Cape Town Day 3

Day 34: Table Mountain and Cape of Good Hope.

We woke up this morning to be greeted by grey clouds and more grey clouds. Our expected trip to Table Mountain had a cloud hanging over it. (Like the pun?). Ha Ha. A quick revision of plans to allow for the chance the cloud cover tp pass away with the hope we would still be able to cable car up to the peak in the afternoon.

Our drive to Cape of Good Hope took us along the coast line past expensive homes and hotels overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, beaches and coastal pathways. To name a few, Camps Bay, Clifton and Hout Bay until we travelled along a stretch of road famous for the steep cliffs to the side to Chapman’s Peak. One stage of the drive, the road had overhanging cliffs, which sheltered the road users from rock falls.

Today is Saturday and the locals were out in force, bike riding and running, all along this scenic road. Apparently there is a marathon bike ride soon and everyone is out training.

As we have elected to visit Cape of Good Hope first, we were fortunate to be the first bus to arrive. By the time we left there was a long line up of vehicles waiting to pay and enter. This also means we were the first to get to the actual Cape of Good Hope and then the Cape Point where the Flying Dutchman funicular had didn’t have any line ups to ride.

Although the Cape of Good Hope is popularly perceived as the meeting point of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, they meet at Cape Agulhas, just east of Good Hope. At our first stop we were able to see a seal colony perched on the rocks just nearby. Here is the first of the 200 metre towering cliffs, defining 3 of the promontories. Cape of Good Hope, Cape Maclear and Cape Point.

                                                                        All set?

                                                                 On the funicular

                                                                   Cape Point

Our second stop was at the lighthouse near Cape Point. This is where we rode the funicular for a short ride to a viewing point base. When driving around this wind swept area we saw many native proteas and heath. Unfortunately it was the flowering season for the proteas and I could only imagine how colourful the area would be when they are in flower. Though there were many different delicate daisies of different colours growing in amongst the heath and proteas.

It is now nearly noon and a fine rain has started to fall as we make our way to a restaurant near Simon’s Town called Black Marlin. It seemed to be a popular destination for bike riders to enjoy breakfast. It must have had a beautiful view overlooking the coast on the eastern side of the peninsular but we were not to see. A very popular luncheon spot for tour buses too.

                     Line of cars entering the Cape of Good Hope National Park.

Happy to know we have already been there. Line up of cars to enter the park.

As the cloud and rain was still hanging over Table Mountain, it was decided we would stop at Simon’s Town for a 30 minute break. This little sea port has been South Africa’s Naval Port for many years, going back to the last century. There are many buildings and infrastructure relating to the navy and a good Naval Museum here. It looks like a really interesting place to stay and discover its interesting past.

On the way back we drove past the University of Cape Town, Rhodes Memorial and Groote Schuur Hospital where the first successful heart transplant was performed.  After a quick drive around the city we arrived back to the ship and could see Table Mountain was still covered in cloud.

Early tonight the Captain announced the ship would not be leaving Cape Town until 6-8am next morning. Strong winds were picking up from the North which would make sailing through the protective heads of the harbour dangerous. However our expected arrival in Port Elizabeth would still occur on time.

PS Internet, whilst the ship is at sea is unreliable, depending on satellites overhead to bounce signals.

Leaving Cape Town Day 35

Up early this morning to witness the Sun Princess sail out of the protected marina.

                   Beautiful clear morning with the sun rising to the left of this photo.
                        The dawn light is just about to shine on Table Mountain.

The ship is still docked to the wharf when I took this photo of the V & A Marina. Note                                                         the ferris wheel in the left.

                                                   View of Signal Point on left.

Looking down the main street of Cape Town with Table Mountain in back ground.

                            The ship is swinging around to position, ready to leave.

              Little tug bringing the ship around to sail throgh the narrow heads.

About to sail through.

                                                                    Through!

                             Two little tugs making sure the ship traversers heads.

                 View of V & A Marina and soccer oval built in 2010 in background.

Bye Cape Town.

Cape Town Day 2

Day 33: Aquila Game Reserve. Day 2.

We were up early, just as the sun rose over the mountains, with a coffee under our belt, we again climbed into our 4x4 to head out for our morning safari. It was a little chilly but we were each dressed in a warmer jacket to ward off the cool breeze we encountered in the open-air vehicle.

We travelled out along a different track in the hope to see warthogs, wilder beast and anything else we missed the day before. It wasn’t too long before someone spotted a wilder beast having a dirt bath. Not long before another one came along to join its friend.

                                                                     Wildebeest

Early morning huddle.

The rhinos had divided into two groups to sleep overnight. This is a group of females only. I am not sure what is going on here with the single sex thing. The other group were mixed. As we were out very early in the morning we could see a ranger vehicle stationed in the distance. Apparently the rhinos are guarded 24 hours a day to stop poachers from killing and removing the horns from these massive creatures.

