I’m not sure if I hinted at the fact that my lovely, powerful, unbelievably great mother may have made an appearance in Cape Town a couple of weeks ago, but just to let all of you know, the rumor is true! While in Kruger, I met up with my mom who had just arrived after flying the dreaded 15 hour flight to Cape Town. The second she arrived at our shared hotel, I attacked her and the concierge probably thought I was a maniac, but getting to hug my mom again was so worth it.
Reunited and it feels soooo good!
Lion’s Head Hike. At night. Pitch Black. Full Moon. Almost fell off…
Anyways, from the second we met up, our action packed African adventure began. We started off our trip together by playing with elephants at the nearby elephant sanctuary and then going to bed nice and early in order to prepare for all of the craziness that was to ensue. We woke up at like 4am the next morning to catch our ride to the Mpumalanga airport, which was basically a glorified hallway. I fully accept that we were THOSE dumb Americans that asked “where is our gate?” and then got the response, “well there is ONLY one gate….” But besides our ignorance, the flight went very well and we arrived in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe about 2 hours later. The falls were beautiful, but unfortunately we chose the wrong time of the year to view the falls. This time of year the water level begins to rise and this causes there to be A LOT of mist that really blocks the view of the falls. We still had a good time getting soaking wet while on our tour of the falls and proceeding to take many unnecessary selfies with the GoPro camera that my mom brought with her.
I’m on the top of the world! Oh, wait, no, I’m on the top of an elephant…
Unnecessary Selfies 
The falls!
Mama, Lindiwe the elephant, Tokai the guide and me!
- Just chilling in a helicopter, no big deal
After our tour of the falls we literally had the time of our lives. We not only rode an elephant with the best Zimbabwean tour guide, but we also took a helicopter ride over the falls, rode in the VIP section on a sunset river cruise and got harassed at a local craft market. I definitely won’t forget my time in Zimbabwe and how amazing it was to have a wild elephant snarl at your hotel window in the middle of the night…Everyone my mother and I met in Zimbabwe was friendly and very willing to help you out. After our stay in Zimbabwe we drove just about an hour away and had the chance to cross over the border into Botswana, where we took a river boat safari and normal safari around Chobe National Park. Once again, it wasn’t the BEST time of the year to go, so we didn’t see any new animals because they were in migration, but we still saw wildlife.
Mama relaxing, all cool
Safari Life!
Yes… This is an ACTUAL dung beetle.
From Chobe we flew back to Cape Town where I showed Mama around the amazing Cape Town, and conned her into doing a couple of action packed activities that she would like to forget about… At the conclusion of that we flew to Durban were we got some much needed TLC, while drinking Pina Coladas by the pool while looking off into the Indian Ocean.
Spice Market in Durban!
Living the dreammm
Overall, I am so glad my Mama was able to visit and I cannot wait until I get to see her again in 38 days!
Mama the beaut!
Love you Mama!
Alexandra Szotka
<p><span style="color: rgb(29, 29, 29); font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; background-color: rgb(237, 237, 237);">Alexa is a sophomore at Ithaca College studying both Public Health and Politics, while also hoping to dapple in her new found interest in gender studies. She grew up in Windsor, Connecticut, famous for being the first town in Connecticut. When Alexa doesn't have her nose in a book, she can be found singing, eating (especially anything pumpkin), being sarcastic or exploring the fantastic world that we are lucky enough to call home. Studying in Cape Town in a dream come true, and Alexa is ready and willing to soak up every last bit of adventure that comes her way!</span></p>
