Our Blog
Mapungubwe National Park - Photo Credits: Romina Facchi
This morning we wake up early, prepare breakfast and then we are ready to go, today we do not have to load the car because we will sleep here again tonight, it is comfortable and above all it allows us to leave immediately.
We are in the Mapungubwe National Park in South Africa, on the border with Zimbabwe and Botswana; we are impatient to explore it because, even if it is a park that is often ignored by International travelers, it offers unique landscapes and good sightings.
Mapungubwe National Park: Baobab - Photo Credits: Romina Facchi
After a trip of more than 500 km on South African roads, we finally arrived at the Mapungubwe National Park, it is 3:00 pm and we are on time according to our itinerary.
We enter the main gate of the park and go immediately to check-in, both for the entrance to the park itself and for the two nights we spend inside.
Tropic of Capricorn - Photo Credits: Silvano Greco
We are in South Africa and, more precisely, this morning we were at the Lesedi Cultural Village; yesterday we spent the day here and it was very interesting, while this morning, after having breakfast early, we leave.
Today more than 500 km are waiting for us, we are heading to the Mapungubwe National Park, that is located in the Province of Limpopo, in the North-East of South Africa, on the border with Zimbabwe.
Lesedi Cultural Village - Photo Credits: Romina Facchi
Today we finally leave by our car, Dr. Livingstone, for our journey; the first stop is short, just an hour away, but the important thing is to leave: we are too happy!
Also today we follow the directions of Google Maps and Maps.me that easily lead us to our destination, the Lesedi Cultural Village, near Lanseria.
We arrive around 11.00 am, we left deliberately early from Johannesburg, to have the whole day to enjoy the place, for a tour and even for shopping.
Rosebank - Photo Credits: Romina Facchi
We are in Johannesburg, South Africa, today was destined to go shopping and buy everything we need for the trip; incredibly we managed to do everything by lunch time so we decided to dedicate the remaining time of the day for a ride.
For some time we wanted to go to Rosebank actually we wanted to visit the Art & Craft Market, but since we have never come to this part of the city, it is now an opportunity to see another part of the immense Jozi.
Johannesburg shopping - Photo Credits: Romina Facchi
Before leaving for our trip around South Africa and Swaziland it is essential to shop here in Johannesburg, where there is practically everything.
To tell the truth some things we have brought them from home, such as the Aperol, that here is hard to find, but it is essential to make the spritz in the savannah, now a great classic of our African travels.
This year we also brought the wine, we have three bottles of our favorite winery in the Oltrepo Pavese: the Casa Montini; we have two whites and one red: a riesling, a chardonnay and a croatina.
Casa Montini Winery - Photo Credits: Romina Facchi
During our trip to South Africa and Swaziland we decided to take our favorite wines with us; if on the one hand South Africa is a wine producer on the other we have preferred to have with us some Italian wines, to take a piece of home with us.
We brought with us the wines of Casa Montini, a winery that, for five generations, has been producing and vinifing grapes in the Oltrepò Pavese, following the criteria of Certified Organic Agriculture, respecting the environment and health.
Dr Livingstone - Photo Credits: Romina Facchi
There it is! Finally it has arrived! How much time have we waited for this moment in the last few months!
We got Dr. Livingstone, our car, delivered directly to the hotel by Klip Kop, the company where we parked it during these months.
It's nice and clean, a rarity to see it this way, also it has just done a check-up by the mechanic and then it is in great shape ... how much we want to get on and go off to the adventure, but we have to wait a couple of more days.
OR Tambo Johannesburg - Photo Credits: Romina Facchi
How nice to be back in Johannesburg in South Africa, we're so happy, the problems, the work, the hassles are literally thousands of miles away; here only the safaris await us, tracks, meetings that will surely be exciting and sightings of animals that we hope will be amazing.
After collecting the luggage we leave the area reserved for passengers, it is nice to know an airport because you know where to go to find what you are looking for.
Ethiopian Airlines - Photo Credits: Romina Facchi
At 8.15 pm last night we were boarding so we left the Montale lounge and went to gate B4; this gate is located in the oldest part of the Malpensa airport, but this area has been recently restored.
Our flight by Ethiopian Airlines was on time and we took off at 9:15pm; we were on board a Boing 787 Dreamliner, a brand new aircraft, as well as the rest of the Ethiopian airline's fleet.