RHKKMK'S First trip to South Africa

Enjoy your trip! Hope you have some good sightings in the game parks, etc.

Hi

I am south african (living in Durban,Kwa Zulu Natal)- you have offered me advice on the far east forum - thanks very much.

The game parks you intend visiting (Eastern Transvaal/Mpumalange are wonderful. Hope you spot lots of game.

Cape Town is certainly the premier tourist destination of South Africa. If visiting the V&A waterfront be sure to dine on freshly fried or grilled hake and chips at one of the many seafood outlets.
The Garden route is certainly the most scenic and beautiful drives along any coastline in south Africa - lots of curio sellers along the route,too. We have done the route several time but I still marvel at he beauty of the mountains forming a backdrop to the sea.
Hope you will take a cruise to the Knysna Heads - well worth it.

Enjoy a safe and wonderful holiday in south Africa.

Have a wonderful trip! I am just back from SA, my 3rd visit there, and hope to return again someday. Looking forward to your report.

Sounds like a great trip.

On another note, did you post any info on Paraguay (its the only country in SA that I haven't visited, and I'm considering a visit next year or 2011). I'll also check the SA forum.

rhkkmk, Welcome to the Africa board! You will not have gpanda to kick you around over here.
We have made two trips to Southern Africa and it may well become your new favorite part of the world. We'll see. If you like wildlife, you'll be hankering for much more when you return to Boston. Hope you'll be able to try some good restaurants in Cape Town and maybe take a day trip to the beautiful winelands. You'll find much more to do there than you have time for.
Have a ball!
Leslie

Bob and Karen,

You're off to a good start! Will be looking forward to your updates. South Africa is a wonderful place.

Have a great trip!

thit--- i did post quite a bit on the south america board about our time in paraguay.... i will bring it back to the top of their board now for you

Have a grest time!

You are doing something like we did in April on our round the world trip. We rented cars in JNB and Cape Town. We stayed in Dullstroom on the way to Kruger also.

We loved our time at Kirkmans but loved the self drive in Kruger even more! We will do that again. Be sure to picnic in some of the picnic areas. We had a great time visiting with S Africans and their families and got some good tips on places to check out based on what they had seen that day.

Happy travels!

Good start Bob, Muffin and I are looking forward to seeing you in the 31st...

Hi Bob - hope you have a wonderful trip! We're spending a month in SA this coming February so I'm hoping you'll be publishing a Capetown restaurant list to complement your Bangkok one!

Have a great trip...will be anxiously awaiting your log entries.

I have just started initial plans for trip by my wife and I to S.A. in February or March 2010. Wife and I are retired teachers who live in upstate New York State. Wondered about several things ... safety issues if driving a rental...have heard and read several horror stories about car jackings and vandelism etc. Have heard that Capetown is fine but some areas are to be avoided???

Also how is the rand compared to the U.S. dollar (cost of a beer at a bar or restaurant, movie ticket, one nights stay in a motel/hotel, dinner for two w/o alcohol etc.) ?

When do their students go back to school from summer break and if one is to wait till that happens does it open up more rooms and accomodations? Are B&B's popular and plentiful there etc.

I'm sure you'll answer some of these concerns in your log entries. Thanks in advance for any help you might give us.
James and Eileen Healy

Hi Bob and Karen!
I am so jealous that you are heading to Africa. Bill and I LOVED our trip there - it still ranks #1 for both of us (although Thailand and meeting you two there is certainly up there in probably the #2 or 3 spot). You are also staying in our favorite lodge - Elephant Plains. I hope that Gideon is still there and that you get him as your guide for your safaris. He is great. We saw SO many animals there including most of the big cats. We missed seeing a lion (saw one later in Botswana) because we took a side trip on our way there and took in the Panoramic Region so we missed the first evening game drive. But we saw 8 leopards (including two 4 week old cubs) and 3 cheetahs (mom and two "teenagers"). You will have a fabulous time and I can't wait to hear all about it. I'll send you the link to our pictures.

rhkkmk: I too am jealous, but wish you a wonderful trip, as long as you send back your stories to those of us at home, those either planning a trip to South Africa, or just hoping and praying we get back there sometime soon.

I know it must be difficult while enjoying your trip, but I'm sure we'd all love to hear commentary any time you can do it.

Have a great trip Bob - I look forward to reading about it!

Cyn

cyn---we missed you saturday at the boston GTG...send me an e mail and tell me where you ended up..

tomorrow is the day....we are very much looking forward to what seems like a nice adventure.....sort of like the first time we went to asia...high hopes in any case...

jen thanks for the pics received today

driving....i'm just thinking we will be careful and respectful and not venture where we do not belong...its always worked before...

rand has slipped a lot this year....it was 10 and now about 7+ per dollar since i started looking this time last year..

plus a GTG in capetown which will really be fun i am sure...

Just when he disappeared freom the Asia forum, he pops up on another forum. Now you can deal with his ever-so-special reports.

Bob and Karen,
Have a great time. Take lots of photos and don't worry about what the naysayers are telling you. Yes, you can indeed take an ostrich home for your backyard.

Let us know how the trip proceeds and if Panda is actually going to meet you over there. Tengo

Have fun you two. I know you will. Hope you upgraded your camera equipment Bob.

Aloha!!

How fitting that he will be haunting the Africa forum over Halloween. One can only hope that he tries to pet the lions. Exactly how many pandas are there in South Africa?

Gpanda, exactly zero. They were all eaten by the lions. On Halloween, I think Bob & Karen are slated to be spending "the holiday" with Smeagol & Muffin, and I believe they plan on celebrating Smeagol's birthday with her. While in Boston last weekend, Karen told me the story of how Muffin got his name---it was very cute.

BC

BC you are correct B&K will be in England for Halloween and yes celebrating my birthday (which is the day before!!NOT Halloween - although some people think i'm a bit of a witch)

Whilst we don't usually make a big thing of Halloween i may make a bit of an effort this year due to our American visitors....

Make sure you drag Bob out to the moors on Halloween. With any luck, the Hound of the B will be out there to greet him.

Have fun, B and K. I'll try to slip over to this board and do some reading; but I'll be back in BKK during most of your adventures on this trip. Cape Town is on our to-do list. I'll be anxious to read your report.
Carol

Andy- the Moors are about 140 miles away.....

The Boston GTG was a great success and all seemed to have lots of fun…


Tuesday Oct 13, 2009 and Wednesday, Oct 14 and Th Oct 15—one blur..


Hedley picked us up at 1615 as pre-arranged. We made a quick drive to Logan, maybe 25 minutes. Check-in was speedy and as we already had seat assignments, we were in good shape. We had dinner at Legal Seafood’s Bar at Logan---Swordfish for K and clam chowdah and Caesar salad for me..

The flight was American Air, Boston to London (Heathrow) using FF miles….flt 108 departing at 1905 and arriving in London at 0650, economy class, 2X4X2, aisle and window.
We had a layover of 13 hours which was perfect, as it allowed for a mini-GTG with Lucy (bluebella)…. We met her at 1230 at Emperor of India in Maidenhead, UK for a wonderful Indian lunch (papadon, sag paneer, shrimp yellow curry, butter chicken with a spicy sauce, garlic nan and plain rice—kulfi for me and cheese cakes for them)….. we had wonderful conversations, mostly about fodorites (we talked about everyone, except Gpanda) and Thailand…

After lunch we had time to ride around Windsor Great Park, through Eton and Windsor and a short visit to the Queen’s Great Park Farm shop. We returned the rental car to Alamo (37 pounds for a nice mid-sized Vauxhall sedan) and moved on to the new terminal 5 at Heathrow…. We were quite impressed with this new terminal… Not dissimilar to the new Bkk airport, only bigger I think… We had a snack and lazed around a bit before boarding our British Air 747 flight for Capetown, South Africa…
B/A does not allow seat choices prior to 24 hours before flt, but we were on A/A so did a checkin when we arrived this AM. The best seats we could get were rows 47 and 48, aisle seats, behind each other… We survived. Karen ate dinner, but I skipped it. We took sleeping pills and slept decently, on and off, for the 11 hour flight. I loved my new Ipod which my kids had given me, and I had loaded with music…

We arrived at Capetown to wet pavements and a quickly emerging sun at 0735, about 30 minutes early. There are no immigration forms, and the line moved quite quickly… BTW, you need a full passport page for the on-arrival visa. We picked up our Thrifty car, a Nissan mid-sized sedan, and withdrew some cash and then we were on our way to the Mouille Point section of Capetown.

Our hotel is the 4 star (???) La Splendida on Beach Road, directly across the road from the famous red and white lighthouse and the open ocean… The location seems quite fabulous, but the hotel is a bit worn, although the staff is very friendly…. Arriving about 10AM, the room was not ready, so we went into the restaurant (very friendly wait staff) and had hamby’s and chips for lunch… The receptionist came to our table and told us the room was ready about ½ way through lunch. We are in room 201 on the second level with full sea view. The room and bath are ok, nothing special--- about $205 including tax. Worth about $130 imo… We are quite content and there is a gated parking area in back of the hotel (30 R per 24 hrs.)… We are disappointed that wi-fi is $20 per day, but it’s free in the restaurant…
After unpacking and a 2-3 hour nap, we took a drive along the waterfront, past the new stadium, near to the hotel, and drove as far as the V&A waterfront…. This area looks from the outside like any major city’s renovation project turned over to retail… We will investigate it later. We turned around and drove in the opposite direction, also hugging the waterfront. BTW, driving is very easy here… We do note that many streets are unsigned, but there are good directional signs… We continued along until we reached Lower Kloof where we began our drive up to Kloof and eventually to Signal Hill Rd which dramatically climbs one of the major hills surrounding Capetown. It is far lower than Table Mountain, which today is shrouded in clouds.

The views are magnificent all along this drive. Being Spring here there are many wildflowers all along the roadside: white, yellow, orange, purple and many others. At the summit we get out to observe the marvelous views of the city and waterfront below and also some of the other mountains. The wind nearly blows us away. Its cool but very comfortable, although K puts on her down vest up here.. We can see our hotel..

We return to sea level via another road and decide we have done all we can for today…
We stop at a wine shop and Karen buys two reislings ($5 and $11) and I buy a 6 pack of Amstel ($5.). Back to the hotel just before it pours rain again… Perfect timing…

Dinner will be NOW in the attached restaurant.

There was a big party in the restaurant, but luckily we got our orders in first….The staff are all black and amazingly friendly and welcoming. Our waiter had a great sense of humor…. The wi-fi would not work..

K had a carafe of chard, I had water with lemon.. they brought some pizza/ Syrian bread wedges and a tray of cheese, minced garlic, and minced green peppers to spread on the warm bread..
Karen had the very tender veal special, served over pesto pasta and a medley of delicious fresh veggies .. I had the prawn special---1/2 kilo of tender medium shrimp sautéed in garlic and served with French fries. K had a crème brulee and I had a brownie with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream…. A delicious meal -- 278 R--~$45.

We are tired, so back to the room for tv and bed.

Tomorrow is our “moving” GTG… Selwyn will pick us up at 8:45. I have brought him two small cameras which he ordered and had shipped to me last week from Amazon.

We are anxious to meet local fodorites and to participate in the activities that Selwyn has planned for us.

Ooh, Ooh, Ooh - this is just great. Thanks for the on site, real time (well, almost) travelogue.

I so loved Cape Town, and have even corresponded with Selwyn about a return trip (which may never happen,) so I'll travel along with you.

Springtime in Cape Town sounds appealing. Will you be heading down to Simons Town and the jackass penguins? Franschhoek in wine country is a worthwhile place to spend a day -- plenty of shoppes to keep K busy. (You're missing a delightful weekend of cold rain in Boston.)

Don, I sent the cold rain from Michigan. They had it all weekend long here while I was in BOS enjoying the (mostly) sunny skies. Tonight for a treat, we're supposed to have sleet! (I didn't intend that to rhyme, but hey, let's go with it.)

Smeagol, dear, no one in their right mind would ever think you a witch. B&K have described you in the loveliest terms, and I trust their judgement.

B, off to not a bad start, I think things will pick up considerably after you meet up with Selwyn. Sounds like you're a bit disappointed with your hotel, but things could be worse...you could be anticipating a sleety evening...I'm chalking things up to jet lag, and hope you & K enjoy your next Fodors GTG on a different continent than the last one.

BC

we're off for the day with selwyn and other fodorites... should be very interesting

BC -

Thanks for another start to what I believe is going to be a fabulous report, I too have followed you from SA (been to Argentina three times), then your recent trip to Russia (which we also want to do) and now this.....which is where I'm thinking of planning for next Spring.

