Howzit 1

Travel moments

I flew from Nola to NYC to Jo'burg, where I met Megan, we stayed one night and then rented a car and drove 6 hrs to Kruger National Park where we stayed at 2 different lodges in the Sabi Sand and went on Safari. Then we drove back to Jo'burg, and flew to Cape Town for 4 days. When we rented the car we tried to get the cheapest automatic (to avoid the added difficulty of shifting left handed while driving from the right side of the car and the left side of the road). Ironically, the cheapest automatic they had available was a BMW. Two American girls, driving a BMW through small villages in South Africa. So much for blending in. It didn't take us long to wish we were in a Land Rover when we hit the dirt curves and bumps of the Sabi Sand. Word to the wise: when driving to safari, always go with an SUV. Of course the follies of our road trip made the journey more interesting (as it goes with most discomforts in life). And we made the journey even more interesting when we rented a gps that quit working 10 minutes after we drove off the lot. We were forced to navigate the remainder of the trip the old fashioned way (well, we resorted to megan's blackberry, but we still had to follow road signs and constantly reset the odometer). By the time we made it to Cape Town and rented a Honda Jazz!, Megan was nearly a pro at driving on the wrong (err, left) side of the road. And yes, we literally saw Giraffes from our car window as we departed Ulusaba lodge on our way back to Jo'burg. It felt like Jurassic Park. We were half-excited and half- terrified. All part of the quest to feel most splendidly alive.

Til "Howzit" part 2,
Rebecca