The Harts Honeymoon in South Africa: Viva Safaris

The only man I envy is the man who has not yet been to Africa – for he has so much to look forward to - Richard Mullin

Let’s talk about booking a safari for a sec. Maybe you’ve been thinking about going on a once in a lifetime trip like a safari. You have been saving your pennies. You’ve been imagining all of the cool animals and exotic locations you will get to see. It feels like a dream, but you are certain of one thing: it is going to be awesome.

Then comes the day when you’re really going to make it happen. Because it is the 21st century, you sit down with your laptop and Google “African safari.” At this point, the search returns approximately 4 million results spread across half a continent, each of which costs $10,000 per person, give or take a few thousand dollars.

Woah.

So you give up and book a Caribbean cruise instead, because who has the time or money for that mess?

I get it. Believe me. And I was doing this while also planning a wedding. At least I had the country narrowed down thanks to the plane tickets I had already purchased. I spent hours researching options online, trying to find something reasonably nice but also reasonably not the cost of a new car. Enter African Budget Safaris. This is not a tour operator, but rather a travel agency that has researched and chosen the best affordable safari options all across Africa. The site was easy to use and before I knew it, I was making a request to book. The travel agent I worked with (thankfully all by email due to the time difference) was always prompt in his replies. When the safari I initially inquired about was not available, he shared a list of similar alternatives. It was so easy and so much less stressful than booking another way, at least if you’re not going the cost-is-no-object route. The other benefit, which I learned later, is that when you contact the tour operators directly, they often use high pressure sales tactics and/or bother you with frequent phone calls and emails. This was not my experience at all with African Budget Safaris. Once I found the website, the process of finding and booking a safari went from overwhelming to fun. If you are thinking about booking a safari anywhere in Africa, not only in South Africa, I encourage you to start by checking out their website.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about the fun stuff. What did we actually book? This ended up being the winner. This safari checked all of the boxes. First and foremost, I wanted to go to Kruger National Park. Even though I knew it would mean a little more travel time, it was important to me to see the iconic national park. I also wanted to have time in private game reserves in order to have a variety of experiences and opportunities to see animals. I knew that the ideal length of safari for our schedule was 5 days. And finally, I wanted decent accommodations - not necessarily luxurious, but at least comfortable. Oh, and I didn’t want to spend thousands of dollars per person, either. I knew that would mean joining a group, but I was okay with a small group safari.

Our adventure with Viva Safaris began bright and early on a Monday morning with a prompt 8:30 am pickup by our driver. Viva Safaris has daily departures from Johannesburg, with most people electing for the 6-hour drive to Balule Game Reserve near Hoedspruit. In the 1990’s Balule, along with many other private reserves in the area, took down the fences that separated the private reserves from Kruger, allowing the animals in the national park to roam more extensively and freely. Viva Safaris will also arrange flights between Johannesburg and the bush, but those are much more expensive.

Road trip supplies - after a couple days of flying, I bought the largest water bottle I could find.

After Brandon and I were picked up, we made two more stops to pick up a family from California and a couple from France before beginning the long drive to Kruger. There were at least two other vans making the same journey that day. I’ll be honest, it was not easy to get back in a vehicle to sit for hours after just getting off an airplane. But there was plenty outside the window to keep my interest.

I got my first true glimpse of the townships - tiny, ramshackle homes made of mismatched materials stretching literally for miles. The scenery began to change as we left the city behind. The flat Highveld gave way to the scenic Drakensberg Escarpment and later to the Lowveld of the Greater Kruger Area. We made a stop for lunch in the charming town of Dullstroom. This served as the halfway point where we could get lunch at the delicious Mayfly Restaurant and was also where we met the driver who would be taking us the rest of the way.

A super yummy sesame honey chicken salad

It was a long day, but we eventually made it to Tremisana Lodge.

This lodge is the first stop for everyone on Viva Safaris, although the following days would be different depending on which package you booked and where you would be staying on subsequent nights. We happily dropped off our bags before setting out to meander around the lush grounds. Tremisana Lodge was nice - the staff were friendly and welcoming, the landscaping was beautiful, and the rooms were comfortable if simple.

I was glad we were only there for a single night, though, as it paled in comparison to where we would spend the remainder of our safari. But more on that later. We ordered our drinks for dinner (the bar is cash only, so although we had already paid for the safari in full, we did need cash on hand for drinks and tips) before setting out on our first game drive.

It’s hard to describe what this moment is like. All of the months of planning, all of the travel, all of the expense and hassle, all of the anticipation and suddenly you’re sitting in the back of a open air game vehicle listening to your guide explain what is about to happen.

We set out as the sunset. My heart was overwhelmed with excitement and I couldn’t stop smiling.

And then we saw it - our first sighting. There is truly nothing like it - this animal that I’ve only ever seen in captivity was just standing there, as it was meant to be. It was heart stopping.

I wanted to laugh and I wanted to cry. I could have stayed there all night and been content, but our guide knew better. She insisted we continue.

I was enamored of it all - the dusty roads, the open sky, and most of all the majestic animals.

Baby giraffe!!!

Even the ubiquitous impalas (aka the “McDonalds of the bush”), which would be commonplace by the end of our safari, captured my attention. As night fell, we continued our search, finding elephants in the darkness.

And the stars. Oh the stars.

After our first game drive, we arrived at a candlelit boma in the bush. Built around a giant marula tree, the location for the braai was magical.

As we approached the warm circle of light created by the fire and candles, we were warned about the hyena lurking outside the fire, drawn by the scent of the grilled meat. Later in the evening, a porcupine would meander by, as well.

We gathered for a traditional South African meal, including pap (maize porridge) topped with chakalaka (a tomato relish and perhaps the best name for a sauce EVER). We shared a table with a lovely couple from Singapore celebrating their 28th anniversary with an epic trip to Africa and a fun Italian couple who were currently living in Germany and had planned their trip at the last minute. We would spend the next days becoming new friends. For each of us, it started with a dream of Africa, our first safari, and a meal under a tree and the stars.

Even as I look back on the pictures, it was one of those evenings that will always feel unreal around the edges - too perfect, too magical to have actually happened. As we sat around a table, sharing a meal with others from all over the world on this same adventure, we excitedly shared what we had seen and imagined what was yet to come. Because this was only the beginning.