Bye to Sue and Rob, Hello to Per and family – Cape Town!
Day 9
Sue and Rob drove us to the airport hotel for noon. We were sad to say goodbye. They treated us royally, and we had such an enjoyable time with them. However, it is not goodbye for long – they will be travelling to Florida in September, and we are going to try to swing it that we could meet up with them for a couple of days. Thank you so much to Sue and Rob – our London experience was amazing because of the two of you.
So, just as Sue and Rob pulled up to the hotel to drop us off, Per literally met us at the driveway – we were handed from one set of friends to another. How incredible.
Per and Jim have been best mates since they were kids. As you may recall, it is Per and his wife Jacquie who have made this trip possible for us. Per, Jacquie and their kids Dylan (15) and Kyle (10) had flown into London earlier this morning.
We decided to go back into central London together, and visit the British Museum. The main exhibit here that we wanted to see was the Rosetta Stone – an ancient Egyptian stone (stele) inscribed with 3 different types of script (ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, Demotic script and Ancient Greek) – which provided the key to the modern understanding of Egyptian hieroglyphs. Within this museum as well are large permanent Egyptian and Greek exhibits; they even have the Elgin Marbles (large wall-like sculptures) from the Parthenon.
Then onto Piccadilly Circus area – Per has been to London many times (actually born here), and knows it quite well, so it was like we had our own personal tour guide. Lots of people, lots of shopping, lots of street performers. It was here that we were amused for quite a while watching the antics of a guy whose show centred around him fitting himself through a tennis racket. We visited the largest toy store we’ve ever been in (I think in total it had 5 floors) where kids can play with the toys to their hearts content. Lots of very expensive, name brand stores too – they have it all here. Unfortunately, we missed the Tin Tin Shop by 5 minutes….sorry Per!
Ate Japanese for dinner, and were educated by Dylan and Kyle of what to order and how to eat it. Jim and I need to get a bit more cultured to keep up with these two!
We walked, and walked, and walked to get night views of the Tower bridge and the London eye again. Poor Per, Dylan and Kyle were pooped – they had not gotten much sleep after their long flight to London, and we didn’t get back to the hotel until 10pm. We planned for Windsor Castle in the morning.
Day 10
Off to Windsor Castle. This is where the Queen lives; at least on weekends. When she is in residence, the monarch flag flies as it was today. However, we knew that the Queen had unfortunately been admitted to the hospital on Friday due to gastroenteritis. We noticed a few hours later that the flag had been changed to the Union Jack to reflect her absence.
Windsor Castle is beautiful. Some of the features reminded us of Versailles in Paris, only on a smaller scale. We had not actually planned on visiting this castle, however, our friends had suggested it and we are glad they did. Windsor Castle is used for many royal functions, and was the site of Kate and William’s wedding. After visiting, we had a quick lunch in Windsor, and then got back to the airport to pack our bags…..our flight to South Africa is this evening!
Later…….
Day 10 continued, and Day 11 – March 4-5
See photos here
The flight from London to Johannesburg South Africa was an overnight flight with South African Airlines. Wow, what a nice flight compared to Air Canada. The food was edible, and there was much more leg room and overall was much more comfortable, even though the flight was a few hours longer.
We arrived at the airport just after 8am. Finally, WARM WEATHER!!! We didn’t have much time before our next flight to Cape Town would be leaving. We stood in line to recheck our bags for the domestic flight, when suddenly some men showed up and whisked us and our luggage and away – explaining along the way that we needed to hurry such that we would not miss our flight. At first, Kristin and Per were somewhat concerned that unknown men had sprung up from nowhere, but it all worked out okay. They were porters, and really, were honestly trying to help and hoping for a tip in the meantime. Needless to say, we made our flight, and our luggage made it too.
We picked up our rental van at the airport that we had previously booked. After a fair bit of tedious paperwork and rental of a GPS, we were off. The van was great – lots of room for all of our luggage, and very roomy for the 6 of us. Jim drove, and Per was the navigator. No sooner did Jim start driving that he said ‘hey, look at that bird’, and did a jerk of the wheel. Kristin then proceeded to explain to all in the car, that yes, Jim does bird watch while he is driving, and at times this can become an interesting conflict of interest – safety vs birding. We reminded Jim that not only is he in a new country, but also one where he is driving on the opposite side of the road, so perhaps his bird watching should take a back seat to safety. He agreed (although it did come up from time to time!)
CAPE TOWN to be continued…….(we’ve gotten busy….trying to keep up!!)
