what it's like to travel to South Africa! Visiting Cape Town + a Luxury Safari

[@asmanoorgat4265]

I’m from South Africa! Here are answers to some of your questions: •Seattle coffee is (in my humble opinion) the best coffe in South Africa. I’m not sure if it has any connection to the Seattle in America but it’s really great. •Load shedding is basically as the name suggests (planned power outages to shed the load of electricity usage)…the outages are normally 2 hours at a time and they can happen between 1-4 times a day depending on where you live). Load shedding used to be something that would happen every few months/a couple times a year for a week or so but now it is a constant in most people’s lives. Unfortunately, it has really affected all sectors of the economy. •Safety varies depending on where you go. It’s not super dangerous for tourists in popular areas except petty crimes that you would find in any tourist capital. •All around, Cape Town is great and I have some super cool recommendations if you ever decide to go back! I’m from a different part of South Africa and I’m sure you’d enjoy the different things each province has to offer!

[@sandys209]

Seattle Company was Starbucks before Starbucks. I definitely agree their coffee was way better than Starbucks. Unfortunately they couldn’t compete with Starbucks growth so all US locations closed and the company was bought out by Nestle which has keep many global locations.

[@sarshaw]

Just an added note, we are now at 4 hour load shedding outages, most places twice a day plus a two hour stretch. Not cool especially for small businesses.

[@chanelpillay7121]

Would agree that Seattle Coffee is in my opinion the best coffee in South Africa.

[@timr6394]

thanks for the helpful tips! Planning a trip to South Africa now for June. Cape Town, Garden Route, and Sabi Sands. Any suggestions?! Also, how's the general safety at the moment? Looks like there's some pretty strong rhetoric leading up to the elections.

[@Caffeine.Central]

I live in South Africa but in Pretoria. Cape Town is absolutely beautiful and I am so happy that you got to experience it. It’s so strange for us that you feel it’s so cheap because we still feel it’s expensive. Load shedding is really something that affects daily life. I have been watching you forever and you finally came to my country. It’s so nice to see you and Monica in a familiar place. Love you guys ❤️

[@shelbychurchvlogs]

I think it's mostly the exchange rate - the US dollar goes pretty far in south africa. I expected everything to end up being much more expensive considering it was sooo nice! Like, amazing restaurants, our airbnb was incredible I thought it would be so much more expensive. I love Cape Town!

[@Michelangelo-m1o]

Watching you and Monica together is giving Mary-kate and Ashley vibes!❤

[@Juliathehealthgirl]

Agreed 😂 love it

[@MrVikingsandra]

Haha so true 😄

[@bek1025]

I went on a safari in Botswana in 2018 and got the WORST food poisoning mid way through a game drive.. our guide had to pull off and I ran behind a bush and proceeded to have awful diarrhea while everyone watched around me for lions. Truly one of the most terrifying experiences but so freaking funny thinking back on it hahahaha

[@nessness_x]

lmaooo

[@phoebebuffay1566]

What a cool video, Shelby! Thank you so much for taking us on this trip with you. Absolutely amazing.

[@KellyRossouw]

Aaaah what a treat to see my home city from your perspective!

[@LukeAlexander]

I grew up in South Africa and spent a-lot of time at Cape Town and haven't been able to visit since 2018 so this was really cool to watch. I'm in Aus and yeah the currency exchange in crazy. If you have extra money you can use extra it to tip waiters extra, for the parking attendants or give to the homeless. The low shedding is awful, I hear about it from family, wasn't as bad a decade ago when I lived there but it's awful now.

[@Courtney-Alice-Gargani]

4:19 what a beautiful view. The clouds appear to be so low.

[@MsCdngrrl]

I LOVE a sister vlog! It's so fun to see the two of you together to see how much you look different from each other. Those zebra pj sets were amazing!!!!! I remember Seattle's Best Coffee in Seattle a looooong time ago where Rachel's Ginger Beer is at Pike Place

[@jj-if6it]

When people say they can't tell Shelby and Monica apart I'm like um they look so different. They look like sisters not twins

[@MsCdngrrl]

@@jj-if6it I totally agree

[@camelliaghotbzadeh2576]

Awesome video Shelby!! Now I want to go to South Africa just to go on the safari you went on. Seeing a leopard, lions and a giraffe that close looks incredible and I’m sure it was a memorable experience 😊

[@MegsHollis]

