Africa day 21

Our final day in South Africa!  We got up latish then packed our bags before having one last wander round the market.  Mick finally bought a souvenir - just wait for our next BBQ to see what!

We had a quick, but tasty lunch, in a bar called Tiger's Milk, then called for an Uber taxi to the airport.

I had made my classic mistake on flight times, so instead of getting there two hours before our flight, we were there four hours early.  Quite useful as Teri and I were both dashing for the toilet quite regularly by this point.

Eventually we got on our flight to Johannesburg, then effortlessly transferred onto the long flight back to London.  21 hours after leaving our Cape Town apartment we arrived in a cold and wet England and drove back to Derby.

It was an excellent holiday, largely thanks to Chris at Blue Rhino, and ably helped by our travelling companions, especially Ossie.  We really hope to visit South Africa again, and would do another driving safari in an instant.  Perhaps 2019 - we already seemed to be fully booked for the next two years.

Africa day 20 27th February

Today we had booked a hire car so we could drive out to Cape Point.  Much as we wanted to use the train out to Builders Beach to see the penguins, we couldn't find a method of getting to Cape Point without going on an expensive guided tour, so a hire car was the best option.

Picking up the car was easy, and after we had negotiated our way through the city traffic we were soon on the road out to the west coast of the peninsular.  The views all along the coast were spectacular, and we had several stops for photos!

Further south we turned inland, but not before we had seen the smoke from the veldt fire that has been burning for the last week.  

Turning back out towards the coast we drove the section called Chapman's Peak Drive.  This is a toll section of road, with a very low speed limit, and some of the best roads we have driven on.  Sweeping curves, views and a road cut into the cliffside.

There are many baboons on the peninsular, and we saw warning signs about them everywhere, but we saw none at all!  We did see an unknown antelope as we got closer to the National Park section though.

Once in the park we drove through large sections of low shrub and fynbos until we got to the car park at Cape Point.  As Teri was feeling bad we used the funicular train to get up to the base of the upper lighthouse, before walking down the ridge of land for a view of the lower lighthouse.  The former was built so high it was frequently obscured by low cloud, the latter has  the most powerful light beam in South Africa.

The walk along the ridge was full of more spectacular views, and was very windy in places, even though we had a very calm day by all accounts.

Back by the upper lighthouse, Mick and Teri went down by train, whilst I walked down, and then trekked over to The Cape of Good Hope.  It was a lovely walk, though very windy.  At the highest point I could see Mick and Teri in the car park, but they failed to spot me.  Mick walked up to join me on the last section, and we enjoyed watching more dassies and black agama lizards.  I also saw striped mice and more sea birds.

From Cape Point we drove north on the east side, round False Bay.  As we approached the Boulder Beach area we saw a sign saying 'penguin viewing', so we parked and walked toward Fowey's beach.  A small entrance fee got us to an area with a raised walkway towards the beach.  Under the shrubs were several artificial nests for the penguins, and several penguin 'walkways' under us, also several penguins.

The colony started with two breeding pairs in 1982, and now numbers about 2000 penguins.  Unlike the New Zealand penguins we tried to see, these are not shy and tend to ignore their human watchers.

Down on the beach we could see penguins all around, some with young, with many swimming in the surf.  We stood and watched for perhaps an hour, loving every moment of it.

Finally dragging ourselves away, we realised we had left it rather late to reach Signal Hill to watch the sunset.  We got stuck in traffic in Fish Hoek, so changed our plans and cut across inland to wards the motorway back into Cape Town.  Our strategy worked, and we got to Signal Hill in plenty of time.  Four tandem paracenders took off as we watched, then more poeple arrived, scattered over the whole hill.

Nice sunset, then we drove back into the city, returning the car 1 minute before the main office closed.

We had dinner in Carne, an upmarket meat restaurant, with Mick eating the safari special - five different fillets of game animals.  Good food, but slightly pretentious, and not quite as good as the Butchery Shop in Johannesburg.  Still, at least we weren't soaking wet this time.

Africa day 19 26th Feb

Today we had tickets for a boat trip to Robbens Island, Nelson Mandela's prison for so many years.  We were booked on the 9am ferry so we used an Uber taxi to the waterfront, and got there early.  While Mick and Teri had a coffee, I wandered around the harbour, taking photographs and watching a seal.

There's a lot of people travelling today, on a total of three boats, so we joined the queue for the 45 minute trip out to the island.

When we reach the island we are put onto buses and taken for a tour round the island, looking at Robert Sobukwe's house, the leper graves and the village.  On the way round we also stop for a refreshment break, and see our first African Penguins on the rocks.

