South Africa | Sun City Resort - Mandi Rae Photography

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Welcome to Part Three of our travel blog series! This past year my husband and I were fortunate enough to go on an adventure of a lifetime. The third part of our journey in South Africa was spent at the Sun City Resort outside of Johannesburg. The rest of our trip included: Johannesburg and a Soweto Bike tour, the Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve, Kruger National Park Safari, and Cape Town. Join us on our day-by-day blog recap!

Day Five

Cultural Village + Valley of Waves

The Sun City Resort is incredible! After our delicious breakfast we toured around the resort, starting with the Palace. I can’t believe how big and how immaculate it was! The entire resort is like an oasis in the middle of a desert. After touring the resort, we headed to the Cultural Village. It started with a tour through various tribal huts, followed by a display of traditional dances. This was one of my favorite parts I loved learning about the different tribes of Botswana and South Africa.

After the Cultural Village, we visited the Valley of Waves for some water fun. We hung out in the wave pool, rode down some awesome water slides, and relaxed in the lazy river.

Day Six

Maze of the Lost City + Crocodiles

First thing in the morning we headed to try our luck in the Maze of the Lost City. To get to the maze you have to cross a huge suspension bridge that gives you some great views of some of the resort. It was so hot that morning, but we were able to solve the maze pretty quick and head over to see the Kwena Gardens Crocodile Sanctuary to see some crocodiles. I can’t believe how big they were! We were able to walk literally within feet of some of them as they were basking in the African sun. There were so many of them, ranging from tiny babies to huge huge, mature crocs. We couldn’t spend too much time there because we had a long drive ahead of us to get to Hazyview.

Travel to Hazyview + Three Rondavels

On the way to Hazyview we made a few stops, and my husband made sure that when we passed through Pretoria that we ate lunch at Roman’s Pizza. He always told me how good it was, and now I see why. We each had little personal pan pizzas that were so good! The dough was so thick and fluffy. Definitely not what I was expecting from a South African pizza place.

One thing you need to know if you plan on driving across South Africa is that there are a lot of Toll roads. We had to stop and pay so many times at the different toll gates as we traveled east across the country. Another thing you need to know is that the tolls you pay on those roads help to fill pot holes. The route that we took to Hazyview was all good roads until we got off the tolls roads and onto the smaller roads heading north. Holy pot holes! We were constantly weaving in and out them on our journey along the Panorama Route to Blyde River Canyon.

It was a race against the sun as we tried to reach the Three Rondavels before dark, and we BARELY made it! I’m so glad we did, because it was incredible! It was a gigantic green canyon with protruding rock features all around and a winding river in the bottom. I really wish we would have had more time in this area because there are also some beautiful waterfalls in the are we could have explored.

It was well after dark by the the time we arrived at the Hazyview Cabanas. We were able to stay in a nice 3 bedroom cabana, with 3 bathrooms, a living area, and a kitchen. We quickly got everything ready for the next day so that we could rest up for our 5:00 am safari in Kruger National Park!