Hello fellow travelers! It's been about two months since I came back from Gaborone, Botswana. I wasn't sure of where I should start by telling my travels (I have so many stories!), but I thought I should start off with my first weekend with my relatives.
So my extended family consists of my four cousins, and my aunt and uncle. For my family, its just the four of us, my mum, dad, and brother. My oldest cousin is twenty two (she wasn't able to make it because of her university), the second is nineteen, the other one is thirteen (like me), and the youngest is my bestie the eight year old, while my brother is just a year younger than me, so eleven.
In total, there were nine of us, so we had to go in two separate cars for it to not be jam packed in one. It was a three hour car ride, so we obviously spent time talking, and looking outside because of such beautiful scenery; there were hills and thick bush everywhere, it seriously looked like someone had built a road between a vast valley.
We took a pit stop to get a few things we forgot, as well as chowing down on Chicken Licken, which is where you can get fried chicken, that is LITERALLY the BEST fried chicken I have ever, ever, ever, had. I don't tend to like fried food, but with Chicken Licken, you don't feel guilty whatsoever; it's not as oily as most fast food chains in Canada, or what you might get in the US.
Carrying on two more hours, we finally made our destination to our resort called Kingdom Resort, which had some really cool accommodations, like a trampoline (that was like, the first thing my cousins and I went onto), pool, playground, and snack bar.
So, Sun City is like a attraction park, connected with Lost City, quote, "From the lavish opulence of The Palace of the Lost City to the casual elegance of the Cascades, the glamour of the annual Nedbank Golf Challenge to the tropical thrills of the Valley of the Waves."
That same night we didn't go to Sun City, but went to the Pilanesberg National Park, and the Madikwe Game Reserve, where tons and tons of animals are left to roam freely; this to me was the best part, way better than any zoos, since the animals were not kept in cages. We saw elephants, (drove right past them!), impala (a type of deer), wildebeest, a hippo, and surprisingly rhinos! I was so happy to see them, especially babies, they were the cutest things!
So my extended family consists of my four cousins, and my aunt and uncle. For my family, its just the four of us, my mum, dad, and brother. My oldest cousin is twenty two (she wasn't able to make it because of her university), the second is nineteen, the other one is thirteen (like me), and the youngest is my bestie the eight year old, while my brother is just a year younger than me, so eleven.
In total, there were nine of us, so we had to go in two separate cars for it to not be jam packed in one. It was a three hour car ride, so we obviously spent time talking, and looking outside because of such beautiful scenery; there were hills and thick bush everywhere, it seriously looked like someone had built a road between a vast valley.
We took a pit stop to get a few things we forgot, as well as chowing down on Chicken Licken, which is where you can get fried chicken, that is LITERALLY the BEST fried chicken I have ever, ever, ever, had. I don't tend to like fried food, but with Chicken Licken, you don't feel guilty whatsoever; it's not as oily as most fast food chains in Canada, or what you might get in the US.
Carrying on two more hours, we finally made our destination to our resort called Kingdom Resort, which had some really cool accommodations, like a trampoline (that was like, the first thing my cousins and I went onto), pool, playground, and snack bar.
So, Sun City is like a attraction park, connected with Lost City, quote, "From the lavish opulence of The Palace of the Lost City to the casual elegance of the Cascades, the glamour of the annual Nedbank Golf Challenge to the tropical thrills of the Valley of the Waves."
That same night we didn't go to Sun City, but went to the Pilanesberg National Park, and the Madikwe Game Reserve, where tons and tons of animals are left to roam freely; this to me was the best part, way better than any zoos, since the animals were not kept in cages. We saw elephants, (drove right past them!), impala (a type of deer), wildebeest, a hippo, and surprisingly rhinos! I was so happy to see them, especially babies, they were the cutest things!
The next day, we awoke to rain pouring and thunder rumbling, and we were seriously bummed to go to Sun City because we knew that we would get drenched, and obviously, would not be able to go to the water park portion in the Valley of the Waves. We took our bathing suits, though; miracles can come out of nowhere!
