SURPRISING VISIT TO A LUXURIOUS CAR DEALER - DAYTONA GROUP

There are always some surprises happen during the trip. The day before we left Johannesburg, SA., we saw a McLaren dealer just cross the street from our hotel. We were quite exciting, because it is very difficult to see the McLaren dealer. Due to the safe issue, we did not go to see the show room at 9 p.m.. Instead, we went there before having the breakfast.

Surprisingly, there were more luxurious car dealers than we expect; Aston Martin, McLaren, and BMW. Since it is in the early morning, so Aston Martin show room was still closed, so we went to visit the McLaren show room.  The automatic doors opened and welcomed us, but there is no one inside, so we just enjoyed taking photos in the show room. The best was we saw a McLaren Formula One racing there; it is rare to see. We also saw Ferrari, Aston Martin and Audi. Later I realized the show room belonging to Daytona Group which is a very big luxurious car dealer in South Africa. Hope they do not mind our visit :)

SAFARI IN SOUTH AFRICA - MABULA PRIVATE GAME RESERVE ( 馬布拉野生動物保護區 )

Whenever people mention the trip to Africa, most people think about Safari. Safari is really an important part of trip to Africa. During our trip to South Africa, We visited Mabula Private Game reserve, and stayed at Mabula Game Lodge. Mabula Game Lodge provides very good package for visitors, including accommodation, dining and safaris. We experienced 2 safaris; one in the late afternoon from 4:30 p.m. and one early safari from 5:30 a.m.. It took two and half hours for each trip.

It is a totally different experience compared with visiting zoo. Animals in the zoo are waiting for you, but you need to find animals at game reserve.  So you may be exciting or disappoint for each trip; it depends how luck you are.

During the two safaris, we saw a lot of amazing animals. Four of African Big 5; elephant, rhinos, giraffes, lions and buffaloes, but no leopard or cheetah.  We also saw hippos, zebras, different kinds of antelopes and other animals. We though it was quite a successful and exciting safari.

Game reserve is a nice place to keep animals at the natural environment and also a perfect place for tourist to learn about the mother nature and animals.

After 2 safaris, I do believe pushing shutters to keep the images of animals is much better than pulling trigger to have the animal head as a trophy on the wall.  We are thinking we may take further step to go safari in Kenya after having fun for this safari trip.

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HAVING FUN IN CAPETOWN AREA, SOUTH AFRICA

My second time to visit Africa, I chose South Africa as my destination. The first city I visited was Cape Town. Cape Town is a very unique city. Though it is located in South Africa, I felt it is more like an European City, due to its building style and life style. I also saw more white people than other cities.

Cape Town area is a fun place; there is beautiful V & A waterfront for shopping and dining. Also Table Mountain for hiking, then the famous Cape of Good Hope. Also you can get very closed to wild seals and penguins. It is a perfect place for family.

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HIKING AT XITOU (溪頭)

There are two most famous tourist attractions in Nantou County(南投縣), Taiwan; one is Sun Moon Lake (日月潭), another one is Xitou(溪頭). The most popular place in Xitou is the Xitou Nature Education Area.

From its web site, here is the brief history of Xitou Nature Education Area:
1. In the late Qing Dynasty, the Xitou was "origin of stream" in a small village in mountain.
2. During the Japanese Occupation, it was chosen as the forest for practical training by Tokyo University.
In during vocation, students were sent for practice and research.
3. The forest recreational area has been established in 1970.

Today, it is not only for educational purpose to National Taiwan University, also an important place for recreation. There are a lots of hotels around this area. Most people will spend 1 to 2 days in this area and feel the mother nature by walking in the woods and taking deep breath of fresh air.

If you do not have enough time, you may just take less than 2 hours to see the famous University Pond and the bamboo bridge. 
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A TOUGH HIKING TRIP - SKY LADDER(天梯)

Hiking is one of may favorite activities. I visited a location in Nantou county(南投縣), Taiwan which is famous of the special ladder suspension bridge(梯子吊橋). This ladder style suspension bridge is very special. It is the first one in Taiwan and the second in the world, with a total length of 136m and 208 steps; the height difference between the 2 sides is a staggering 20m.

To walk across this bridge is not a difficult job, but reaching it and returning to the entrance is defiantly a tough challenge. I consider myself as an experienced hiker, but this time it really gave me a hard time. The distance between entrance and the bridge is about 1Km, and between entrance and the end of this area is about 2Km. Due to the steep trail, I took about 3 hours to complete 4Km hiking.

During the 3 hour hiking, I did not only experience Sky Ladder, but also see the beautiful Green Dragon Waterfall and other scenery. Those wonderful views made the hard works worthy. But be honest, this place is not good for family with kids and senior people. Also, if you are not a person capable handling tough hiking, please do not try it. It is better just enjoy watching my photos.