South Africa, Cape Town and a Safari

We flew Emirates business class from Sri Lanka to Dubai (overnight stop) and then Cape Town.  That is the most luxurious flying we have done.  The flight included a driver and Mercedes vehicle which met us at the Cape Town airport upon landing and drove us to our boutique hotel.

  Front yard of our boutique hotel.  The owners are originally from Switzerland.  (We prefer Switzerland.)  We had breakfast outdoors in this area every morning.

In South Africa, we stayed at four different locations.  First, we stayed at boutique hotel (converted residence) near Cape Town university. This put us near Cape Town itself but in a semi-residential atmosphere. Uber rides were close at hand and cheap. We visited Robben Island and the harbor area first. Next, we took the gondola to the top of Table Mountain. Finally, we went to the botanical garden on the east base slopes of Table Mountain.

Looking south from our hotel neighborhood.  When clouds are on Table Mountain, that is referred to as the 'tablecloth'.

Looking toward Cape Town from Table Mountain; there are cracks in that plateau.

Robben Island is thought-provoking: apartheid’s widespread effects, the severe sentences, the inhumane conditions of confinement.  I took no pictures because I found it hard to capture any visual sense of this in the low gray buildings and featureless island contours.  Even the beaches were shallow and ugly with extensive beds of floating kelp. Our tour guide was a previous inmate; his stories and willingness to answer all questions made the visit worthwhile.  The Cape Town harbor front is large and well-maintained with excellent restaurants and shopping malls.

Dawn composing a photo from the Table Mountain flattop peak.  

Plan your visit to Table Mountain carefully.  The crowds and resulting waiting times can be a significant delay to tour plans.  We were fortunate, a wait of only an hour.  At the top, the views are excellent, and a walking path accesses the entire rim of the ‘table’.  On a hot day, the peak was slightly cooler with breeze, making it a pleasant visit, although the sun was intense. January is mid-summer.

You can see how busy the Cape Town harbor area is.  The large buildings in the background constitute a large shopping mall.  Restaurants are closer to where we are standing.  Unique African merchandise fills one large store. 

That's me, the hat, glasses, and long-sleeve shirt (plus sunscreen) are for sun protection, not style.

   

Looking down on Cape Town harbor from the edge of the Table Mountain plateau.                                                                                               

The gondola to Table Mountain.  As you can see, trekking to the top is a poor option.
                                                                                             

Welcome shade when visiting the National botanical park.
                                                                                             

This struck me as a beautiful scene.  Botanical gardens are peaceful refuges from the hustle and noise outside.  A walk in a forest is always superior to civilization's carnival rides.                                                                                                                       

Our botanical garden visit was also done on a hot day. Beautiful surroundings and sufficient shade to provide relief from direct sun. We had lunch at the garden restaurant. Unlike the ginger ale served in the U.S., you can enjoy real ginger beer in this area.  Very refreshing on a hot day without the alcohol. During our entire visit to South Africa, we were able to pay for everything with credit cards. No local currency required.

From Cape Town, we flew to Port Elizabeth where a waiting staff member drove us to our safari site in the bushveld, an hour northeast.  The Safari Lodge was authentic with its canvas walls, outdoor showers, and wildlife watering hole only about forty feet from our front deck.  One morning Dawn screamed when she encountered a mouse in the bathroom.  We were kept very busy with game drives, morning and late afternoon, in our open Toyota Land Cruiser vehicles.  As soon as we arrived, before even being shown our room, we set out on our first game drive.

Our two room 'hut' at the safari lodge. The shower was outdoors.

    Real rhinos, elephants, giraffes, lions, cheetahs, warthogs, Cape buffalo, and many other creatures.  I wanted to see a hippopotamus but learned that they are largely nocturnal, spending days submerged in a pond with only their snout protruding.  Then, at night, they come out to feed.  We watched three lions stalking some warthogs.  In the final rush, the warthogs escaped.... they were amazingly fast with their short little legs (but they were running for their lives).

I would like to get a better photo of a warthog.  We saw them frequently, but they would head for cover when they saw us. Before this area became a game reserve, people used to hunt the warthogs, and they have developed an aversion to human presence.  We also saw jackals, another skittish animal.  I didn't have time to really focus before they were gone. 

Moma and her baby.  If you notice the bird perched on her back, that is part of an early warning system.  When the bird makes a fuss, mama rhino gets defensive.  

The giraffes are beautiful, bigger than I imagined, and one of our guides said that they are very smart.  Humans don't seem to disturb them at all.  