Loadshedding is mainly due to poorly maintained infrastructure and honestly archaic power stations 😢 We have so much SUN here and yet solar not yet widely implemented. Loadshedding has been around at least for the last five or so years but it’s gotten really bad in the last six months with talks about Level 8 loadshedding (cutting several times a day for longer periods than we are used to). It is a travesty when Cape Town is such an amazing destination and is home to so many small businesses who don’t have the means to buy generators or not trade during business hours so it is killing the economy (and putting tourists off traveling here which is devastating). We are lucky enough to have a back up battery which we can run our WiFi off of to be able to work 8 hours a day but it’s a huge struggle for businesses like hair dressers or mechanics where back up power is less straight forward. Thanks for talking about the issue ☀️ Hopefully energy becomes privatized soon and we don’t have to rely on state owned entities like Eskom our government power parastatal. Many highly qualified South Africans (doctors, teachers, engineers) are emigrating to UK, US and Aus as a result - we call it the “brain drain”. People are so fed up that they are choosing to leave - the cons of SA start to outweigh the pros when you get into the details 😢 glad you guys managed to still have a great time regardless ❤ I love your videos!

[@MegsHollis]

@@striketochill sadly probably will end up leaving to Australia for better opportunities 💔 but not everyone has that option so are just having to make do. But South Africans are nothing if not super resilient 🇿🇦 here’s hoping for loads of innovative solar start ups 😂😜

[@mrbuchanan92373]

Happy Birthday Shelby and Monica. It was good to see South Africa. Thanks

[@shelbychurchvlogs]

thank you!

[@annamartin777]

I would love to see a cost breakdown of everything for the trip! It seems affordable - I would love to hear more detailed breakdown!

[@OhHeyLiana]

We went on a similar trip last year! We felt pretty safe too even when we went off in our own. Most of our party did get sick during one part or another during our trip as well. After the wedding we also went in a safari in a different area of the National Park and it was an amazing experience!

[@toobydude41]

Super cool. The side car ride...and Brodie with the goggles...soooo cute! I cannot get over that! Incredible scenes on the safari. Ugh shame about getting sick. Never heard of the load shedding. But I think about five years ago Cape Town was on the verge of...I believe literally months away from.. running dry. There was a serious drought going on and they were under extremely tight water use restrictions. Seems like it helped avert a catastrophe and thankfully the rains returned. Awesome vlog

[@shelbychurchvlogs]

brody was the cutest thing ever!!!

[@MichaelSaves]

What an experience! Thank you for sharing the safari.

[@alexandracoombs]

Your wet hair/darker hair with the middle part looked so good. you should gradually go darker!

[@suelyons531]

Great video. That was so interesting and wow the wedding venue was incredible!

[@madisonmackenzie8428]

During my undergrad I was able to do a field course in South Africa which was an absolutely incredible experience. We spent a lot of time in Hoedspruit at a research facility and got to to go Kruger National Park as well as a super remote village to stay with a homestay family for a few days. I loved seeing this video as it brought back so many memories that I hold onto dearly. I hope one day to return and maybe even visit Cape Town.

[@eljj7968]

Wow, you were so lucky to see a leopard! I met a tour guide who has been doing game drives for years, and he said he's only seen them a couple of times.

[@ledout7733]

Roundtrip first class flight to South Africa just Awesome Shelby you're living the Life .

[@John777Revelation]

It's always nice seeing you and Monica hanging out together. Happy Birthday! Best wishes.

[@J0E1L3]

The power generation and consumption has to be matched to have a properly functioning grid. However, the demand varies across the day and so you have to build for your highest demand times and have part of it lay dormant for a portion of the day. In the US and Canada, we have our grids mostly connected and a lot of money to build a lot of infrastructure so we are able to manage this more easily and have storage technologies to store some excess electricity or we sell to neighboring provinces/states to even out our systems.

