Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

We would like to wish all of our clients, friends, family and travelers to Africa a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Here are some translations for "Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year" in the African languages:

Afrikaans: Geseënde Kersfees en 'n gelukkige nuwe jaar
Somali: Ciid wanaagsan iyo sanad cusub oo fiican
Swahili: Krismasi Njema / Heri ya krismas
Xhosa: Siniqwenelela Ikrisimesi Emnandi Nonyaka Omtsha Ozele Iintsikelelo
Zulu: Sinifesela uKhisimusi oMuhle noNyaka oMusha oNempumelelo

Hills of Africa Travel offers customized itinerary planning and guidance on travel to Southern Africa. To book your trip of a lifetime, contact us.

Animal Spotlight: The Cheetah

Known as the world's fastest land animal, the cheetah falls at the bottom of the hierarchy of big cats, with the lion first and the leopard second. The cheetah is mostly a solitary animal and does not benefit from pooling of resources when it comes to kills, like the lion prides.

The secret to a cheetah's speed is its supple spine, which coils and uncoils like a spring, catapulting the cat forward. In the cheetah, the hind limbs push sequentially, rather than together, as in slower animals. Thus for about half the time, a running cheetah has all four feet off the ground and is literally flying. In the air, the flying cheetah moves so fast that it uses its tail as a rudder.

Such speed demands a short, enormous surge of energy. On its hunts, the cheetah is well aware of the limits of its built-for-speed body. Most other cats hunt at night and ambush their prey. Cheetahs will hunt at night, but are frequently seen hunting in the early morning or late afternoon. A cheetah stalks its prey until only about 50 yards separate the hunter and the hunted. At this point the cheetah charges, its elongated eyes giving it a wide-angle view as the prey tries to evade with tight turns. Lions give up the chase after 100 yards or so, but cheetahs can run more that three miles, at an average speed of 45 miles per hour. The hunt may end in a sprint that lasts from 20 seconds to 60 seconds.

Here are five fantastic safari destinations to see the cheetah:

1. Kruger National Park
2. Okavango Delta
3. Hwange National Park
4. South Luangwa National Park
5. Madikwe Game Reserve

Another exciting and educating way to spend time with cheetahs, is to visit The Cheetah Outreach program at Spier in Stellenbosch. You can visit for the day and spend time with the cheetahs. Cheetah Outreach is a fantastic program by promoting the survival of the cheetah through environmental education.

Book a trip with Hills of Africa Travel and we will guarantee you Live the Magic of Africa. Contact us today and we can help you plan your trip of a lifetime.

Honeymoon like a King and Queen

Tintswalo offers the perfect start for your marriage. Marriage is an adventure, why not start out with one?

One of our favorite luxury safari experiences is Tintswalo Safari Lodge, located in the Manyeleti Game Reserve.

Tintswalo means “the intangible feeling of love, gratitude and peace bestowed upon someone offering you a meaningful and worthy gift” in the native Shangaan language.

Our clients agree.

Why is Tintswalo so special?

After an evening game drive, one of our honeymoon couples was driven back to the lodge where there were rose petals leading from the vehicle all the way to their suite, through the door and into the bathroom where there was a huge bubble bath waiting for them with a bottle of chilled champagne and two flutes. What a welcome and a perfect way to start their marriage.

Another was given a private dinner with candles set up around their table in the middle of the bush. Imagine sitting under the stars being waited on with a sumptuous meal and listening to the quiet of the romantic bush.

Tintswalo offers a luxury stay with fantastic accommodations with your own deck and private plunge pools, good food, warm and efficient service and extremely knowledge guides.. You will receive over the top service from its staff and management. You will be made to feel like a King and Queen – and why shouldn’t you, after all this is your honeymoon.

The Tintswalo Group has a fantastic special offer: Combine 6 nights at any of the Tintswalo Lodges and get the 7th night FREE!

Hills of Africa Travel specializes in customized honeymoons that will give you the perfect beginning to the rest of your life. Contact us today to plan the most amazing start to your married life.

A warm thank you from Hills of Africa Travel - we love you!

We want to thank all of our fabulous clients for all your wonderful testimonials over the past few months, we are so grateful to you for traveling with us and we thank you for allowing us to give you the trip of a life time. A very special thank you to all you travel agents that amaze us with your requests, we are honored to help you with your VIP clients.

Here are just a few of our recent client testimonials:

Sandy - just to let you know that our trip was fabulous. Thank you. Beth Rosener, CA

Hey, Sandy! Wow...what an amazing trip I had! I loved every minute of it! I can see how people get addicted to Africa!!! I think you will be hearing from me again really soon!!! Thanks so much for all of your help!!! Kim Baumbach, NY

WOW! You girls put together an AMAZING itinerary for our trip to South Africa! Needless to say, we will insist that all of our friends planning trips to South Africa and the future winners of our charity auction safari use your services before traveling. My husband was less than thrilled about the prospect of traveling to South Africa. In the weeks leading up to our trip, I repeatedly overheard him telling people where we going, followed by the comment "Mary has always wanted to go..." Well, upon boarding the plane home, he told me that it was the most fantastic trip we had ever taken. Considering that we've been traveling together for 21 of our 41 years-that's HUGE! I cannot thank you enough for the arrangements you made. The itinerary gave us such a wonderful perspective of the different landscapes, cultures, cuisine, wine and people of South Africa. Your choice of lodging was impeccable. Each one outdid the previous one. Thank you for all your help and suggestions. Thanks to you, we truly had a trip of a lifetime! Mary Macchiaroli, FL

Call Hills of Africa Travel to "Live the Magic of Africa" and we promise a trip of a lifetime.