Sounds like all is going well.....happy travelling!

Smeagol-That would be about 224 Kilometers. maybe he'd fall asleep in the car. Now, you Africa and Mideast Fodorites can feel the pain usually reserved for us on the Asia Forum.

BTW, it snowed in Boston today. October 16 and it snowed! Unbelievable.

Waiting for more of your escapades. Gpanda really misses you but hates to say so

i have a next report segment almost ready... we spent a fabulous day with Selwyn Davidowitz yesterday and our mini, very mini GTG..

We visited a township which was a real eye-opener and several other sites...
this morning we will begin our drive around the cape... its a fabulous day...

details to follow...

more, more, more...

Yes, what happened to the rest of the day's activities with Selwyn? If you can't tell the full story than you shouldn't start at all.

Have fun. Bring back some of that wine. .

Friday Oct 15


Morning came very early after naps the day before and general clock adjustments…. I slept quite well, but K claims to have been awake for 2 hours during the nite..
In any case we went downstairs for breakfast about 7:30.. I had a cheese/mushroom omelet, and K had eggs benedict.. both were delicious and a great start for the day..

Our GTG day was to start about 8:45… Months ago, there had been a posting asking if there had ever been a GTG in Capetown. From this post a GTG was developed and 7 of us signed up… We were quite excited to meet Selwyn and the others…. Selwyn arrived in his comfortable van and informed us, after introductions and hugs, that we would be only 4 for the GTG as two other parties had had to cancel… We were disappointed, but were nevertheless happy to participate with a reduced number. We drove to pick-up the other member—Kurt… He lives high above the city in a lovely neighborhood… Come to find out both his wife and selwyn’s are professors at the same university… Such a small world..

After some winding through the city, with a full narrative by Selwyn, we got onto the highway heading out of town, towards the Afrikaans Monument, the only monument dedicated to languages in the world.. A visit here is truly unique both for what it represented (negative) and for its grandeur and originality. It sits on a hill surrounded by a lovely garden. We loved visiting this site. It helped us to understand much more about the SA’an history in the 20th C and before, as related by Selwyn. Kurt, btw, is a transplanted American, but shared with us a wealth of info on SA as well.. At the beginning of our visit S sat with us and shared tons of info about SA history and its people… We did this over tea and delicious carrot cake ( not as good as Karen Kimball’s Karrot Kake, however). The monument is located in Paarl, once the center of the Afrikaans movement in this area.

Back on the highway, we headed to Stellenbosch in the center of a wine producing area and one of the best universities in SA. Selwyn is an alum… We drove through the university and even visited a huge rugby field where team members were practicing.

I should have noted that every place we looked the scenery was magnificent….mountains/hills, wildflowers, vistas, the sea… We now understand why people love the Capetown area… We also got spectacular views of Table Mountain, the flat mountain overlooking C.

Next we headed for the highlight of the day, a several hours visit to Kayamandi Township. This township houses 14,000 approximately, in what is best described as largely deplorable conditions. Many ‘houses’ have no electricity, running water or sanitary facilities. Selwyn has been working with the residents for many years and is well received by the town folks. This place is amongst the worst poverty we have seen in any place… The kids are very cute, friendly and loving, as are the adults. We visited a butcher—no refrigeration… a green grocer at the road side… we drove by open or oil can fires where food was being cooked. There were lots of idle people as there is little work… It seemed so odd to us as the township is surrounded by lush vineyards…
Our first major stop was at the home of Lilly Ngwexana, an up from the bootstraps miracle lady. She had prepared a delicious “local” meal for us… Quite a feast actually. She also runs a homestay in her home. First we had a bean and corn soup, then a curry chicken stew and finally the main meal of roasted chicken parts, a pumpkin and corn veggie dish, spinach and onions and a spicy veggie kalaka mix dish, plus homemade steamed white bread… WOW, was this good!!
For this the charge was 220 R/2 persons. During the meal she told us her life story which was intensely interesting… She has been written up in newspapers for her life story and culinary ventures.. She is simply charming. I think she is best described as a hard working woman activist, in the best sense of the word. After lunch we said our good-byes to her and drove around the township, observing the intense poverty and idleness of the population. Some housing is made of concrete and wood, but most is tin scraps, old lumber and any other type of “permanent” materials that can be scraped up. Everyone was clean and happy on the outside anyways, but you could feel a certain unrest inside them…

We made many stops. We visited the bleak insides of a few houses. Some had running water, some not. We spoke at length to one man and his family inside their house, where 8 people ‘exist’. Many had tv’s as their only form of entertainment. This is very close living! The family of 8 that we visited share their sanitary facilities with 49 other people. It is located about 500 feet in back of their shack down an alley. There are communal clothes washing tubs in a central place also. Their house has no running water and one of the teenaged children carries water jugs on her head from a central location daily… No hot water at all….

Eventually we made our way to a small youth center which Selwyn funds. They currently serve about 30-40 kids from 8-14. Many of these kids are “sponsored” by outsiders. Education is the goal, but it’s a hard road I think. In the afternoon they are given time to do their homework in the spacious building and then they have recreation like dancing for fun and a different kind of learning…..They performed for us doing dances from local to the tango to the waltz.

After this visit we picked up apples that Selwyn had ordered when we entered the township. We drove to a central location where the van was surrounded quickly by small children. We did not just give out the apples, the kids had to work for them. They were given plastic bags and had to look around the area for trash and at the end return to the van with a bag of trash to get an apple. During this time we visited two “houses”. As reported above the conditions were bleak…

We returned to the van and the kids were waiting. One of the older girls went and got a small wheel barrel and each kid gave Karen their trash and Selwyn gave them each an apple….Lesson learned… do a good deed and be rewarded.

After this we left the township and headed back to capetown. We were dropped off at our hotel where we had left about 11 hours earlier---exhausted, but enlightened..

We had dinner in the hotel restaurant---huge individual pizzas….

Afterwards I typed part of this, K went to bed and I crashed shortly after that…

Saturday--- a day to drive the peninsula

We woke to bright sunshine…Breakfast downstairs.. We now have become very friendly with the charming black waitstaff, especially with “pleasure”, a wonderful young woman who brings our breakfast each morning… Her name is Portia, but her normal reply to everything is “pleasure”…

We have a couple of sources for our full day drive around the peninsula. Karen, with suggestions from Kurt and Selwyn has decided that we should drive from east to west. Later we decided that especially on the west side this is the best decision as your views are more spectacular.

Driving is very easy. They of course drive on the “wrong” side of the road. Our car, which had only 32 miles on it, is excellent and holds the road well…

We traverse the city once again to reach the N-2 to the N-3, both fantastic roads.

We pass small towns and the sea is constantly on our left. Our first stop is in Kalk Bay, where we see people standing along the road side looking out to sea with cameras and spy glasses at hand…. We pull over and join them. Between us and the water are a fantastic wild garden of shrubs and flowers, tended by volunteers, and the railroad tracks. But in the bay are a pod of whales frolicking---4 we think. We spend quite a bit of time there…

We continue along reaching Simon’s Town, a lovely Victorian seaside retreat. We continue to the south and see signs for Boulders Beach, the penguin reserve. We park and pay our entrance fees of 35 R each, which seems steep, but later decide that the facility is fantastic and well kept. There is a small visitor’s center and raised wooden walkways which lead down to the rocks (boulders) and the shore where the birds are found. The scene is fantastic with a lovely fine white sand beach, huge smooth boulders, surf and magnificent houses built up from the shore. You watch the birds from the walkway, maybe 6 feet above them. There are hundreds of birds and maybe thousands more offshore on another huge boulder… I have tons of pictures. This is an enjoyable stop.

After this, we return to Simon’s Town in search of lunch. We easily find parking on the main street and with the help of the ever present “parking guard” we park. The guards are black men who are self appointed parking assistants. You pay them a small fee and they “watch” over your car while you are away. They wear a distinctive vest. We have found them everyplace except in garages, for instance they were in the parking lot at the penguins….

We headed down towards the harbour on foot. I looked back and right above our car hung a balcony with restaurant tables on it…BINGO… lunch….The restaurant and the store below it are called The Meeting Place. The main interior room looks more like a lounge, with white wooden furnishings, tables and couches. Bingo. The balcony over looks the main street and down to the harbour. Karen orders a shrimp salad plate and I order a spicy sweet chicken wrap… YUM. After lunch we check out the store downstairs and a few other places. We buy the best shortbread cookies bordered in chocolate… Time is fleeting so back into the car.

Soon we come to the entrance to the Cape Point National Park. We pay our entrance fees of 150 R/2.

The landscape comprises about 6 differing floral kingdoms, from lush scrub to arid rock. Wildflowers and flowering shrubs are everywhere… WOW. The roads are good. We drive to the end, Cape Point, but decide not to go up (or should I say, I decide)… We double back to the side road we had seen to the Cape of Good Hope, the most southwestern point in Africa---Selwyn says this is not true… Here we get out and enjoy the sea and surf, towering rocks and peacefulness, with only a few others until a huge bus arrives.

We take pictures here with “flat Stanley” for our grandchildren.

In a couple of places we see wild animals…. Ostriches, with babies, and a small cow like creature with horns… a few birds.

We continue with fabulous views all along….Finally we reach Chapman’s Peak Drive, a fabulous narrow drive high up cut into the rock… This has been closed for over a year and only very recently reopened…. So we are among the first to visit. At the end there is a toll of 28 R. Money well spent. Along the way there are small beachside communities. This is without a doubt the most fabulous seaside cliff drive we have ever taken!!! Beth you would have died…cliffs of hundreds of feet drop off from roadside.

We continue along until we reach the outskirts of Capetown, not far from our hotel.

We returned to the hotel to freshen up and prepare for the kind invitation we have received from fellow Fodorite Maeri (Capetownfolks) to come to her house for drinks and to view the sunset. She lives in a lovely home high above the sea overlooking the whole city. She and her husband prove yet once again what a fantastic group fodorites are. We bond immediately. She is very enthusiastic and welcoming. Her 17 year old daughter and younger son are poised and friendly. Bruce, the husband is a delight.
We share some SA champagne, lots of good chat and a lovely time including a great sunset, which she had ordered especially for us.

Later we motor into the city and head to the V&A waterfront complex for a delicious dinner at Balducci, one of their favorite casual haunts. We have our first local fish, Yellow Tail. A very pleasant evening added to a wonderful day… It doesn’t get any better than this.


We part after making a date for tea on Sunday. Karen leaves with a ton of suggestions for shopping from the women.

Tomorrow, we plan to ride the open air bus around the city, shop and wander the city.

Excellent report; sounds like you're covering more than a small amount of territory. Also glad that you've seen both the upbeat and less-than-upbeat sides of the country. When you get home (or before, for that matter), you might want to check out the Soweto Gospel Choir, an amazing group who come from a township near Jo'burg similar to the one you visited.

--rizzuto (from downtown NYC)

Bob, alienating Fodorites everywhere The smart ones bailed out on the GTG. Can you imagine being Selwyn and finding yourself trapped with Bob for many hours? Ghastly! Plus, those poor penguins. Walking, standing and swimming merrily along when the shadow of the POB darkens their spring.

What a great report! Loved especially the description of the cliffside drive--if you say it's the best one you've ever taken, it must be very grand indeed. Glad to hear you're both enjoying yourselves, and that another Fodorite provided you with wonderful hospitality.

I agree with Don that you should check out the Soweto Gospel Choir. Nothing beats seeing them in concert, but their recordings come darned close.

Ignore the Panda's remarks as His Royal Crankiness is attributed to the bad weather of Boston and he's still licking his wounds over the Sox' disgraceful exit from the finals for the Pennant...

Please, more report, sir....

BC, doing her best Oliver Twist impersonation and enjoying SA vicariously through friends

Looking forward to hearing more

I knew I never should have started reading this report. Now we have to put South Africa on our itinerary. Maybe we can time a trip with an upcoming soccer tournament, or similar . . . ?

Terrific descriptions--I almost feel as though I'm riding along with you.

The wonderful memories are returning as you write ... and some new information, as we never had the opportunity to go to a Township. Thanks so very much for the excellent detail ...

Like cw I feel as thought I'm riding along with you.

Cape Town and environs is one beautiful place, isn't it? Warts and all. Hope you get a chance to go to Robben Island. A microcosm of man's inhumanity to man.

