Cape town, for a record fourth time!

Cape Town, from top of Table Mountain

And here I am, again at Cape Town! I don’t visit the same places too often. The only other city I have visited a lot is Paris, but of the 6 times, 3 times I had gone for work and stayed back. So Cape Town leads the pack 😁. As I said in the last blog too, Cape Town never ceases to amaze me. This time around, I saw another very different side of the city as I went there with my South African colleagues. And it felt so very new and exotic again...

We spent a weekend in Cape Town where we did not plan anything beforehand at all. And the one thing we had planned got cancelled 😂. Our itinerary was as follows:

• Friday evening: Fly from Joburg to CT, dinner at Beefcakes and then Long Street 
• Saturday: Laze around Camps Bay, lunch at Blues, trek up Lion's Head and dinner at Cape Addis 
• Sunday: Drive to Stellenbosch and lunch at Jordan

Friday evening:

We flew to CT from Joburg on a Friday evening after work. At the start of the trip, two of us had a bit of an issue when our flight did not let us board the flight without our passports! We had assumed that for domestic flights, we did not need to carry passports but the check-in attendent did not agree! We showed them copies of our passports, UK driving licenses and so on. But they just refused to let us on (even though one of our colleagues got onto South African airlines flight at the same time without a passport!!). Also it was a bit ironic that our British airways flight refused to accept the UK license as ID proof 😂!

But this was South Africa 😜, so we pushed a bit and finally they agreed on the condition that flying back, we would have to get our passport copies attested by the police before we board the flight. I wondered why the police would attest our passports if we don’t have the originals with us but anyways, it was not the time to think and we said yes to their conditions. We had to go through the same questioning at the departure gate but somehow they let us off more quickly and we were off on the plane to Cape Town.

Colours of the sky, the moon and
the mountains

The views from the flight were spectacular, with loads of empty green landscapes and mountains down there. And while landing, we saw the full moon at eye level with the mountains in the background, a very short but absolutely breathtaking view. Once at the airport, we spent some time finding the police to attest our passports which they refused to. But one of them agreed to attest our driving licenses. Anyways, after a bit of running around, they did that and we hoped that was enough for our flight on Sunday.

It turned out that this was the weekend of an international cycling event in CT - the Cape Town Cycle Tour - which meant that everything there was very busy. After checking in to the Westinn hotel, we went for dinner to Beefcakes. It is a special kind of dinner place famous for its awesome burgers but also for its drag shows. We were all kind of sceptical about going there but one of our team members convinced us all. And it was so much fun! Given all the visa running around, we only caught the fag end of the show but it was very entertaining. There were a couple of drag queens who danced on the stage and their performances were a lot of fun. And I think after that show, "single ladies" has become a favourite song of mine 😊.

Street art on Long Street

After dinner, we went to Long Street - the party area of CT. It was a nice walking area with lots of restaurants and an active night life. We walked around a bit, the whole area felt full of students and tourists. People were out and walking the streets which isn’t that common in SA:). And lot of the buildings felt quite old. They all had outside terraces to sit and enjoy the sights of the street.

We first went to Waiting Room which was quite loud and crowded. It had an outside terrace looking towards the main street. And then a rooftop area, from where you can see the mountains in the background, the stars above and the lights on Signal Hill. The place felt quite local and rustic. We did not stay there long though. We walked a bit and then went to Ubuntu, where we sat on the outside terrace for some time. As we had taken a flight after a full day of work, we soon felt tired and went back to our hotel quite soon.

Saturday:

For the next day, we had booked paragliding for the morning. But there was so much wind that it got cancelled. So we all had a lazy start to the day. We had a longish breakfast at the breakfast lounge in Westinn which has beautiful views of the city, with the mountains behind the city high-rises. After trying to unsuccessfully get into the spa as it was fully booked, we all went to Camps Bay for the afternoon. It was about 20 minutes drive and for the first time I noticed that there were lot of colonial style British buildings in town.

Camps Bay beach

Camps Bay is a very stunning beach area. It had a beach with some rocks and crystal blue water. And the background was grand holiday houses perched on the hills. It was a sunny day and made the afternoon very enjoyable. Everywhere around were people chilling and hanging out lazily. We spent some time on the beach and a bit in the water. It was not too cold that day, so the water felt ok but it wasn’t really warm for swimming. As the sun got too hot, we moved to the promenade for lunch at Blues. The seafood there was yum and felt even better given the spectacular views of the beach from their terrace.

