ºoº The Sprung family’s Adventures by Disney South Africa ºoº
If you have followed Shh Moms Reading for any length of time then you know the Sprung family is a Disney family!
So when the youngest Sprung decided he wanted to go to South Africa 🇿🇦 instead of having a big Bar Mitzvah it likely isn’t a shock that our family chose to use Disney’s tour company Adventures by Disney for this!
Being a Disney family had its advantages as I got to call in and book before the general public ….. after waiting on hold for 4 hours, yes 4 hours, I was able to secure the travel dates we wanted for the South African Adventure …Dates that were almost 2 years away…
We had our Adventure secured and then when we waiting…
It got REAL when our Adventures by Disney welcome packet to arrived!
We received two of these; as we are two adults and two teens; we are two separate yet linked reservations; we get two rooms at each hotel we stayed out.
Suzanne of SuzanneK Travel was super helpful with the booking of our airfare on South African Airlines and our travel insurance (something that in my opinion for a vacation this size is needed) I selected South African Airlines (SAA) because they fly direct from JFK to Johannesburg and I wanted to go directly home after the end of the trip. Side note: On the phone South African Airlines sold our travel agent this ticket as a round trip with an in-country leg saving us a lot of money!
The Disney welcome package warns that each travelers is allowed a 44 lb suitcase and one 12 lb backpack and yes I stressed about this for the weeks leading up to travel. I highly recommend a handheld luggage scale, I used this at home and then packed it with me.
As you will see in the photos below, I packed and wore a fair amount of Disney Swag!
We also purchased really good charging packs, SAA does not have outlets in coach and with long days ahead of us and our iPhones having good cameras on them we wanted to stay charged. The Ankor charger was a home run and something we will use again and again!
Also much needed were South Africa designated power adapters so we could charge all the things!
And then after months, well really years, of planning the waiting was over and it was departure day!
Note: all photos and videos were either taken on the iPhone or my Nikon 5600 (using a 18/140 lens)
Departure Day
Ultimate Class Limo
On-time with friendly drivers… our go to for car service
Day one plus …..
South African Airlines in coach provided each guest with headphones 🎧 a blanket and a pillow. A full lunch was served and then after turning the plane dark very dark for almost 9 hours we were served breakfast at about 6 am local time both meals were served with real utensils 🍴and again were both provided in economy.
South African Arline has a unique online system where you bid for business class
Our bid for the 2 hour flight from J-Burg to Capetown was accepted. This allowed us to visit their Business Lounge during our stop layover and then to sit business class on this short leg.
Best two hours of the trip ….I really really really needed the power nap 😴Yes, I laid flat for the short trip from Johannesburg to Cape Town.
Side note we cleared customs in J-Burg and the airport was fairly easy to navigate.
We opted to add pre-night stays to our trip in order to adjust to the time difference and enjoy all Capetown has to offer.
We arrived in Cape Town on Tuesday having departed New York on Monday. Via Disney we added nights onto our stay at The Table Bay Resort. This ensured we did not have to change rooms and that Disney arranged for a driver to pick us up at the airport and drive us to the Table Bay Resort.
Our first meal in Capetown! A restaurant just a few steps out the back of the Table Bay Resort in the V&A Waterfront.
Day 2 is hard to put into words…
Below is video of the breakfast buffet at The Table Bay Resort!
It has so many yummy stations set up around the room (a room with outstanding views) it even including a room filled with juices. This was included with all our nights even the pre-night stays booked through Disney.
When we asked the hotel concierge for assistance to travel around Cape Town for the day …they offered us a driver to take us around.
Buhlelani our driver, drove us to the South African Jewish museum.
It turns out the museum was founded by Nelson Mandela and is build inside of what was the first synagogue 🕍 in Cape Town. It is in the same courtyard was The Great Synagogue; this was truly a breathtaking experience and perfect way to stay Jeremy’s Bar Mitzvah trip
We returned to the Table Bay Resort for High Tea ☕️
Both boys found teas they enjoyed and yes they loved the dessert course
Day 3…..
Due to weather we cspent the day exploring the V & A Waterfront.
First stop the Two Oceans Aquarium ….
On the way back to the hotel we strolled thru V&A Food Market and sampled some delicious food made from local chefs and a pavilion filled with beautiful local art (the purse below was purchased there)….
Dinner time…
Larry sported his new shirt he purchases at the Presidential Store …the store is owned by the woman who used to dress Nelson Mandela (15% of the proceeds go to his foundation) I am sporting a new handbag from local artist Fact Designs.
Day 4….. Helicopter 🚁 tour over Cape Town with the folks at Sport Helicopters
This short 12 minute tour offered breathtaking views of Cape Town while being short enough for those in our party a bit nervous to give it a try!
We then received an in-room deliver from the Adventures by Disney team!
