arrived at More Quarters after a quick 25 minute drive from the airport, dropped our bags and relaxed in the modern, cute apartment we got the call home for the next two nights.