End of this African Journey

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We are writing this last blog with mixed feelings, as our African adventure is ending in two days but we are also looking forward to seeing our relatives and friends.

Once we arrived in Capetown, we rented a car to go around the city. Capetown is probably the most picturesque city we have ever been to. Surrrounded by the Atlantic/Indian Oceans, the Table Mountain towering on one side, spectacular bays, penguins on beaches and unique flora specific to the Cape region.

While in Capetown, we visited Robben Island , where Nelson Mandela and most of the political prisoners were jailed. The highlight of the visit was the guide, an ex-political prisoner at Robben Island. He showed us Mandela's prison cell and also talked about his personal experiences there.

Compared to the other places we have been to during the last four months, South Africa is very different. It is the most westernized with mordern infrastructure in place, and we felt more like driving around California rather than in Africa. Leveraging their advanced economy and infrastructure, they are dominating the African markets whether it is cell phone companies or retails chains. If I've to bet on a emerging market index, South Africa will be at the very top along with India and China. The only thing to worry about is the AIDS epidemic that is killing many young talented managers.

After Capetown, we headed to Graff Reinet, called the Gem of the Karoo. It is a quaint little town with old Dutch Churches and museums. It is also the birthplace of Robert Sobukwe, founder of PAC. We drove up the hills to get excellents views of the desolation valley and dolerite cliffs on sunset. From the Karoo, we headed to Hogsback. Hogsback is a little village tucked in the Amatola Mountains with plenty of excellent trails for hiking. Hogsback was the inspiration for Tolkein when he described the landscape in Lord of the Rings. We lucked out and got an excellent cottage with fireplace overlooking the green valley and mountains from our windows. We spent the next two days hiking around the mountains and visiting waterfalls.

It was now time to hit the famous wildcoast, formerly called Transkei , where the Apartheid regime purposely underdeveloped the region and is home to the Xhosa people. The upside of this policy is today Wildcoast is the last place in South Africa where as a tourist one can experience unspoilt beaches and landscape. We arrived at Coffee Bay and spend the next two days hiking amidst green hills, Indian Ocean beaches and Kraals (small Xhosa villages).

Our next stop was Chintsa, where we stayed at Buccaneers. Alison went horse riding on the beaches, while I was being just lazy. One evening Buccaneers organized a Booze cruise in the lagoon and we met several travelers with interesting stories.

We were missing wildlife and decided to go to Addo Elephant Reserve. We were amazed to see a group of 70 Elephants at a water hole and group of 8 Elephants provided us a closer look ( 1 metre away). At one point, I was worried that an Elephant was coming right at the car. But our guide cautioned us to be still and the Elephant just moved away. It was a thrilling last encounter with the African Elephant.

We then headed to Schotia Private Game Reserve where we saw lions, Giraffes and other wildlife and spend the night in the Game Reserve for one last time.

We then headed to the Wine Country. Since the end of Apartheid, South Africa has been selling lot of good wine overseas. We stayed at a B&B in Stellenbosch and spend the next couple of days drinking lot of whites and reds, picnics and hiking in the vineyards.

I don't know how we will be able to rehabilitate ourselves back to work life ! We are now back in Capetown and plan to go up Table Mountain tomorrow, before catching our flights back to New York.

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