Testing the waters
I was planning our honeymoon and decided to do something completely different... really wanted a stand-out destination with the intention of returning for our first wedding anniversary. After consulting with Martha, we decided that a trip to Africa would be the perfect choice and blow Brian's socks off!
Our honeymoon began with the most romantic settings of the Western Cape. We explored this area at a leisurely pace and splurged a bit with a scenic helicopter flight over the entire peninsular, wine tasting and parings in various cellars and of course enjoyed the romantic sunsets.
After Cape Town, we moved on to Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. Brian has a passion for the sea and I thought to treat him to an open-ocean diving experience at a world-renowned site. Our greatest memory of my trip was sitting on a boat in the warm Indian Ocean, in absolute awe of the experience, we just had after diving with what seemed like 100 ragged-tooth sharks in KwaZulu-Natal's famous Aliwal Shoal. With adrenalin still coursing through our veins from diving in the open waters, the feeling of being a guest in an entirely new world was overwhelming. While processing our diving experience on our boat ride back, a huge humpback whale breached close to our boat and I was drenched from the water spray. That experience has left an indelible imprint on my heart.
From here we travelled to Zululand (north coast of KwaZulu-Natal) and stayed in a Big 5 private game lodge for our safari experience. This was our first safari experience and we were blown away. We chose to do our safari in this area versus Kruger because we wanted to know more about the Zulu culture and we left our hearts back there.
It is safe to say that South Africa was the BEST CHOICE for our honeymoon and the perfect destination to return to for our first anniversary. There is still so much more we explore and our return plans are in full swing!