Blogs from Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa, Africa - page 143

Today we crossed the border into South Africa. Charmaine was told to expect problems because she wished to switch back to travelling on her British passport from her Irish one. After crossing the Namibia/South Africa border with relative ease we arrived at a lovely campsite in time for the midday sun where we lay in the shade most of the day. Canoeing on the Orange River was an option that nobody except Darren was interested in so he didn’t go in the end. We spent our day sitting on the banks of the river and Darren did a bit of swimming. In the cooler hours we pitched our tent. (We still can’t grasp why everyone else on the truck rushes to put their tent up every day in 35C heat instead of waiting until later in ... read more

Well goodness me - we are on our trip. What has Emily done??? The flights were not as bad as they could have been - lots of wine and an overnight sleep. Although we were delayed for 30 mins at Johannesbourg on the internal flight to Cape Town as no one had a key for the departure gate. We have now spent a day in Cape Town - on an open top bus - visited a Castle - and more importantly drank our first Castle premium lager. Hopefully the first of many! Our official overland tour starts tomorrow - with a visit to the Stellenbosch winelands. Oh well life's tough... ... read more

Gekko lodge was a welcome retreat in the midst of a large working citrus farm just below the Cederberg range (with unique beautiful fynbos vegetation that smelt like wild thyme and reminded me of an alpine hillside). As we left the Drakensburg Mountains, fog rolled dramatically off the peaks and the delicious scent of orange blossom filled the air. We past many groves, wheat fields and huge farmsteads-all very Western-looking before arriving in Cape Town which was so Westernised it really didn't seem like part of Africa at all. Onward to Cape Hope, there are myriads of beautiful beaches along the coastline. We walked up to the old lighthouse and round the point- it was a perfect sunny morning, the air was scented with blossom from more fynbos plants and there were loads of little black ... read more

Skydiving, I went rocky mountain climbing, I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named fumanchu, and I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter and I gave forgiveness I’ve been denying. And he said I hope someday I hope you get the chance to live like you were dying. Like tomorrow was a gift and you had eternity to think about what you would do with it … - Tim McGraw, “Live Like You Were Dying” What’s the first thing comes to mind when you hear the word Africa? Quick, don’t think about it, just tell me what the first thing is. Whatever you said, I can guarantee that is not Cape Town at all. Each morning when I woke up I had to remind myself that I was in Africa because it didn’t feel any different ... read more

Langa is one of the numerous townships settled around Cape Town. If you listen to the people around you they will tell you not to go alone in these areas of the city. Well, i didn't feel like going on a tour where you basically drive around the township in a luxious van and take pictures of the people like if you were in a zoo. I mean how would you feel if a bunch of exited japanese folk came to your place to take pictures of you cooking or gardening? ... read more