[@erinpatterson8482]

My husband is from South Africa. His entire immediate family has left the country in part due to how bad the crime has gotten, how corrupt the government is, and issues such as the power-outages (again due to poor government). The stories of some of the circumstances they've had to deal with are so crazy for me to hear as a privileged American. That being said, it's such a BEAUTIFUL country, with beautiful people, culture, and nature. I can only hope that over time, that the South African government is able to fix some of its issues so that its people can flourish like they deserve

[@shelbychurchvlogs]

I hope so too! it's such a naturally beautiful place I hope they can figure out the power situation

[@terriniatells]

@@shelbychurchvlogs This " power situation" is a complex issue as a result of the complex history. Some of it is too nuanced to be described in a comment, I suggest you google on IFF and their role in " changing" who's in charge of ESKROM. My partner is from SA, Capetown, and he moved away to NL a year ago to escape some of the tragedies. I loved SA's vibe, but think twice about staying there

[@lienvanneste]

Fun fact about Seattle coffee: it was founded by Alley and Scott Svenson, a husband and wife team, who were originally from Seattle. They were inspired by the specialty coffee brands in their hometown (Seattle).

[@shelbychurchvlogs]

omg that's so awesome!

[@Nailaa.b]

Cape Town is one of my favorite cities! I actually travelled on my own there (hired a car and driver) and it was completely safe!

[@brianxyz]

You really lucked out in terms of what you saw on those safari trips. Great job filming the leopard and not freaking out over the lions eating the giraffe.

[@Jeroen74]

Regarding safety, South-Africa ranks 118 and the USA 129, out of 163 countries, on the Global Peace Index 2022. The Netherlands is at 21, Australia at 27 and Canada at 12, to name a few others. Did not expect to find the USA that low actually 🤔

[@shelbychurchvlogs]

Interesting!! Unfortunately it kinda makes sense… I know many of the big cities feel more dangerous than pre Covid (la and Seattle specially) and there’s so many shootings in the US

[@jj-if6it]

USA is so low because of all the gun crime. I LOVED Canada

[@franklinthu]

I just came back from my own South Africa trip, so I can relate! I put a quick vlog for each day on my channel. I also saw a marine tour where I saw orcas and dolphins. I took a 5 day Garden Route driving tour with caving/wine tasting/ziplining/bungie jump/canoeing and multiple safaris. The first night was at a glamping resort. The last night included a stay at a 5* bnb with glass everything and infinity pool. I have never experienced such luxury. I also hiked down Table mountain which was like the staircase from heck! The load shedding blackouts seemed to happen all the time. I was only affected once when my batteries/phone didn't charge overnight. I'd recommend bringing lots of powerbanks. I also forgot to turn off the lights and when the power came back at 4am, had to get up to turn it off!

[@karly_]

Would love to see a price breakdown video (if this isn’t one) 🎉

[@maxplanck9055]

The Starbucks has used a good architect to get the colour and feel right for a cafe, really nice ✌️♥️🇬🇧

[@Dollar_Zw]

Really appreciate you guys for the video. It really helps

[@danielmiller8110]

as someone who lives in capetown its very interesting to ser this from your point of view

[@MillaExplores]

I'd love to visit South Africa! It seems like such a diverse and beautiful country with loads of cool places to visit. Seems like you had a good time there. ☺

[@richardmarshall5960]

I was watching this video and all of a sudden I saw the other person looked just like you! I watch another channel Sandy Brock, a sheep breeder, and she does video tricks where there will be two of her working with the sheep. I thought you were doing the same thing. I was so impressed that you could such a slick special effect! Then when I opened KZbin there was a video your sister had done. I watched it and a big part of the video dealt with how challenging and rewarding being a twin to you is. Hope to see more videos with both of you! You both do a great job.

[@AGirlNamedVan]

lol cnn's richard quest was on the news not too long ago and he was bragging about riding with brody in the side car when when was in cape town for some work . that was cute . glad you had fun in our lovely city

[@iambatman6120]

Kept up on your IG stories. Looked like an absolute blast! The cliff view reminds me of a place called Silver Lake up in Michigan. It’s sand dunes have a sea view a lot like that! (I mentioned it on one of Lauren’s posts, too)

[@FrolicAndCourage]

Love this vlog! I’m so inspired and I would love to plan a trip soon ❤

[@kelliculbertson1125]

Would love to know more about what area you stayed in and the services you used! Looks absolutely amazing.

[@shereebirkhead2003]

Awesome video of the animals. I love giraffes!!! My cousin went on a safari trip and loved it.

[@megasay]

Hey Shelby, I was on Safari in the same area at the same time as you (different lodge but same main road from hoedspruit). Just saw this video months later, but thought id clarify something. The giraffe that was killed actually died from a fight between 2 giraffe not from the lions. The lions were just feasting on it!