Next stop is the main security prison where we are taken on a tour by an ex-prisoner.  It;s a very stark place, and it's hard to imagine spending so many years there, not to mention developing the hobby of gardening there, as Nelson Mandela did.  Perhaps the most surprising fact was the amount of education that took place in the prison.  All incoming prisoner's were expected to study (including political education) every day, and there was a complex system for disseminating political news from the outside.

We finish the tour with a walk past Mandela's cell, then head back to the boats.

Back in Cape Town we had mussels and chips in a waterfront restaurant, then wander around the harbour and shops, particularly enjoying a concert by a number of boys and girls singing selection of songs by famous singers and groups.  A visit to the V&A food market makes us regret the lunch we had, there's an amazing selection of food in there!  The harbour is interesting; it actually has upmarket apartments, next to working fishing boats, tourist areas, and many commercial boats.

We walked slowly back, and ate in the evening at one of the closest restaurants to our apartment, an Italian restaurant called Bellini's.  It was a surprisingly good meal, though there was a moment of worry when an umbrella blow over, and nearly hit Teri in the head.  As her cold is worse and she thinks she may have a chest infection, this didn't please her, or us!

Back to bed, and ready for our last full day in Cape Town.

Africa day 18 25th Feb

We decided today to have a rest from all organised tours and trips, and to just leisurely explore Cape Town.  We started by visiting Mali South, an African fabric shop and tailors.  I bought some more fabric, then it was back to the coffee shop for Mick and Teri.

Next stop was the curio/tourist market in Greenmarket Square.  We have watched the traders set up their stalls every morning, and put them away every night, so we were interested to see what they were selling.  Bead animals, fabric, shirts, bags, wood carvings and paintings, basically everything a tourist could possibly need!  The prices were ridiculously high on the first asking, but quickly descended when we started to haggle.  Teri bought a couple of the bead animals, and I got more fabric, plus a silver giraffe pendant.

We had planned to have lunch in the Food Lovers Emporium on the opposite side of the square, but nothing in there particularly appealed, though Teri got some biltong. 

Teri did some quick research, then led us round the corner to Nuri, a sushi restaurant, where we gorged ourselves for lunch.

In the afternoon we visited the flower market in Trafalgar Place, then walked in the Company Gardens.  

These were originally used to grow fresh fruit and vegetables for the ships rounding the cape.  Nowadays it houses trees and plants from around the world, and was full of families having picnics and enjoying the sunshine.

At the far end of the gardens we found the Iziko South African Museum, with a Caspir armoured vehicle outside, completely covered with bead work.

Inside we visited some of the contemporary art exhibits and installations, some of which I particularly enjoyed as they were considering the perceived differences between art and craft. 

After a rest at the apartment Mick and I tried to find the Carne restaurant, and failed, so we ended up having dinner at Fork, an African tapas bar.  Some of the best food we'd eaten in Cape Town, especially the mini Kudu fillets and the prawns wrapped in pancetta.  On the way home we saw some drummers sitting outside a restaurant in a side street, and realised they had been drumming for over 3 hours.  Back at the apartment we fell asleep to the distant sound of drumming - we think they finished in the early hours of the morning!  Mini Kudu Fillets

Click here to reply or forward

Africa day 17 24th Feb

It was raining when we woke up, and Table Mountain was shrouded in cloud.  Today we went  on a wine tour to Stellenbosch and were collected from outside out apartment at 9am by Colleen in a minibus.  One other couple was already in the bus, and a third couple joined us at our first stop of the morning.

Our first stop was at Thelema, a beautiful vineyard nestling in the foothills of the mountain to the east of Cape town.  

We tasted 8 wines, six of them showing the differences in wine when the same grapes are grown at a high altitude, or a low one.

Our next stop was at the Zorgvliet vineyard.  Another very small vineyard, and this time we tasted four different wines while sitting under a tree.  The setting was magnificent, and even though the service was not as good as at Thelema, the wine was better.

Our third stop of the day was at Simonsig.  Another four wines, including two 'methode champagnoise'.  The wine was nice, and we had lunch there in their restaurant.  

Our last stop of the day was at the Vergenoegd Wine estate, where we managed, despite the resistance of all the other traffic on the road, to arrive in time for the daily duck parade.  They use over 1000 Runner Ducks to keep slugs and other pests under control amongst the vines, and every day at 3.30 pm the ducks are brought back into the main house area to their yard where they are kept overnight.

It was a delightful sight, and very funny at the same time!  More wine tasting, another five, then it was time to get back into the minibus for the return (snooze) trip back to Cape Town.

A thoroughly enjoyable day, but we bought no wines at all!  Several of the vineyards do have outlets in Europe, so we shall keep an eye out for them, and also look at what Stellenbosch wines the Wine Society can offer. 

