Travel Ventures by Crystal

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Travel Ventures by Crystal

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Canadian travel advisor currently living in Egypt, building tailored travel experiences with direct local access and trusted partners.

Specializing in African Safaris, curated Egypt Itineraries, European Travel and River Cruises.

30/10/2026

South Africa – Day 5 🇿🇦

The early bird gets the worm! 🙌🏻

We headed out bright and early for our final safari drive, and what an incredible way to end our time in the bush.

Not only did we have amazing rhino and lion sightings, but we also spotted TWO male cheetahs! 🐆🐆

There are only four cheetahs in this entire private game reserve, so I honestly didn’t think we’d be lucky enough to see them. I am always grateful for every wildlife sighting, but this one truly made my trip.

Now, let’s talk about one of the most important parts of any safari: THE GUIDES!

Our guide and tracker have been working together at this reserve for over 15 years, and their knowledge and experience really showed. They knew the animals, understood their behaviours, and most importantly, had an incredible amount of respect for them.

They always gave the animals plenty of space and never pushed for a sighting at the expense of their well-being.

This is SO important to me. We are visitors in these animals’ natural environment, and their well-being should always come first.

Not all safari companies are created equal, and choosing an ethical, well-run operator with experienced guides can make all the difference.

Planning an African safari and feeling overwhelmed by all the options? That’s where I come in.

My firsthand experiences help me recommend the right destinations, lodges, and safari operators for my clients.

Let’s chat and start planning your own unforgettable African safari. Wanting to join a group trip? Stay tuned for two new group dates and locations coming soon 👀

If you could only go to one Safari location, where would you go?

29/10/2026

South Africa – Day 4 🇿🇦

Another amazing day on safari in the beautiful Karongwe Private Game Reserve!

We had an early wake-up call this morning for a 3-hour game drive from 5:30 AM to 8:30 AM. After an incredible morning out in the bush, we returned to the lodge for a delicious breakfast and some much-needed coffee.

We had a few hours to relax and enjoy the lodge before heading out again for a late-afternoon game drive, which continued into the evening.

A little travel tip: I always recommend bringing a book, a deck of cards, or a few small games to enjoy during your downtime between game drives. It’s nice to have some time to relax and unwind, especially after those early mornings.

There is something so special about being out in the African bush as the sun goes down. 🌅

Another safari tip: Your game drive schedule will depend on the time of year you visit. We’re here during South Africa’s hotter season, so early mornings and late afternoons are ideal for wildlife viewing, as many animals tend to be more active during the cooler hours of the day. During the hottest part of the afternoon, you’ll often find them resting in the shade and they are harder to spot.

We finished off another wonderful day with a traditional South African braai (what we Canadians call a BBQ 🇨🇦), before heading to bed for another early start.

Tomorrow morning is our final game drive before making our way back to Johannesburg!

28/10/2026

South Africa - Day 3 🇿🇦

Today we made the three hour drive from Kruger National Park to the Karongwe Private Reserve.

The biggest differences between these two Safari experiences is that the national park is owned by the government and most of the roads are paved, they allow self driving and it’s a very large park. This private reserve the roads are not paved and you are allowed to explore a bit more off the main path, you cannot self drive and they have a two safari vehicle per sighting rule. They also have a spotter up front on the vehicle helping the driver/guide with spotting the animals.

We got so lucky as within 5 minutes of driving into the park, we were greeted by this beautiful leopard. It was so amazing to see him walking around as most of my leopard sightings have been in bushes or trees.

After we checked into our lodge in the park, we had lunch followed by a one hour talk on their cheetah conservation efforts and how they work with the local community around them to allow the animals and the locals to co exist peacefully in this area.

We then headed out for a late afternoon/evening game drive with a stop to watch the beautiful sunset. We continued into a night game drive before coming back for another delicious meal and an early bed time.

5am wake up call tomorrow! A hot tip if you want to avoid the early wake up calls is to not come on safari in the countries hot season. The reason we are up so early as the animals are more active in the morning due to the heat!

