Best bits!!

So a quick round-up of an epic three-week trip.

Best day:
Biyamiti - seeing the Big Five in one day, with two Leopard sightings.
(but honestly every day was awesome and a worthy contender)

Best night:
Biyamiti - managing to keep the guys up until 1:45 drinking!

Best accommodation:
LaLuxe - definitely saved the best for last.
(Tofo came very, very close second)

Best pool:
Sodwana Bay Lodge - easy to get into, good temp, large, not too deep, deserted.

Best activity:
Microlighting - just simply wow, wow, wow!

Best catch-phrase:
Tony/Lu - "Get in!"

Best porkie:
Sue - "Ooh, I REALLY wanted to go on the zipline!"

Best accident:
Sue - I came close, but she had to be rescued!

Best bragging rights:
Lu - and her 18 kg King Mackerel.

Overall highlight:
Hmmm, there are so many possibilities: finally getting to see a leopard, cage diving with sharks, microlighting, that house in Tofo, the stunning sunrises/sunsets/moon-rise, the plentiful wildlife, heck just being back in Africa. However, while all of these are worthy contenders I do have a yet unmentioned highlight.

Simply reconnecting with all the gang again so effortlessly was definitely the best bit of the trip. I know it sounds corny (and clichéd) but lifelong friends were made in South America and now thanks to this trip those friendships have been cemented a little bit more.

Look forward to seeing you guys on yet another continent in the very near future!!

And that's a wrap!

So ended my latest African adventure. It really is quite difficult to put into words just how awesome this continent is, from the amazing wildlife abundant national parks, to the stunning seemingly never-ending sandy beaches, to the incredible marine life in the ocean. Everything is more special here - there's a wild and magical aura to being in Africa. It is a photographer's dream and an escapist's paradise.

Only in Africa does seeing such exotic animals so close feel like you have transported yourself into a David Attenborough documentary - a few times I nearly expected to hear his distinctive narrative while I gazed at the wildlife.

Only in Africa is there a 'wow' factor everywhere you go. The scenery, the animals, the weather, the activities, the people and the food. Wow, wow, wow! No holiday here is long enough and no amount of puny descriptions can really give you an accurate feel of the place - just trust me and go, see for yourself!

However, I must warn you, only in Africa is a piece of your heart stolen and never returned, thus ensuring that you must always come back in order to feel whole. In 2012 I fell victim to its charms and vowed to be back. Two years later I came good on my promise and mercilessly the continent recaptured my heart a second time (and worryingly, took even more!). It gives me great pleasure to have to renew the vow to return. Wild horses could not keep me away from this beautiful place. The Garden Route is calling...