We wake up in Dunfeld Estates to another fantastic day. Perfectly blue sky. We have been so lucky with the weather on this trip. We can now see where we have ended up. The location is idyllic: a circle of cottages around a central pond surrounded by tall trees. The air is filled with the sound of birds. Buffet breakfast at Dunfeld. Standard fare with an egg station. But there's pap en sous, which makes the whole thing African. Bakkies brings the van out back and we pile in for our day's adventure. He starts with a tour of Dunfeld estates. It's absolutely huge, and actually comprises three separate adjoining operations, all family-owned, one of them devoted exclusively to equestrian pursuits. One yearly visitor is apparently Bruce Murray, Anne's brother. The roads around Dunfeld are lined ... read more

Today is highly anticipated by us. On tap is a visit to the townships, the shantytown areas just outside Cape Town. Breakfast close by, after which are transferred to the care of Godfrey, born and raised in the township of Langa, our destination. He tells us, "So far, you've seen one side of the coin. Now you're going to see the other." On the drive, Godfrey provides the historical context to the townships. These are the areas where blacks and some coloureds were ghettoized under apartheid. In some cases (such as the case of district 6, discussed yesterday), entire neighbourhoods were moved to the townships. Godfrey also explains the importance of tribal identity, passed on through the father. The majority of blacks in this region are Xhosa. Now, as you may know, the first consonant in ... read more

On the road at 7:30. Kobus, whom we met our first day here, is subbing for JP as our driver and tour guide today. It is a beautiful day once again, and we have an ambitious schedule ahead. We drive directly to the Waterfront. Again trouble finding a parking spot in the garage, probably because of Mothers' Day. They have an interesting innovation in this parking garage. Each spot is monitored by a detector, and a red or green light indicates whether the spot is taken. So you can scan your eyes around the garage, looking for green lights. In addition, the data is rolled up and displayed at every intersection; e.g., 5 spots available to the left, 19 to the right. And outside on the street before you enter the garage, you can see before ... read more

Today is all about the wine! We get under way at 7:30 and head to a nearby winery called Durbanville Hills for breakfast. We are seated on an outside patio with a great view of the surrounding area. I have eggs Benedict again, but this time with springbok carpaccio. After breakfast we take a stroll outside along manicured paths that feature indigenous plants. One of these is an unassuming little ground plant called fynbos, which is apparently unique to the Cape Town microclimate. (Yesterday we saw handicrafts made from it.) We are up fairly high and the air is crisp and clear. Around us on three sides are rolling hills spotted with low vegetation and the occasional tree bent by the cool winds from the Atlantic. We can see Table Mountain clearly in the distance with ... read more

We are travelling to South Africa in a party of three: myself, wife Violet and friend Karen. Our itinerary, which has been arranged by Go Touchdown Travel, includes one week with Cape Town as a home base, after which we will travel to the northern part of the country for a week in and near the major game reserves. Our route is Ottawa-Toronto on Westjet, then Toronto-Amsterdam (7 hours) and Amsterdam-Cape Town (11 hours) on KLM. The entire trip is 27 hours. The flights are long but relatively comfortable. Happily, both planes are newer 777s, which have acceptable legroom for me. We are well treated and well fed by KLM. For me, it is a chance to catch up on movies that I have wanted to see but would not be of interest to my dear ... read more