Fast forward to when we were in the actual park:
My cousin Hamzah told me he saw the sun peaking out, so we could get a chance to go on some water slides; that really put a smile on my face! Seeing as the rain had stopped we convinced my mum and my aunt to let us all go; they were worried if we went into the water, which was freezing cold, we would get sick, my answer to that was, "You only live once!!!" I honestly don't regret saying that, because it was an absolute blast! The water slides were absolutely amazing, and Hamzah even got my brother who has a fear of water slides to even go on one; my brother went on two more times after. But the most adrenaline pumping one for me, was the Temple of Courage. The Temple of Courage is a water slide that is 70 meters high (approx. 229 feet tall), with a 17 meter drop (so, 55 feet drop). My little cousin (age 8), was tall enough to be able to go on the slide, but as soon as he looked down, he was about to cry! As adventurous as I am, I promised to go right after my cousin Talha (13).
I cannot explain the feeling as you drop. When you start to go down, you're like, "Okay, this isn't so bad..." but when you feel that drop you're like, "Oh my god, what have I gotten myself into!!!!". Not to mention, it is very embarrassing once you are at the bottom, because of gravity, you have an extreme wedgie! Five star experience I would pass for the Valley of the Waves, minus the rainy-thundering weather.
Fast forward to when we were in the actual park:
My cousin Hamzah told me he saw the sun peaking out, so we could get a chance to go on some water slides; that really put a smile on my face! Seeing as the rain had stopped we convinced my mum and my aunt to let us all go; they were worried if we went into the water, which was freezing cold, we would get sick, my answer to that was, "You only live once!!!" I honestly don't regret saying that, because it was an absolute blast! The water slides were absolutely amazing, and Hamzah even got my brother who has a fear of water slides to even go on one; my brother went on two more times after. But the most adrenaline pumping one for me, was the Temple of Courage. The Temple of Courage is a water slide that is 70 meters high (approx. 229 feet tall), with a 17 meter drop (so, 55 feet drop). My little cousin (age 8), was tall enough to be able to go on the slide, but as soon as he looked down, he was about to cry! As adventurous as I am, I promised to go right after my cousin Talha (13).
I cannot explain the feeling as you drop. When you start to go down, you're like, "Okay, this isn't so bad..." but when you feel that drop you're like, "Oh my god, what have I gotten myself into!!!!". Not to mention, it is very embarrassing once you are at the bottom, because of gravity, you have an extreme wedgie! Five star experience I would pass for the Valley of the Waves, minus the rainy-thundering weather.
While we could not go on any other rides or more portions of Sun City due to the weather, it was a great day. We stayed at our hotel for that one night, then prepared to leave the next day. On the way back, we stopped at "Predator World" where we saw lions, tigers, jackals, meercats, wild cats, parrots, emus, goats, (yes, billy goats, the small ones), leopards, too!
I was sad to go back to Gaborone, since we had such a nice time in Sun City, for families or travelers who are looking in to go on a vacation to South Africa, I would definitely recommend staying at the Kingdom resort which I would rate 4.5 stars as a new resort with amazing accommodations, while they give you a free pass to the Pilanesberg National Park, and the Madikwe Game Reserve; not to mention there are many, many activities to take part in, in Sun City. Food wasn't much of an option, unless you were planning to go out for lunch, dinner, and breakfast, but seeing as the rooms in the resort had a kitchen, we brought our own food with us from home. Our rooms were very clean, as well as the bathrooms, but the design of our whole "home" was extremely modern, and cozy, with tile, granite counters, and a lot of wood accents; my mum couldn't get over it!
Overall, Sun City as a first weekend trip was exceptional; as a rating 5 out 5 stars for everything minus the weather, I would recommend this place and resort to anyone and everyone.
I was sad to go back to Gaborone, since we had such a nice time in Sun City, for families or travelers who are looking in to go on a vacation to South Africa, I would definitely recommend staying at the Kingdom resort which I would rate 4.5 stars as a new resort with amazing accommodations, while they give you a free pass to the Pilanesberg National Park, and the Madikwe Game Reserve; not to mention there are many, many activities to take part in, in Sun City. Food wasn't much of an option, unless you were planning to go out for lunch, dinner, and breakfast, but seeing as the rooms in the resort had a kitchen, we brought our own food with us from home. Our rooms were very clean, as well as the bathrooms, but the design of our whole "home" was extremely modern, and cozy, with tile, granite counters, and a lot of wood accents; my mum couldn't get over it!
Overall, Sun City as a first weekend trip was exceptional; as a rating 5 out 5 stars for everything minus the weather, I would recommend this place and resort to anyone and everyone.