Tengohambre-forget soccer, visit SA for the rugby. The Springboks are the best in the world.

I'm with you all the way, though you don't appreciate the People's republic of Cambridge. We all have our cross to bear.

Sunday


Another fabulous sunny day, but very windy as is the norm at this time of year.

Breakfast is down stairs… I have the continental which is a small buffet and K has the omelet….

We do some internet and then drive into town to the waterfront at the V&A (Victoria and ALFRED) waterfront area. We park easily in a garage across from the complex and walk through a craft building before heading to the City Sightseeing Bus terminal nearby… We take the red route which is primarily the city tour (120 R each). There is also a blue route which tours more widely.

The full route took slightly over 2 hours.. The time we spent with Selwyn was enhanced by this tour. We sat on top of the open air bus. It was warm and windy. The recording was excellent in both content and quality.. We wound our way around the city streets, traveled up to the cable car base for table mountain ( a huge flat mountain which is one of the backdrops to the city). The cars were not operating because of the wind… We had decided before hand that we would skip this anyways…. BTW, the bus is a hop on hop off, with buses coming every 20 minutes. The tour concluded with a drive through Kalp Bay, which was very busy on this sunny Sunday…

The bus returned to the V&A and we got off and sought out the Capetown Fish Market Restaurant for lunch. We sat at the sushi bar and chose dishes as they passed on the conveyer belt. It was ok, but not fabulous. 361R

After lunch, we spent quite a while in the CaRRoL BoYeS shop. She designs items in pewter here in Capetown… We made several purchases.. Maeri had suggested this shop to us… From there we headed to a meeting spot to meet Maeri and Bruce for tea. We went to the champagne bar in Woolworths…. Not the USA Woolworths…. We had delicious rooibas tea and cakes. We spent about two hours with them… Bruce gave us lots of suggestions for our next few days travel along the garden route, starting tomorrow… We said our goodbyes and were off to some more exploring in this area..

Near the beginning of this report I made two mistakes. First I guess I was less than complimentary about La Splendida, our hotel…. I should say it’s not bad at all, just not to the expected standard for a hotel with daily cost of over $200 sans breakfast. The location could not be better and there is secure parking--- both very necessary…
Secondly, I gave an initial impression about the V&A waterfront that was less than complimentary. I was partially right… Simply put, it is a huge mall, uniquely housed in several buildings, BUT its location at harbor side is truly unique…. IT IS a destination not to be missed…

We returned to the hotel and had some beer/wine and left to dinner at Theo’s, just up the road---163 Beach Road. We had a delicious meal: 1 kilo of shrimp with butter/garlic and chili/oil dipping sauces for me; a rack of ribs for Karen, plus sides of spinach and squash….Dessert was a lemon tart with custard for me and a custard for K…. 318 R—very reasonable for this quality..

Bed

Capetown lived up fully to it’s reputation… It is truly a magnificent vibrant world class city..




Monday --- on the road

we are sorry to be leaving capetown today

robert this is a destination for you.. the kids would love it and the beaches are fabulous... put it at the top of the list....

no pandas here, thank god...

Great update. I'm glad to read you're enjoying yourselves and the scenery and that the weather is cooperating, too. Of course you passed on the cable car ride--since Karen did the zipline, it would, I think, pale by comparison!

Looking forward to the next installment,
BC

WOW sounds fantastic, now doubt we can hear more when we see you on the 31st!
Having a decorating disater B&K (ie Muffin aint painting quick enough) so the des res may be a little less des.....

Thanks for the detail Bob - it really brings back memories! Looking forward to the next installments - and the photos.

Cyn

our B&B suite in plettenberg is as nice as the Penn...

The good news is that he's ruining this forum and not the Asia forum. the bad news for you Africa Forum Fodorites is that he titled this his "First" trip to SA. That means more tedium and boredom may be on your way. Where's Spygirl when we need her?

Stellar report Bob with all the details that we like. Just sat down to the computer here in Japan and have caught up to here with a delightful read. Your great personalities make travel a lot more interesting and fun. Aren't you glad you left the Panda home this time around. It sounds like he is getting very jealous but of course to proud to admit it,lol.
Keep it coming!

Aloha from Japan!

Monday --- on the road

At Bruce’s suggestion we were up bright and early (at least early for us).. I went downstairs first and ordered our breakfasts and also the free internet sign-on. In the hotel you have to pay about $20/day, but the restaurant offers an hour or two free internet and it works fine from our room. So each day I was given a free hour or two… K is stuck in an eggs benedict rut and I returned to the bacon, cheddar and mushroom omelet, which was huge this day.

We said our good-byes to the staff in the restaurant and did a bit of last minute packing and were on the road at 8:30..

Bill for 4 nites: 6280 R (~$900). A bit stiff for what it is, but location, location, location…

The drive through the city was very light going in our direction…. The day was spent almost entirely on the N-2 highway. Leaving Capetown is very lovely with the fauna and mountains. Soon we were in cattle and farming areas, again with rolling hills… The crop colors made the view dramatic. Wheel cuts through in the tall grasses were dramatic. This continued almost for the whole drive. We drove past small towns along the way but decided to stick to our route in order to arrive in Plettenberg Bay at a decent hour…. The drive was 6 hours. There were a number of slow roadworks all along the way which slowed us up…

We had a lunch stop just before entering Heilelberg. The Blue Heron Farm Shop was an oasis of culinary excellence… What a find. Our lunch was opened faced sandwiches made on homemade natural bread with flax seeds, smothered in cream cheese, with smoked chicken and bacon, plus home sun dried tomatoes…. YUM, YUM… The plate had a number of small salads on it too: curried tomatoe pasta, potatoe salad and green salad, plus a colorful flower in the middle. I don’t know when I have had a tastier sandwich. We ate in the flower festooned courtyard and the service was very attentive…This is a must stop for anyone in the area!!!

The farm shop had many homemade bottled items for sale, including fantastic homemade breads, preserves, candies, condiments, baked goods. This is a must visit shop while on the N-2.

BTW, this road is a 4 lane highway, a 2 lane highway, a 3 lane undivided highway, depending on where you are. The road surface is excellent..

We drove through 2 other towns stopping only briefly. At least one we will return to for a better look around.

By mid-afternoon, we arrived in Plettenberg Bay, our seaside home for the next three nites. We had pre-booked into the Halcyon House B&B on a bluff with water views. The directions were spot on and easy to follow. We pulled right up to the front and after 6 longish hours we were here. Immediately we knew this was a perfect choice. The building is a large house in a residential neighborhood. You enter the house though a lovely garden. The rooms are large and bright. The furnishings are relaxed and welcoming. Rooms flow from one to another. There are many sitting areas and nooks. The enclosed small pool is picturesque, although its probably a bit too cool to use it…lots of wind again.. BINGO---one of our best finds ever.

We are greeted by Charles, the owner’s son. He is 30ish and informative and welcoming.

He shows us around a bit and acquaints us with the running of the B&B. Then we are taken upstairs to our suite—The Kingfisher… WOW… that is all I can say. The rooms are lux, huge and extremely comfortable. There is an anti-room with chairs, etc, just outside the suite which is large and for our use if we wish…. You enter the suite through huge French doors. You are in a long light wood cabinet lined dressing room with an arched white washed domed ceiling. The room has many drawers and full length cabinets, including a built-in desk where I now sit with the computer. In front of me is an arched window looking out onto the balcony and from it I can see the sea… WOW. I judge the room to be 25 feet long and 12 feet wide---huge. There is another desk/table area which becomes K’s dressing table.

To the right are French doors as you enter the dressing room. This leads to the huge bed chamber, with king bed, three comfy chairs, a full wall folding glass door out onto the main balcony, a set of French doors out onto the side balcony-- the balconies ring the room.. The décor is formal, white and a deep blue. The drapes are lush white with deep blue accents A lovely bouquet of red/orange roses are artfully displayed on a side table… The art work is local. A white mohair throw adorns the bottom of the bed… HEAVEN… My words do not convey the lux or décor of the rooms.

The house has 3 other smaller double rooms for rent, all decently decorated.

The main balcony has one bar stool and a decorative corner wrought iron art deco table, perfect for K’s morning coffee.

Off of the dressing room, you enter another suite---the bathroom suite. The main room is huge, perhaps 20X30 with a huge Jacuzzi tub in one corner, double sinks and elaborate sink stands on opposite walls. The left wall has a small window through to the shower room which is again huge, perhaps 5X15.. To reach the shower room and toilet room you walk down a short marble/stone corridor of maybe 15 feet. The whole bath is floor to ceiling stone and marble. The whole suite has floor heating and there is a/c as well.

Every room is bright with windows on at least one side. Most have a daytime screen for privacy and a night shade for privacy as you can see through the screens at night. It seems no expense or thought has been spared in the building of this house.

We have the 2008 pricing of 3135 R (about $140/nite) for the 3 nites including breakfast.

Charles offered us a drink upon arrival and delivered to the room a local fresh beer for me and a large glass of wine for K, plus three different nibbles: cashews, flakes of local beef jerkie and chips. We enjoyed these on the balcony. He told us that nitely they welcome guests just after 7 in the lounge for conversation and cocktails. There is a pool table in the lounge/bar area.

We settled into our new very large digs, sat 1/2 in the room and ½ on the balcony and drank our drinks…. I did some wi-fi (free and fast) and at 7ish we went downstairs for a drink with Charles and his mother Judy Bestor. The bar is open on a an honor system and is very reasonable, but the welcome drink and the evening gtg are complimentary.

Judy is more than charming, about our age and a south African born of English stock. Her husband died in about 2004 shortly after the renovations to the house were completed.

Conversation was lively. Last nite we were the only guests but tonight the house will be full .

They suggested a “local” place for our dinner---Rod and Reel. It’s about a 5 minute drive back up by the N-2. PERFECT… just the kind of place we wanted: local, laid back, simple food---delicious--- Fillet of beef with fries, spinach and squash for me, a combo of calamari and hake for K with the same add ons. 2 desserts.. no booze—199 R. even better.

Back to the B&B where the frogs were chirping like mad… more internet and part of this write-up and crash…

Upon our return we found a tray with bottled water, coffee makings and two cordial glasses and a large bottle of a creamed liquor… nite cap..



Tuesday Oct 20


A wonderful nights sleep…. Extremely quiet.

Breakfast was set for 8:45. I was up about 7:30. Internet. Laze about..

Breakfast was set up on the patio next to the pool under a roof. The large main table was laden with all kinds of goodies: cereals, yogurts, fruits, jams, toast. We started with cereal and yogurts, plus red grapefruit for me and strawberries for Karen. We each ordered an English breakfast (grilled tomato, small Portobello mushroom, also grilled; scrambled eggs for me and sunny side up for K; fresh croissant each…toast, lovely fresh juice in a champagne glass, fresh coffee and tea… another WOW…. BTW, our small round table was set like an English tea setting, with tons of silverware, lovely linens, flowers, etc. Charles cooked and waited on us with great efficiency.

We were introduced to the charming domestic, Grace. She has a smile from ear to ear and a very firm triple handshake. We love her immediately. She has been with the Bestors for years.

K is anxious to get moving…. More later

This sounds delightful! B, how are the roads over there? When you mentioned roadwork, I wondered what was going on--resurfacing?

Panda, once again the green-eyed monster raises its unattractive head--your jealousy is clearly coming through. Also your fear. If you were to appear over there, it's likely they view you as a escapee from a big game preserve, despite the fact that to the best of my knowledge, panda are not hunted on the African continent....

Ok, where are the animals? The Big Game? The lions, and tigers and bears (well, maybe not bears). We want some info on the wildlife!

TWO HUGE MISTAKES... thanks for selwyn for pointing them out... I mis-spelled the name of one dish which Lily served to us in the township.... what I wrote means a bucket of s--t... what we had was chakalaka....


also cape of good hope is the most south western point in Africa...

wrongs righted...

rob't the animals are next week...

Sounds to me like you two are in HEAVEN - I think we all want to join you, good thing your room/quarters are so LARGE. Keep it coming!

Hey Bob when you get to the Safari part of your trip will you be riding outside on the jeeps like Clark Gable did in the movies trying to snare a Rhino?

Let's see. He spells potato like Dan Quayle. He has no idea what fauna is. Checks into a B&B named after a sleeping pill. Has a room named after Huey Long. Is apparently against rooms, i.e., anti-room? So I guess he would be anti-bellum, like the rest of us liberals? A nice work of fiction.

Tuesday Oct 20


A wonderful nights sleep…. Extremely quiet.