Moving on we encountered more ostriches, springbok, zebras and giraffes. Interestingly we saw the herds (or rightly called, crass) of rhinos huddled together in two groups. What looked like one for the females exclusively and the other mixed. In the not too distant background a lone vehicle was parked. Our guide explained park rangers guard these beautiful creatures from poachers who cut off their horns to later sell on the black market. In 2014 a group of rhinos had been mutilated and killed for this very reason in Aquila.

On arriving back we were met with a buffet breakfast ready to be consumed, then a quick finish-up in our rooms before loading onto a large bus to return us back to Cape Town, passing such dramatic scenery on the way. We had a great safari to Aquila and would recommend it to all. Princess charged AUD $489.95 for a 9 hour day  trip to Aquila, we paid around AUD $385 for travel, meals, accommodation and pm and am safaris on the private tour organised by this very generous person who went to all the work and effort to arrange.  For his privacy, I will not mention his name, but thanks Mr M.

We were back by 12.30pm which allowed us plenty of time to walk over to the V & A Waterfront Marina. The walk involved going through various entrances, alleyways between new and old revamped buildings and silos and open squares to the Watershed and Marina, Cape Ferris Wheel, Victoria and Albert Shopping Centre, Fish Quay and many museums and art galleries. We were there during the day when many people were walking around but I doubt if I would advise to walk here after dark when few people are around. We have been warned on numerous occasions not to walk around by one’s self at night and take measures in protecting one’s belongings from pick pockets’ and attackers. We heard on the first night in Cape Town one of our crew had been robbed at entrance number 4 to the shopping centre. It was 9pm and all his ID and money had been stolen. We were there the next afternoon and it was a busy entrance with a foreign exchange booth just inside the mall.

We were caught unexpectedly paying for our meal and drinks by the mandatory 10/15% gratuity. There is a VAT added to the bill but then when one pays, the gratuity is expected to be added. No choice.  Prices in the shopping centre are comparable to Australian prices. No bargains to be had, except for alcohol. Then there is the issue of bringing it aboard the ship.

DH managed to walk back to the ship but needed a lot of rest stops to revive. He did well. We even managed to be caught on the swing bridge when an announcement came across that it will be closed to pedestrians to open up. Ha ha, our pace did not let up (snails’ pace) and I think we were watched very intently until we made it to the other side before they opened it up.

Today was a warm sunny day, ideal for those going up Table Mountain, or going across to Robben Island.

Unfortunately my camera needed charging so have no photos of V & A Marina.

Cape Town, South Africa

Thursday 20th February 2020

Cape Town, South Africa

Oh My….Oh My, the chief objective to this cruise is to go to Cape Town and experience a once in a life time visit to a safari game reserve.  To see a large variety of game species: lions, rhinos, hippos, crocodiles, giraffes, zebras, warthogs and several varieties of antelope, and we did!

When we arrived in Richards Bay we attended a mandatory face to face Immigration Inspection required to visit South Africa. As we are continuing to sail through South African waters, our disembarkation here did not have this formality, making it quicker getting off the ship. We were part of a group of 35 who joined this private tour organised by a fellow passenger shortly after booking this cruise. We like to thank him for organising and allowing us to be part of this group tour.

Two small buses were waiting on the wharf to transport us to Aqulia Game Reserve for our overnight stay and safari. The drive took us around 2 and half hours to drive through the wine growing regions north east of Cape Town. I am amazed by the kilometres of vineyards growing between to rugged mountains, a lot more than I have ever seen anywhere. (Australia and France). These vast vineyards were all enclosed with electric and /or razor wire fences. The question arises; is it to keep out baboons or people out?

                       Rocky boulders lind the road as we travelled out of Cape Town.

                             Valley's of vineyards nestled between rugged ranges.

As we headed out of Cape Town we could see the cloud formation over Table Mountain, known locally as ‘the table cloth’. Thinking to ourselves, ‘thank goodness we aren’t planning to visit Table Mountain today as there would not be any views to be seen’.  Most of the craggy peaks we passed along the way were covered in white clouds and it wasn’t until our return trip, when the skies were clear, that we could appreciate the height and magnificence of the dramatic landscape. It also would have been a good day to visit Table Mountain.

Another interesting part of our drive was traversing 5 kilometres through a tunnel built under one of the mountains.

One type of housing we saw on the way.

On arrival at Aquila we were greeted with a welcoming glass of sparkling muscato from a local winery, and then we headed to the dining room for a buffet lunch. In front of the restaurant a blue horizon pool had attracted some of the guests to swim or laze about whilst waiting for their rooms to be ready. The vista beyond the pool encompassed native scrub with two grazing elephants in front of a dramatic backdrop of hills. It was a glimpse of what we were about to experience.

                                       View from our three story accommodation.

Once allocated our room we dropped our overnight bag and freshened up to meet our group for an eco-tour of the reserve and our first safari drive.

                                             Hydroponicaly grown vegetables.

                                                               Our transport.

                          One of the two elephants In the background is the resort.

                        Interesting to see the ostrichs following the two elephants.

                                                The track our vehicle followed.

                                                       Rhino and her 7 day baby.