Table Mountain top

After lunch, one of the guys went up Table Mountain using the cable car. He was quite lucky that it was clear that day as all my previous trips had met with clouds on the top. The view from the peak was spectacular - across the city, as well of the straight mountain top.

The treacherous climb

And then at around 4 or so, we started trekking up Lion's Head. It was a bit late but there were loads of people starting the trek, so we were not concerned. Also, we had expected it to be a walk in the park but as we started walking up, we realised it was quite a treacherous climb up! You first walk around one side of the hill, then the other, and after that, you literally have to go up to the peak!

The climb up

There were parts of the trek where you had to hold onto railings on the rocks or step onto small steps made into the rocks and pull yourself up or walk on very narrow rock ledges while avoiding a fall! But given so many people going up, it felt safer than I think it actually was.

Camps Bay from the top

The views once we made it to the top were stunning - of the city in the bowl, with clouds tiptoeing over table mountain and the sky turning pink as it was time for sunset. On the other edge, you could see the waves lashing on the beach of Camps Bay. And Robben Island far away where Nelson Mandela was kept in prison for 27 years! We also sat on a rock on the edge, literally feeling that we were at the edge of the world:). We stared at the sunset and the beautiful colours of the sky for some time.

Sunset from Lion's Head

View of the Town

We would have liked to spend more time on the top but it had got quite late by the time we were there, so we started walking down very soon. Though people were still climbing up, running all the way, with torches on their head!! Talk about being brave and adventurous! We reached down the trail safe and sound, using our phone flashlight for the last half an hour or so.

After patting ourselves on the back, We went back to Long Street again for Ethiopian dinner at Cape Addis. The food was yum and quite close to Indian food I would say. After that, we again walked around a bit in the area. It was a beautiful night with a full moon and beautiful colours in the horizon. We went to Orphanage Club and hungout there for some time. I left soon enough but some of the people continued partying late and ran into Russel Peters!! He was in CT for the cycle race and DJing at the club they went to. What a miss for me 😏.

Sunday:

Entrance to Jordan

The next day, the cycle race got cancelled in the morning, again because of the wind! So lot of people suddenly had the day free to do something new. We tried calling a couple of places in Stellenbosch for lunch but all of them were already booked. We thought we would try anyways, so we turned up at Jordan winery, and all our begging and pleading did not get us a table at its restaurant 😟. But they gave us a seat at their bakery where they only had cheese and meat platters to offer. We thought why not have those as starters and then go to another place for lunch.

View from Jordan winery

But it was so tasty that we ditched our lunch plans after that and continued eating the cheese and chocolates for lunch. I realised that a good variety of cheese can be a good meal too. The wineyard is quite picturesque too, with a green grass garden and a blue pond in front, and then vineyards till afar. And the sun was out in all its glory that day, I was really not missing London at that time 😜. We all felt like sleeping in the garden too for some time, but we kept eating for so long that we never got the time to do that.

After the sunny and unhealthy lunch, we were off to the airport, to take off for Joburg. While getting back, no one asked to see our passports, so that was one weight off our backs!! It was tough to leave to go back to Joburg, and I am sure I will be back in Cape again for a new and different adventure soon...

Accomodation

We stayed at the Westinn hotel which was quite central and well located. It had a beautiful breakfast lounge on a high floor, with a view of the city and some of the mountains around. I would suggest though that anyone visiting CT should stay slightly outside town, next to the sea. Maybe some holiday homes on airbnb may be better and more fun options.

Food

All the places we ate at were amazing. Beefcakes' burgers were amazing. And the entertainment fantabulous! Blues had tasty seafood, right across Camps Bay. Cape Addis on Long street offered tasty Ethiopian. And the views and cheeses of Jordan were very enjoyable. In fact, you can even stay at Jordan, as at many of the other vineyards in the area.

