Our flight took us from New York to Zurich, then to Johannesburg and finally landed in Durban. We would then take another hour drive to Pietermaritzburg, our bed and breakfast lodging. Miranda owns the B&B with her husband Max, and their dog Tessy. Tessy would wake up late at night and bark at all the porcupines eating their garden. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see any porcupines ourselves. You can see Scott, our trip leader for Zimele, sitting in the back of the “bucky”, which is how the rest of the team would be traveling for the remainder of the 2 weeks. Xolani was one of our main drivers, he is the funniest man in South Africa, incredibly dedicated, and drives like a madman, like me.

Every morning Miranda would cook us a delicious breakfast, and the nights we spent there, an amazing dinner. We were absolutely spoiled by her meals and desserts. The dish which I will forever be fond of the name, bunnychow, is chicken curry in a loaf of bread. We can see the distant rolling hills from the back yard, and chicken and ducks would wake us up early every morning.

I have to admit my impressions of Africa was dirt and brown, however I was completely wrong when I witnessed all the lush green hills and trees that surrounded me. It was a beautiful land, but unfortunately segregated between the rich whites versus the natives.

All photos taken with Canon 5D Mark II and processed through Lightroom 4