We got back at 6pm, and went round the corner to a wood fired pizza restaurant/bar we had seen the previous evening.  Great pizzas, and an eclectic mix of people.  A fun atmosphere, but it got very noisy as the evening progressed, so we left, and were in bed about 10pm.

Africa Day 16 23rd Feb

After the hop-on, hop-off bus experience in Johannesburg in the cold and rain, today's trip on a hop-on, hop-off bus was a real pleasure.  The sun shone all day, and the views were magnificent.  The main stop and office was literally a skip and a jump from our apartment, and next door to a good coffee shop!

We took the red tour first, and bought extra tickets for the trip up the cable car to the top of Table Mountain.  Despite having tickets in advance we still had a long wait for the cable car, but it was worth it.

At the top we saw our first 'dassie', or rock hyrax, a guinea pig like animal, whose closest living relative is the elephant.

We took the free walking tour round the top with a very funny and informative guide who told us lots about the flora and fauna found on the mountain, then had an ice cream before descending.  

During the walk we saw several lizards, all southern rock agama.

Back on the red bus we travelled round to the west areas of Cape Town, full of expensive housing, white beaches and superb views.  AT the lighthouse at Green Point we got off for an excellent sea food meal, then travelled back to the main bus depot.  There we leapt onto a yellow route bus and travelled through the down town area to the District 6 museum.  This was a small, very personal museum, telling the story of the bulldozing of the houses and communities in the district during the time of apartheid to make way for a white residential area.  Due to the many protests then and later, this area has still not been rebuilt!

Back on the bus to finish the tour, then back to our apartment.  Teri had a bad cold and went to bed early, but Mick and I walked up to the Bo-Kaap area for a Cape Malay meal.  

Good food, but no alcohol as it was a muslim restaurant, so back early to have a glass of Amarula on the terrace before going to bed.

Africa day 15 22nd February

The rain finally stopped during the night, and we had a slow get up with a nice cup of tea in bed.

We left our Johannesburg apartment at 10.30 and caught the Gautrain to the airport.  Our Gold cars for the train worked well, and we had just 6 rand left on them after our trip.  At the airport we found we had good wifi, so we all sat and updated emails, etc whilst I wrote up some more of this blog.

Arriving at Capetown we got a taxi to our new apartment, overlooking Greenmarket Square, and met Lauren, the keeper of the keys.  It's a lovely apartment with plenty of space for the three of us, and a view over the city to Table Mountain.  It's noisy due to the market, but we had expected that, and it's fun to watch the vendors and tourists down below.  

First priority was to buy beer, wine and milk, plus some custard flavoured yoghurt for Teri and Mick.  After a beer on the balcony, and a bit of research on the area, we went out to explore.

The tapas bar on Bree Street was rejected as too noisy, so we found a small Ethiopian restaurant in a side street, and had an excellent meal eaten with our fingers and rice flat bread.  Then it was back to our apartment ready for tomorrow.

Africa day 14 21st February

We woke surprisingly early considering our activities yesterday.  After catching up with emails and messages we set out to explore Johannesburg.  It was still raining as we walked up to the Gautrain station a block away, and after the last week felt fairly cold.

We bought tickets for the hop-on, hop-off bus at Rosebank and enjoyed our trip round to Constitution Hill.  This is the site of the old prison and we spent a wet time looking at the old cells and seeing the new court.  It is a powerful reminder of how people were treated under the apartheid system.

On the next bus ride, we travel across the downtown area, heading for the Apartheid museum.  The weather is still atrocious, and we have a quiet laugh when we stop for a view over the city, and can barely see the edge of the road, or when we are reminded to wear sunblock as the sun can burn easily in Africa.  At the museum we have a nice launch of Bobotie which warmed us slightly, but I have to buy a t-shirt to wear just to try and get warmer.

The Apartheid museum is very informative, and emotionally draining.  Our original plan to visit the Origins museum next goes out of the window as we try to absorb all the information, and we eventually catch the last bus back towards the city centre.  Some of the most chilling moments were watching old interviews of the politicians justifying the apartheid system, and scenes from the Truth and Reconciliation trails.  

Our journey back is delayed as the traffic is so bad due to rain and flooding, and eventually we get back onto the Gautrain at the Rosebank station.  At Sandton we decide to go directly to the restaurant Ossie and Chris had recommended, and eventually find it, looking like a trio of drowned, shivering rats.  It was a fairly upmarket place, with great steaks, and when we eventually dry out we thoroughly enjoyed our meal, especially the springbok capaccio for starters.

It was so wet all day that I took no photos at all!!