So….the drive to Chapman’s Peak Hotel was good. ‘Chapman’s Peak’ is a mountain on the western side of the Cape Peninsula and is opposite the inlet on which the town of Hout Bay is centred. Great scenery and Jim did very well driving with Per’s navigation. The Hotel is in Hout Bay, a very picturesque place with our room looking out at mountains, the beach and ocean. Our room itself is beautiful -roomy, modern and the nicest hotel room we’ve ever stayed in. We freshened up (much needed after the long flight and now warm weather!!) and met for lunch.
The Chapman’s Peak Hotel is well known for it’s food, and our first meal there was fantastic. They have an outside, covered area where you can eat, and we ate lunch here, overlooking the bay. Our friends and Kristin had sole, Jim had prawns. We were all amazed that here we were, in South Africa, eating lunch together. The trip that had been a dream for a year was now happening!!
After lunch, we went for a short walk on the beach, then to the store. When crossing the street from the hotel to the beach, we got somewhat harassed by people trying to sell us trinkets. They sit there day in and day out, trying to sell their wares to any passerby. It’s kind of funny that months before we had ‘google earthed’ the hotel and went on ‘street view’ and saw these people sitting on the curb waiting for anyone to sell to, so we knew that this would happen. The grocery store was similar to ours – like a small town IGA or something like that. We got a few drinks and munchies for the next few days.
We said goodbye to each other around 4pm or so – we were all pretty tired from our long flights, and we had a busy day ahead!
Day 12 – March 6
We woke up to a beautiful day. Sunny, blue sky. Who could ask for more. Breakfast – lovely. They had a really nice spread of fruit, cheese, muffins, croissants, cereals, yogurt, etc. and hot breakfast if you wanted.
We drove to Cape of Good Hope, and Cape Point, all part of Table Mountain National Park. The drive was beautiful – not far from our hotel we stopped numerous times to take in the beauty of Chapman’s Peak Drive. The road has many twists and curves, which often were a bit scary (it was only Jim’s second day driving on the wrong side!!) with sheer drops to the ocean below and mountains rising above our heads. Very picturesque, and it reminded us of the drive we had done previously along the California coastline.
We hiked up to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. The Cape of Good Hope was once thought to be the most southern point of Africa, where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. This actually is not the case – the most southern point of Africa is Cape Agulhas, about 150 kilometres to the east-southeast. The currents of the two oceans meet at the point where the warm-water Agulhas current meets the cold water Benguela current —a point that fluctuates between Cape Agulhas and Cape Point (about 1.2 kilometres east of the Cape of Good Hope……don’t you just love wikipedia!!). A stunning walk, due to the beautiful sunny, clear day we had to enjoy the spectacular views. The last time Per and his family were here, they were unable to see anything because of the clouds and fog. We were so glad that we got to share these vistas with them! The weather can change quite quickly and drastically in this area, and at one point it did begin to cloud over and spit rain, but that did not last long. Along our hike we saw lizards, birds, rock hyrax, mice, and warning signs for ‘cobras‘. This was our first day out in the sun, and we all got a little bit red in the face.
After our day hike, we loaded up into the van and drove around the national park with hopes of seeing some birds and other wildlife to try out the binoculars. We were in luck! We came upon some Cape Mountain Zebra – something that none of us had expected. This was incredible. Just us 6 in the van, nothing else around except these majestic animals. It was an amazing sight. Our first large animals of South Africa! We also saw some Bontebok, a type of antelope grazing, then crossing the road. What a great day. Sun, a great hike, beautiful vistas, amazing animals and best of all, friends to share it with.
The park gate closed at 7pm, so we had to ensure we were out of the national park by then. We drove back to the hotel for our first dinner at the hotel. WOW. The food at Chapman’s Peak Hotel is incredible. A late dinner, and late night, we were all pretty exhausted when the day finished.
Day 13 – March 7
At breakfast, Kristin disclosed that she felt a bladder infection coming on, and was paranoid that this would develop into something while in the bush at Kruger. Although at dinner last night she drank a ton of cranberry juice, she was afraid that it had the potential of spoiling part of the precious time in the bush. She planned on going to the doctor tomorrow when it had been decided to ‘shop’ in Cape Town, but she was talked into going to the doctor in Hout Bay – probably a good decision since Hout Bay is much smaller. It sounds like the medical system is two-tiered here, that is that she could have gone to a walk in clinic that was free, but was told that she would be waiting all day to see someone. Instead, she went to an office where she paid $42.00 to see a doctor then $11.30 for a prescription and was done by noon. A sigh of relief to have this dealt with.
