AAC travelers Bruce and Marcia traveled to South Africa for a special 80th birthday celebration with 15 of their kids and grandkids. This extended multi-generational family – ranging in ages from nine to 80 – does their best to take an annual holiday together each December to maximize school breaks. They find that it is a wonderful experience for the grandkids to spend time with aunts, uncles and cousins – and of course their grandparents!
“We love knowing everything is taken care of when we are traveling far away. AAC did that for us beautifully.”
Bruce and Marcia thought a visit to South Africa would give the whole family a chance to learn about its history and about apartheid, as well as to enjoy the adventure of a wildlife safari. They were sure the grandkids would love it, and they were right!
Bruce and Marcia had many wonderful experiences on their South African family adventure and loved their time in Cape Town especially. From taking the cableway up Table Mountain for the astounding views to some of the family climbing up Lion’s Head, they found plenty of adventures for everyone. In spending time with their professional guide, they found that talking and interacting with him hit exactly the educational note they were hoping for. Their guide quickly saw the interest that the kids had in learning more about South Africa and was very open to sharing more about the country’s complicated history, as well as talking about politics and how things are today.
While on safari, the family also loved learning about the animals and watching them in their natural habitat. Bruce and Marcia were impressed with how knowledgeable their guides were – anything kids asked – they knew the answers.
“It was great not being the one that had to answer all the questions. We quickly gave that up. We didn’t even pretend we knew the answers. The guides were wonderful!”
A theme of many of their trip highlights were human interactions – both among their own family and the people they met throughout their time in South Africa. They found the lodge staff to be thoughtful and kind, and their interaction with staff members were memorable.
“They seemed genuinely happy to have us there. We have found that’s not always the case when you travel with 17 people.”
They were also pleased that their guides were able to change plans on the fly for their large group, as their trip was private and customized.
“They were so flexible. One of our kids and their family missed the first day due to delayed flights from the US. They wanted to visit the Zeitz Museum because he is a curator in Boston, so our guide cut the Winelands visit short so we could get back to all go to the museum. It was seamless and we so appreciated it!”
The food was also a highlight! They had a memorable lunch in the Winelands and a favorite meal was at the Pot Luck Club in the city. One of Bruce and Marcia’s daughters in law is a foodie, and she loved the food at Thornybush (their safari lodge) so much asked the chef if she would share recipes. Not only was the chef willing, during checkout they presented a printout of the recipes for her. They were also impressed by how careful the lodge’s culinary staff was with a granddaughter’s food allergy.
On safari, they loved seeing “all of the animals who were kind enough to come out and show themselves.” Bruce loved watching the elephants while Marcia loved seeing leopard. One sighting was particularly memorable for her…
“When we were in Kenya, we didn’t see a leopard until the last day and it was sleeping. This trip we saw a leopard that had a kill (hanging in the tree). It had just finished a big meal and was beneath the tree. While we were watching it, it stretched and leapt up into the tree to finish eating.”
They found watching the animals in their natural environment and interacting with each other – whether it be predator and prey or species on equal footing – to be fascinating. Their grandkids loved the birds in addition to Big 5. Dung beetles were a hit too. Bruce and Marcia were excited to see that it wasn’t just the animals they expected them to be fascinated with – they wanted to learn about everything from the tiniest insect to the ones that fly.
They were especially appreciative of the professional photographer who accompanied them on safari one afternoon. This was a gift from AAC for Bruce’s birthday. “She was wonderful. The photos are wonderful!”
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Photos courtesy Marcia R. and Shara Photo