Rich in history and nature South Africa makes for an interesting stop. Maybe the most dangerous county we have visited, there is an estimated 50 murders a day across South Africa, not to mention all of the sneaky card swappers just waiting for you to screw up, but as long as you stay safe it can be one of the most beautiful countries in the world.

I had been looking forward to South Africa since the beginning of the trip because some really great friends from home, Darrel and MB, were going to join us in. We came into South Africa with no itinerary whatsoever, waiting until we met Darrel and MB to decide what we were going to do.

Darrel and MB got to the Airbnb at 1:00 pm, and for the rest of the day we planned our stay in South Africa. We knew we weren’t going on one of the big safaris up in Kruger National Park. So we decided to only do day trips.

On day two my little brother, dad, Darrel, and MB drove out past part of South Africa’s wine country to the largest (I think) zip line park in South Africa. I’m not a huge fan of zip lining so my mom and I decided to walk around Cape Town and do some shopping.

Our target was a shop called Monkeybiz. They are a social enterprise trying to support female artists in the Cape Town and the surrounding areas. The founder had noticed that there was a need for moms to be able to stay home and take care of their kids, while still being able make a living wage. They mainly sell beaded animals, there was a few place mats but it was otherwise all animals. The artists are told to do whatever colors or shape that they feel like. Something that really differentiates them from other shops is the fact that they pay the artists immediately, and then they go and sell the art.

We went to a few other shops then caught an Uber back to the Airbnb. We rested for about an hour then walked across the street to the Garden Centre where we bought dinner to take back and looked through all the shops. That day I learned truly how much time it takes my mom to find one piece of clothing she likes.

We had requested that Darrel and MB be allowed on the ship for lunch and a tour. We chose a good day for them to come aboard, as this was one of the best lunches we had ever been served. We had marinated flank steak. That may not sound super special to you guys back home, but on the ship that is a treat. Mainly because we broke the pattern of a protein, potatoes and pasta.

The ship was parked right next to the well-known VA Waterfront area , so we took a walk through some of the shops and then my dad, little brother, and I went to the Two Oceans Aquarium, while my mom looked through some more shops, and Darrel and MB went on their own.

On day four we drove out to the historic Simon’s Town. There is many things to do in and around Simon’s town, but the penguins are the main attraction. Boulder beach is one of the two onshore colonies of Spheniscus Demersus, otherwise known as African penguins. We used kayaks to get a better view of the colony. It takes about forty-five minutes to paddle from the harbor to Boulder Beach. Some of the paddle was through a kelp forest. Our guide said that sometimes you will see penguins swimming below you, and less commonly you might see sharks and rays.

We were up by 5 am to start the drive out to the Aquila Game Reserve for our safari. When people go on safaris they hope to see lions, Cape buffalo, elephants, rhinos, and if you’re lucky a leopard, among other animals. They are known as the big five. We only got to see rhinos, elephants and lions sadly, but it was still tons of fun.

We got back to the house at about 1 pm and spent the rest of the day recovering from the early morning and using the Wi-Fi.

On our last day my mom, Darrel, MB, and I went to Robben Island, home to the famous prison that held Nelson Mandela for all those long years.

There is actually four prisons on the island, we only saw two, the maximum security prison (where Mandela was held) and the convicts’ prison. Robben Island is also home one of the largest colonies of Spheniscus Demersus. It was a powerful experience and I would highly suggest trying to get to Robben island and South Africa in general.