Today was to be ‘penguin day’. Per and family, having been to Cape Town before, were our amazing tour guides, and took us to part of the national park at Simon’s Beach where the African Penguins hang out. It was another beautiful day, with blue sky and sun. The penguins build little burrows in the sand, and many of the penguins were on eggs. The penguins are cute little creatures – this species is small, growing only to about 70cm tall. They are white and black, with black spots on their chest which are unique to each penguin, kind of like our fingerprints. Above their eye is a pink patch which apparently is a gland that assists them with thermoregulation. It did look as though they were all quite hot sitting on the beach, most with their mouths open looking like they were trying to cool down through this method as well. It was funny to watch them come in from the surf, making the transition from swimming (where they are quite agile) to waddling (where they look quite awkward). There were many penguins on this beach, and it was interesting to see some of the social interactions occurring, between penguins themselves, but also between penguins and seagulls. We witnessed a seagull steal a penguin egg from a nest and proceed to eat it – very sad, but, that is nature.
Then, off to Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. This botanical garden is often claimed to be one of the great gardens of the world – it is set against the eastern slopes of Table Mountain, and covers just over 1300 acres of land. Everyone needed to eat, so instead of going straight into the gardens, we went to the Moyo restaurant they have at the gardens. What a great choice – it was a very interesting place with great food. Instead of just eating, we had an experience! The restaurant itself is beautiful – we sat beside a large, open stone fireplace. The staff were all dressed in traditional African dress – the restaurant tries to embody everything Africa, from the staff, to the decor to the traditional food. When looking at the menu, our friends helped us decipher some of the dishes – they are much more travelled then what we are. We decided on tagines, which are meals that are north African and are cooked in special earthenware pots that have a flat circular base, and a top that is a cone shaped dome which sits on top while the meal cooks. Before our meals were brought out, the staff did a traditional hand washing ceremony where they poured warm water over our hands to cleanse them prior to eating. Unfortunately, Kristin had gone to the washroom and missed the ceremony, but Per had kindly videotaped it so she could see what happened. The meal was terrific – what a nice birthday meal for Jim!
Unfortunately we were visiting South Africa in their fall, so the gardens certainly were not in full flower like they would be in the spring/summer. Nonetheless, the gardens were stunning. The landscaping that they do is beautiful, and they label everything, most of which is native African flora, some being very endangered. It is also known to be a haven for birds in the spring and summer. Just another reason to return to South Africa! We hiked up the hills toward the eastern slope of Table Mountain, but certainly didn’t have enough time to see the entire gardens. Well worth the visit, even though the weather turned chilly and cloudy.
It was evening by the time we returned to the hotel. Per and Jim had a couple of beers, and we all hit the sack.
Day 14 – March 8
We had all decided that today would be a ‘sleep in’ morning and would visit the V & A Waterfront for some sightseeing/shopping as it was supposed to rain. We headed out mid morning, and drove the scenic roads north from Hout Bay to central Cape Town. Per recommended watching the movie ‘Safe House’ with Denzel Washington on the plane home, as the movie was filmed in Cape Town, and we’d now recognize the scenery. Sure, but no one wants to think of the ride home quite yet!!
V & A stands for Victoria and Albert. Prince Alfred, the second son of Queen Victoria , began construction of the harbour in 1860 and this led to Albert Basin. The second basin built was named after his mother – Victoria Basin. The waterfront area is very touristy, a large shopping and eating area. We had some lunch in the food market – an amazing building that houses nothing but great food – vendors selling anything from sushi, to samosas to shawarma – all fresh and beautiful looking. We also made our way over to the Nelson Mandela Gateway to get our tickets that we had reserved for tomorrow to go to Robben Island. A relaxing day, sightseeing the waterfront area in the rain.
We returned to the hotel for another incredible dinner – by this time we’ve probably gained 10lbs between the two of us.
Day 15 – March 9
A busy day! After a lovely breakfast once again, we headed out to ‘Bird World’ – Africa’s largest bird sanctuary. At this site is also ‘Monkeyland’, a sanctuary for some primates and other mammals. Now, we are not big on visiting ‘zoos’, as a matter of fact, we have been to very few on our trips…off the top of my head I can think of only a couple: Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey California, and the Australia Zoo – Steve Irwin’s zoo in Australia. We had our reservations about this sanctuary, but once there we realized that indeed it does appear that their animals are there because they have been injured in some way, and the sanctuary provides a good life for them for the rest of their life. The sanctuary does appear to be well looked after, and actually a large number of wild birds visit the area as well.
We then headed again to the V & A Waterfront for lunch, and were at the Nelson Mandela Gateway for 2:30pm to catch the ferry across to Robben Island for 3pm. We had booked this a few days before, and were glad we did, because tickets were now sold out until next week. Phew! Kyle has a school project to do on Nelson Mandela, so it was extra special that he got to visit the prison first hand so he could report back to his school mates about it.
The ferry ride to the island takes about half an hour. It was a beauty day, and the ride across was good. However, Jim did mention that the way back would not be as easy due to the wind – little did we know what amazing foreshadowing this was on his part.