Day 5…. (Saturday, yes I had to look that up)
We checked in with Adventures by Disney and meet our Adventures Guides for our trip! Adventure Guide Craig was our local South African Guide while Adventure Guide Kira
was our US based guide. Both were very friendly; we were asked some questions and selected a few meals for during our trip (we later learned why).
Official start tomorrow at 7:30am
Day 6 …. Day 1 of our Adventures by Disney South Africa
The days below are what is included with the paid Adventures by Disney South Africa
In the morning the group meet in the lobby and were taken to a coach bus where we meet our amazing driver for the upcoming days, Neeven.
We were notified a few days before departure that the Table Bay Cable Car was under renovation so instead we visited botanical gardens with sweeping views of Table Mountain.
We also had a powerful visit to District 6 (not pictured)
After a short time back at the hotel we were off to Dinner at Gold Restaurant
Before food was served we were all given a drum lesson
African dancers joined us in the private dining space our group was brought to eat; they were amazing and so entertaining but I chose to put the camera down
Day 7 …. Adventures by Disney Full day 2
The Cape of Good Hope and Penguin 🐧 Beach
The Cape of Good Hope
Boulder Beach… so many penguins
Our South African based Adventures by Disney Guide Craig spent time each day reading us Who was Nelson Mandela?
Craig’s accent and heartfelt emotions made the reading of this story so powerful.
Day 8….. Adventures by Disney Full day 3
Eagle 🦅 Encounter and lunch at a Vineyard
Yes I held a snake 🐍…. yes I was DONE the minute it started to tighten around my neck.
Larry’s video with the snake was cuter so I used his.
Sprung Adventure Day 9 … Adventures by Disney South Africa 🇿🇦 Full Day 4
We departed Cape Town on a flight for George
We then drove two hours up the Garden Route to Birds of Eden
A protected sanctuary for rescued birds
After a yummy lunch at a local winery that included “the best bread in the known and … then we traveled to Monkeyland
This was WOW just wow ….Disney arranged for us to be present at feeding time…
After exploring with our guide and seeing many species that normally hide in the canopy we traveled about an hour and checked into the amazing Pezula Resort Hotel & Spa.
As the sunset over Pezula the stars were breathtaking and with the naked eye we could see the milky way.
We downloaded the Sky Guide app for our iPhones and well the night sky was captivating…
Sprung South Africa Day 10 Adventures by Disney Full Day 5
We ventured by ferry to Featherbed Nature Preserve
We were driven up in trucks to the top… high above where the Indian Ocean flows into Knysna
The views on the hike down were beyond words…. and worth every pedal stroke on the Peloton!
Lunch at the reserve was outstanding (no photos)
My men climbed down off the path and stick their toes in the water …the Knysna Lagoon just a few short steps from where the Indian Ocean flows in
We then returned to Pezula for a short break and then spent our evening at the Knysna Elephant 🐘 Preserve
We were privileged to feed these amazing creatures and then eat dinner on the reserve.
We are off to bed as tomorrow we depart early and fly ✈️ to our final stop on this epic adventure Kapama Private Game Reserve!
Ok so Day number I have no idea anymore ….
I am struggling here because our Adventures by Disney South Africa 🇿🇦 was really beyond words…..
We then departed Pezula early for a flight from George to Hoedspruit (a tiny airport which happens to be an emergency landing site for the space shuttle)
On the way to the airport our amazing guides who travel with pixie dust stopped so we could all experience the Indian Ocean!
With writing in the sand (pixie dust) and yes… water to clean our feet after.
We then boarded a private flight for our time at Kapama Private Game Reserve
And then then…. I run out of words…. so please enjoy the animals in their natural habitat.
Our Ranger Ian picked us up at the airport….airport might be a generous word.. it was a small one gate building… and as we crossed the street into the gated grounds of this was what greeted us… a few minute into the drive to the lodge …a giraffe 🦒 strolled next to us
We were treated to a yummy lunch including freshly grilled lamp chops which my boys loves; we checked into our room and set back out for a 4:15pm evening game drive.
This is when it got REAL and it became clear we were not at zoo or at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
On the drive in early in the day Larry’s joked it was sort of a mindf*ck as it did feel a lot like Kilimanjaro Safari….part of the reason why is because the Disney Imagineers used this as their “inspiration” and man did they get it close… truth be told the ride at Disney World is bumper than almost all our game drives.. though we did drive into the trees and often had to look out for branches (and torns — oh there is a great story about torns and my older son ask me some day in person)
We were treated to a lionesses walking within feet of our truck.. so close actually another passenger nervously on our game truck asked our ranger if he or the tracker had a gun… if you are wondering the answer is NO… the only people on the reserve with guns are the anti-poachers and they only shoot poachers…..
As you can see she could care are less that the truck was there; though we were warned a few times to stay SEATED as they animals are accustomed to the shape of the truck. …. After this I put down my camera 📷 for the night drive.
