Cruising the Cape

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Our arrival in South Africa in a town called Upington after a comfortable bus trip from Windhoek; it was a sprawling return to urban life after seeing nothing like it in Namibia outside of Windhoek. Upington is in the middle of nowhere in the Northern Cape, desert scenery was all around. We collected our hire car in the normal 'Africa time' (via a hotel casino and the airport - don't ask) and were on the road about half a day after later than expected - which ironically is just about bang on schedule!

The drive was scenic and our first stop was the Augrabies Falls National Park, a stunning canyon with a large waterfall cascading over the rim. We were surprised by the volume of the falls, having seen almost no water in Namibia and the very low volumes at Victoria falls, and were very thankful to a wet October in these parts. The waterfall was spectacular, but the various scenic points along the gorge that we visited were also well worth doing.

As always seems to be the case we left the park wishing that we had had a little more time to explore. We drove down to Cape Town over the evening and following morning; initially long straight roads through the vast desert scenery of the Northern Cape and then as we got further south the road started to twist and turn as we cruised in past the northern reaches of the fertile wine lands . Our first sight of Table Mountain on the highway about 35km north of the city was a great moment and we were delighted to have arrived at one of the key destinations of the trip.

Our hostel was pleasant and in a great location, perfect for exploring the city. The waterfront was vibrant in the evening sun, Table Mountain loomed large over the whole city and Long Street was fun to explore. An evening drive up Signal Hill afforded great views over the whole of the city centre. Undoubtedly the most poignant part of our time in the city was a trip to Robben Island; the tour was given by an ex-inmate (who had been held as a political prisoner for eight years) and was very moving, especially Mandela’s cell. This was actually a great way to start an exploration of South Africa as it really focused ones thoughts on the historical problems of the past. Although it has to be said that the sombre mood of the prison was shattered by a little penguin colony by the boats...impossible not to be amused by these smelly little birds!

Upon leaving the city we toured around the Cape Penninsula. We started with a paddle along the stunning Camps Bay, but needed to allow our feet to thaw in a coffee shop...wow the water was bloody freezing!! The drive around the peninsula was one of beautiful rugged coastal roads, and capped by the high cliffs around the Cape of Good Hope, which were stunning. However, it seemed that many tourists were herded down here in the belief that this was the tip of Africa (we were sure there wouldn’t have been so many people just for the cliffs and waves!), in fact it was the most south-western point of Africa...quite how that can be determined is uncertain, surely not a marketing ploy? Anyway it certainly made our minds up to make sure we visited the true southern tip of the continent at Cape Agulhas.

We both love wine and so Stellenbosch was a perfect location for a relaxing few days; beautiful location with all the vineyards surrounded by steep mountains, and the flowers all in bloom at this time of year. The highlight of this area was a cycling vineyard tour; 38 large tastings at 5 locations meant that the wine after farm 3 is all a bit of a blur, and Lynda’s ability to handle her vehicle was somewhat reduced. It was a most amusing afternoon and evening when you add in one snapped cycle chain and additional ZAR10 (£0.75) bottles of wine! We also go an excellent cheese recommendation which was followed up the following day during a cruise around the region.

Leaving Stellenbosch we headed to the Garden Route via the scenic backroads. Initially we followed the coast aiming for the southernmost tip of the continent. We passed through Hermanus which is famed for its whale watching; unfortunately the whales were no longer around, which left a rather bleak and unwelcoming place so we went straight through. Cape Agulhas is the point where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet, of course we paddled - you have to - luckily the water was considerably warmer than Cape Town. Route 62 lived up to its scenic reputation, but we preferred the ostrich farms to the scenery, which were concentrated around Oudtshoorn. An excellent farm tour enabled us to stroke a 2 day old chick, feed them and receive an ostrich neck massage(!) - one of the most surreal experiences one could ever hope to have. A pleasant trip through some caves added to a good day.

The main part of the Garden Route ran along the coast from Mossel Bay to Plettenburg Bay (‘Plett’). It was pleasant to cruise through here with stops at Wilderness and Nysna, camping on the beach at Buffalo Bay watching dolphins play in the surf was a highlight. Ostrich burgers on the braai was the perfect end to each of these days. We naturally took the opportunity to do plenty of activities and did a great sea kayaking trip from Plett and hiking in Tsitsikamma NP. The kayaking trip took us to a seal colony where we had them swimming all around us, and we witnessed the very private moment of dolphin-sex - lots of splashing, lunging and flippers (like watching Lynda try to snorkel!!!!). The adrenaline really flowed just trying to get out through the surf; the kayak feels like it is pointing directly upward when you hit a big wave, we got very wet getting out and even wetter returning to shore when we capsized! Most amusing muppetry on our behalf. We hiked a coastal trail in Tsitsikamma NP, a typically rugged scene, an attractive waterfall marked the end of the route, there was also saw a really angry rock dassie (large rat-like thing) and blue duiker (small antelope) right by the path...the perfect end to our travels along the southern African coastline.

Travelling inland bypassing Port Elizabeth we headed to a national park for some final safari adventures; Addo Elephant National Park. Guess what lives there? The park was relatively small compared to some of the others that we had visited, it was nice that there was a fenced off game area but you could hike elsewhere in the park. We had a nice evening and full day in the park; our self-driven safaris were reasonably successful naturally seeing large herds of elephants with large numbers of boisterous adolescents and cute babies, numerous antelope, zebras, buffalo and the usual other beasties; the most memorable sightings were our first meerkats (that will mean more to some than others), and a couple of tortoises getting romantic. No black rhino though despite our hardest attempts. An attractive hike in the mountains of the park also gave us a great feeling for the area.

A long drive ensued to get to the Drakensburg region for some hiking before we had to leave the continent. The rains had finally arrived and we had a very wet few days with massive electrical storms everyday (apparently this region is second in the world for lightening), quite an experience in the car, tent and on foot. The region was very beautiful when the cloud lifted and we made the most of the dry weather to hike in various locations (Natal National, Champagne Mountain, and Cathedral Peak). It was also our first, and only, exposure to Kwazulu-Natal which is a very poor and traditional black region; just driving through the little villages was fascinating and reminiscent of Mozambique and Zambia, and a stark reminder that much of South Africa was like this too.

This region was also populated with various Boar war battlefields, we visited 'Spionkop', the site of a famous British defeat, a very sad and bleak place with a memorial to the south Lancashire regiment who perished there (the Liverpool 'Anfield kop' was named after this battle). There was also had a small game reserve so we did an unexpected final safari drive; all the usual game nothing too exciting but a nice way to wrap up our trip.

Naturally we were both sad to leave Africa, it had been a fantastic trip and we had seen so many amazing things. Of course we had not had enough time, you never do, so we’d already had conversations about where our next African adventure would take us.....

UK for Christmas and New Year, then this blog will continue from a, hopefully, sunny New Zealand.

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Comments

[Dot/Mum]

South Africa Part 2
Congratulations Matt, this was a superb exercise. Typing and spelling passed with flying colours. Rude comments about my daughter not quite so highly rated!! (Mick has just added that although not so highly rated, they are probably near the truth.) Look forward to hearing about NZ and seeing some pics. Love Mum/Dot