[@hansonel]

Such a cool trip to South Africa, it looks like a dream destination. Next vlog: "I'm moving to Cape Town" 😃

[@theyofactor]

Thank you Shelby for this video. I don't think I will ever visit South Africa, so thanks for showing me around!

[@toordal]

I'm doing a similar trip with my brother, sister, brother -in-law and their kids in December.

[@Nicole.Sisson]

What a cool experience!! Cape Town is on my bucket list!!! ☀️😁🥂

[@thembaspeaks4723]

Loved this vlog Shelby. I am South African and let me tell you for a lot of us locals, Cape Town is extremely expensive and for a lot of people still inaccessible. But as you said it is different for a lot of you guys because of the exchange rate. You guys are super lucky 😄 Our country is super beautiful and there’s lots more to explore. Hope you will be back🤍🤍🤍

[@user-sx6eu4rg2x]

Another great vlog! Looked like a lot of fun 😊I didn’t realize they did the scheduled power outages. I do know that a few years back they were on the brink of running out of water, I was curious if you guys had to be cautious with your water consumption? Or if they had any water conservation things in place? It’s so cool that you got to see all those animals! What an amazing experience! Glad you had a great trip!

[@Emdoc1]

We had power rationing in Colombia when I lived there in the late 70’s and early 80’s, due to not enough hydroelectric power plants at the time… very similar to the load shedding in SA. Looks like you had a great trip ! Thanks for sharing.

[@kevinfleming9919]

Nice Vlog! Loved Brody with the Doggles on! Looked like some beautiful areas that you got to see and great Nature views! BTW, Ostrich meat, not Ostchirch! lol! 😉🙃

[@jj-if6it]

HAHA Monica drumming, she's loving it

[@cedarforest4621]

Hey Shelby, when you are back in Seattle, I was wondering if you might consider reviewing The Lodge at St. Edwards State Park. It's very unusual and scenic, and might be fun for out-of-towners. Also, if you do it, please review their Afternoon Tea as well. Thanks!

[@SoraMTeichman]

Love the different music you used in this vlog, so apropos!

[@VideoGameRoom32]

Load shedding conserving power. I didn't know that either. It seems like power is turned off for a few hours. Do people have generators for the refrigerators? I found a spreadsheet on that not sure if it covers the same area you're at.

[@jj-if6it]

You're lucky the USD is so valuable, as it really helps when travelling. I'm Australian and love going to places like Thailand because of the conversion rate, but sometimes feel bad for locals. Imagine not being able to ever go overseas because you're just unlucky with your country's low currency.

[@sandys209]

Seattle Coffee Company pre-dates your memories. It was Starbucks before Starbucks. Most of their old locations were bought by Starbucks when they couldn’t compete with the growth. Seattle Coffee Company was actually really good until they got bought out by Nestle to save them from going out of business.

[@thehammah8039]

might I suggest that when filming on iPhone you wipe off the cameras to reduce halo ☺️

[@maxplanck9055]

Monica loooked good with the her hair tied iin the nice brown puffa coat, good colour coordination, practical and beauty ✌️♥️🇬🇧

[@stickysteph]

When it was extremely cold this year, we had load shedding in Nashville. Rolling outages, 15 mins at a time to conserve.

[@anngordon20]

Cape Town is so beautiful. Thanks for the tour!

[@megcreates2.0]

I love watching you two together again ❤

[@nwalters7]

Shelby, can you come to Fargo, ND and experience this amazing climate. It's pushing -35 wind chill and we are outside with a fire drinking ice cold drinks. Are we crazy?

[@SoraMTeichman]

Incredible that you got to see the safari, that's in my bucket list. During Covid I binge watched Planet Earth videos about the safari; I'm an expert now ;)

[@evaiscoolest]

You got so lucky on that game drive!

[@mallorygraf8574]

I had a friend who went to boarding school in Cape Town and she always had great memories esp regarding the beach! Have always wanted to visit Cape Town ever since.🌞🌞

[@carolordonez3062]

wow what an amazing trip! SO interesting to see, South Africa is becoming more and more a dream destination for me! Thank you for sharing your experience.

[@maxplanck9055]

Happy 28th birthday for the 25th of February Shelby ✌️♥️🇬🇧

[@s.hussein8962]

Load shedding is really common in Africa/the Middle East. The infrastructure just wasn’t designed to support the demand. I’m Egyptian-Canadian, and I didn’t realize most people don’t know what load shedding is! But makes sense not knowing about it unless you’ve visited a country that does it. Makes me realize how privileged we are here!