Breakfast was set for 8:45. I was up about 7:30. Internet. Laze about..

Breakfast was set up on the patio next to the pool under a roof overhang. The large main table was laden with all kinds of goodies: cereals, yogurts, fruits, jams, toast. We started with cereal and yogurts, plus red grapefruit for me and strawberries for Karen. We each ordered an English breakfast (grilled tomato, small Portobello mushroom, also grilled; scrambled eggs for me and sunny side up for K; fresh croissant each…toast, lovely fresh juice in a champagne glass, fresh coffee and tea… another WOW…. BTW, our small round table was set like an English tea setting, with tons of silverware, lovely linens, flowers, etc. Charles cooked and waited on us with great efficiency.

We were introduced to the charming domestic, Grace. She has a smile from ear to ear and a very firm triple handshake. We love her immediately. She has been with the Bestors for years.

K is anxious to get moving…. More later..

We leave Grace a bag of laundry to do…$7, I think…

We decide to explore the neighborhood and find our way to the beach. This area is full of mostly newish big houses, some with thatched roofs. All are lovely. We have views of the ocean as we move along and finally a dramatic view of the whole beach as the road turns… very nice indeed….

We drive down the main street and look into the shops… nothing calls to us.
We decide to drive along the N-2 a bit more… I rebel and want to return to Plett..
We explore a few areas and end up at a seaside restaurant called Lemon Grass, attached to the Milkwood Mannor Hotel.

Karen checks it out. The place is fabulous, right at water’s edge where a river and the ocean meet. We decide to have lunch there. We spend about 2 hours there. The tide is coming in and the beach area changes as we watch… Next to us are 3 ladies (60ish) celebrating a birthday… They speak with loud voices with lovely British/SA accents…. They are trying to impress each other. They have brought their own champagne, the bottle had about 1/3 gone already… On the other side are 3 old ladies (80’s), two very hard of hearing. They are “terribly, terribly….my dear…”..

Karen orders seafood stew, which is a large bowl crammed with fish pieces, calamari, a whole shrimp, mussels… She love it, along with some white wine. I have the daily quiche—feta and spinach and a salad. We decide on dessert too: K finally gets lemon meringue pie (this is her 4th attempt since arrival in SA) and I have the German cheesecake… 199 R…

A truly lovely lunch served by a lovely south African lady who spent quite a bit of time talking with us---NO SHE WAS NOT ASKING ABOUT GPANDA OR ANY OF HIS DRIBBLE… She gives us some shopping hints. We check out one on the N-2—Old Nicks… it’s a series of small shops hitched together on what looks like an old farm

We rode around town a bit more, checked out one of the 2 relais and chauteaux hotels in Plett, and looked at different areas including another sea side restaurant…
We returned to the hotel to relax…

Time for cocktails downstairs… The new people have arrived also, so we shall meet them I suspect.

Selwyn ‘skyped’ me and we had a nice conversation.

i usually have french fries to avoid the spelling issues...

Please note---no italian food yet!!!

bill, we will be in those open jeeps, with a tracker and a shotgun watching out for us...

ok, i broke down and we had italian tonight...

but note we have been here 7 days

Panda, the only thing more frightening than you in a speedo would be you in an antebellum gown! I'm about to faint in a fit of the vapors right now, I do declare.

Bob, eat whatever you want, it's your vacation.

BC

selwyn wanted us to go to another restaurant, but in the end after the cocktail hour we were just too tired and lazy, so we just went up the hill almost into town---a 4 minute ride

When the moon hits your eye
Like a big pizza pie...

WHAT???

We were so tired and a bit buzzed so we decided to stay real local, like 2 miles up the hill. Sad to say, we did Italian, but it was not our first nite here… The restaurant is called Cornuti… It is a real simple place, but the food was excellent: ground chicken breast and mushroom raviolis with vodka like pink sauce for me, and pesce al forno for K (fish and fries with a lemon wine sauce).. both were excellent. We are getting to dinner about 8:45 which is late for us…

Back to the room… Tonight on our tray are waters and a bottle of port.

Internet, some tv and crash.


Wednesday Oct 21


Up at a decent hour… internet.. breakfast at 8:45. A couple from Houston and their 2 grown children had checked in for the nite. The daughter is a pediatrician in Tanzania at a facility run by Baylor Medical School. The son worked on a large sailboat which takes 5 day cruises from Boston (rowes wharf) with 8th graders as a training team building exercise last summer. The husband is an hospital pharmacist and the wife a retired elementary school principal.

Breakfast was similar, but the special today was eggs benedict with salmon on top—K had that. We spent a long time talking politics, both American and SA, as well as learning about the HIV care here from the Dr. Judy and Charles joined in giving a unique perspective.

We left for a drive further east, our days activity. The terrain was quite hilly and there were lots of tree farms along the way (tall trees for lumber). The shore was never very far.

After a few detours on side roads, where we eventually came down to small sea side/vacation home areas, we came to an area where there are several animal reserves/zoos—a bird one, an elephant one, a monkey one…. On the same road we visited a series of small shops -- the main building had been a mohair manufacturer and they still maintain the largest shop there. They also make socks. We bought quite a few things there as the quality was superior and the prices modest.
There were also wild baboons in this area as we have seen elsewhere.. We even saw one huge group of about 30. They roam and create havoc.

We continued along and took a long detour into the area called the Krags… It was here that we had our lunch as we had not seen the place Selwyn had suggested to us-- the Bramon Wine shop. We did see it on our return trip… It seems we left the main road before we passed it… In any case we ate at a place called The Trading Post… it’s rustic—a hangout for hippies, surfers and climbers. We had our first Ostrich burgers—dry meat but ok…
The area is full of steep hills and valleys and sweeps down to the sea… There are many holiday homes here. Its very green along with flowering shrubs..

Continuing along, we came to the Bloukrans Bridge, which has the highest bungee jump in the world--- 216 meters or about 650 feet.
I was so excited… I have always wanted to take a jump like this, and the cost is only $80… One dives headfirst. WOW… Something to brag about to the grandchildren and Gpanda too.

I suited up, paid my $$ and walked out to the middle of the bridge. Suddenly the winds came up and jumps were cancelled… I was so disappointed… I even cried… NAUGHT—do you think I am crazy.. jump off a bridge with only an elastic band holding on to 300+ pounds of me… I’m not a European board poster…

We spent quite a while there, talked to 2 people who had just jumped… saw 2 jumps.. amazing…

From there we continued along to the Storm River area… We waited in line to get into the park as there were maybe 30 motorcycles ahead of us… The fee was 44 R each and I asked what there was to see and the answer was nothing that we had interest in so we left.. K did not seem to care.

We turned around and headed back to Plett. Along the way we stopped at Emily Moon’s, an hotel and restaurant on a bluff overlooking a river bead and lush reeds. We had a drink on the deck and made reservations to return at 8:45 for dinner tonight.

We asked for a tour to see some family rooms as this might be a place Tengombre might be interested in . I took tons of pics….the rest. and the property are decorated with tons of sculptures, pictures, artifacts, etc… It’s a fantastic find—thanks Selwyn for suggesting it. The restaurant is moderate in price…The setting and interior cannot be beat..

Down to cocktails shortly..

Tomorrow we head back west to Hermanus for two days.

That's amore.......

loving this report! thank you

anita

Hi Bob and Karen!
Looking forward to hearing about the game parks!

Smeagol, thanks. Like the ols expression... pearls before RhkKmk.

Bob bungee jumping. Now that would make the cover of Fodors South Africa guide. I do admit that he had me going. Do you think the game preserve animals have been properly warned?

meow... they are now warned... when we saw the huge group of baboons this afternoon, the one with the big exposed red bottom came up to the car and asked where Gpanda was... I told him he was chasing ambulances as usual...

Down to cocktails shortly..

Tomorrow we head back west to Hermanus for two days.

We had a very nice cocktail hour+. A couple from Munich checked in today and they are very pleasant….Also joining us were two young women from Belgium.. They also were very talkative. One of them is doing the bungee jump tomorrow.

At 8:40 we left, late, for our 8:45 res. The parking lot was quite full when we arrived. The usual “car guards” were there and assisted me in parking. Our table was ready.

The room was dimly lit with hi intensity bulbs, but flickered from the glow of many candles, including at least 6 multi armed tall candelabra. The scene was delightful.

Karen had a glass of shiraz, Fat Bastard, and I had water as I was a bit over served already—gin.. We decided to share a plate of smoked springbok carpaccio.. It came with oil and ground olives on top, plus very fine parmesan flakes and a tart oak leaf green--- simply delicious.

I ordered the Emily’s thai chicken and prawn curry with fragrant rice, plus a veggie side (tiny zucchini, roasted red peppers and a few olives). Karen ordered the pesto grilled cob (a deep water firm white fish, rarely available commercially) with roasted new pots and herbs. She says it is one of the best fish she has ever had.

I ordered a glass of rose, which was full bodied—new to me.

We could not resist dessert: K had a huge pavolva with berries and whipped cream and I had a warm pecan and carrot (sorry 510) pudding served in a large plate of freshly made rich crème anglaise--- the pudding was small but very rich also.

Our waiter was a young south African man who was a bit serious, but very good. Needless to say he did not understand my “jokes and ribbing”… He was very well rewarded for excellent service… The bill was just under 400 R…. The restaurant is Emily’s Moon Restaurant, which is at the end of the road next to the penny pincher lumber yard…. This is just after the town of Plettenberg Bay on the N-2. It is a small lux hotel as well..

THIS IS THE BEST MEAL WE HAVE HAD THUS FAR ON THIS TRIP!!! I have pics.

Muffin, where will you rate?


Back to the hotel, internet and crash..

I neglected to mention that our room comes with an under house garage with an electric door.

Gas today (unleaded) was 7.51 R per litre… about $1.10… or $4.40 per US gallon.

I’m not sure of internet from now on until we reach England next week.

Bob, great report so far but it's making me awful hungry.

<<… I’m not a European board poster…>>

Geez, Bob, if I want abuse, I can just read everything Panda writes! Yow!

Enjoying the report, nevertheless.

BC

We await pics of the meal at Emily's Moon along with the rest of the album.

Indeed we are treated here to an "ever-so-special" report.

The cow with horns may have been the bontebok, considered one of the most handsome antelope. Lucky you!

The beauty of the report is in the details--looking forward to the rest.

I'm so confused: did someone call someone else a Fat Bas--rd?

The restaurant sounds great and the hotel website looks beautiful. Sign us up. Of course, it is a six hour drive from Cape Town, but I guess we can play "spot the springbok" or similar as we drive along. . .

The adventure sounds great.

fat b... is the name of the wine---she loved it..

Glad to hear you guys are having such a great time in SA
I'm currently in Joburg for one last night before flying home. Sorry my schedule didn't allow for that GTG in Cape Town.

I've definitely caught the Africa bug! I haven't even left, and I'm already planning the next trip. More later...

So glad you cleared up the Fat Bstard i thought WOWE Karen cleary upset Bob today.
Bob, Muffin is preparing a cake just for you guys (i was kind of hoping it was for my Bday but seems you guys get top billing...) BTW decorating has picked up a pace but we are still woefully behind......

Okay, I am now caught up with your escapades. This sounds like one that Jeane and I could duplicate verbatim (gpanda will claim that you don't understand that word). I know that I don't have to tell you to keep it coming.

I WOULD do the bungee jumping (but I'm <160 lbs - on a good day, anyway).

To all Fodorites following our Cape Town gtg.

Please visit

http://www.ilovecapetown.com/tours/Fodorsgtg/Fodorsgtg.htm

where you can see what we did at the Cape Town gtg in picture and narrative format.

Enjoy.

Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa

Bob, great to hear that you and Karen had a mostly good trip. (Still to read all of your posts though.)

If I may comment on just two things you've said. I don't know why you refer to the Afrikaans Monument as representing something that is negative. I presume you're relating it to the fact that there were many Afrikaans-speaking supporters of Apartheid. But then so were there many who are English-speaking. And perhaps many former Boy Scouts, as I was. But then that also didn't make me a de facto apartheid proponent. (BTW, to nail some of my proverbial colours to the mast, I was an anti-apartheid activist in my student days. Albeit not brave enough to blow up electricity pylons like some of my mates. And although I'm English-speaking, my partner is Afrikaans-speaking by background but far from what you might think is the stereotype.)

While 60 per cent of whites in S.Al. are Afrikaans-speaking, by no means all of them have the same views. And 90 per cent of S.A. "coloureds" (mixed-race) are Afrikaans-speaking. So Afrikaans is a language, not a "movement".

