“I need to live to 140 to visit all the places I want to go in Africa!” -Edward Norton
Well, unfortunately the majority of us won’t live until we’re 140 years old. Therefore, we’ve taken the liberty of whittling down the 5 must-have bucket list items to experience in Africa! With just one trip to Africa—although we guarantee you’ll want to visit again and again—you can check at least 5 points off your bucket list.
Below we’ve outlined just 5 of the destinations / activities in Africa you need to have on your bucket list:
1. Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe: Have you always wanted to see one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World? Or perhaps you’ve always wanted to go bungee jumping, ziplining, or white water rafting? Well at Victoria Falls, you can cross all four of those bucket list items off!
As an adventure-junkie’s haven, Victoria Falls is one of the top places in the world to experience a pure adrenaline rush. In fact, my entire family just got back from an African family safari to Victoria Falls where we went ziplining and exploring. Click here to view the photos.
2. Kruger National Park to witness The Big Five: This has been on most peoples’ bucket lists since they were children. From stuffed animal elephants to family trips to the zoo and animal crackers in boxed lunches to our favorite Disney movies, we’ve all been touched by the wildlife of Africa. So why not bring your childhood memories to life to witness The Big 5 in person, photograph them in their natural habitat, and hear their beautiful calls first-hand?
Although there are a handful of excellent parks and reserves to observe The Big 5 in, Kruger National Park is one of our favorites and most wildlife abundant.
3. Shark Diving in South Africa: You’ve seen them in Hollywood movies, spotlighted for a full week on Discovery Channel, and on the news as “man eaters.” The great white shark has been a feared predator by humans for centuries, but very few of us have actually gotten the chance to witness the great white at close proximity—until now. You can be one of the few individuals who observe the great white underwater by embarking on a cage diving adventure in South Africa—the home of Shark Alley (also known as Geyser Rock).
4. Wine Tasting in Cape Winelands: Home to some of the world’s finest and most complex wines, as well as exceptional cuisine, South Africa’s Cape Winelands is a hot destination for wine and food lovers!
From the quaint restaurants of Franschhoek to the family-owned wine estates of Paarl, Cape Winelands brings visitors’ palates through an enriching experience like no other. Because many of the restaurants found in Cape Winelands use fresh, local ingredients, and because wines are produced from the grapes that grow in South African soil, you truly are experiencing the flavors of the land when you visit Cape Winelands.
Some unique ways to enjoy Cape Winelands include horseback riding, personalized wine tasting tours, VIP access into prestigious wine estates, and winemaking classes.
5. Gorilla Trekking in Uganda: To give you an idea for just how powerful of an experience gorilla trekking is, here is a little testimonial. I recently met an individual who had been to all seven continents and over 120 different countries. When I asked him what his top three travel experiences were, he said gorilla trekking in Uganda was at the top of his list. Out of all his amazing experiences across the world, he chose gorilla trekking as one of his favorites—which is no surprise to us. Witnessing a 500 lb. gorilla in its natural habitat, without the constraints of fences or cages, is one of the most raw and exhilarating experiences to be had in a lifetime.
Some other bucket list ideas to experience while on an African safari vacation:
- Witness the internationally celebrated red dunes of Namibia
- Photograph the humpback whale in Nuarro Bay, Mozambique
- See chimpanzee families in Tanzania’s Mahale Mountains
- Camp beneath the African stars in Namibia
- Visit Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa
- Go on a mokoro safari in the Okavango Delta in Botswana
- Witness lemurs in their only natural habitat, Madagascar
- Observe The Big Marine 5 on the coast of South Africa
- Discover true bliss
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