After the sunset over the savannah we ate an incredible meal via fire light!
Again Day number no freaking idea… it’s our first full day at Kapama Private Game Reserve …
Our tracker and ranger located so many species of animals and shared fun facts about so many of them!
We have seen in our 3 games drives …. 4 of the big 5!
Including seeing TWO male leopards 🐆 fighting for territory (something our guides rarely see) We literally drove into and out of torn brushes and trees Zach said it is so worth the torns
As the leopard 🐆 walked over the ridge ….our ranger backed out at a very high rate of speed
(Side note when in a safari vehicle you must turn in the direction it is traveling because BRANCHES)
Ian realized another truck was enjoying drinks and snacks very close by out of their trucks
You see male leopards 🐆 in the midst of a fight are VERY dangerous and people walking around at not the shapes they are used to
Sooo….Ian drives down to other Disney guests instructing then to get into the truck NOW.
At first they don’t seem to understand the severity and sort of meandered around…well when our guide and tracker started yelling and then pulled our truck between them and the side they thought the leopard might be on; it was clear this was serious!
We offered “cover” while those guides packed up in like 15 seconds and the guests scrambled into the truck
I didn’t have the thought process to video but it was a stark reminder that we were guests in the animals world!
Ok bare with me and I try to put this into words as on the morning of our last full day we completed the Big 5!
Huge thank you to our tracker Phillip and Ranger Ian from Kapama Private Game Reserve for we rolled up on a herd of elephants 🐘
I can NOT even express to you the sounds around us at they knocked down trees 🌲 in search of the nutrient rich roots
We were in awe of this giants
Our final evening game drive… this was the sunset… the video doesn’t even do the colors justice and the emotions you feel as a giraffe just strolls by transcends words…
On our final morning drive departure day… we had a shorter morning drive so we would have time to shower and eat breakfast before our flight to Johannesburg our tracker Philip found the elusive hyena….. (photo in the animal collage below)
As we said goodbye to Kapama; an experience photos and words struggle to even do justice we passed a herd of zebra.
Saying Goodbye to this amazing adventure was tough but we will forever hold this vacation in our hearts!
Our Adventures by Disney Guides transported us to the J-Burg airport and after lots of guidance and instruction we parted ways.
Final Thoughts….
Thank you for indulging and reading the longest post I have ever written…. I hope that you enjoyed it and that if you are considering the Adventures by Disney South Africa or if you are booked to go you found this post helpful!
Things I wished I packed…. really great lip balm (my lips got wind burn) and a winter coat (the black one in most of the photos was purchased in Cape Town)
If you travel I highly recommend the American Express Platinum Card for this trip or really any travel! Our Adventure had us at the airport at 1 pm local time because of the lounge partnership we had access to a lounge and enjoyed food, outlets, comfortable seating and clean restrooms for hours before our direct flight at 9 pm local time back to JFK.
The American Express Platinum Card also provided bonus points for some of the large spends associated with booking this trip.
I understand why Adventures by Disney selects Kapama for its guests!
A huge thank you to Ranger Ian and Tracker Phillip for the amazing experience at Kapama Private Game Reserve. These men tracked the Big 5 for us (truly beyond words) and showed us so many breathtaking sights and sounds. Their love and respect for the animals and land shines through. Ian was educational, witty and engaging…very much a customer services forward experience Phillip ability to read the land and listen was awe inspiring.
Each morning we pulled over and the staff prepared morning coffee ☕️ and hot chocolate in the bush. It was cold but the staff provided blankets and hot water bottles to use at warmth. Once the sun rose the temperature heated up, I am very glad we were traveling in their winter as the lack of leaves and no high brush really helped with animal sightings.
Our Adventures by Disney’s Guides for our 10 days made this experience truly magical!
Adventure Guide Craig was our local South African Guide enhancing our trip with his voice and love of his country and while Adventure Guide Kira our US based guide a long term Disney employee added that our Disney touch. Their attention to detail, their desire to make each guest feel special, their ability to anticipate needs, Craig’s heartfelt stories about his beloved country and Kira’s pure Disney organizational skills (insert herding cats) combined to make this an experience of a lifetime!
Since this Adventures by Disney has no Disney Store.. I purchases few items at Shop Disney before we departed! The Pandora bracelet shown above in the Cape of Good Hope photos is all Disney charms.
I leave you with some of the amazing animals we saw during our visit to South Africa.
Yes, we really were this close… as I said above I had a lens longer than 140 on my camera and most of this is iPhone photography.
Despite the length of this post it is not all inclusive I have never done this before but if you want more photos of this amazing adventure you can check South Africa July 2019 a public album on my personal Facebook profile.
Sue G.
What an awesome trip! Can’t believe how close you were to some of those animals! Yikes! We just booked a Disney trip…we leave Sept 1st. We haven’t been there since 2014 so I’m very excited!