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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 wife.
Amsterdam Airport is quite new and attractive. Probably the only airport in the world where cut tulips, tulip bulbs, and wooden tulips are all for sale.
On the Amsterdam-Cape Town leg, Karen strikes up a conversation with a lady named Meryl, who grew up in Cape Town and now lives in England. Meryl takes a look at our itinerary and highly
approves, which is reassuring. She gives us her contact information in case we need assistance while in her native country. This is our first indication (to be proved accurate) that Capetowners are akin to Newfoundlanders in friendliness towards and desire to help strangers.
We arrive in Cape Town at 9:10 pm local time. The airport is modern and surprisingly big. We have to lug our baggage quite a distance in order to reach the pick-up point for the hotel shuttle. The shuttle driver has some fun with me as I hop into the front seat on the right side and find myself behind the steering wheel. Yep, they drive on the left here.
Our hotel, the Hotel Verde, is close to the airport. We are greeted warmly and are happy with our cosy room. We are of course dead tired, not having slept for over 24 hours. After washing up, we collapse into bed.
We wake up about 8 am local time, much refreshed. First thing on my mind is Game 6, which has occurred overnight. Yes, a magnificent win for the Sens! On to the eastern conference final!
The weather is beautiful: blue skies with
PVC garden
Hotel Verde, Cape Town, SAa high of 18° and a light breeze. It is late fall in South Africa. It turns out that they are in the midst of a severe drought, to the point where water restrictions are in effect. The usual fall rains have failed to materialize.
Buffet breakfast at the hotel. Nice array of fruit, including guava and passion fruit. Great cheese as well. Since we have some time before pick-up, we take a walk in the hotel's garden. Quite a number of plants and trees that are unfamiliar to us. We are intrigued by an herb and vegetable garden housed in PVC piping, with the individual pots nestled into holes in the pipes.
Our pick-up is early. We meet JP, who will be our driver and guide in Cape Town, and Kobas, also a guide who is starting vacation tomorrow. They are extremely personable and we have an interesting conversation on the way to our resort. Karen notices that the airport's traffic control tower looks like a soccer ball. Apparently this is deliberate and was put in place for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. We also have some nice views of Table Mountain in the distance, which we
will visit in a couple of days.
95% of the vehicles on the road are white. As in the Caribbean, white is preferred because it reflects more sunlight so that the car remains cooler. I also notice that many parked cars are under tents. JP tells us that this is to protect the cars from the sun. Apparently the dashboards are particularly affected, tending to fade and crack under the merciless UV and heat.
As we drive through the downtown area of Capetown, JP points out some elevated expressways that abruptly end in a sheer dropoff. He says that's what sometimes happens when a road-building project runs out of money. Not sure if he's kidding. He claims that film studios come to Capetown to film cars flying off the end of ramps.
Along the way we pass through an area where on both sides of the road are what I guess you would call shantytowns. They are truly pathetic, basically cardboard shacks in the midst of garbage.
Burgundy Estates, our home for the next week, could not be more of a contrast. It is a luxurious gated community. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, complete kitchen, sitting room
Limefish for supper
Nivida Winery, Cape Town, SA and sun room. We settle in and relax. No tour today as we wait for the group to assemble, but we will be going out together later for supper.
I mentioned earlier that water restrictions are in effect because of a drought in the area. We are supplied with a bucket that we are supposed to take into the shower with us, then place outside filled with water so that it can be used for irrigation.
In late afternoon, I strike out for a walk. We are northeast of Cape Town in an area called Durbanville, on the outskirts of wine country. The countryside consists of very dry, rolling hills with mountains in the distance, notably the iconic profile of Table Mountain. One thing that strikes me is the multitude of bird songs filling the air, all unfamiliar to me. Even the crows have an accent.
Around 6:15, we embark for supper. Our group turns out to be small, just the three of us plus a couple from Milton ON. JP will be our personal guide. The restaurant is located 15 minutes away at the Nivida Winery. We enjoy linefish (similar to sea bass) in a balsamic reduction with a variety of vegetables. Quite delicious, and the winery's Pinot Noir is also superb.
Back at the resort by 8:30, definitely feeling the jet lag and happy to make it an early night.
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Marva
non-member comment
Those "shanty towns" are the townships.
We toured those when we were in Capetown and were invited into some of the homes. You would be amazed at how they manage to live in those dwellings. We also toured a day care and a women's centre. Enjoy your trip. Hope you have a sunny day when you go up to Table Mountain. There is also an amazing trail when you go down to the Cape of Good Hope (which I am certain is on your itinerary).