But my apologies if I've misunderstood your words. On a less potentially contentious subject (except for some Capetonians!) I think Selwyn might have disagreed that the Cape of Good Hope was the most southerly point, not the most southwestern point. (And if I'm correct, he's a departure from the Cape Town norm in that! ) Cape Agulhas is the most southerly point, while many Capetonians (except I think Selwyn) think that they can lay claim to that. And arising out of that, the usual big debating point is the much-used local reference to "two oceans". As in supposedly meeting there.

Selwyn, thank you! I've seen photos from Christine Wagner's trip to SA with her husband Heinz, and even seen a little video clip of them dancing with the children.

Great photos! Glad to see Flat Stanley, and I know the Kimballs' grandchildren will especially appreciate that. I think Gpanda has a sign outside his office similar to the one Dr. Blece-Hade has outside his. And yes, Bob & Karen are wonderful people, who are definitely "people-friendly" and have remarkably great GTG skills. I am so happy you all enjoyed your time together, and the photos reflect that. Lily looks like a serene and elegant lady.

BC

Only got to your further comment about the most SW point now. I did say I hadn't read all the posts yet! And still haven't.

Selwyn,

Thanks for posting the photos. It was very interesting to see you all visiting the township.

Having just attended the Boston GTG organized by Bob and the panda guy who keeps posting everywhere, I can understand how you had a wonderful day.

selwyn, thanks for the good words... we loved our day with you and even though the group ended up being small we learned a lot and had a few laughs, and maybe even a few tears when we think about the townships...

Kurt was a good travelling companion also...

I've loved discovering this dialogue since my husband and I just returned from 13 days in CapeTown and Johannesburg. It's bringing the whole trip back to life! Thank you RHKKMK! Another favorite of ours was eating at Le Petite Ferme in Franshoek ( I may not be spelling all of that correctly). It was delicious food and a lovely setting. We live in the Boston area so let us know about your next GTG! Keep enjoying S. Africa!

Bob dancing? Those must have been Fotoshopped.

Gpanda,

You can take it from me Bob WAS dancing in the township and he seemed to be loving it to bits when doing so. Panda if I were you I would be careful what you say about our friend Bob because I gave him some verbal ammunition to blow you out bigtime with regard to your name. Not telling what this this is as I am leaving it to Bob to use at the correct moment, possibly after you have learnt to spell the word PHOTOSHOP. The big question of course is when will we see you in Cape Town so as to put your dancing skills to the test.

Go well Panda and leave my buddy Bob and dear Karen alone so that they can enjoy their South African travels without going into "PANDAmonium.

Selwyn Davidowitz
Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa

I'm so thoroughly enjoying reading your reports, Bob! We loved our 2004 trip to SA so much and are hoping to get back again sooner rather than later. BC, you probably forgot you also saw pictures of when Steve and I and Kavey and Pete went out with Selwyn!

Just the other day I caught an episode of "1000 Places to See before you Die," where they were in South Africa. I recognized that their guide was no other than Selwyn's brother, and that they visited Kayamandi too.

But back to Bob's report - I suspect you and Karen will come home as impressed as we were with the spirit and joy in nearly everyone you meet in SA. Fabulous landscapes and adventures, sure, but the people -- Wow.

uhoh_busted, you're right. My viewing of Christine's photos, which I referenced, were freshest in my memory, so were the ones I mentioned. When Bob & Karen, who were my host and hostess on my latest Boston trip, mentioned Selwyn, though, it's like they were talking about an old friend because Kavey & Pete, you and Steve, and of course Christine & Heinz all had such a wonderful time with him. Bob & Karen were talking to Selwyn via Skype on my stay in B&K's home, and hearing him was like vicariously meeting him. B&K are very much "people" persons, so I am certain they're enjoying their African adventure. Tough to keep up with these folks, though--they're headed to England this week, then home to MA for 9 days, prior to heading to Thailand with Panda, Mrs. Panda, and another party known cryptically as Turalura (see the Asia board).

BC

Bob will be aghast when he learns that there is a problem with our JFK-BKK reservations. SIA switched times on our SIN-BKK leg.

Selwyn, no amount of information will aid Bob in our ongoing battle of wits. Think Cheetah (Panda) in a race with a turtle (Bob). It's even more unfair in real time.

You are very kind to pretend that he was dancing. We're not buying it.

Selwyn, I just pulled up your photos. Fantastic!! Looks like a lovely day for all.

Hello Bob and Karen, or should I say sawasdee kah (from BKK). I must take time to read this entire thread, but it won't happen today. I've only had time to look back a little bit.

Have a wonderful time!

Carol

Hi Bob, We got home from South Africa a few days ago and are up to our ears in mail sorting, laundry and unpacking. I would need another two weeks to get everything straightened out, so I am really impressed that you will be ready to go to Asia 9 days after returning from this trip. We enjoyed our trip for the most part, but other parts were not as fabulous as we thought they would be. I am looing forward to seeing you and Karen so we can compare reactions to certtain parts of our trip. Take care and enjoy the rest of your trip.
Shelley

Bob is offline. How sweet is that? The animals' loss is our gain!

ShellyK-all he has to do is tag along with the pandas on the Thailand trip. Even he can do that.

Given your directional woes in China (which airport?) and the fact that you and Mrs. Panda resorted to impersonating Canadians on one leg of that same trip, I'd say "tag along" is not necessarily the route to take.

And Bob may be gone, but he left you with us. I may forgive him...someday.

BC

Well, RHKKMK, is about 40,000 words behind by now. It could be amusing to see if he can catch up. Won't read it, but it will be interesting to see him try and cover the lost days!!!!!

regards - tom

cary999-the sad news is that he is probably typing away his pathetic trip report in a Word document and all he has to do is copy and paste. "Lost days" actually refers to any toime spent with the POB on vacation.

Great report. We were in SA between 9th Oct and 21st Oct and visited many of the same places. Brings back some great memories!

leaving kruger in 20 minutes... more later... lots to report

"lots to report". Great! Just what we've been looking for our whole lives. The Needhamite in the bush.

...is worth 2 pandas in a speedo?

B&K, this is for you. Thank you for the report, and looking forward to more from you about your trip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUzwfIgtqSI

You can imagine the regular posters on this forum counting the days until his Bobness returns to haunting the Asia forum.

Gpanda, ultimately you will also leave this forum and return to the Asia forum, who knows what "the regular posters" here are anticipating more?

I hope B&K post in soon! Aren't they due today to arrive at Smeagol & Muffin's home? Smeagol, dear, belated Happy Birthday wishes to you!

BC

we arrived in ENGLAND after an overnit flight from SA..
i've tried to post my report but we have a format problem so you will HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL NEXT WEEK WHEN WE GET HOME..

We are at smeagol's house, spent the afternoon in the cotswolds and are going for thai food tonight...

more later
bob

Exactly where in Africa or the Mideast is England located? Imagine how thrilled Smeagol and Muffin are at the moment.

Alas, it is likely that I too will vanish from this forum. The C in BC stands for Cassandra.

Thursday-- a day for travel….

Breakfast is set for 8… There are 6 of us. One of the Belgium women has a birthday so Charles has brought a birthday cake for her. We all sing to her… Then Grace sings to her in English… Then later Grace sings to her again in her native African language and then Charles sings to her in Afrikanas (sp)… By the way Grace’s name is not Grace, it’s Gloria… Well at least I got the first letter right…

On the table was the most beautiful bouquet of huge pink roses. The house is always full of dramatic flower arrangements..

K & I both had the full English breakfast with fresh fruits on the side. There was also a huge wedge of cheese on the table today. We ate in the large dining room.

I paid our bill (522.50 R pp/day—2008 price)..

Judy had left earlier as she was off to Port Eliz. to shop for fabric for a dress for Charles’ wedding… We had sung our praises of her hospitality before she left. I might add that she is a woman with standards, unwavering standards, and it shows in her knack for being a hostess and in the smooth running of the B&B. She is lots of fun, not stiff at all as standards might indicate.

Charles is also a rare breed. He is a former elementary school teacher, with a hearing problem. It was perfect as I talk so loud that he always understood me… His sense of humor and up to date general knowledge made for exciting cocktail hours at which he acted as bartender and host… Twice we were in the bar/pool table area and one nite we sat outside on a small grass area over the garage.

We departed with fond farewells with hopes to return someday… I could easily spend a week + there.

BTW, the other rooms are regular double rooms. The kingfisher suite is where it is at however, imo.. They will do group pricing for families..

I was out of $$ again so we went to the ATM and then headed back towards Capetown. Along the N-2, just before Knysna, there is a small complex of shops on your left---The Heath. We bought 3 small ceramic bowls in the main shop, and in the fabulous furniture shop we bought the round end of a used red wine oak barrel, which has been cleaned up, sanded a bit and made into a cheese serving board. It smells of vintage red.. The oak colors and grain show beautifully, distorted a bit by red and green stains and shading. The surface is a bit uneven with dips, making it really interesting…

Back on the road again we headed out to the Heads, an area just before you reach Knysna, again on your left…. At the end of the road you reach a small parking lot with a couple of restauranrs which look out on a fantastic ocean inlet walled in by high cliffs. IT IS A PLACE NOT TO BE MISSED. We had lunch there. We shared a dozen oysters (216 R)---I mis-understood the price which made me mad at myself. It’s a long story… Anyways, we also had salads… I had salad nichoise (sp) with seared tuna and Karen had a thai chicken … she had wine, I had water… Quite delicious.. 365 R…Ugh

Now finally at 1:30 we set out for Hermanus, our final destination on the coast. It’s about a 5 hour drive, back through the same areas we had taken earlier in the week….Forrest and tree farms, followed by farms for animals and crops…. It was overcast which made the grains look completely different from earlier.. We turned off the N-2 to a side road for about 40 kl. The two lane road took us through farming areas first, then some wine areas and finally through a pass down to the ocean… Veery beautiful.

We reached our hotel, directly on the quay in Hermanus sometime after six… The hotel is called Harbour House and is owned by the same people who own our Capetown hotel… This one is completely re-done and beautiful. Our room looks directly out onto the old harbour and the mountains in the distance.

I neglected to mention that we stopped again at the Blue Crane--- I formally called it the blue heron… Again I was wrong… The owner greeted us by name… I was astounded..
Karen really makes an impression on people. K has another lemon meringue pie and I had chocolate cake, plus a mini strawberry milk shake-- such a bad boy, k had a diet coke. We were given a small present all wrapped up with a live flower on it…. It’s some kind of snack, we have not opened it yet…

After relaxing in the room and having some wine/beer, we went to a fish restaurant about 5 minutes walk up the quay. K ordered a kingclip with fries and I ordered a sole, both grilled. When they arrived the sole was whole and I could not deal with it so we switched… They were very fresh. K had more wine and I had water.. 186 R. Restaurant: Ocean Basket… ok, but not fabulous… All main courses are served in metal frying pans…

The rest. is in a small mall so we walked around window shopping.

The hotel offered us a whale watch at 550 R each for tomorrow but we passed..

Bed





Friday


A VERY IMPORTANT POINT FOR ALL TRAVELERS IS ELECTRIC ADAPTERS. WHAT SEEMS TO BE THE NORM HERE IS A THREE PRONG ROUND PRONG ADAPTER IN A TRIANGULAR SHAPE. I knew this from my internet check of international adapters, but I DID NOT KNOW THAT THERE ARE TWO SIZES… I had bought the smaller one which was the one recommended, BUT IT IS THE LARGER ONE THAT HAS BEEN NEEDED FOR ANY PLACE WE HAVE VISITED…. This hotel has been unable thus far to provide me with one that converts to American style plugs, but there is one outlet at the desk which offers multiple plugs, but I need one by the bed for my bi-pap machine, so last night I slept upside down to allow my cord to reach to the desk… a restless night..

We have awoken to sun this AM and haze over the shore. There is some road work in front of the hotel and they started work at exactly 8:30---perhaps the only thing with exact hours in S. Africa…



Off to breakfast.

Breakfast is in the thatched cottage next door, also a part of harbour house.. They have a continental buffet, or several a la carte offerings--- 75 R. We both had the English breakfast—choice of egg style.. very good… This cottage has a swimming pool and 6 rooms, more traditional than the hotel, which is modern…same price… They also own a 2 bedroom apartment (king and twins) next door… its 2800R daily but worth the $$ for its size---complete kitchen…deck… gas grill.. overlooks the water…

We drove west out of town, keeping off the N-2 and going through really nice neighborhoods with big houses… We took a few narrow roads down to the shore and saw lovely small beaches and some big ones too…


We came to a large park with tons of parking… From at least two places we could easily see whales..
We also came across a fantastic true boutique hotel, called the Brikenridge House. We think that tengombre should stay here---its only 2 hours drive from capetown… It has to be 6 stars and is right on the shore above the two best beaches in hermanus.


