It was a trip of a lifetime

Below you will find the full video and snippets of an interview with Linda, a recent traveler.  It will provide some perspective on her views, feelings and attitudes to this trip which was meant as a special birthday trip but ended up being a magnificent experience, well beyond her expectations:

"It was the greatest trip, it was the trip of a lifetime. Honestly, it was just remarkable, the diverse opportunities we had in two weeks. You know, how much distance we covered and how easy it was to do with our guide. You know, we had a lot of luggage. He never lost patience with us, packing and unpacking and in and out of the van. And it was simple and we loved it".

"We saw lions three different times, actually, but 15 minutes of just sitting there, watching there. They were so majestic and in their natural habitat. It was incredible. A herd of elephants just walking along. We saw everything. It was beautiful. So in 14 days, we never stayed anywhere more than three nights. And there was, you know, a lot of driving. I don't think that I would have been comfortable navigating that on my own, not to mention being from America, you know, we drive on the right hand side of the road. And so it's the complete opposite there. And, you know, it's fine if you're in a rural situation, but in the cities, when you need to make quick decisions, I wouldn't have wanted to do that. So that was very reassuring and comforting. It was really great that Eugene (our 24/7 guide) had a sense of, you know, when we wanted some alone time, he was fine with that. But really, I mean, we kind of became a trio. We had a great time together. So yes, very comforting to have that".

"Stellenbosch was a dream. We loved Fancourt. The courses were incredible. I mean, we were not able to play The Links, which is I think rated number one in South Africa, but we played Montague and we played Outeniqua and they were wonderful. The wine was great. We went wine tasting several times. And then Cape Town, of course, just the beautiful city that it is.  And we were right on the water. We loved the V&A hotel we stayed in with a beautiful view of Table Mountain, which we did Table Mountain. We did the hike, Cape of Good Hope. Gosh, you know, all the names are starting to blend together after moving. We moved a lot. But it was wonderful. We saw actually a lot of Westerners. I was quite surprised once we got to Cape Town, how many people from the United States and specifically from the Midwest, which is where we're from. But we met people from Illinois and Wisconsin and Indiana. I mean, it was quite, quite surprising".

"You know, it's just so hard to choose a favorite part, but, you know, safari, I guess. As much as I love golf, the safari was spectacular at both venues. But we loved the Black Rhino, probably our best, our favorite. And then, you know, the wineries were incredible. We loved Blair Atholl. Oh my goodness, what a beautiful course that is and just a beautiful area, so we love that. The Cradle Hotel, Boutique Hotel was quite spectacular as well. Yeah, there was really not anything I would change except my golf scores - haha, but that's not on you. Honestly, it was just remarkable the diverse opportunities we had in two weeks. You know, how much distance we covered and how easy it was to do with our guide".

"I would recommend it to everyone. Having left there, I plan to go back. I had no idea what I was getting into. I was excited. I had high hopes. All of my expectations were exceeded. The people, the culture, the weather, which I know you can't control, but, you know, being winter, the brutal winter days of 70 degrees Fahrenheit (haha). Yeah, it was spectacular. Yes, I would recommend it. I have already recommended it".