View of Cape Town
Walking from the airplane towards the immigration area, I noticed that I was walking a little faster than normal. And when I turned the corner, walked down the small staircase and straight into the immigration line itself, I could not help but smile widely.

I received my entry stamp, picked up my backpack (which for the first time in all my travels was one of the first few pieces of luggage to come out onto the luggage carousel) and proceeded through the customs inspection. Seconds later, the sliding glass door opened, I walked right through and there I stood in the Arrivals Hall of the O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, with an array of brilliant flashbacks popping into my head.

It felt mighty good to be back in South Africa.

Only 14 months prior had I been standing in that exact same spot when my flight from New York City had arrived and the South Africa Travel Blogger Tour that I had been invited on, had begun. This time, I had flown in from Mumbai and while I wouldn’t be traveling with a group of other bloggers on this particular trip, I would not be traveling alone either.

This current South Africa trip of mine is all about my mom. In order to celebrate her birthday, we decided to meet in the one country that has been at the top of her list of places to visit for a long time now…sweet South Africa!

After agreeing on the dates a few months ago, I looked into the logistics, I was put in touch with the wonderfully helpful people over at DSA Vacations and before we knew it, we had our trip all planned out.

And now, here we are.

I’m excited, she’s excited and, even though I’ll be traveling a little differently than I normally do over the following ten days, I hope you’ll be excited to follow along with us as well.

And what exactly do I mean by ‘traveling a little differently than I normally do?’ Well, as my goal was to make this trip as special as possible for my mom, we’ll be staying at some accommodation along the way that I probably wouldn’t stay at if I were backpacking on my own. (Let’s just say that there won’t be any mice running around these rooms!)

But hey, this trip is a birthday celebration and I wanted to do it properly. Besides, the next ten days and beyond will be full of activities and excursions that will give you an excellent idea of what a visit to this diverse country is all about. As for our itinerary, we’ll spend three days in Cape Town before heading over to the Garden Route and staying a few nights in Plettenberg Bay. From there we’ll fly up to Johannesburg for a quick stop and then continue on to Kruger National Park for a 3-day safari.

And the best part (for me at least) is that this trip includes visits to parts of this country that I did not have a chance to experience the last time I was here back in 2010.

So, are you ready to explore a little bit of South Africa with my mom and I? I’m highly confident that you won’t be disappointed! After all, we’ve only been here a couple of days so far and there’s already been African penguin sightings, a drive along the mesmerizing Cape Peninsula, wine-tasting in beautiful Stellenbosch and of course, a trip up to the top of impressive Table Mountain.

Penguins at Boulder's Beach

Cape Peninsula

Mom and I from Table Mountain

It’s off to a spectacular start and there shall be plenty more to come…

Any questions about South Africa? Is this country already on your list of places you want to visit?