Greetings from Marakele National Park!

Seven extra hours. That's the bonus time I had to get this out to you today with the time change to South Africa. Which I needed. We arrived from Johannesburg yesterday. Almost immediately we set out for our afternoon game drive, followed by sundowners in a treehouse (see the 7 types of gin below. I loved the rose petal!) and a beautiful boma dinner under the stars. There are so many magical moments on safaris! And after that, I finished off the day staying up too late watching the end of the US - Iran World Cup game. I was pleasantly surprised it was available in the bush.

I'm excited the US (and Spain) are still in it! Go USA!

I admit the 5am wake up call this morning for an early game drive and site visit at nearby lodge was not easy. But as I'm here for work, I did it.

Backing up to yesterday - because these educational trips are focused on learning, we opted for a 4 ½ hour drive to our first safari lodge to see what it’s like to do a road transfer instead of a flight. The rest of the transfers will be bush planes. Driving provides a more reasonably priced transportation option, and it gives you a bit of a view of life on the ground outside of a camp. 

However, here’s my assessment – you are paying a lot of money to go on safari, time off of work and perhaps your kids out of school. The trade-off is not worth it. In Kenya for our family’s personal safari we flew between all of the lodges. It saves you time, allowing you to see more in less time and perhaps even reducing your stay by a night, which actually saves you money. That would be my preference. 

So far we've seen dung beetles rolling up a ball of dung (fascinating - the female just holds on to the ball for dear life as the male pushes it around), baby warthogs (my favorite), lots of impala, zebra, water buffalo, rhinos (including a baby) and had a very exciting encounter with a herd (possibly several) of 50+ elephants romping in the river. You can see the video here.

What I love about safaris is the excitement of never knowing what you are going to see!

Rewind a bit - my bonus day in London (because a month ago my morning flight to the UK was cancelled so I had to go out the night before) was so fun! My colleague, Kerry, and I spent the day exploring with one of my UK partners. 

We went Christmas shopping, walked through Mayfair, visited a couple of tea spots, ate our way through Borough Market (loved it so much!), and drove around to see the holiday lights in a MiniCooper. We talked about a wide variety of creative experiences in London and brainstormed new ones. 

Then I lucked out on the plane to Jo’burg sitting next to a young London investment banker who was of Indian decent. Guess what one of his favorite Indian restaurants is? Dishoom! (last week’s newsletter Highlight). I mentioned I have clients going there and to Bombay Bustle and he loves BB too. There is no shortage of great Indian food in London! 

With only 24 hours on the ground, Johannesburg was a whirlwind. Shopping for extra gear (my colleague’s duffle was never put on the plane from the US), dinner with our African partners, site visits at three hotels, including Fairlawns and the Saxon – two of the most luxurious and popular hotels that on the surface appear comparable. But they are quite different. Although I’d previously learned about the differences from colleagues, nothing beats seeing a place in person. One of them has a villa that I will be renting the next time I’m in South Africa with my family or a group of friends. It was amazing and surprisingly affordable. 

Below you will see photos from Fairlawns. I absolutely loved the color and patterns in these two rooms. One for a traditional tea and one for a private dinner. Plus their spa looked amazing! Individual outdoor treatment rooms with a 60 minute massage for $50. The current strength of the USD is an extra bonus.

This evening's game drive will be on the water and we are hoping to see crocs, hippos and lions. But of course you never know what will happen on safari!

Enjoy your week!