This is the main eating hall.  On the left we see someone coming from the kitchen.  To the right is an open area where tables are set.  As you can see, more authentically rustic than modern.

The well-manicured and scenic valley of Franschoek.  The surrounding mountains are dramatically steep and jagged.

Back at Cape Town, we rented a vehicle and drove to Franschoek in the center of wine country.  The place is beautiful, upscale, and an exception to the ever-present poverty obvious in many areas of South Africa.  The weather was perfect during our visit.  Touristy but not crowded; many fine shops and restaurants; it reminded me of Aspen with its surrounding steep mountains.

The Franschoek valley is full of vineyards, nurtured by water from the surrounding mountains.

 

A panorama of the entire Franschoek valley with its many vineyards.  Downtown was easy walking distance with interesting high-end shops (arts and crafts) and great restaurants.  Locals referred to it as "living in a bubble" because it was so much nicer than every other area. 

Next, we drove to Constantia where we stayed in our most outstanding accommodation. It had previously been an estate with extensive well-manicured grounds and an opulent central mansion.  Of course, it has a pool with pool house, pond & stream, circular cobblestone driveway with a central fountain, 15-foot-high ceilings, huge bedrooms and baths.  Security was high with a gate code needed, stone walls & electrified fences. The estate backs up to the east border of Table Mountain NP.  Hiking paths and a cafe just for hikers were just outside the rear gate.

On the patio of the main house, looking down toward the pool area with the pool guesthouse on the left.  It was more like living in a mansion than any hotel we have encountered.

Our room on the second story was huge; the bathroom was as big as a small hotel room.  They only had a few rooms.  Their reservations are non-refundable and need to be made far in advance. 

From this location we were able to drive to a penguin colony at Betty's Beach, 100 km. to the southeast and also explore the Cape of Good Hope peninsula.  We had an exciting few moment at the Cape of Good Hope when we had to deal with a flat tire, failing electronics (beeping noise and could not lock or start the car), and were out of range of any cell phone signal.  Fortunately, I was able to get the tire changed, the Mitsubishi vehicle eventually started, and we drove directly to the airport to exchange it for a different (Hundai) SUV.

Looking north from Cape Point, near the Cape of Good Hope.  We would have captured more scenery except for the mechanical troubles with our rental car.  Almost a two-hour trip back to the airport to get a different vehicle.

The drive to Betty's Beach.  There was one stretch of sandy beach along our route, but mainly the road was carved into a steep mountainside.

The penguin colony is much bigger than what is shown.  The drive to Betty's beach is scenic.  It reminded me of the California coast between San Luis Obispo and Monterey with tall mountains rising abruptly from the shoreline.  Recent floods had washed out parts of the roadway causing construction delays.

On our last day in South Africa, we elected to just relax near the pool on our estate stay.  The following day we had to turn in our rental, take an 8 1/2 flight to Sao Paulo, and check in at our next stop on our way home, after eight weeks of travel.  Sao Paulo was only a brief stop to breakup what would otherwise be a sixteen-hour nonstop flight to the U.S. east coast.  The one full day we had in Brazil was cloudy and rainy, and our hotel was unexceptional.  It made us eager to get home, although it would be a long day (23 hours) to get there.    

Waterbuck: a common deer-like animal. These are drinking from a waterhole near our dining hall at the camp.

Zebra:  There are two different types, one found more in the lowlands and the other up higher.  The Amakhala reserve varies about 3000 feet between its highest and lowest areas.

Impala:  common in the open plains' areas.

Rhinoceros:  No, he is not stuck, he just likes the cool mud.

Late afternoon and this male lion was out for a walk.  The females do almost all the hunting.  Leopards were re-introduced to this area, but the lions killed all of them.  We were advised to stay sitting and quiet when near the lions; otherwise, they may view you as prey and attack.

Cape Buffalo:  This is entirely different than a water buffalo.  These have not been tamed and actually have a very vicious reputation.  It is said that if you shoot one, you better kill it or else it will kill you.

Gemsbok:  Very impressive horns.

Giraffe:  Wow are these tall!  The trees in this reserve are the ideal height for grazing.  Giraffes eat a huge amount.  They are healthy and reproducing well in this area.

Cheeta:  Relaxing in the grass with two fellow cheetahs until it is time to hunt again.  You probably know that they are considered the fastest land animals.

Blesbok:  another of the plains herd animals.  You often see several species together for mutual lookout and protection.

Black Wildebeest, also called a Gnu.  Not one of the prettier animals.