The Dooleys Vacation in Africa

Sara’s parents came to visit for about two and a half weeks, and we all had quite the vacation.  After picking them up from the airport in Joberg, we rented a car and drove to our site in KZN.  It was Matt’s first time driving on the left side of the road, but he did a great job (after the first couple of hours, which were a little scary).  The school term was ending, but Sara’s parents were able to see our school and meet our kids.  The teachers surprised us by putting on a huge braii (bbq).  They made tons of food and really made Steve and Cindy feel welcome.  After stuffing ourselves with meat, we then enjoyed a number of our students performing traditional dances for us.

After leaving our site, we drove to St. Lucia, which is a small town on the ocean.  We took a boat ride our first night and saw some crocodiles and tons of hippos.  The next day we went on a game drive (safari), which was fabulous.  Even though it rained on and off throughout the day, we saw plenty of animals.  Two of the highlights were seeing lions and later rhinos right next to the road.  Our guide said we were very lucky to be so close to the lions.  We also saw zebras, giraffes, elephants, monkeys, warthogs and a hyena.

After a few days in St. Lucia, we drove to the Drakensberg Mountains.  They are beautiful!  It was a little cold, but we got really lucky with the weather considering it’s winter here.  We did a lot of hiking during the day and played many games of cards at night.

Next, we drove back to Joberg and flew to Zambia to see Victoria Falls, which were, in a word, incredible.  The falls were beautiful on both the Zambian and Zimbabwean sides, and we now fully appreciate why they are one of the seven natural wonders of the world.  While in the neighbourhood, we took a day trip to Chobe National Park in Botswana.  We were on a river boat in the morning and did a game drive in the afternoon.  Chobe was amazing and we saw tons of animals.  One of the highlights was seeing elephants swim across the river to an island.  We had never seen elephants swim before, and it was definitely a memorable experience.

After Zambia (and a short jaunt into Zimbabwe to see the falls from the other side), we flew back to South Africa and spent the last night with Sara’s parents in Pretoria.  The backpackers where we usually stay also runs a guesthouse, so we were able to show them where we stay when we’re in Pretoria (and where we lived for over a month while waiting for our site change).  It was the 4^th of July, and the backpackers had organized an American-themed trivia night.  There were quite a few other Peace Corps volunteers in Pretoria, so there were many Americans playing trivia.  And....our team won!  Our prize included a case of Dr. Pepper and poptarts (things very hard to come by in South Africa).  Sara’s parents flew back to America the next day (well, over the next 2 days!).  It was an extraordinary vacation, and we hope they enjoyed it was much as we did!