Where to Honeymoon?

I'm engaged!

My boyfriend of 5 years recently proposed and we can’t wait to plan our wedding and, of course, our honeymoon! There are several locations we are considering including Greece, Iceland and New Zealand.

We know we’ll want to slow things down a bit for our honeymoon since we’ll be exhausted from our wedding. That said, we are thinking somewhere warm, maybe with a beach nearby. So naturally, I immediately thought of Greece! The buildings are beautiful and the water is incredibly blue. – it truly is paradise! We are considering Athens or Mykonos (and a few other cities too!) – it’s just so hard to choose. Greece would let us still see some museums and architecture, but we have the added bonus of getting to lay out on the beach whenever we want a break.

Going in a completely different direction, we would love to visit Iceland! I’ve always wanted to climb a glacier and adventure across Iceland. I love adventure travel and Iceland has been on my bucket list for the longest time. The only thing is, adventure doesn’t lend itself to relaxation. We might decide to just come back another time.

Finally, we both want to visit New Zealand!.The only problem is it sure is a hike from the US! We are concerned that one week wouldn’t be long enough for that particular trip, and it’s looking like one week may be all we have. We would be able to still relax on some beautiful beaches, but see some amazing sights!

A lot depends on what time of year we get married. At this point we have no idea! There are so many things to consider! If you have any favorite honeymoon spots, let me know!

Don’t forget to check out my travel company at MilesIntoMemoriesTravel.com.

Shark Cage Diving in South Africa

We left Cape Town bright and early to drive up the coast to go shark cage diving! We actually got a call the night before that we would need  to leave one hour earlier than originally planned to try to beat an incoming storm. We made our way down to the lobby of our hotel and stumbled into the van. After a few hours through the dark country side, we were ready to pay a visit to the Shark Lady. Apparently that's actually what the shop is called! So funny! They sat us down for some breakfast and  briefed us on the rules and tips etc. Everything was pretty common sense and I was excited! They even had pictures up on the wall who had gone shark cage diving there, like Prince Harry and Tom Cruise!

They gave us bright orange waterproof coats, but unfortunately ran out so poor Schuyler wound up getting pretty wet! 

 These are our super-pretty early morning smiles through the lens of our GoPro.

We set out on SUPER rough water and even tried heading to different areas but weren't really having any luck. The waters were throwing us around and I think literally half the boat got sick... including me. I was doing alright until we threw anchor and wound up spinning in circles while rocking. It was still pretty great, but we ended up not being able to put down the cage. It was pretty lame, but I don't really want to die so, ya know. Probably the right decision.

Still got a pretty cool picture of said Shark Diving Cage!

Still got that morning smile. I love it!

We did ultimately get to see some Great White Sharks in the water because a nearby boat was throwing chum in the water. None really came up to our boat, unfortunately. But still! I got to see Great White Sharks out in the wild off the coast of Africa! That's still awesome! Ya win some, ya lose some. I'll have to try again one day!

Don't forget to check out my travel company at MilesIntoMemoriesTravel.com!

Safari in Pilanesberg

I've always wanted to go on an African safari, so naturally it was a top priority for us while we visited South Africa. Of course, we wanted to do it responsibly and ethically. We had no interest in hunting, so we opted for a reserve. The animals are technically enclosed, but you would never know it except for when entering or leaving. We drove around for hours and hours and never saw a fence. It was pretty spectacular!

We had the chance to get up close to all kinds of beautiful animals! We had a wonderful time and got to ride in an honest-to-goodness safari jeep. 

We managed to catch some elephants getting a drink! We were a ways off, so the picture is a little blurry, but still rather impressive. So cool!

This guy came right up next to our jeep! We would stop whenever we saw an animal and the driver would pull around for us to admire the beautiful animals.

We even got to see some cats! We caught some lions on the prowl. Hard to tell in this photo, but definitely some lions. It was pretty awesome. We also got to see a cheetah eating its prey! Didn't manage to get a photo of that one.

