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Published: February 17th 2007
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230107A
'Tablecloth' effect at Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa Tuesday was officially the last day of my Absolute Africa trip - very sad. I was up early to write my jounal before we all checked out of the Manor & walked back to Ashanti Lodge to unpack & clean out the truck for the final time. The entire front grassed area of Ashanti was covered in clothes & souvenirs as the group discarded excess gear & tried fitting everything else into our packs.
After checking into the dorms, I headed off for a few hours at the internet before returning to Ashanti & getting ready for our last group dinner. We walked to a game restaurant & I had the Eland Steak, which was a bit overcooked & nowhere near as tasty as my trusty Swakopmund Springbok, but yummy none the less. With dinner finished, we walked down the street a little & went into the Dubliner Pub where a one man band was playing some Irish music. Drank a few Stella's, danced a little & cabbed it back to Ashanti in the early hours of the morning.
There were no blinds in my room to keep out the sun, so I awoke much earlier than planned
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Final group dinner, Cape Town, South Africa on Wednesday morning. Felt very average from all the beer I'd drank last night, but managed to get cleaned up & walked down to Long Street with Rach, Nat & Black Bonnie for brunch. Had something to eat & a minty thickshake, which was fabulous. Continued walking towards the waterfront, stopping at a few shops to browse, & a diamond manufacturer to drool over their goodies. They gave us Champagne on arrival & a lesson on how diamonds get from the ground to the finished product they sell. It was all very interesting, but my hangover was kicking in big time (should have had some champagne), & I just wanted to get out of there & sleep.
Finished up down at the waterfront as we were planning on taking a trip over to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, however all the ferry tickets had been sold for the day. Met up with Raewyn & Thomas & had a few beers with them at a German bar. Nat & Black Bonnie left to meet up for drinks with their tour leader from a previous trip & we stayed at the bar for a while before cabbing it back
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Rach & Becky at fianal group dinner, Cape Town, South Africa to Ashanti.
The people who were doing shark dives hadn't returned so Rach, Raewyn, Tom & I walked down the street to Nelson Eye Restaurant for dinner. I had pasta with a creamy mushroom sauce, which was way too big, so I took a doggy bag home for breakfast. The body was still hurting from last nights celebrating, so I went home to bed straight after dinner.
Thursday consisted of a completely touristy day of sightseeing on the 'Red Bus'. First up was the South African Jewish Museum, only because I missed a bus by two minutes & had a half hour to wait for the next. Second stop was South Africas oldest standing building, The Castle. Caught the cable car up Table Mountain for some spectacular views. Did the full three hundred & sixty degree circuit; I even managed to watch some crazy people abseiling down the cliff face.
Back on the bus circuit for a drive along the coast & back up to the waterfront. Unfortunately Robben Island tickets were sold out again, so it was back to the German bar for beers & a late lunch/early dinner. Raewyn & Thomas rocked up once
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Nicolle & Yok at fianal group dinner, Cape Town, South Africa after their Robben Island tour, which they said was great. I'd decided it was fate that I didn't get across & a great excuse for returning to Cape Town, so I wasn't too upset at not making it there this time.
Not only is it my last day in Africa & a Friday, it's Australia Day to boot; a definate cause for celebration. Had read about a grungy British/Australian pub called the Stags Head Hotel near to Ashanti Lodge, so descended on it for lunch & a drinking session. Took a few tries to get accurate directions & there were absolutely no Australia Day celebrations happening, however the food was cheap (and yummy) & the beer was cold.
Spent the afternoon nursing a few brews, then returned to Ashanti Lodge to bid farewell to the remaining Absolute group & hitch a lift with Natalie's new found dorm buddies. Arrived in good time to the airport & made friends with a dive instructor heading to Miami. Had a few drinks with him before boarding, only to find the check in guy had done well by giving Nat & I a row of four seats to ourselves.
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Romy, Nicolle & Robert at fianal group dinner, Cape Town, South Africa Arrived early into Heathrow on Saturday & cleared customs fairly quickly before meeting up with dad & farewelling Nat. Cabbed it to the hotel with dad's new taxi driver mate & spent a few hours catching up & rearranging my pack. Managed to get all my souvenirs into the spare suitcase Nige had brought over, before walking down to Osterly Station & catching the tube into London.
Surfaced from the underground at Picadilly Circus, took a few photos, then embarked on a walking tour to Big Ben & Parliament House. Had a yummy lasagne lunch at the nearby Red Lion Hotel, continued walking across the bridge to the London Eye before calling it a day & tubing it back to the hotel. Was tired from lack of sleep on the plane to decided to take a nanna nap; awoke around dinner time still full from lunch & dozed off again not to wake until the morning.
After my marathon sleep, I was up well in time for breakfast on Sunday, before getting a taxi to the train station, commencing our journey north to Yorkeshire. The first problem arose when we discovered breakfast was served late on Sunday
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Nicolle & Rach at Dubliner pub, Cape Town, South Africa & hadn't begun yet. Fortunately the lovely night manager arranged some coffee & milk for cereal, so we didnt leave on an empty stomach. The next issue was repairs being done to the train line, forcing us to take not one but three trains & a bus to Leeds. Fortunately time wasn't a huge issue as the works doubled travelling time to a fve hour journey, however we arrived at Aunty Nans in the early afternoon, in time for a delicious late lunch of home made soup.
Had dinner at a nearby Italian resaurant with the rellies. Just about everybody ordered steak, but I had a lovely risotto, accompanied by a couple of Stella Artois. Bellies full, we headed home, I finished my washing & chatted with Nan for a while before hitting the hay.
Chris dropped dad & I at the train station shortly before midday on Monday. In comparison to yesterdays milk run, the ride today was like a bullet train & we arrived at the Mayflower Hotel in Earl's Court mid afternoon. After settling in & exploring Earl's Court, there was time to spare at the one pound, unlimited time internet shop. Wandered into
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Yok & Althea at Dubliner pub, Cape Town, South Africa the local pub for a beer & ended up having dinner there as well. Few more beers & a deep & meaningful with dad later, the pool table looked inviting, so Nige & I challenged a couple of guys to a game. They turned out to be Aussies & one of them even knew a mutual friend from the Northern Territory, which just goes to show what a small world it really is.
Tuesday began with a hearty breakfast at the hotel in preparation for a big day of sightseeing. Dad & I caught the tube to Picadilly Circus & jumped on the Big Bus Company all day tour. We rode the London Eye, took a cruise down the Thames River to the Tower of London, followed by Westminster Abbey & a good hour or two of just riding on the bus, soaking up the sights.
Met up with Ben for dinner at a funky Belgian restaurant, followed by a beer at the pub. British Airways cancelled their proposed industrial action, so we hit the net after dinner to contact the travel agent to cancel our backup flight with Air Egypt & revert to the original travel
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Blair, Nicolle & Yok at Dubliner pub, Cape Town, South Africa plans.
Slept a little on Wednesday, had breakfast at the hotel restaurant & spent a couple hours on the internet. Caught the tube to Heathrow Airport & continued my work on the net in the British Airways lounge. The flight contained less than fifty passengers, on a plane that normally holds between three to four hundred... It meant everybody got great service, but I only wish they'd thought to move us all into first & business class for extra room. It would have been great public relations; oh well, the movie was good...
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