Lounging in Pringles Bay, Cape area

South Africa continues to amaze me, everytime! I have been to Cape Town twice already and I was under the impression that I had experienced and explored all there was to do there. But my third trip to the Cape turned out to be completely different from all my earlier ones, telling me that I still have a lot to see there still. We spent a weekend in and around the Pringles Bay area near the town of Cape Town and it has been one of my most active as well as relaxed weekends in SA. We went cage shark diving, saw penguins, some amazing sceneries and visited a few vineyards - all in the space of two days…

Drive to Pringles Bay, during sunset

We flew to Cape Town from Joburg on Friday evening and drove from there to Pringles Bay on Friday night itself. The drive was quite short, about an hour or so. It is apparently beautiful during the day - driving all along the sea, with bare hills in the background and the blue sea in front - but we missed all this beauty as we drove through it at night.

Belle Mer B&B

We were staying at Belle Mer Guest House, a small B&B in the village of Pringles Bay. It was right at the end of the village road, just next to the sea. It felt a little scary driving in at night, as there was no one around that late. And the road to the B&B was an unpaved one. But once there, it felt amazing and relaxed.

I had a room on the first floor, with a balcony from where I could hear the waves lashing on the rocks. I could not see the water, but only the clear sky and the stars twinkling up above. And the light house at Cape of Good Hope periodically beaming its light from miles away. I slept very peacefully that night but couldn’t wait for the morning given how beautiful I could already perceived the place to be.

Morning with a view, Belle Mer

And it did not disappoint! The morning brought to light what we couldn’t see the last night - we were staying right on the beach, and could see the foamy water lashing out at the reddish rocks in front. On Saturday, we did not spend much time in the village though. After a scenic and sumptuous breakfast, we left early enough for Kleinbaai - our first stop of the day and the location for cage shark diving!

Somewhere on the way

It was about a 2 hour drive till there and one of the most scenic drives of South Africa (I wonder why I did not know about this route when driving across the Garden Route). We drove through towns like Gansbaai and Hermanus, past townships and beaches, all along the coastal area dotted with holiday homes, lagoons and vineyards. It was green and sunny everywhere and made for a pleasant drive, the day enchanting us with beautiful vistas at every turn of the road. We did pass by some townships in between but overall, most of the area was full of luxury holiday houses. Beaches and hills; sea and the sun; greenery dotted with white houses and so on… What better view can one ask for on a weekend off?

Kleinbaai

Kleinbaai is a coastal village and the popular launch spot for cage shark diving. There are multiple operators there, all of them offering the same experience. We reached there around 10 am and spent almost an hour having breakfast, as well as being briefed on what to do and not to do when near the sharks.

Apparently the whole coast is full of sharks, but the shark diving for tourists is allowing only at one spot in the national park, slightly away from the residential areas. There are more than 60 species of sharks inhabiting this area, but only the Great White sharks comes to the surface and can be spotted on these trips. The most commonly spotted sharks are still teenagers, about 3 metres long. The adults are much huge, and can go up to 6 metres long. If you are lucky to spot an adult, they can be seen swimming below the boat and visible on both sides. But given that near land it is too shallow for them, they are spotted rarely, not more than 2-3 times in a year.

We left the coast in a speedboat to go towards one of the bays where the boat would be anchored and the sharks would come. The sea was very very choppy and the waves were huge. It felt quite unsafe and scary at times as the boat went up and down quite violently! Once at the spot on the bay, the guides threw a barrel of tuna oil into the water, and then we started waiting for the sharks to turn up. Apparently, there is a 95% probability to see a shark on any of these trips! There were 4-5 other boats also in the bay at the same time and looks like all of us saw the sharks that day.

Once the sharks started appearing, they started circling the boat and the guides used empty tuna heads to lure them closer to the boat. I had always imagined that we would go down underwater in a cage to see the sharks in the water. This was however going to be different. There was a cage tied next to the boat, with space for people to stand, Groups of 4 people would enter the cage at a time, wearing wetsuits (the water was 13 degrees!) and then wait for the sharks to come close. When the guides saw them close, they would shout ‘down’ and we would put our heads into the water to see the shark come close to our cage.

I went in the cage twice, and it was nice to see the Great Whites up so close in the water. It was scary to see their eyes and open teeth, as they would open their mouths trying to catch the tuna head and then skillfully swim away when they realised that the cage was in the way. But it was honestly more fun to see them from the boat - a top view of seeing them slyly circle the boat lazily and then make a move for the tuna head. They did seem menacing sometimes, when their mouths were open for the tuna (they were able to bite them off a couple of times), but mostly they seemed like huge harmless fishes swimming lazily on a sunny day.

