To say that our seminars in South Africa were a success would be a gross understatement. Just as I experienced during my first trip to South Africa more than 10 years ago, this is an amazing country with a truly beautiful, friendly people.

Our trip began in the amazingly stunning setting of Cape Town, where we stayed at the Radisson Waterfront Hotel – that’s a view from my hotel room balcony above. As the name implies, the hotel is literally on the water, only a 10 minute walk to the Waterfront shopping and restaurant district. Be sure to kill a few hours on a sunny afternoon at the Quay 4 pub, located on one of the wharfs.

Our Cape Town audience came out in such numbers to see CS4 that we were forced to hold two simultaneous sessions – with Jason, Mo Jogie (our South African colleague), and myself running between them in a three hour show.

We then moved on to Johannesburg, where Jason and I were pleasantly surprised to find our hotel, the Palazzo, is not only a beautiful hotel, it is adjacent to the Monte Casino complex, which would be the venue for the launch event. My only gripe about the hotel is that the hotel bar closes at 11pm! And yes, even on weekends!

The folks in Joburg turned out in big numbers as well – and if the laughter, smiles, applause and nodding heads is any indication, they all had a great time, but more importantly they love CS4! After an enjoyable event with the local press, we can officially say that CS4 is off to a great start! Our day concluded with a small team dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in the world, appropriately named Carnivore. This is a brazilian-style restaurant, where meat is grilled on skewers over an open flame and then brought in waves to the table. The catch here being that the meat is primarily game from Africa. And yes, it’s all on the menu, from ostrich to kudu to antelope to crocodile to wildebeast and on and on. Absolutely a must!

We wrapped up the week with two truly spectacular trips. The first to Lesedi, a self-proclaimed African Cultural Adventure. At the Lesedi complex, they have created mock villages of the five primary tribes within South Africa. Touring each one, you learn about their local habits and traditions. The visits are short (too short, if you ask me), but still fun. After the tour, the tribes come together for some serious dancing to drum rythmns, followed by a “typical” South African buffet.

What’s a trip to South Africa without a trip to a game park? We embraced the idea and spent our last day in South Africa staring in wonderment at some incredible animals. To top it off, we even got lucky and stumbled upon a lion pride lounging in the middle of the road, as well as a cheetah that was truly amazing. I’ve posted more pictures on my Flickr stream.

Now, my friends, it’s back to Phoenix to literally shower and repack. Tomorrow takes me to Webbuilder 2.0 in Las Vegas. Thankfully, Stephanie will also be speaking there, so we don’t have to be apart.

Prost!