Day 7: SA + Hannah Game Lodge
Today’s tidbit: “You lose sight of things… and when you travel, everything balances out.”— Daranna Gidel
During this entire new 2 week tour, we started in Johannesburg and ended up in Cape Town. As I posted last week, day 6 of our trip (day 1 of the new tour) we explored Soweto and Johannesburg, spending the night in Joburg. Day 7 began our road trips with the group, where we headed somewhere new daily which allowed us to really see and experience as much of South Africa as we could cover. From Joburg we drove to our next stop, Hannah Game Lodge.
Sneak peek image:
Be sure to click below to read more and check out more pictures. Enjoy!
{daily road trip} With our new tour there were 32 people total. We were split up in 2 groups though, those who spoke german (23 were from Germany) and those who spoke english (9 of us, 4 from the US and 5 from AU). The germans had a big bus, but luckily with our smaller group we had this van for the tour. We spent a lot of time in there, driving around while making stops along the way to our new destination.
Speaking of stops… heading on the road for a few hours there was always a coffee stop. Short, easy and serious sizes!
Another spot we stopped at along the way to Hannah Lodge was Harrie’s Pancakes for lunch. The best part was they had gluten free options! I decided to go for a sweet filling one that afternoon and got cinnamon & sugar with banana. Delicious.
Across the street from Harrie’s were some shops. My mom and I stopped in African Home, which was a community project where everything was handmade by locals. It was neat to browse around admiring their skills! Supporting them, I bought a few presents that I brought back to the states (Allie and Pamela).
As we waited for everyone to get back in the van to continue our journey, I noticed this quote on a van with kids parked next to us. Appropriate and true!
{Hannah Game Lodge – entrance} “The Best Kept Secret In The South African Bushveld!“ Read more.
After we crossed over railroad tracks we followed a very bumpy dirt road through some of the bushveld to get to the lodge. The rooms and landscape was similar to Heia Safari (where we stayed the very first night) but unlike Heia where wildlife was walking right around you, here the game was off in the distance. There were a few critters like guinea fowl wandering around though.
{Hannah Game Lodge – our room} A taste of our room, inside and out, along with the breath taking open views that surrounded you.
{Hannah Game Lodge – around the property} After getting settled, most of our group went on an evening game drive. Since my mom and I had already done one, and we had several others lined up for later, we stayed back to explore the property. From the dining room there is was a huge wrap around porch. We enjoyed sitting out there, sipping Amarula on ice while watching some antelope and warthogs scurrying around. Such a peaceful evening!
We finished out the evening with an absolutely gorgeous African sunset! Perfect way to end a day.
How BEAUTIFUL is that?! And that concludes another wonderful day in SA. Check back Friday for a photo shoot with an adorable family! I will continue with SA posts again in January. Happy Holidays!
Those pancakes! South Africa is such an interesting country with many foreign influences and yup it has many bumpy roads. I had forgotten about the bumpy dirt roads, the potholes and speed bumps… LOOKOUT!! Hannah Game Lodge was a taste of the natural beauty and wonder that abounds in SA. There was always something spectacular at the end of the road apart from that time we gave up on reaching Nelson Mandela’s ancestral village at Qunu. Now that was a really bumpy road!
LOOKOUT for sure, some of the “roads” needed some help! I remember looking back to make sure the trailer with the luggage was still attached. I almost forgot about Nelson Mandela’s ancestral village at Qunu. That was crazy. Made for some good laughs though.
How true! Had to be very careful with our precious coffee while on the road. I do not think that was a road meant for vehicles near Qunu that we were directed onto… and yes, LOOKOUT was the operative word on this tour!
Hannah was lovely and so tranquil. Great start to our group tour of SA!
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!
That place is gorgeous…and look at that sunset! Beautiful! Was that an amarula drink?
It really was! And yup, just Amarula on ice. Yum.
When I see these pictures… I am like WHOA. I mean… WOW!!!
[…] a little break from this FREEZING weather? Back to South Africa posts! Last time I left off with day 7 at Hannah Game Lodge. Continuing on with a long road trip, we headed to our next destination – Casa do Sol. We broke […]