We had an amazing time on the safari. They even stopped half way through for a quick bathroom break, some beers and a snack. Truly a memorable experience and I'm so so so glad we were able to fit it into our schedule! 

Don't forget! I can help you with your dream vacation, too! Check out my travel company at MilesIntoMemoriesTravel.com!

Table Mountain - Cape Town, South Africa

Our trip to South Africa was pretty jam packed, so we wound up only having a few hours of free time in Cape Town. We put that free time to good use by visiting Table Mountain! It was absolutely beautiful and the views were amazing.

Essentially, you can either hike or take a cable car up to the top. Then, up at the top there are some beautiful trails for you to hike!

On one side of the mountain is the ocean and on the other are some pretty spectacular views!

The Ocean Side of the mountain

My sister and I on the city side of the mountain

You can even see the world cup stadium! So cool!

Cape Town has a bit of a reputation for being dangerous, but we kept our wits about us and didn't go out after dark. We, thankfully, never felt unsafe and had no problems when traveling through this beautiful country.

Our trip was a blast! And don't forget, if you're loving these travel posts to check out my travel company at MilesIntoMemoriesTravel.com.

Elephant Reserve in South Africa

While in South Africa, we were lucky enough to have the opportunity to visit the Knysna Elephant Park. It  was a beautiful reserve where the elephants are treated very well and get to live in HUGE pastures. So huge that you can't even see the fence.

That thing in the background isn't actually a fence. It's where they go to stand if they want to be fed. It keeps them from stealing the whole bucket of fruit that tourists hold to feed them.

My sister is a veterinarian and absolutely loves elephants, so it was a dream come true for her!

We even got to feed the elephants! They really liked grabbing fruit out of our buckets. 

There were also scientists sitting and observing our interactions, which was neat. I think it's amazing these gorgeous animals have somewhere safe to live and eat tasty treats.

Overall, this experience was amazing and I'm so glad we had the chance to meet these beautiful elephants! 

Don't forget! If you want to learn more about my travel business, visit MilesIntoMemoriesTravel.com.

Bloukran's Bridge Bungy Jump in South Africa

I've been lucky enough to have some pretty amazing adventures recently, but I must say one of my absolute favorite experiences was bungy (That's how they spell it in South Africa) outside of Cape Town! 

It was terrifying and absolutely exhilarating. I'm just surprised that I got the whole group to do it with me! 

First, they walked us out alone this absolutely terrifying/beautiful walkway that led out to the middle of the bridge. We were literally underneath of where cars were driving. It was pretty scary, but also awesome. Cars were just driving along while we flung ourselves off the bridge.

The whole gang before we jumped!

Before we went they weighed us and put our weight (in kilos) and our jump order and time. I weigh 63 kilos, I was Jumper 2 and our jump time was 9 a.m.

My "I'M SO NERVOUS" smile

Getting hooked up! I definitely asked them to make sure I was hooked in nice and tight. They then waddled me over to the edge and counted down, "3-2-1-BUNGY!" They didn't give me time to think AT ALL (Probably Definitely a good thing). When they said "BUNGY" I just did it! I even managed to leap and sort of swan dive off this HUGE bridge!

I DID IT! 

After you jump they lower someone down to help reel you back in. 

We are working on a YouTube channel where the full video will be posted soon! It's pretty epic.

Bungy jumping has been on my bucket list for a very long time and I am SO happy that I was able to finally cross it off! Bloukran's bridge is the world's largest bungy. How cool is that? It was my first time ever bungy jumping, so why not go big? It was such a rush! The free fall was far and away my favorite part - the dangling afterwards? Not so much. Though my sister was the exact opposite. 

Overall, I absolutely recommend doing this jump if you're ever near Cape Town. Something to note is it is a bit of a drive outside the city - like 4 or 5 hours. We broke the trip up with some fun stops along the way. You'll  learn all about those in upcoming blog posts!

