User name: Heidianna Hometown: Seattle States visited: About 40 Countries visited: 20+ (lost count!) Next trip planned: To Italy in spring. Dream trip: Tasmania or sailing the Greek Isles

Description of my trip:
A few years ago I took an amazing hiking trip to South Africa that started in Cape Town, then went up the east coast to the Garden Route, Drakensburg Mountains, and finally to some game reserves near Kruger National Park. Three weeks in total, with a small group of 6 people through Wilderness Travel.

Favorite memories:
Hiking to the top of Table Mountain, seeing Nelson Mandela's small cell on Robbin Island; laughing at the jackass penguins at Boulders Beach; watching two oceans collide at the end of the continent; watching a mother leopard introduce her cubs to the male of the family; dining by torchlight in the bush; visiting the battleground at Rorke's Drift...the list goes on and on!

Roadblocks:
Elephants! We got a little too close for comfort one evening to a herd of females and their young-they were in the road, and we were going to drive around them, but it wasn't possible because of a thicket of trees. It was a standoff. They brayed (roared?) and mock-charged our Jeep to scare us away. It worked. We retreated (and were pretty shook up).

A person I'll never forget:
Our guide, Michael, who set up a bush picnic every evening for us so we could have a sundowner in safari style. He never failed to have some biltong and a Castle beer on hand.


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