South Africa – Seite 2 – WANDER OUR WORLD

31. August 20191. September 2019

Africa calling

Hello, Bonjour and Selamat siang from the beautiful Tioman island on the east coast of Malaysia. Here, I am sitting at the gorgeous beach and again counting the days until I will step into the airplane of Ethiopian Airlines to fly to Johannesburg.

Juara beach, Malaysia

I can’t wait to be back on the African ground and explore its wilderness. It’s been almost two months now since I left Africa and traveled through Asia. I was hiking in Kyrgyzstan (see here), riding in Mongolia (see here), relaxing in Hong Kong and exploring the jungle of Taman Negara as well as the city jungle of KL in Malaysia (see here).

Ala-Kul hike, Kyrgyzstan

Cantering along the Khentii-Province, Mongolia

Relaxing at the pool, Hongkong

In the mighty jungle, Malaysia

Asia is definitely nice with great outdoor places, however I am really looking forward to not have to carry my toilet paper every time with me, making a plan if I forgot it somewhere and having to throw it into the basket next to the toilet. I am also craving for some good meat and happy to leave fried rice and noodles behind me! Definitely all things I will not miss, instead I can’t wait to be back in the African wild so soon.

This time it’s going to be for holiday reasons and I will explore the Kruger National Park, staying in Balule Satelit camp as well as Letaba Rest camp to hopefully enjoy some amazing game drives with plenty of fabulous sightings!

Hoping for great game views like this (June in Hwange, Zimbabwe)

From there on it’s going to be quite an adventure I guess to cross over into Mozambique, not really knowing what’s going to wait for me there. But I am really looking forward to get to the ocean front to just enjoy the white beaches and the turquoise ocean. If I might be lucky I can probably spot some whales and other marine life, let’s see.

After relaxing days in Mozambique there will be a few more exciting game view days coming in Swaziland, especially Mkhaya reserve is high on my list to visit. I am looking forward to some great game drives and walking safaris in the National Parks in this rather little African country. And who knows maybe there will also be a chance for some riding days in Mlilwane sanctuary.

Afterwards, I will drive back to Joburg and visit friends that I met in Cawston Wildlife Estate, Zimbabwe, while I was volunteering at this private game reserve earlier this year (see here). Can’t wait to meet them again! As my tick / spider bite that I got during my volunteering time is still bugging me after more than 3 months, I also might check out a doctor and take advantage of the African knowledge to possibly help curing it.

Happy days at Cawston, Zimbabwe (May 2019)

And then, my flight will depart towards Mauritius, where my amazing 6 months sabbatical will unfortunately come to an end. Nevertheless, I had an unforgettable opportunity to volunteer in Zimbabwe for three months and travel the world afterwards for another 3 months, which I am so grateful for. Who knows what comes next but Africa definitely carries my soul and always puts a smile on my face, so let’s see what this African adventure will bring.

My new lessons learned during my travels through Asia while looking forward to be soon in Africa:

Along the riverbanks of the Tembeling river towards Taman Negara you can spot some water buffaloes – a bit of Africa in Asia.
In the Taman Negara jungle you can spot lots of elephant dung – too sad no giant wanted to meet me personally.
Always carry some toilet paper with you when traveling through Central and Eastern Asia – it will become your closest friend!

Cheers to wandering the world and the wonders of our lives – bye bye, salut and selamat tinggal ∞

13. Juni 201917. Januar 2020

The mighty falls of Zimbabwe

Hello, Bonjour and Salibonani from Cawston Wildlife Estate, Northern Matabeleland where I help for about 2,5 months with the horses. Unbelievable, but we have another new member in our family that was born in the middle of the bush on the game reserve, a little female donkey. She is now in the paddock with the male baby donkey as well as our lovely foal. All running and playing happily.

For one day, I got to go on another bird shoot and this time I could also walk through the bush with everyone to find guinea fowls to be shot at. It was a very interesting day with lots of birds that got catched. In the evening we had a braai in the middle of the bush with a magnificent sunset, it seems to be very special each night, just fabulous!

