SAFARI BOUND
A family wedding in Cape To w n set adventurous
plans in motion by Sandy Chinski,Red Deer, Alta.
M
ytriptoAfricastartedwhen
my niece Melissa decided to
get married just outside Cape
Town, South Africa, in February
of this year. I never in my life thought that I
would go to such an exotic and exciting place.
The magic started when some of my
family and I made it to our lodge outside
Victoria Falls. It was rustic and made you
really feel like you were in Africa. Our
rooms overlooked a nearby watering hole,
and there was not another building in sight
as far as the eye could see.
Within a few minutes of us standing
on our deck, we saw our first elephant. It
seemed like when one animal would ap-
pear, drink and then move on, something
else would show up. We were so awestruck!
You could see the giraes coming froma long way o; their heads were usually
above the trees in this area. Water bualo,
elephants, baboons, impalas, kudus, zebras
and just about every other animal you could
think of came by at some point during our
four-day stay here. The only animals not in
the immediate area were the big cats.
I feel lucky to have walked along the edge
of Victoria Falls, which is so amazingly
beautiful. There was so much spray com-
ing from the falls that we got pretty soaked,
even with rain gear on. It was extremely
hot, however, so it was all good.
Our next stop was Cape Town, which
is a stunning city on the ocean with Table
Mountain as a backdrop. We toured the
area and overlooked it from the mountain
top. We also spent a few days in the vine-
yards of South Africa, meeting new peopleAbove: This
little tyke is
just one of the
many elephants
Sandy spotted
on her safari
excursions—
and from her
room!
DESTINATIONS
56 Our Canada AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2019