Welcome to Zambia

After a short flight from Johannesburg we arrived in Livingstone, Zambia. We waited for 15 minutes in line to pay $50 for our visa. Our bags were waiting for us and so was our shuttle driver. He informed us we had about a 25 minute drive to the hotel. We were pumped to be here and ready for some time off of work.

While at the airport I thought it would be a good idea to get some local currency, although we were not aware o the conversion rate versus the dollar. I went to the ATM and saw that my options were 10,000, 20,000, 50,000 or 100,000 +. Knowing it was a tourist town I was timid to get 100,000 so I opted for 20,000. One one of the guys I was with had an iPhone and he pulled up the currency converter. After a minute of waiting and some nerves about how much money I might have just taken out of my account, he informed me that I had just taken out $4.12. The lucky thing was that Zambia accepted US dollars, Euros, South African Rand, and more. It was a very easy country to get around in, sight see and shop. English is the native language and there is little corruption and crime. We felt safe the entire time we were there.

We arrived at our hotel and were greeter with a hand washing and a refreshing beverage while we got checked in.

We got checked in and took in some views of the hotel and the surrounding area. It was a beautiful lodge type hotel, with great rooms, great decks and great views. Oh, an some of the best drinks and food I have ever found at a hotel. All in all it was a great find for our hotel. It was located in the heart of a national park so we were advised to not go outside the fence around the hotel after 6pm. Elephant, hippos and more were known to be found in the area around the hotel. It was such a neat experience to know that these animals were all around us and we were truly in their world. Here's some pics of our hotel.



Well that's it for tonight. I have at least 5 or 6 more blogs to do from my trip to Zambia. I am excited to share the rest of my journey with you. Check back soon!

Sun City Resort, South Africa

The hotel we stayed at in South Africa was amazing. It was close to being Las Vegas in the middle of South Africa. It had multiple hotels, casinos, meeting rooms, and of course a wave pool and water slides. It was a great place with amazing animals (monkeys and baboons lived on site) and beautiful golf courses and activities near by. Here are some pictures of the hotel, and some fun we got to have the last day before we left for Zambia.

The monkeys and baboons were all over the property. The baboons scour the terraces and decks of the hotels and break in through windows or open sliding doors. They eat the food in the mini fridges and then move on to the next room. A few people returned to their rooms to find a baboon in there. Luckily I was not one of them. Good stories to tell after, not so much during the encounters though. No harm done, just some peanut M&M's missing.

Some Great Features of the Hotel. Site of our opening social hour.

We did play a little at the end....

The golf course and the property.

Next stop..... ZAMBIA!

South Africa and Beyond

I am sitting in the airport on my way to Amsterdam and then home. It has been a tremendous trip and I have so much to share with all of you. I only took about 800 pictures so I won the bet of over/under 2,000.

The meeting in Sun City, South Africa was amazing. The best part was an early morning game drive we went on in Pilanesburg National Park. We got to see a bull elephant up close, lots of rhinos and their offspring, warthogs, a couple hippos, wildebeests, zebras, and a lot more. It was a cold morning, but a great way to start my true Africa experience.

Here are some pics from drive.

And to tease you, this is just the beginning of the wonderful world of Africa and it's many treasures I encountered once I arrived in Zambia... but that is another post.... or ten!!

All I can say is that I WILL be coming back to Africa again, and I invite any of you to join me. It is an amazing land of beauty, animals, people and places. I look forward to the next adventure. For now, look forward to more blogs about all of our activities once we got to Zambia.