Preparing for the shooting in the sunrise

Waiting for some guinea fowls to fly out the bushes

For the next couple of nights, I went up to Victoria Falls to see the mighty Zambezi falling into the gorge. It was a fantastic 2 days trip, where I got to go to the Zambezi National Park, saw elephants, giraffes, kudus, zebras and even buffalos. I have finally seen all big fives here in Zim and just feel so lucky about it!

Sunset view in the Zambezi National Park

On the way to the gorge, where I wanted to do the Zipline, I got mock charged by an elephant. Luckily, I wasn’t alone as I probably would have just run into the rest of the herd behind me. The young bull was on the opposite side of the rest of his group, which I just noticed later. This encounter was the most adrenaline kick during these days, way more than the Zipline itself.

The Zipline goes through the Zambezi gorge, just after the falls, where the water finds it way in a zick zack pattern. The ride was quite fast and a lot of fun, especially the way back to the starting point offered an epic view towards the majestic bridge, connecting Zimbabwe and Zambia.

Afterwards, we passed through 2 border posts to make our way from Zimbabwe to Zambia with a short visit of Livingstone and a hike along the falls on the Zambian side. Here, I had the chance to walk all the way down into the gorge and be on the same level as the Zambezi. The river should be at a very high level now but due to rain shortages, the river carries only a fraction of what it should. This gave me the opportunity to actually get some nice views of the falls with plenty of rainbows. Of course I got wet but not soaked as it normally would be the case during this season.

From this eastern tip of the falls in Zambia, I walked my way back to the most western point of the falls on the Zim side, where I had the perfect view of the sun setting behind the falls. Such an amazing day and a wonderful experience! Glad I had the chance to take off of work for 2,5 days and enjoy this great journey.

The Zambezi ready to fall into the gorge

My new lessons learned while experiencing the Vic falls:

If you get mock charged by an elephant, pray for some competent friend to be around you.
Watching the Zambezi falling into the gorge on the Zim side, is at its best during golden hours.
You can hike down into the rocky gorge on the Zambian side of the falls.

Cheers to wandering the world and the wonders of our lives, hope to see you soon – bye bye, salut and lisale kuhle ∞

10. März 201919. Juli 2021

African Adventures

I’m Janine:

Half-French, half-German, I love traveling the globe, exploring new cultures and enjoying the wonders given by our nature. Especially the African continent has my heart and I am mesmerized by its magical beauty. No wonder I have a deep passion for Southern Africa, its’ wilderness, wildlife and landscapes. An astonishingly divers region enriched by breathtaking landscapes, prolific wildlife and ancient culture.

Originally from Germany, my heart wanders the world and admires the Southern African continent. I dream about the African savannah, its vastness, its natural richness and its beauty. Southern Africa is Africa at its very best.

There is freedom waiting for you, on the breezes of the sky, and you ask „What if I fall?“ – „Oh but my darling what if you fly?“
Erin Hanson

That is why I make my dreams come true: 1.) Flashback April 2019: I fly to Zimbabwe, Bulawayo, to volunteer at a private game reserve in the western part of the country. It’s actually not so far from the largest, most beautiful and just the greatest waterfall in the world that I was attracted to during a vacation in the past. Of course these majestic falls soaked my clothes until the last layers. However, a wonderful experience to be this close to the mighty Zambezi river falling into the gorge.

This fabulous country raised a passion and curiosity within myself, leading to a fantastic research of opportunities how I could interact and actively participate within these wonders. Finally, I found this great possibility of equine volunteering program and received the chance of participating for a three-months period. I will surely learn more about horses, African culture and living in harmony with the nature.

2.) Flashback December 2020: Life will take you to where you want if you dare to dream your dreams! I am lucky enough to have found a job in Mother City, Cape Town where I will be working for some time. This new journey starts a bit later than planned due to COVID-19 but it won’t make it any less adventurous at all. My Cape Town holiday back in 2018 showed me that this beautiful city is a place I want to call my home. The stunning sunsets, the fabulous vineyards and all the magnificent hiking trails are just waiting for me to be explored.

South Africa got my heart and didn’t let me down when I was looking for opportunities. Finally, I signed my contract, patiently waited for COVID to make the plans for me and booked my flight to move to the African continent in the midst of a pandemic to enjoy my first Christmas under the African hot sun. Welcome to my adventures!