One of my favorite places in the world is the southernmost tip of Africa, Cape Agulhas. Part of it is nostalgia. When I was an exchange student in South Africa, one of my host dad’s was from the region. So, I got to spend a bit of time there. There’s not much there. It’s a town with a windswept beach that shuts down after dark. But there’s something about looking south and knowing that there’s no more land between you and Antarctica that keeps taking me back. On the shore is the old lighthouse. It’s still in operation as the coastline in this part of the world can be quite dangerous. You can go up and take in the 360-degree view of the coast, the neighboring towns and a bit of scrub-brush veld, which is the site of the world’s smallest plant kingdom – the Cape Floral Kingdom. I took this photo on my last trip to South Africa and it’s today’s Suh-Weet Shot.

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Southernmost Lighthouse in Africa is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

Simply impressive. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

Getting to Abu Simbel seems a little daunting. But, it’s not. Base yourself in Aswan and then sign up for the daily tour that leaves early in the morning. After a 3 hour ride, you have a couple of hours to visit this impressive landmark. The monuments don’t sit on their original site. When a dam was planned for the region, the Egyptian government had to move the entire site so as not to be flooded once the dam was completed. It’s a good thing they did too. These massive sculptures welcome you to the main entrance. I spent a good deal of time trying to figure out how they moved it without damaging it and without you being able to see a thousands cracks. Abu Simbel is a a suh-weet engineering feat and a great place to get this week’s Suh-Weet Shot.

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Stone Gods of Abu Simbel is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

Another lazy day on the Nile comes to a close. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

By day, travel in Egypt can be overwhelming: the heat, the amount of people, the noise, the crazy traffic, the hassling for baksheesh (tips) for even the most mundane task. It’s enough to wear out even the most intense road warrior. But, then there are moments and places that center you once again. Seeing the sun set over the Nile is one of those. I got this on a felucca ride up the Nile. It was the same trip where I showed you the full moon over the Nile. It was a suh-weet ride where I got today’s Suh-Weet Shot.

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Sunset Over the Nile is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

Lunch time! Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

If you’ve had the chance to see elephants in the wild, then you know how beautiful these giants of the wild are. At Addo Elephant National Park in South Africa, we saw plenty of the residents that give the park its namesake.  One herd we came across had a few young bulls. Our vehicle was parked at a great angle facing this ¨little guy.¨ How tough are these elephants? Well, they were eating briars, briars thick enough to pierce tires on a Land Rover. They eat hundreds of pounds of brush a year, which I guess is good for the vehicles to keep the briars at bay. I love making this suh-weet babe this week’s Suh-Weet Shot.

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Baby Elephant Eating Briars in Addo Elephant National Park is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

Cat nap time? Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

Of all of Africa’s cats, the cheetah is probably the most lovable. You can get up close and personal and live to tell about it, not true of leopards. While traveling in Namibia and South Africa, we found several sanctuaries that are working to restore the species. I was told that very few actually live in the wild anymore. At a friend’s farm in Namibia, he had two baby cheetah that he had rescued after the mom had been killed. As I recall, he wasn’t sure how she died. He kept them in a pen which I entered and was able to get up close. They didn’t like me in there and spat and hissed at me. But, after a few minutes, they calmed down and just became used to my presence. With a little help from my zoom lens, I was able to capture this Suh-Weet shot of this little guy chilling in the shade.

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Baby Cheetah Resting is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

Afternoon run. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

While we went to the Addo Elephant National Park to see the elephants, there were plenty of other wildlife to see. Here we passed a small herd of zebra that were off to the races. Maybe our vehicle spooked them?  We did see other zebra at Addo, a lioness overlooking the valley, and even disturbed a bit of ostrich love. Naturally we saw elephants too. But, seeing the animals run wild in the veld was awesome. Traveling in South Africa offers lots of places to see the wildlife. So, until you can get over for your first safari or if you’re biding your time for your next adventure, enjoy the zebra in this week’s Suh-Weet Shot.

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Zebras Running at Addo Elephant National Park is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

It's OK. He wasn't that hungry. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

While with my parents traveling in Namibia and South Africa, we stopped off at a farm near Gobabis, Namibia, owned by family of some of my friends. About a year earlier, they adopted a baby warthog. These things are so ugly, they are cute! Canon was his name and he was so tame. He craved attention and followed me around quite a bit. One bad habit of his, was that he like to gnaw on my feet. He wasn’t trying to eat them. I think it was more of a way to ask for attention. So, after a bit of playing footsy with me, I would rub his course, dry body leading to squeals of delight. Playing with him always made me laugh as you can see in this short clip called ¨Taming a Warthog¨ when I tried to film with him in the shot and he made ME squeal.   Hope you enjoy this week’s Suh-Weet Shot of Canon nibbling on my shoe.

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Warthog Gnawing on My Foot is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

This profile is how most people see the Sphynx. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

As impressive as the Sphinx is, the visit to see it isn’t exactly the most enjoyable during a trip to Egypt. Even in September, when I was there, the place was overly packed with people. But, once you get to a spot without people in front of you, you get the chance to admire this infamous landmark. The main viewing platform is, oddly enough, on the side of the Sphinx, not in front of it. In fact, the photos I have from the front are pretty crappy. But, I was able to find a nice position to get the nearby pyramid in the photo and wind up with a pretty Suh-Weet Shot.

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Profile of the Sphinx On a Clear Day is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

Need a ride? Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

Visiting the pyramids in Giza is a must while traveling to Egypt.  It’s on everyone’s itinerary. No surprise there. Most of the desert seems cut off from anything or anyone not related to the tourist trade. And, getting an original shot is difficult. As we were walking around, this guy riding his camel caught my eye. He happened to pass by one of the pyramids just as I got my camera in position allowing me to capture this week’s Suh-Weet Shot.

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Camel Crossing in Front of Giza Pyramid is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

 By far the best part of my trip to Egypt was the three-day felucca ride up the Nile from Aswan to Luxor. There were 5 of us on our felucca: me, my friend Zoe, and 3 guides/boatsman. I thought we got lucky by being on the Nile during a full moon. But, Zoe told me later that she had planned for us to be on the Nile so we could have that as part of our experience. During the day, several large cruise boats passed us by. But, at night, it was quiet with only the stars and the moon around. It was a suh-weet experience and I got lucky enough to capture this Suh-Weet shot!

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Full Moon View From Nile River is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures