Jason and I took a trip of a lifetime to beautiful South Africa this fall.  This 21 day epic journey was a profound experience for both of us and left Jason inspired beyond measure.  From day 1 we were given a warm welcome from the locals and staff members alike and always treated with great care & compassion.  Our trip started in beautiful Cape Town, the jaw dropping seascapes and topography was just unbelievable.  We stayed at a lovely boutique hotel called  Hippo, conveniently located and the staff was wonderful and very helpful.  The Restaurants are incredible and Stellenbosch wine region is the oldest in the country with over 300 wineries.  Our first stop was Groot Constantia founded in 1685(the oldest vineyard in South Africa) and had such a great experience we stayed here most the day.  So much to do, see, eat, drink – 5 days was not enough!

Everyday seemed to ramp up and our next 10days on photography safari’s was over the top!  Our first safari was at a 7500 acre fenced private reserve; Zulu Nyala Safari Game Lodge in Hluhluwe Kwa Zulu Natal(3hrs North of Durban) with over 40 different animals species.  This was a great first experience in the bush in which we learned a ton and had fantastic sightings of Nyalas, Zebras, Elephants, Giraffes, Warthogs, White & Black Rhino and a beautiful Cheetah.

Our final safari was at beautiful &BEYOND Ngala which shares an unfenced boundary with the world-renowned Kruger National Park 4.5 million acres.  Ngala was the first private game reserve to be incorporated in the Kruger Ntl Park and has exclusive traversing rights over 14700 hectars of game-rich wilderness.  Ngala is home to one of the largest packs of rare Wild Dogs, which we seen on several occasions and even witnessed them feeding on a Impala.  We had two separate Leopard experiences which were totally amazing, such a gorgeous cat!  Watched in awe as he climbed down the Marula tree he was resting in then casually perused the land sniffing and listening for prey.  He brushed next to our land cruiser and even slunk under them a few times to lay down and rest in the shade.   We found it mind blowing to witness how habituated the animals were with the Safari rigs.  Pretty much hung with a pride of Lions for hours!  A heart racing & intimate experience to witness these magnificent cats sleep, breath, wake, communicate, show affection, posture, travel, stalk and hunt, absolutely the highlight of our trip!!  The phenomenal skills our conscientious safari guide Gareth & tracker Solly possessed here were astonishing and allowed us unbelievable encounters with incredible animals – The Magnificent 7 and much, much more!  We feel very blessed to experience South Africa and hope to return soon!

Click HERE to watch our 7min Slide Show

These beautiful animals were so inspiring that we have began the process of creating them in bronze!