Africa Day 13, 20th Fen

We all had a restless night, in part due to the frequent roaring of lions in the vicinity and the owls that kept lading on Chris's tent.  We had a long drive ahead of us, so we were up at 5.30 and left the campsite at 6.45.  

A final wildlife sighting as we left the camp, a group of bat eared foxes were crossing the pan just outside our campsite.

We exited the Khutse Game Reserve, then followed the sand road 102km towards Letimakeng. The road changed to gravel and we continued for another 62km to Malepolole, where we continued to avoid cattle, donkeys, dung and dung beetles, and forded a few streams.

When we reached the tar road we stopped for coffee and to pump the tyres up then followed the road towards a border crossing into South Africa south of Garbaronne.  The skies got darker and darker and Chris had some updates by phone from his wife that the weather in Johannesburg was dreadful; very heavy rain and traffic accidents everywhere.  30 km from the border we came to a halt where the rain had caused two rivers to overflow the low bridges.  The first would not have been a problem for us in our 4x4 cars, but a bus had been swept away on the second bridge and they were still trying to rescue the passengers.

We turned round and headed north towards Garbaronne and away from the worst of the weather we hoped.  The rain grew heavier and there were signs of floods all around.  We slowly crossed Garbaronne, a low city, full of traffic lights, and finally reached the border crossing at Kopfontein.  More rain, and we were now not expecting to get to Johannesburg until 8pm, about 4 hours later than we had planned.  Just north of Johannesburg we stopped for a burger at a Wimpey, at around 7pm  then drove on towards Chris's house, and our long lost suitcases.

A quick, but sad farewell to Ossie at his hotel, then we reached Chris's, repacked all our belongings into our suitcases and got a taxi to our booked apartment in Sandton, a suburb just north of Johannesburg centre.  It was very sad saying goodbye to Chris after our fantastic trip, and we would certainly recommend travelling with BlueRhino to anyone wanting to see more of Africa!

We got to our apartment at 10.20, and collapsed into bed.  We had been on the road for 13 hours, 12 hours of them virtually non stop!

Our total mileage in the 4x4 was about 3500 kms.

Africa day 12, 19th Feb

After a good nights sleep, only punctuated by the roaring of lions and jackal we set off for a circular drive.  We're in this site for two nights, and it's really nice not having to pack the tents up before we leave.

Fairly shortly after leaving camp we see two elephants, both heading north, and Chris shows us an elephant print in the sand.

The elephants also dig large holes to get at the roots of plants, another driving hazard to watch out for! We see several birds, including a type we nickname 'bird brain'.  It has a habit of trying to land just in front of the car, then walk along the road.  The only way past is to actually speed up until he veers off the road to the side.  We see the 'wedding band' bird, also called a lilac breasted something, more Kari Busted and another hornbill.

We see another group of four elephants, then continue driving through the long grass.  The roads in this park are obviously less well used, and sometimes it's hard to work out where the road is.  We have to stop and clear the grass seeds out of the radiator again, and re fasten the net over the front of the car.

Very little other game visible, so we change plans, stop for a coffee by a watering hole, then turn north again.

There was a large brown bird by the hole, plus several doves.  Chris says these are often hunted by hawks, and we see a hawk and an eagle in the trees as we leave.

Our next sighting is a group of five giraffes, 3 adults and two young.  We see them in the distance through the trees, and watch them for about 20 mins.

Another family of ostrich appear on the road in front of us, but this time the parents run off to the side, but the chicks remain on the road running away from us.  After several pauses hoping they will leave the road, Chris carefully edges his car past them, then gets out to herd the, back into the area where their parents disappeared.  He is confident the family will get reunited agin, for which we are thankful.

We saw more birds, but very few animal sightings as we drove north.  Finally we saw some oryx with young.  The young are a nondescript brown colour, and have the survival strategy of running in the opposite direction to their parents when threatened, then hiding.  Meanwhile the predators, hopefully, run after their brightly coloured parents. 

Lunch was borewas rolls and bacon at a deserted campsite, then we carried on.  More birds, ostrich and butterflies, and when we stopped to see the size of hole dug by the oryx for salt, we also saw a strange bee in what appeared to be the Botswana national colours.

Just as we got back to,our campsite Chris spotted a small African cat, a caracal, running across the road.  They are very difficult and rare to see, and he was delighted with the spotting.

At our campsite Chris put the pap on to cook(a national dish of a sort of maize porridge, served with sous, sauce) while we watched the ground squirrels.

Dinner was the pap and sous, with braaied sirloin steaks, washed down with fairly copious amounts of red wine, then Amarula.  It is our last night in the bush, and we shall really miss it, not to mention Chris and Ossie when we have to say goodbye tomorrow.