Meanwhile, check out my company at MilesIntoMemoriesTravel.com and sign up for an adventure of your own!

Lots of love,

Lena

Camping Retreat in the Mountains

First and foremost, I've started a travel company! It's called Miles Into Memories Travel, and we arrange international trips and tours for everyone from families to sports teams to groups of all kind. I'm really proud of our quality trips and would love for you to check out our website: MilesIntoMemoriesTravel.com.

Keep an eye on this space for more travel stories - I've gone on several truly epic adventures over the past few months (blog posts are coming, I promise!) but I wanted to kick back off with my most recent trip. A couple of friends and I decided we needed a little break from the city life. Sometimes, it's easy to find yourself stuck in a rut. When that happens, I like to shake things up and go on mini adventures.

In this case, that meant a quick weekend trip to the mountains. I've lived in North Carolina for years, but haven't really had a chance to "leaf peep." Yes, that's a real term, believe it or not. So here we are!

We opted for a remote camp site and it was beautiful, but definitely a hike. We knew it would be a ten minute walk, but they didn't mention that it was straight down (and thus straight back up to get to our car.) Talk about a work out!

So beautiful.

We brought two pups with us! This is Lambda. She's only 3 months old and, turns out, she's scared of bridges. We went on a 5 miles hike and both dogs did great! Lambda managed to overcome her fear of bridges and had a blast!

And this here is my guy! Miles is 10 years old and sweet as can be. I carried him over some rocks and rivers, but he definitely had a ton of fun trekking with his buddies.

Where we camped out!

Me and Sky! Why my hat is crooked, we'll never know.

Family picture! (Pictures are hard when you're a puppy)

To sum up, we had a blast, got away from the city and ate some s'mores. We had a great time hiking, lighting camp fires and just getting away from screens. We barely had any cell service and in a way, that was really nice. It forced us to talk and relax and enjoy nature. Adventures don't always have to be big and international to be fun. 

Thailand Adventures (Swimming with Elephants!)

Hello!

I'm sorry for the delay in this post - it's long overdue, I know.

So as I'm gearing up for my next adventure (more on that later) I was looking back at my Thailand pictures and realized I never made a post about it!

Our trip to Thailand was probably one of my all time favorite travel experiences. We only had a few days in Bangkok, so Sky and I made the most of it. We hired a tour company, as coordinating a car and organizing certain activities would have been nearly impossible on our own.

We flew in Friday night and made it to a rather ritzy hotel - the toilet had like 20 buttons! It was incredibly cheap for the quality, but welcome to Thailand.

The next morning, after a fun asian breakfast, we were off for a day packed with adventure! Our first stop was the River Kwai.

The bridge actually has a really cool history and we enjoyed learning about it from our guide!

Next up was the floating market which was actually incredibly cool. We literally rented a boat and floated up and down buying snacks and cool knick knacks. And it was SO beautiful to boot!

The food was delicious and we both had a blast!

Then we made our way to what was surely the highlight of the trip - swimming with elephants! Now I do want to specify here, we went to an elephant sanctuary in the middle of the jungle. These elephants are well taken care of by their trainers, called mahouts. It was beautiful and we were so lucky to have been able to visit with these beautiful animals.

Schuyler, King of the Jungle (one of the Mahouts made him a crown!)

Posing for the tasty orange!

Me and my elephant!

The best water fight in the world!

Look at that jungle!

Oh and I got to backflip off an elephant... so that was amazing beyond all belief

Swimming with elephants was SO FUN but also quite the work out! We headed back to the hotel absolutely exhausted

The next day we took some time to explore some temples. These were beautiful and so fun to explore. My only negative experience was with the rather shifty street vendors (telling you certain attractions were closed so they could give you a tour instead etc.). We had a blast and even got to ride in a tuk tuk!

Overall, Thailand was phenomenal and I 1000% would love to go back!

Lots of love,

Lena