A funny thing happened on the boat ride: Jacquie ran into someone she knows!! This person was on vacation in South Africa, and she had no idea that he was travelling there, let alone booked the same tour over to the island that we had. VERY small world!
When we got to the island, we were loaded onto buses that took us around the site. Unfortunately, Jim and Kristin found the accent of the tour guide quite difficult to understand, and we got very little from her. The bus drove us around the island, and when we got to the building that housed the cells, we were unloaded from the bus and allowed inside with another tour guide. He was a past political prisoner at the island, which was pretty neat. However, we found him difficult to understand as well, and we found that he ‘preached’ to us, rather than educated us. We saw Mandela’s cell – amazing that he was imprisoned here for 18 of his 27 years behind bars. We were allowed to walk from here back to the waterfront where we would catch the boat back to the mainland. The views of Cape Town from Robben Island are spectacular – at least that is one thing that those imprisoned there had…that is when they were allowed to have these views.
As foreshadowed by Jim, the boat ride back to the mainland was rough….very rough. The boat is fairly small, and it constantly was crashing down against the waves and the swells were fairly big. Water soaked many that were sitting outside and within minutes, people started vomiting. As most know, Kristin gets seasick pretty easily, and on this trip both her and Kyle struggled, but neither (thankfully!) went as far to throw up. The half an hour seemed like forever, although for Per, Jim and Dylan, I think they actually enjoyed it – they stood near the back of the boat, exhilarated by the ‘fun’ ride.
The sun began to set, and we returned back to the hotel. Jim parked the car down the street, because tomorrow morning the roads around the hotel are shut down due to the Argus. More on that later.
We had another wonderful dinner at the hotel. We are getting used to this!!
Day 16 – March 10
Our last breakfast at Chapman’s Peak. When we got up this morning, the cyclists were already speeding down the hill outside our hotel. Today is the Argus race – an annual bicycle race held in Cape Town, and is the world’s largest individually timed cycle race. It is 109km long, and the fastest time in the past has been 02:27:29. Now that is fast. This year, Richard Branson is doing the race. This is interesting, because when we go to Dulini Lodge in a couple of days, Richard Branson’s lodge is beside Dulini. Maybe we are meant to meet him?!
Anyways, the reason we had to park the van away from the hotel last night, is because of this race. The streets shut down completely for the race, which can make it quite difficult to get around. We checked out mid morning, and made the trek (approx 1km) with our luggage to the van. It was a neat atmosphere, because bikes were zooming by us, and the streets were alive with music and people cheering the cyclists on.
The drive to the airport was just fine – Per was right, we did not need to leave early. We dropped the van off at the AVIS rental return and checked our bags. We kept busy at the airport for the few hours before the flight. The flight itself was okay – there were a couple of big ‘drops’ when we hit turbulence (not nice feeling at all!), but other than that it went okay. After collecting our luggage, we said a quick goodbye to our friends – we were splitting up for a couple of days, and we would meet them at Dulini Lodge. Jacquie had work to do in Johannesburg, so they were going to stay in town for a couple of nights then fly to the lodge. We were renting a car, staying outside of Joburg tonight, then driving to Kruger National Park tomorrow for one night.
We were at the ‘vodacom’ store renting our GPS and cel phone when Per and the boys showed up. They had already checked into their airport hotel, and had come back to the airport to see how we were making out. How nice of them!! We got our equipment, said goodbye again, and we were off in our Chevy Cruise. Took us a while to figure out how to start the car – it is keyless.
Jim had booked the Outlook Lodge in Benoni for us to stay the night. It did not take long to get there – it is just outside of Johannesburg – and we arrived just as it was getting dark. It turned out to be a perfect place to stay the evening. We were greeted by Francios, who asked us if we had dinner plans. Of course, we had none, and were happy that he offered to have us join the rest of the guests for dinner. Our room was small, but quite nice, and had an attached bathroom/shower that we had to ourselves. I think it was meant to be shared with the room next to us, but it did not appear that anyone was staying in that room.
Dinner was great. A beautiful salad and lovely main course. There was a couple from New York and a young Canadian girl from BC. She had just finished a stay in Malawi and was on her way to Kruger to do some safaris.
A gentleman showed up as we were finishing dinner, and he proceeded to start up conversation with us. He was somehow involved with the lodge – we think he may have been the owner or manager. Anyways, he was hilarious. He lives in South Africa, but he has done a fair bit of travelling, including spending some time living in Canada, travelling through it and the US. As soon as he learned we were Canadians, he was very excited and began telling of his escapades he had when in Canada and the States. He said he loved Canada, and it was obvious from how he spoke of it. He had us in stitches.
We had a good sleep after the good food and great conversation. Tomorrow our adventure begins in Kruger National Park.
Kristin
Leave a Reply