Stay tuned for what we see tomorrow 👀

If you were to go on safari, what is the one animal you would love to see? 👇🏻

27/10/2026

While I’m here in South Africa exploring a new safari destination, my clients are off enjoying their honeymoon on safari in Tanzania! 🇹🇿🐆

And today they were lucky enough to spot cheetahs! Not just one, but 5! 😍 These beautiful animals can be quite elusive, making a sighting like this extra special. I’m so happy they got to experience it! 🙌🏻

And on another exciting note, we’ve got some new wheel covers featuring our new safari logo!

What do you guys think of the new look?! 👀

26/10/2026

South Africa – Day 2 🇿🇦

We had an amazing day on safari in Kruger National Park.

It was an early start as we left our lodge at 5 AM, but it was absolutely worth it to get out into the park before the heat of the day kicked in. Summer is just around the corner here in South Africa, and today we had a scorching 38°C with nothing but sunshine.

We couldn’t have asked for a better morning. Within the first two hours, we had already spotted 4 out of the Big 5.

The park wasn’t overly busy, which made for a really enjoyable day of game viewing. This park does tend to get quite busy as you are able to self drive here, so something to keep in mind.

One thing I appreciated was the number of rest stops throughout the park where you could grab a coffee, use the washroom, get something to eat, or enjoy a much-needed cold drink in this heat. It is a much more developed park in that regard, but it can take away from the “authentic” feeling.

A few fun facts about Kruger National Park:

Kruger is one of Africa’s largest and most famous national parks, covering nearly 20,000 square kilometres!

It’s home to the famous Big 5: lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos, and buffalo. But there is so much more wildlife to discover beyond these five.

The park stretches approximately 350 km from north to south and borders Mozambique and Zimbabwe. If you wanted to cover the entire park you would need a week at least.

And it is quite expensive to stay right in the park and the lodging is limited but there are plenty of great accommodation options close to the gates.

After a full day exploring, we arrived back at our lodge in the late afternoon, and I headed straight for the pool! We finished off the evening with another delicious dinner and a few glasses of w**e. The perfect ending to an incredible day.

Tomorrow we’re off to experience a private game reserve. I’m really looking forward to seeing how the experience compares, especially the differences between a national park and a private reserve.

Stay tuned!

25/10/2026

South Africa – Day 1 🇿🇦

Last night I arrived in Johannesburg, enjoyed a delicious steak dinner, and headed straight to bed to get some rest before our first full day of exploring!

This morning, we hit the road for the full-day drive towards Kruger National Park, making some incredible stops along the way, including the Three Rondavels, Bourke’s Luck Potholes, and the famous God’s Window. The scenery was absolutely beautiful! 😍

We arrived at our accommodation for the night, enjoyed another great meal, and are calling it an early night because tomorrow we have a 5 AM start for our first safari! 🦁

For those who don’t know, I’ve been invited on this trip with G Adventures, one of the amazing travel suppliers I work with. This is what’s called a FAM trip (familiarization trip), where travel advisors get the opportunity to experience an itinerary firsthand.

One of my favourite parts of being a travel advisor is getting to experience the destinations and itineraries I recommend to my clients. There’s only so much you can learn from photos and brochures, and being here allows me to better understand the experience, share my personal recommendations, and answer your questions from firsthand experience!

As many of you know, I’m a HUGE Tanzania safari fan! 🐘🇹🇿 So I’m especially excited to experience South Africa and see how the two destinations compare. By the end of this trip, I’ll be sharing my thoughts on the differences and what type of traveller each destination might be best suited for!

But first… tomorrow is safari day! 🦒

It’s the dry season here right now, which means hot days, and early mornings are often one of the best times to spot wildlife before the heat really sets in.

What do you guys think I’m going to see tomorrow?! 👀

I’m really hoping we get lucky enough to spot a leopard! 🐆🙏🏼

Stay tuned!

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El Gouna
Hurghada
84513

Website

https://www.livingskiestravel.com/

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