Blogs from Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa, Africa - page 4

Our day began with an 8:15 a.m. departure following another hearty breakfast at The Portswood. We headed south from Cape Town towards Muizenburg, which put us on the Atlantic coast. From here, it would be a series of quick and scenic stops to admire beautiful coastal views and/or wildlife. Our ultimate destination was the Cape of Good Hope/Cape Point--the southwesternmost point on the African Continent. First, the wildlife: Though we did not see any sharks or baboons, signs pointed to trouble with both species. After heading uphill from a beautiful beach, we encountered a "shark spotter" shack, looking over the swimmers and surfers to track any approaching shark dangers. Near the "shark shack," another sign warned us that baboons "are dangerous WILD animals - DO NOT FEED - Keep doors locked and windows closed." We continued ... read more

The day dawned again as a fine one with just a little more dense high cloud than yesterday and no wind. But it is going to be a day that we can’t solve two important mysteries for ourselves. The plan is to take the city hop on hop off bus for the day with the first stop being the cableway station to take us up to the top of Table Mountain to take in the views and tick it off our bucket list. We strolled along the road to find somewhere for breakfast and came across a tiny, rather ecletic, French café flying a giant French flag ourside.It wasn’t being staffed by Frenchmen however, rather a local South African waiter and cook. The coffee was just as strong as we have had any day since we ... read more

Welcome back. Cape Town has been an absolute joy and we have loved the freedom and the feel of the city. We have stayed at Greenpoint about a 30 minutes walk to the V&A waterfront, which is one of the vibrant parts of the city. As most of you know we make our money stretch by staying in 2 and 3 star places which are clean and comfortable. This place is in a great location and there is plenty of space, big lounge , kitchen, fridge and free laundry. However like much of South Africa it is all top show, not quite clean enough, there is a culture of just doing enough, and poor attention to detail. In some parts of Joburg there were ridiculous numbers of staff in cafes and restaurants but only a third ... read more

As a bit of background, this is part of a very special trip as we are celebrating MJ’s milestone birthday (albeit a couple of years late). As a result, we’ve gone and made it even more special than some of our others. We enjoy using a travel agent to assist us when traveling as they have a wealth of knowledge we’ve never been able to glean from other sources. Angeline, who was our travel agent for many years and seemed like a good friend, ran off and retired. We are happy for her but will continue to needle her about her retirement. Nadia our new travel agent lives in Seattle but South Africa was her home during her youth. We had brunch with her in Seattle not long ago to discuss this trip and as luck ... read more

We get a sort of sleep in this morning as we don’t have a safari drive as we are leaving. We shower, then the phone rings. Reception calls to advise there is a cheetah at the waterhole. Too hard to get organised quickly so decide to give it a miss. Call for our cart a bit later. They come and take our bags and us to the lodge. One of the group is still looking at the waterhole. The cheetah and 4 cubs are still in the area, although out from the waterhole a bit. Look through the telescope and spot them. Cubs still playing, mum watching, us watching. The couple on the deck having an intimate breakfast are being consumed by all of us. They don’t seem to mind and are actually giving running commentary ... read more