From there we headed back west to the town of Onrus to the restaurant Milkwood, which Maeri (capetownfolks) had suggested… We met Frank the owner, at Maeri’s suggestion and passed on their greetings…The rest. is located right on the water, above a dark lagoon, and just past yards from crashing waves…
K had calamari, at Thalia’s suggestion (capetownfolks fabulous daughter), and I had delicious seafood chowder with a firm white fish as the main stay.. We shared a fabulous seared tuna steak and chips… This was the best tuna we have ever had ! For dessert K had the malva pudding and I had chocolate cake…. A perfect meal, thanks Maeri…. This town is about a 10 minute deive from Hermanus towards Capetown.

From there we headed back to town and the hotel…We checked out the African open market in the central square---the usual African stuff you see everywhere.

We spent at least the next hour watching whales from the park at seaside in the middle of town… I think we saw at least 10. Some came as close as 50 feet to shore… We were probably back 150 feet on the bluff…

We checked out a few sea side shops and k bought several things for herself. We also walked through the small mall in the same area.. I bought myself a large S African flag…. I fly the American flag over my garage with foreign flags under it…

As it was cocktail time we returned to the a/c of our room and opened the slider to get the full ocean and mountain view…

We had an 8PM res for dinner at Mediterre. This place, on the 2nd floor seaside, is quite lovely and the food is excellent--- the kitchen is very slow however. Food is unpriced… Two courses is 150, 3 is 185, I think. We had two, appetizer and main: I had tuna again—almost as good as lunch, with wasabi mashed pots for my main and a wonderful warm tian of cougettes and eggplant with a mustard sauce on the side and melted goat cheese on top… Both were fantastic…K had mustard and wine steamed mussels, and pork pieces with pea purree and roasted parsnips as her main, also excellent… She had white wine, I had water…~400 R…

Back to the room, I did internet on their machine, K packed a bit…

Crash

Early AM so we bought pastry for the room as we had to get going early..

Saturday


Up about 7… showers, pack up loose stuff, breakfast… pay bill and we were out of there—1295 R/nite, parking in gated lot 30 R/NITE.



The drive back to capetown airport was about 2 hours… We ran into heavy fog in Lowery Pass--- like England in the old days… It slowed us a bit..
Airport is right off from the N-2. Small irritation—you have to walk from the car return area to the terminal—5-10 minutes—no shuttles…

Mid-size car for 9 days, about $299.—std, a/c, unlimited miles… used www.carrentals.com ---booked with Thrifty—car had 26 k on it—brand new.


Easy checkin with Mango Air---subsidary of SAA.. $143 one way for two—CPT-JNB…. There had been a schedule change and the flt left 90 min. later—never informed..

Great flt, just under 2 hours… Nice SA couple sitting next to me.. lots of chit-chat…

Picked up our Avis car, compact ($99 for 7 days)---same rental agent—toyota yaris… I’m using them for home and overseas now—generally superior rates….

About 3 hours to get there so it was dark when we arrived in Dullstrom.
We were overniting in Dullstroom. It’s a 3 hour ride, ending in the dark.. We wasted a ½ by driving the wrong way out of the airport, but a U turn fixed that…. Drove throughy a huge thunder storm, no problem…


Our room is 900 R at the Cherry Grove, a small complex, also the site of the well known Duck and Trout restaurant.

We had suite # 3… I don’t know how to get rid of the underlining?? It’s quite a large room on the second floor, with a full kitchen and huge bath area and toilet room…

We go downstairs to duck and trout for dinner. I had ox tail stew and K had the fish special of the day… Her’s was excellent, mine was so so… Puddings for dessert…

Crash… A lot of driving for me this day..



Sunday


We are up early… I did not sleep well… No plug adapter for my breathing machine… UGH.. Packed

Downstairs for breakfast…. Toast with cheese sauce for K with bacon…I had a fantastic Ploughmans… 4 cheeses, pickles, marinated onions, crackers, butter, apricot preserves, salami and 2 rolls of proschutto stuffed with sprouts… Fantastic.. 121 R..K had 2 cappichinos…

On the road to Sabi Sands by 8:30. A quick stop to buy the electric adapter I needed and some water, plus cash and gas…

The drive was quite boring, although some of the landscape was interesting… Road bed was good..

Then we arrived at the dirt road leading to sabi sands… First you go about 11 miles on a wash-board road, with some huge mounds… Then you go about 4 miles further on Elephant Plains’ road which is more narrow, smoother but with many huge mounds… We keep telling ourselves it’s all going to be worth it…. Then we arrive at reception at EP, and we know we are in the right place…. Just before we arrive we see our first big game: several giraffes close to the road eating tree top leaves….

We are given a quick tour of the main building and then taken to our to our rondavel #5. We had been told #4 & #5 have the best direct views of the grazing area and the river bed, and 5 is fantastic from our deck which has two chairs. There are several wild animals out there grazing…

Inside the bedroom has a king bed with mosquito netting--- we started malerone yesterday…. There is also a fridge, desk, and 2 comfortable chairs… Behind a tall wall there is a dressing/closet area and a huge, stone bathroom with a bathtub and glass shower room, plus a separate toilet room.

Lunch is at 2, so we head back to the main area and meet some of the others staying here… There are 24 rooms. The lunch is a lovely buffet of hot and cold items. We sit with a nice couple from Vancouver---- they ask immediately if we know gpanda and we say—WHO?

After lunch we have until 4PM when our first game drives starts. We go back to the room and I catch up on this typing…

Before 4 we go back to central and board 1 of 3 open air safari vehicles with 4 rows of progressively raised seating… We are in the next to the last row, and only the 2 of us…It’s very comfortable with the driver, the scout way out on a chair on the front bumper, and 9 of us.

We set off on the tracks around this very large area… Primarily it is low scrub bushes, grasses, watering holes, some tall trees with leaves, bumps, etc. It is all very exciting. We see a number of deer like animals almost immediately, then some warthogs, with babies, then more giraffes, including one young one with birds clinging to it’s fur…We see a few colorful birds. We see several hippos in a watering hole. We drive around until sunset when we stop in a clearing with another vehicle for un-downers—cocktails…. We get out and stretch our legs and have our drinks…. The driver set out a full bar on a fold-down table on the front of the vehicle…. He even has hors’deuvres…

How could I forget… Before sundowners we participated in observing a 3 year old female leopard. We watched her at maybe 50 feet…. The driver drove off the road, through brush and small trees and bushes to get the best and closest view.. She was very lazy and sort of rolled around, moving once within about 20 feet, and relaxing again….simply fabulous…
We rode around for quite some time after dark but with little luck… The scout uses a strong search light to look for eye reflections in the bush… We saw a few things but not the cats we were searching for. Back to the lodge for dinner… The wind had come up quite a bit so the BBQ which was planned for outside was moved inside with another warm buffet instead….Prior to dinner everyone meets in the bar for drinks… Drums announce that dinner is ready… BTW, all drinks are extra, but all food and drives and walks are included in the daily per person fee… They served the best pork roast I have had in ages---dry.
We sat with the Canadians again.

Back to the room to crash as there will be a 5AM wake-up for the morning drive followed by breakfast about 9.


Monday




We slept well and the guard tapped on our door at 4:55 AM. We were all ready so jumped out of bed and dressed quickly. Up to the lodge for coffee and into the vehicles by 5:25 and we were off. It was light but extremely overcast… There had been sprinkles overnight and for the first hour they returned on and off… It was very comfortable, unlike the day before when it as hot and humid… Even though it is spring here, things are mostly brown and dried…

We see some giraffes almost immediately, including one very tall one… We see various deer like creatures and some fast moving warthogs…We are not having much luck. Some leopard tracks are spotted along the road… Just like the nite before the tracker leaves his seat and with his sling shot, heads into the brush to stir up some game.

At some time, we stop by a watering hole for morning coffee/hot chocolate… One of the rangers warns everyone to get back in their vehicles as one of the leopards is heading this way. Most were finished drinking by this point..

Over the radio there is a sighting of another female leopard, the sister of the one we had seen the night before. We head over there. BINGO…. There she is sitting on the top of a 10 foot high termite mound…. We drive into the area through brush, small trees, etc, plowing down everything in our way. We get to within 30 feet of her,. She is showing off… We get great pics… She is calling out to her daughter… She is sniffing the air, she is peering through the brush… She decides to move on after perhaps 20 minutes..

We also move on as there has been a sighting of her sister and the child of the original. They are not far away. We are the 3rd vehicle to get there.. We move in from the back, again through rough underbrush… crash, bang, crush, scrape… We end up about 15 feet from her on top of a mound (the original leopard). We can see her child up high in a tree. Shortly we see her sister near-by… The ranger says this could be trouble…. Near by is a crouching hyena… All three are looking for a meal… The baby, about 3-4 months old seems a bit uncomfortable up in this fragile tree. It probably knows it could be a meal for any of the 3. It moves around and we think it is coming down, but alas it changes it’s mind and stays put. The ranger was quite excited as he has never seen this before.

Eventually cat #1 moves closer to us, like within 6 feet and lies down in back of us…. Just as before she cries out to her child. The aunt moves closer to the tree. She scopes out the situation and decides to leave. Both posture and mark territories again and again.

Eventually the aunt moves away… Mother does the same, and now its only the baby and the hyaena. They will sit each other out… We move on… While not a morning of great sightings, this leopard series was great.


We drive back to the lodge arriving before 9. Breakfast is served in the dining room: self service: cereals, yogurt, pecans, dried fruits, fresh fruits cut up, warm chive and corn muffins… The staff takes orders for a hot portion: eggs, omelets, bacon, tomatoes, toast, etc. Juice is on the table and coffee and tea ore offered as well…Quite nice and social as well.

Karen decides to take a 45 minute guided walk after breakfast. I return to the room and sit on the deck, review my pics and wait for K’s return. The Canadian man stops by with a map and some info on Kruger for us---our next destination. We chat for quite a while until k returns. We also watch the constant array of animals on the grazing area we can see from our deck…

We relax for the remainder of the morning until lunch at 2….

As we walk to lunch the first elephant of our stay wanders onto the grazing area. We watch him drink water and wander about and in 10 minutes he is gone.

Lunch was another buffet with all different items. The chicken casserole was very delicious… Food is good here but not exceptional..

After lunch we spent a bit more time on our deck.

We go up to the lodge about 3:40 for the 4 evening drive. Several of our group left after the morning drive so I get to sit up with the driver with the rifle… I don’t think I mentioned it but getting into and out of the vehicle is quite difficult even for people in good shape, so I was pleased with my new seat.

I like the new seat a lot… I get to talk to the ranger and also hear some of the radio transmissions… The seat is way more comfortable, and I hardly get hit with any thorny branches… K also moves down one row directly behind me….Some nice English couples join our vehicle.

We set off, the weather is fantastic and comfortable.. Luck was not with us at the beginning--- we saw very little… At one point Morne (our ranger) stopped us along the border with Londolozi, another reserve, which will not allow others on their land… We hear the roars of a lion or two and the painful call of a buffalo… It’s a kill for sure but we are not allowed to visit the scene.. We proceed for a while and suddenly a leopard walks across the road in front of us … It was a large male, who was unknown to the staff… We headed off into the brush behind him, knocking down small trees and climbing over underbrush and fallen logs….Theses range rovers are unbelievable…We never got all that close to him…He finally went down in a gully and we were too big to get down there.

Back to the road…We saw impalas, buffalo, storks, wildebeests, eagles, and finally after dark a bush baby..

In the middle of all of that we had late sundowners: we both had gin and tonics…

What started out slowly ended up as a good drive: 4-7:30PM…

I went directly into the bar and K came along in 15 minutes…We talked to a real nice UK family with 15 & 17 year old sons… Very pleasant..

Dinner was announced by the drum… Again it was too cold for the braai (bbq), so we ate in the dinning room… We were disappointed..
We were disappointed with the dinner choices, but we survived..