(Shark video, may not show in some browsers)

We spent about 2-3 hours on the boat, admiring these majestic animals. In total we saw 4 different sharks circle our boat at least 50 or so times. Twice it was quite scary, as once the shark’s tail hit the cage, and the second time, a shark came very close to the boat while the cage was still open on the top! But overall, I loved the experience and wish I could have stayed there longer and seen them up closer 😜. It was the first time I had seen such huge sharks, and realised they are not as scary as they are made out to be.

Robert Stanford estate

Once back from the shark watching, we lazily made our way driving back to Pringles Bay. It was the same beautiful drive and this time we stopped at two vineyards on the way - Sir Robert Stanford estate and Benguela Cove. Both of them were landscaped beautifully. The Robert Stanford estate is an old vineyard with a history. It was set up in the 1800s as a farm by Sir Robert, an Englishman who founded the nearby town of Stanford too. At that time, he used to take his boat to Cape Town to sell his farm goods and later started selling wines. It was a beautiful estate, with a few ponds and an enchanting lake in front of the restaurant with blue lotus growing in it.

Robert Stanford view from restaurant

Benguela Cove vineyard

Benguela Cove vineyard was different, it was next to a lagoon and beautifully landscaped. Both the vineyards had a lavish lunch food menu and offered a place to stay for the night too.

African Penguins at Bettys Bay

While coming back, we stopped at Bettys Bay - a better spot for observing African penguins than Simon Town near Cape Town where I have been twice. There were a few thousand of these penguins just sitting around the rocks, barely moving, just aimlessly looking towards the sun with their eyes closed, as if tanning in the sun after a hard day of work. It was a beautiful and free sight, with no people around. I spent about an hour there, just observing these funny creatures in black and white…

Also known as jackass penguins

And then we drove past Pringles Bay for a drive next to the sea, the same way we had driven by last night. And we turned up at one of the most stunning views I have seen. We stopped at a couple of stops on the road, all with mesmerising views. We were surrounded by yellow hills behind us, with clouds crowning them and in front of us was yellow sand beaches dotted with some light green vegetation and then the blue sea beyond.

Sunset drive

It was all so picturesque that every turn of the road was worth a stop. We spent a lot of time there during sunset, walked to the beach, saw a baboon sitting atop a shark spotting room and just enjoyed the setting sun in a majestic colourful view. It was all so calm and beautiful, totally relaxing…

Sunset at Pringles Bay

After catching this view, we drove back to Pringles Bay and caught some more sunset colours on the local mountains and beach, before calling it a day. I did not have dinner that day but apparently, there were many nice little restaurants offering an amazing fare, even in a village with barely 1600 people. The day had been amazing, spotting sharks to relaxing with penguins, watching the setting sun to visiting a few vineyards. No wonder people love the Cape life 😊.

The next day was a relatively relaxed one. I woke up late and took a walk around the village. The village is nestled between bare mountains on one side, the sea on the other and lot of cape kind of vegetation all around. I took a round walk along the beach and the holiday homes and saw some different architectured houses - one was white and shaped like an igloo, one had no windows, one was built in brown as if made of sand and so on. It was interesting to see that people were experimenting with their houses, and that too in a village in the middle of nowhere!

It felt like a very small village with barely 100 or so houses, most of which were empty. I did note that none of the houses here had fences, unlike the ones in Joburg. It clearly felt a lot safer than other places in South Africa that I have been too. People were walking outside all the time without any major worries.

After exploring the village, we started driving back, with a lunch stop planned at Stellenbosch. This is the wine area of South Africa, famous for its mountains and breathtaking views. The drive till there was full of picturesque vistas, passing through many small beach towns. We passed through the Strand which had a beach (and reddish sea water) but very few people on the beach as the water was too cold to go in. The bay looked pretty from afar. We also had to drive through a township called Sir Lowrys Pass Village, which felt a bit scary but not for long.