[@allyesavage7889]

Love the travel vlogs! You guys should take a trip to Okinawa, I live here now and nothing compares

[@jj-if6it]

It looks really pretty there, I'd like to go one day and see table mountain and go on a safari

[@ebuckets]

Besides electric fences most of the houses in affluent areas will have armed guards 24/7

[@carableu]

It looks spectacular! Can’t wait to visit!

[@rj4356]

Happy Birthday!!🥳🥳 Glad you guys are having an awesome experience!

[@dadchurch3055]

Loved the vlog!

[@robyn8221]

Happy birthday, Shelby and Monica

[@jodibonds]

Happy Birthday!! This trip looked amazing!

[@roryandsage]

Loved this vlog!!! Thanks for sharing your trip ❤

[@nwalters7]

Shelby and Monica need to both come to Fargo to experience the climate. you will never appreciate "warm" weather until you experience the frozen tundra.

[@kjc6939]

South Africa’s electricity output is lower right now than it was in the 2000s, even as our population has grown. That’s the fundamental reason for the “load shedding”

[@MegsHollis]

So glad you guys had an epic time in Cape Town ❤ I’ve lived here for 10 years and love it 🎉 the Seattle coffee company comment made me giggle. It’s delicious and has precisely no connection to actual Seattle 🤪 your video reminded me to be more of a tourist in my own city 🌺

[@Jeroen74]

The only connection to Seattle is that the founders were actually from Seattle.

[@kimberbell4238]

Load shedding...sounds like what we've been experiencing in So Cal the last few summers!

[@shelbychurchvlogs]

but it's so much more intense in south africa! It's a part of their daily life, has negative impacts on the economy, etc. it's really sad!

[@jtonline99]

My family are from Cape Town, and I'd say definitely rank it as the safer part of the country. There are places you shouldn't go and things you shouldn't do (i.e. don't ride the public trains, always lock your car doors, keep an eye on your pockets/bags, etc...). Where poverty is high, there's always plenty of crime to go with it 🤷‍♂ I have friends from Durban and Joberg and they always talk about life behind fences and gates and how that sucks for raising a family. Overall Cape Town is a great place and a really beautiful city, worth a visit.

[@jj-if6it]

That power outage thing must be really frustrating, especially for people trying to work. People should definitely protest more for the government to get their act together.

[@adam311835]

I loved this video!! I have always wanted to go to South Africa!

[@hlengiwefeliciamabuza7354]

Please do visit sir

[@Alexis-ec9cl]

Makes me want to actually go to South Africa. I never thought of that as a place to go! Beautiful!

[@AhmedMagdy-je7xp]

Happy Birthday Shelby! 🎂🎉🎈

[@annabanana771]

Would love to know what safari tour you used!

[@TraceyPoland]

Wow! what a cool trip....thanks for sharing!

[@nexusyang4832]

11:15 - check out Chris Rock's old CD titled "Born a Suspect." ;-)

[@moonica5770]

Happy Birthday to You and Monica!

[@chrissyhiking]

I love your travel vlogs! South Africa looks so gorgeous 😍

[@manbuckets]

So cool to see Cape Town and the different scenery/animals/nature etc.!

[@ariannadalessio4501]

Welcome to SA!! 🫶🏼 I’m in Cape Town right now (originally from Joburg) and I hope you’re loving it as much as me!! We’re actually so close to each other 😂😂

[@nannacat3]

Omg! I miss so bad The Seattle vlogs

[@kjc6939]

I’m a South African who spent 6 weeks in North Carolina last year and my wallet BLED!

[@jackrose7977]

Very cool Safari video of the animals up close.

[@conniesmith3837]

Way cool. First time I've seen something like this. Thanks. Curious of real estate prices there. 👍🦓

[@kabelomsimango5392]

Cape Town is like the Monaco of Africa I'm planning on going there this year I've never been there before and south african from Johannesburg I recommend you come to Johannesburg next that's if you haven't been here

[@hlengiwefeliciamabuza7354]

True it is like the Monaco of Africa

[@franklinkabali1073]

Actually we don't know how heaven look and nice it is. But south Africa it's very beautiful and lovely place to visit.

[@koober1]

Do you think it was the time change that was upsetting your stomachs? That happens to me when I travel and the time changes

[@debbydhill]

Happy Belated to you both!