On our eco-tour we were shown how they aqua grow a lot of the herbs and salad plants, farm their fresh water fish and worms and compost their food waste.

Next we set off in our 4x4 to drive around this 4,500 hectares reserve. It was around 4.30pm when we left and there was plenty of light and the heat of the day was starting to ebb. It is always interesting seeing all of us scrabble into our seats on the vehicles, some of us with poise, others fumble. Of course I am not saying we are either but it would take a high school group less than half the time and discussion to settle into their seats!

It was so exciting bouncing along the dirt tracks looking for ideal advantage spots to see various species. Firstly we headed to the water areas which were home to the hippos. Of course all we could see were a few sets of ears popping up out of the water every now and again. Then onto see the two elephants roaming around the scrub land. We were informed the park was only big enough to successfully feed two elephants and revegetate. Some other parks had overstocked with elephants and consequently the vegetation had not been able to regrow.

For over 2 hours we were driven along the dusty roads to see various animals. Rhinos, zebras, giraffes, antelope, birds and lions. Our guide told us to look out for a mother and baby rhino, the baby was just 7 days old. After seeing several scattered around in the low lying scrub, we then spotted the mother with her Oh Soo Cute Baby. A real highlight of the day. The lions were living in an electrified fenced area to keep the other animals safe from these dangerous and deadly carnivores.  Two lions and 5 lionesses were contentedly living here.

                                      One of the rhinos which just had a mud bath.

                                                                        Elans

                                                                  Young Zebra

At the far end of the reserve we stopped for some refreshments and a break before heading back to see the hippos which were now out of the water and wandering around.

                               Entering the Lion enclosure, electric fences and gates.

                                                               A young Giraffe

                                                    Hippos now out of the water.

A quick shower when we arrived back to our room then it was off to a buffet dinner in the restaurant. When we left after having a yummy meal, the sun had set and a camp fire was burning near the boundary of the grassed area for any guest who wished to sit and enjoy the night sky and ambience. We were too tired and wary of the mosquitos to linger, so headed off to bed and an early wake-up call for our morning safari.




.

Richards By, South Africa

Day 29, Monday 17th February 2020

Richards Bay is an industrial port and mainly a staging area to visit some of Africa's game reserves. 

We decided not to go on a tour and instead caught to ship's shuttle to the local shopping centre. A new modern and clean mall, catering to high end clothing stores and middle range clothing as well. A Woolworth's store here did not sell groceries (that we could discern) but a Target type store instead. We felt very safe and comfortable here. I tried to convert some Australian dollars here, firstly in a Standard Bank branch located in the car park area. A clean, modern and air conditioned building with lots of seating inside. I now know why there is so much seating available. The line up to exchange money had 9 cruise ship people in front of me with two bank booths operating, Well 25 minutes later I had 8 people in front of me. It was taking over 20 minutes per exchange. DH was outside waiting for me, so considered it wasn't worth our time.

We found a Western Union Branch inside the mall where DH could sit whilst I lined up for an hour to change some money. An expensive exercise not only in time but commission we paid for conversion. The only shopping we did  was in the grog shop where we bought a bottle of brandy for under AUD 15, good value. 

I had exchanged Australia dollars to Rand in Australia but at the time the place I went to didn't have enough for our tour payments, so I just needed to top here in South Africa. Also some spending money would help. 

The passengers who did the shore tours here were very happy with what they did, however Princess were heavy handed in charging. 

Our approach to Richards Bay, South Africa. Note that Nosey Bey' has been deleted.

                          So exciting to know we actually arrived into South Africa.

                                         Very busy Industral Port of Richards Bay.

                                                         Ready for sail away

Nosy Be', Madagascar

Day 25, Thursday, 13th February 2020

Black Lemurs, fine rum, pepper and shrimp. Perfumes of exotic plants such as ylang ylang, patchouli and lemon grass perfume the island’s air.

What a fizzer! The ship dropped anchor in the bay of Nosy Be’ on a very warm and humid morning. We arrived early in the Vista Lounge to collect our tender tickets in readiness to disembark, hopefully on the first tender. The seas were ideal for transferring. The ship launched one tender while we waited for the port authorities to grant us access to land.

After an hour, a crowd, with their tender tickets, had gathered in the stairway foyer in enthusiastic anticipation. Then an announcement was broadcast to let us know the local health authorities would not grant us permission to enter. Apparently we had not completed 14 day quarantine since the last port (or country) which had the known Novel coronavirus. We were 12 days out from Thailand, 2 days short.

A couple of passengers we spoke with later on said they saw the ship flying a yellow flag whilst the discussion was taking place with Madagascan Authorities, and the tender which had been launched was to keep local canoe paddlers away from the ship.

Disappointment spread amongst us but there wasn’t anything we could do. It wasn’t long before a new revised Patter was printed for the day’s activities and the ship now sails onto Richards Bay, South Africa.

Locals coming over from neighbouring islands, maybe to see the ship or crew members on board. The hairdreser on board told Paul he was disppointed not to see his family here. He had arranged to meet up with them whilst in port.

                                                    Locals circling the ship.