Back to room, trip report, crash…

Tuesday


Our wake-up knock came at 4:50 today… We were ready in 10-15 minutes…Ugh, it is drizzling a bit… We had coffee and loaded up… EP supplied us with nice nylon ponchos…We headed out, it was not bad and within 45 minutes it stopped.. We headed up to the air strip and there we found giraffes, kudu, and other antelope varieties…
We wound our way around and Prince, our tracker, spotted an elephant. We headed for him and went into heavy brush and found about 10-12… Mothers, several small ones, other females and one male (his name is gpanda)…. We got almost close enough to touch them… They were eating up a storm… They are very destructive… They beat up trees, big and small—just snap them right off, twist them, rip them up… You always know when they have been there…

After this it was time for a late coffee break… We stopped in a large open area on top of a huge rock… There were lizards and beautiful birds there…

We did not see much after this… We returned to the lodge and said our goodbyes to the ranger and tracker…. They indeed made our stay fun and productive… Btw, Prince was born in sabi sands and is 37…Morne is Africanz (sp) and was born near Durbin, he is late 20’s? Very nice men…. The lodge provides envelopes for tips for tracker, ranger, spa and general help…

We had breakfast and were out of there by 10:30… My extras bill was about $30 (drinks) and the two day prepaid stay was about $660—they charge per person.

We were very pleased with EP and would suggest that 3 nites there would be perfect… I am a very fussy eater and I found the food, while well prepared and very fresh, just a tad boring… BTW, we are finding SA food to be somewhat bland--- it needs some spice or herbs to excite it….We have not had a bad meal yet, just not many exciting moments…

We left sabi sands via dirt roads eventually reaching a paved road, heading to Kruger Park.. We are spending the next two nights at Olifants Rest Camp, run by SA’s Sans national parks.


The drive took about 6.5 hours with a 45 min. stop for lunch and several game stops along the way… We arrived—must be in by 6PM and are assigned to rondaval #77. It is 2 rows back from the river view units… I had one riverfront unit, but I screwed up the dates and lost it…The unit is small, but will surfice…Cost about $85 per nite..

We had chicken snitzle in the camp restaurant for dinner… not bad..

Crash…



Wednesday


Finally we get to sleep in a bit… I finally got up at 8, K was up earlier… She has a problem with one ear and now pink eye also..

We decided not to do any food prep for ourselves and will take all of our meal in the “restaurant”… So after a shower, a very good one, we went over to the rest. and ordered English breakfasts 38 R each {$5.40}: 2 eggs, bacon, tomato, grilled mushrooms, and toast---it was very good and fresh. We sat outside on the terrace overlooking the river bed below,. Where antelopes, hippos and elephants were grazing and in the water… BTW, a 1.5 L of still water costs 7-12.5 R. Amstel bottles are as cheap as $1., decent white wine is $5-10….

Olifants is a good stop, but bear bones really… The bungalows are small, but clean. The beds are hard but very comfortable. The linen is clean…. The fridge, which is on the porch is decent… the a/c works well, the parking is next to your unit…there are two chairs and a table on the porch…there are dutch doors and a good screen on the door…all windows have screens, and you need them..

We are happy here but not thrilled… We would not return to these rest camps--- we are too old and want more comfort and better food… There is daily maid service- makes the beds and mops the floors…
After breakfast we hit the road moving more to the north. At first we saw very few animals, except when our path was near to the river…. Finally we saw several elephants, they eventually crossed the road in front of us…. We saw small herds of antelope often… We saw hippos both in and out of the river…There were a few zebra….

We took our lunch at the Letaba Rest Camp… A similar menu to the other camps, but a few more items… I had grilled bacon and cheese sandwich and K had grilled chicken salad—quite good and both are reasonable… We had ice creams out of the frozen chest… Again a lovely spot overlooking the olifants river… They were putting a new roof on the restaurant---thatch—very interesting…

BTW, I am typing this on our porch, overlooking the reddish brown hills across the river---can’t see the river…

As I said above, occasionally I make a mistake, like befriending gpanda… Originally I booked riverfront rooms, but not until about 8 weeks ago did I discover that I booked both stays in the kruger area for the same dates… So I decided to change the olifants dates, and of course all waterfront choices were rented, so we have ended up in the 2nd row… S --t happens… It’s ok really…

So after lunch we hit the road again and our luck changed a bit… We saw more elephants, antelope, hippos, and finally LIONS—2 females… We watched them twice, at least ½ hour each time, and we shared the spot with 2-6 other vehicles, including two buses..
They were about 50 feet off the road and for almost all the time were resting…Occasionally the nearer one would stand up and reposition herself..
On our return visit we discovered that the nearer female was sitting with a kill. She would occasionally tear at it or move it around… It was a grey/black animal with large horns---K thinks it was a Roan Antelope, based on it’s horns and colors… Finally we decided to move on… We may return in the AM to check it out..

We are having drinks on our porch and then will go to the rest. for dinner… There are no other choices---they lock you in the camp at 6PM… Karen has finished off a bottle of Gordonia Perle Wine/ a bit sweet with bubbles… I have enjoyed Castle lite, a nice larger..

Off to dinner as it is getting dark…. We leave the park in the AM, driving a long way back to Dullsdroom….

The food in kruger in general is not all that great… In some cases the service is horrible…

We were very lucky tonight… All the outside tables were taken so we sat inside, the first to do so…Construction noises continued as they add on and rehab the main building, even at this hour..Our drinks were delivered in 15+ minutes and our dinners came along shortly… We both had the chicken snitzle again--- please tell them they need to change the grease… Not so lucky the others… The boss man was yelling at everyone—staff…
Little or no food came out of the kitchen… One German man came in from outside and said he has waited over an hour for his food Ten or so minutes later it was delivered.. His wife came in screaming for her bill later and threatened they were going to leave without paying…. The two Brits next to us waited about 45 minutes for their meals.. We decided it was our evening entertainment so we just sat there and observed and listened… Finally we had had our fill of comedy…

Crash after packing up a bit…,




Thursday Oct 27


We woke to overcast weather… Drove over for breakfast after packing up the car… English again… We were there when they opened at 7…. We were first to be served..
Set off to Dullstroom taking the main N to S road in Kruger… But first we headed back 5 miles north to see if the lions were still eating their kill… Sure enough they were both laying there, “fat as cats”… Some of the kill was in evidence, but not much… Many of the vultures had left the trees and were approaching for their picking of the remains.. We stayed 10 minutes and then were on our way… By this time it was sprinkling. We headed south. We did not see much until we came upon a man made watering hole: There were tons of animals there: hyenas fat and lazy from a kill—all were lying down ; tons of antelope, zebras, buffalo, and a few others… Later we saw 3 warthogs in a field… Then a few elephants and the largest tusks we had seen…. Then finally we saw one rhino way in the distance---that completes the so called big 5… Karen was delighted!!

We stopped for lunch at the Skukuza Rest Center… By now it was full rain… Same lunch offerings… The shop here is the best stocked one by far---food and gifts…At one point I got out of the car briefly---K yelled at me and a black man drove up and yelled at me too… I was just getting our exit paperwork out of the trunk… We were right outside the rest camp gate, so I did not consider it dangerous…

We continued on and finally reached the Paul Kruger gate and exited the park… We are glad we had done this part of the trip but do not think we would do kruger again… We disliked the strict 50 kph speed limit, at times.. You cannot drive off the roads…The camps are just not our style… The staff are poorly trained… It is a dice roll as to what you see… Many of the animals are way off in the distance--- but not all.. On the other hand we loved our time in sabi sands….

At the exit we stopped to take pics of flat Stanley with the sign… About five minutes later all cars were stopped by the police…The officerr asked where I was from, asked to see my license… we had chit chat about obama… He looked at the windshield decals… he asked why I was not wearing my seat belt?? He did not buy, “because I am fat..”. He said in SA they are serious about it… I put mine on… He said I would not be charged the 300 R fine… I asked about the peanuts he was eating… He gave each of us some, twice… I smiled frequently, and so did he…Evidently, “he knows who I am…”… FOP…

So now the drive was a couple more hours… we stopped for gas before crossing the mountains, 90% of which were covered in a dense fog…not the most fun to drive…

We got to D about 6:15… We went to check in and they had long faces… They were over sold, BUT had arranged an alternative for us about ¼ mile away in a gated compound of individual houses. We have a car port, a large porch with a built-in braai, a huge living room/kitchen/dining room with a fireplace…. A huge bedroom, also with a fireplace… and an even bigger bathroom with a huge glass shower stall and lounging tub… Its an upgrade for sure…. 700 R (weekday price)… they also threw in 100 R for breakfast at their complex… We are very pleased..

Back to Duck and Trout for dinner… It’s a pizza nite—all fresh made and loaded with toppings…plus beers.. yummy.. We had a nice chat with the manager/owner and the chef… We sat near to to domed pizza oven cause it was damp and cold… I befriended the 3 pizza makers and we had fun fooling around with them..

Back to the house, fire, candles, tv, and this report…. Very very comfortable…

We leave SA tomorrow nite at 8:15 for England…. It will be Halloween and Smeagol’s birthday (24)—haha… It will be fun celebrating it with her and muffin and some other friends we have previously met… So the day we start slowly.. We will get to poke around in the local shops, have lunch here and then head for JNB….pray for seating for two!!!

Crash



Friday--- our last day in SA


This has been a wonderful trip… First it was beautiful Capetown, with all it offers; then the mini-GTG; then dinner with Capetownfolks; then the drive to Plett, where the best B&B awaited us; then back to Hermanus and the whales and beautiful beaches (also in Plett); then the flt to JNB and the road trip to Elephant Plains in sabi sands (6 leopards in 2 days); then finally Kruger, the wild live park of parks; and finally 5 days in England visiting friends, and even another fodorite…
SA is a vastly differing place… the sights are fantastic, the people generally very nice… there is still tension here however---lots of it… We never once felt unsafe, but we were very careful at all times… IT IS A PLACE EVERYONE SHOULD VISIT… It is far less expensive than Europe… We have had very little outstanding food and only 2 bad meals, but all were edible… We rate the food as a 6… So many other things make up for this however…

We are up by 8… It’s a grey day thus far but not raining.. This house is very nice accommodations, with lots of comfort, just no heater other than the bathroom floor and a wall heater in the bathroom…There is also a portable gel heater which could be moved around and of course the two fireplaces with plenty of seasoned wood available… The bed has an electric blanket and a warm duvet…

We shall go to cherry grove for breakfast and a bit of shopping, return to the house to pick-up and have some lunch and then head for JNB…. I hope to have another Ploughmans… K will yell at me..

The drive to JNB is about 2-3 hours, all highway. Our next report will be from England..

Friday and Saturday

The drive was fine and easy…tons of fog at the beginning… Finding a gas station near the airport took a bit more effort…

Easy checkin at B/A…. Seats not what we wanted or had requested… ended up one in back of another in rows 52 & 53, both aisle seats….rhk lucked out with no one beside him…. Boarding was a mess… Heavy rain and a bus gate… we were on first bus… take off delayed 15+ min. and then very rough because of thunder and lightening… rough ride lasted ½ way up the Africa land mass… Arrived heathrow almost on time… 3rd in line at immigration…fantastic…rental car from Alamo, now our fav at heathrow…
It was wet and foggy all the way up the M-40 to Henley in Arden, where Smeagol lives…We arrived at their house way tooooo early for any guests to arrive, but they were gracious as always…. We chatted for a while , then took a stroll down their main street to get fresh croissants at a newly opened lounge/bakery…. Candelabras with lighted candles greeted us at this unique place.. Bad news, the fresh Cs had not arrived….BUT up pulled the delivery truck… They were yummy and we had a very relaxed time filled with chat: Gpanda, Pook, Mango7, Fodors, the car industry (their occupations), SA, etc---plus tons of laughs…They are simply the best couple, even though quite a bit younger than us…


At some point we had well received showers, and a bit of a nap, some tea, some more tea…We were amazingly awake having come off an overnite flight..
They asked what we wanted to do---anything was fine with us…It was decided we would have a motor trip into the cotswolds, one of our favorite places…
Before we left we sampled a fabulous chocolate cake muffin had made, sang happy birthday to nicky and had more tea, etc…

For the drive David/Muffin had parked the very latest Porche, a fantastic 4 door lux model, only available for two weeks in the drive… We used it for our tour… It was sleek shinny black with fantastic styling… The only thing it lacked was indoor plumbing…We turned heads everywhere we went …. Muffin is so shy he was embarrassed by all the attention---Naught…

We checked out a few shops, ending up in Broadway, considered by many to be the most lovely of the costwold towns, and the place where I once shared a toilet room with Rod Stewert. It was a very fun afternoon… we had tons of laughs.. We ended up at the Swan pub/restaurant at the lower end of the main street. Very good late lunch with cold beer on offer…

Returning home I did a bit of internet, but my XP system seemed to have a problem interfacing with Nicky’s Vista system so I was unable to post more of this report…??? K & M had a bit of a layabout, while nicki and I chatted a bit and fooled with the computers… Good to knock off our E-mails however…

At 7:45 Craig and Katie, two of N&D’s friends arrived… We have met them previously... We drank some champagne and later some prosecco, extended our congrats to them (they are recently engaged) and eventually walked up the main street a block to Thai Cottage, where we had a fabulous Thai meal: shrimp and chicken satay, chicken laab salad (new to them and they loved it---it was also the best we have ever had); masasman curried beef, black pepper pork, 2 phad thais, asparagus and shrimp, white rice, curried mushrooms, sweet and sour chicken---in honor of mango---chinese food… We had so much fun…drank way tooooo much…laughed continually and made tons of noise….IT WAS A PERFECT EVENING WITH PERFECT FRIENDS…

We returned to their house where we were treated to their vintage 2003 sloe gin, home made and savored….Had slices of the chocolate cake and laughed more until we were all falling asleep…. Katie and craig had brought carved pumpkins with candles as it was Holloween---we enjoyed them..

Crash


Sunday November 1


We all awoke refreshed but lazy…. Muffin had promised us his famous English style breakfast… He is a master and pays attention to every detail---no drips on the plate before serving, perfect plate arrangement--perfection…His sous chef (nicky) is ordered around with sharpe orders and is occasionally corrected for lack of prompt follow-through… The breakfast was a delight in every way!! More laughs and fodors was never far from the center of conversation…

We packed up and pushed off by 1PM on our way to the Bexleyheath Marriott, our one nite stop, where we visited with old friends and enjoyed a fantastic Indian meal… It was raining on and off all day…

After coffee at our friend’s new house we returned to the hotel for a good nite’s sleep…



Monday



Mcdonalds for breakfast followed with a luncheon with another friend, before heading to Oxted in Surrey for our last two nights with some other friends… The sun is out this AM, but rain is promised for the rest of our stay…

We had had a wonderful trip and are looking forward to our own bed on Wednesday nite, but that only lasts for 9 nites as we then head to Thailand with the Gpandas… We are REALLY looking forward to that trip….we do have so much fun with A&B… another friend will be joining us as well…

With any luck I will be able to post this later today???

Gadzooks -- you had a fantastic run of leopard sightings. Some people have gone multiple, multiple safaris without any.

Welcome back, good report.

"[Smeagol/Muffin are] quite a bit younger than us."

Everyone is quite a bit younger than you.

Hi Bob and K-Welcome home. Very interesting trip report, as usual. While you were gone, I started a thread about what people liked most about the safari experience. (I liked it, but was not thrilled by it). Perhaps you'd like to add your comments.

Sounds like you had great leopard sitings. We did not see any, but saw many of the other big 5, as well as other animals. Let's catch up and compare notes on our trips after your return from Thailand. Jim and I had a really good Kruger experience. We stayed at a 4 star hotel just outside the Kruger Gate. It was really nice, good food, nice ambience, good service and very convenient to returning to the park each day (about a 2 minute drive to the main gate).

That should be leopard sightings. Although it sounds like you had good leopard sitings as well.

I am loving the report...also getting a good chuckle with some of the Bob-glish spelling: "bear bones"
I'm sure the Panda will chide you for that....

Bob,

You did have some great leopard sightings. Thanks for catching us up. I think your detailed driving trip report is quite a good reference for others.

Have a good return trip home!

Great, great report! Loved reading every minute of it!

Mrs Panda turned me on to it, as I'd forgotten you were going to SA.

Have a great time in Thailand! Sounds like it's going to be a blast again!

Oops, forgot to add the webcam at the Heads, Knysna:

http://www.theheads.co.za/

"younger than we" would be correct. How's that for chiding? He's from Needham. Who knows what his first language is? It's certainly not English.

No surprise that when the leopards heard (Leopard's herd?) that his Bobness was near that they all took off and broke cover.

we do not actually get home until tomorrow nite--wed... we're still in england

Fantastic report, Bob! Glad to hear you & Karen had and are continuing to have a good time. As to leopards, I believe panda are the natural prey of the hungry leopard....

In friendship, age never matters. You & Karen may be younger than I am "on the inside" which is where it counts.

BC

So glad you had a great time with us B&K, we all enjoyed it to (Yes really Gpanda)
Safe journey back
S

nicky---he will never believe you

Sounds like a wonderful trip - so glad for you! Will you be posting some photos? Welcome home, and have a good time in Thailand.

Cyn

yes, i am trying to upload my photos this AM, but the link is very very slow...

The link is slow, Bob is slow. Maybe by 2010 we'll see the photos.

Just to add my two cents...We DID have a great trip. South Africa is a truely beautiful spot. Our trip to the township stands out as a highlight to me. The expierence of seeing what these people live thru every day is memeorable as it is such a contrast to my life. I loved seeing the animals in their own habitat. We met some very lovely people along the way...from the fodorites, to waitress "pleasure", to Prince our tracker who goes off into the wild looking for leopards with a sling shot,to our B&B host/ hostess....all made the trip enjoyable. Will we go back??? Maybe...but we have many places on our "Bucket list"

We share the giraffe as our first animal sighting on safari. We share confusion over the South Africa plugs. Glad you were able to buy an adapter there. Me too. Odd buggers those 3-prongers.

You had some good sightings, especially leopards, the Sabi Sands special.

pictures are being added slowly....i will block gpanda from receiving any pics at all

Finally i have some pics ready...

share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8BauXDJw2aqPSY

group #2 is:

share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8BauXDJw2aqPUA

here is group #3... i am having trouble loading the rest, about 1000, but will keep trying

share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8BauXDJw2aqPWI

no luck yet adding pics

Hi Bob - love the photos of Simons Town where we're heading in February - I think our rental house is in one of the shots!

The pictures are comming...after numerous phone calls to MSN and shutterfly, plus a lot of cursing he (they) have the site working so he can down load them...

finally here is the next section of the pics... they start at the end of our bus trip in capetown:

share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8BauXDJw2aqPYw

the next set:

share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8BauXDJw2aqPa4

finally some animal pics:


share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8BauXDJw2aqPcg

more pics, incl. lots of ellies


share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8BauXDJw2aqPeo

and the final africa pics:


share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8BauXDJw2aqPhY

the final pics are here:

share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8BauXDJw2aqPjQ

Bob,

Thanks for your photos. It was nice to see all the great scenery from your driving trip.

Just made it through the safari photos. Especially enjoyed the leopard calling for the cubs and the birds on the giraffe. You also have some good ele photos.

Now you just have to get ready to leave for Bangkok. Have a great time!

I see that Bob has had a bit iof a problem labeling some of the animals. He said a leopard was a lion, missed the hippos,and called a buffalo something else. Guess I will have to get the picture book out for him...

Karen, It was all part of the charm of the photos! The first leopard is labeled a "tiger," but then he switched to leopard. I think the picture book is a grand idea.

Thanks for the photos. The side striped jackals are actually antelope. I'm thinking young waterbuck.

Your report is very helpful, but I'm not too sure about that Gpanda character that you brought along over here.

Yeah, I was worried about animal captions when his trip report referred to "deer-like creatures" and to the tracker as a "scout." Would that be a cub scout or the older kind? And getting out of the car in Kruger? Oy!

Bob- Did you think of me when you saw the Mango airplane?

Wow! They really do exist! Incredible leopard shots. I am yet to see a leopard in the wild. Well, there's always next time (sigh).

mango---i almost was afraid to take the flight...

i was rushing with the pics....i used only small thumbnails to judge the subject....do these excuses work??

i think i will wait for some final thoughts until i return from thailand in early december...

First time I've ever seen a spotted Tiger.. Mind=blown.

The safari gods have a sense of humor, apparently.

Thanks for the photos Bob! The Flat Stanleys with the leopards were so cute. And I chuckled out loud at the blurry 5:25AM watch shot - I remember feeling exactly that way. The leopard toroise looked so purposeful - makes me wonder where he was going. Looks like you had great wildlife sightings.

Have fun in BKK!

Cyn

i'm back from thailand, and now it's christmas time...

i have no real thoughts about the SA trip except to say that i came away with an enhanced appreciation for south africa and its people....the beauty of the countryside is exceptional and varied....for the first time ever on a trip abroad we were able to see tons of colorful wildflowers dotting the landscape, and not just flowers, but whole bushes of protea....and wild whales--what other kind are there??-- farm raised?? getting so close to "wild" animals for the first time outside of a zoo was a real thrill... 6 leopards in 24 hours was amazing....the big 5, what can i say... we saw just as many animals on our own in kruger as we did in the expensive private park, but we loved the private park experience also... we never really had an outstanding meal in SA, but we had several good ones and lots of average ones...

the grace of the people, both black, white and colored is memorable..
i fear however that the country is a real tinder box and relucktantly suspect that trouble is in the future...

our weather was fantastic and the lack of leaves on trees, etc was a boom to animal sightings---for this reason i endorse october as a time to visit SA...

now for a larger question....would we return?? maybe....especially to the garden route areas along the coast line....we loved our time in plett and hermanus and could see a seaside vacation there in the future....a hang out and relax type vacation.... airfares are high to get to SA so this is a deterant as well...
we did not visit the vast interior of the country or other parts which undoubtably hold sights to see...

driving was very easy and i would not hesitate to drive again..

how are they going to survive the big games next summer? that is a huge question....they will survive, but there will be many unhappy visitors i suspect.... the infastructure is just not in place---the airports???? (although we had no problems)... the hotels.... but as we were told before we went the best lodging is in the B&B's...

we enjoyed the other fodorites we met in SA and thank them for their hospitality....

so i guess this concludes my report....

this might give some a pointer or two

ttt for koh samui friends

Thanks for the interesting trip report, RHKKMK. The World Cup has come and gone, time to look at some of your most recent comments on South Africa:

"i fear however that the country is a real tinder box and relucktantly suspect that trouble is in the future..."

People have been saying this since Apartheid days, and especially in the run up to the 1994 election. We are 16 years on and there is no trouble. My views on SA remain very optimistic. It is sad to hear that this is your conclusion after your wonderful trip.

"how are they going to survive the big games next summer? that is a huge question....they will survive, but there will be many unhappy visitors i suspect.... the infastructure is just not in place---the airports???? (although we had no problems)... the hotels.... but as we were told before we went the best lodging is in the B&B's..."

This was the theme of most of the foreign press coverage before the world cup. A lot of doubt and negativity. Well it seems that South Africa survived the big games and exceeded everyone's expectations. Sepp Blatter gave it a 9 out of 10. The infrastructure was there, there were no major incidents, and we did not see the crime and violence that some were expecting. Granted, there was one hiccup at one of our airports, apparently caused by foreign VIPs and their private jets clogging up the airport in Durban, delaying several flights and causing several fans to miss the semi final. Other than that, only a few minor incidents were reported and most of these were caused by foreigners not by South Africans (the most famous incident was probably the English fan who got through security and ended up in the dressing room!)

I do hope that you return to South Africa in a few years, if only to see that we continue to make progress as a nation and are not about to go up in smoke.

Enjoying the trip report.

ww - thanks for the update. The negative nellies seem to be silenced. South Africa was the real winner of these games!!

wild---is it unfair for me to report how i felt from my short visit? i think not.... many locals (whites) with whom i spoke continue to be nervous about the future, but neither they nor I fell danger there, just an unusually high uneasiness...

i thought the capetown airport was totally unsuitable for a huge influx of happy customers for the world event....i'm glad it all went well... the number of hotel rooms is unsuitable for large gatherings, imo.

sorry if i offened you by my observations

Just now reading over the report of last year and comments. We are older travelers enjoying a S.A. trip a couple of years ago when son was teaching at Univ. of Wits. We did enjoy the safari in Kruger and also a week at Plett Bay (in a castle on a cliff no less). Also we were in Cape and N. of Jo'burg to Blyde R. Canyon etc, but also glad that we did visit Apartheid Museum and Soweto. My report was posted on Fodors. Yes, beautiful country...but how safe? That is a concern in some places everywhere and we can only hope problems with crime and unemployment and immigrant can be addressed in S.A. But then I'm not so sure about some problems in U.S.A. right now.

Bill now in Boston