Guardian Peak lunch

We drove through Somerset West to reach Stellenbosch and stopped at two wineries close to each other - Hidden Valley and Guardian Peak. They both had a panoramic view of the vineyards below. It was a very very hot day, so we decided to take a break and had a nice lazy lunch at the Guardian Peak restaurant. It was so amazing and relaxed, I really did not want to visit any other place or even go back to Joburg. It was so easy to just sit and read a book in such a relaxed place.

Anyways, after lunch, we drove back towards Cape Town along a long beach (Badel Powells Drive) right next to the townships of Khatelitsa, Mitchells Plain and then Philippi. The beach was many kilometers of pure white sand contrasting with the deep blue of the water. But there were limited number of tourists on the beach given the proximity to the townships. The townships were huge and unending, and looked like they was better managed than a lot of other ones, they had regulated electricity and water supply plus dishtv on every house.

Our last stop of the day was the Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden, which was just full of people out picnicking as it was a sunny day. And then the day ended. Just like that. This trip to Cape Town was my best ever to the city. I realised that people love this area not because of the city, but what lies outside the city, in the countryside. A place of green and sun; activities and relaxation; hills and wildlife, all rolled into one. A life here would be so awesome, isn’t it? This was one of my best weekend trips in the Cape area and I have a feeling I am coming back to the place again 😇.


Accommodation

Reflection of the sea

Belle Mer is a nice little guest house located at the end of the road in Pringles Bay. The hostess was very very friendly and talkative. She got something for me to eat both the days as we had got in very late. The views from the breakfast table and the balcony are amazing. And sleeping to the sounds of the waves is one of the best offering of this place. I would say its a definite recommend.

Map of drive

SA road trip (2): Garden Route and Cape Town

SA road trip (1): Towards and in Kruger Park

The second half of our SA road trip was in the provinces of Eastern and Western Cape. We started at a small seaside town of Port Elizabeth, explored the Garden Route along the coast, staying at the Tsitsikamma National Park and then spent a day around the city of Cape Town. This part of SA was completely different from the Northern part - it was a lot greener and had a more relaxed vibe. Our stay at Tsitsikamma park was also the high point of the whole trip - an amazing experience staying close to the best that nature has to offer.

Day 4 (continued): Flight to Port Elizabeth and stay there

The flight from Joburg to Port Elizabeth was about 2 hours and again British Airways. I was happy to discover that status on BA in Europe also allows lounge access for domestic flights in SA ;-). We landed in PE late in the evening and were spending the night there itself to avoid driving late at night.

While landing in PE, we saw breathtaking views of the sea, the beaches and beyond. The whole area looked greener than all the parched land and vegetation we had just left behind in Kruger. There was also a very different feel in the air, which we felt as soon as we landed there - a sense of lazy idleness that is common across all beach towns.

The town felt like a small cute place, ideal for retirement. There was the beach and then huge white beachfront houses all over; the perfect place to settle when you are done with the fast young life. There was also a port on the other side of town but it was quite far and felt almost hidden from view from where we were.

Beachwalk B&B

We were staying in the Beachwalk B&B, located right next to the main beach in town. It was a well spread out B&B, with a pool and a nice garden just outside the rooms. The room was comfortable, the property charming and the owners very friendly. And by this time, we had already fallen in love with SA, so everything felt perfect anyways:).

Port Elizabeth Sun Boardwalk

We didn't want to stretch this day much, so just went out looking for Indian food nearby. There was the Sun Boardwalk, a Sun hotel cum casino resort located right next to our B&B, on the waterfront itself. We walked in there and had dinner at a fast food Indian joint called Hungry Peter (really, is that an appropriate name?). We then took a walk along the waterfront which was well lighted up and looked like the popular place to be. We could also see some lights twinkling across the sea, which in hindsight might have been the port lights. I forgot my camera that time, so missed taking photos of the twinkling town:(.

Day 5: Drive on Garden Route, up to Tsitsikamma National Park

PE waterfront

In the morning, we had a lazy start as we had got access to internet and phone charging after a few days of no connectivity in Kruger. So we spent most of the morning recharging and getting back in touch with the world:). Then we took a lazy walk along the waterfront - the expansive sea and beaches, the relaxed air and lazying people all around. Isn't this the perfect idyllic dream?

Sun Boardwalk from inside

We again walked into the Sun Boardwalk so we could explore it more fully during the day. There was a lake in the middle, with ducks et al. And loads of eating places and shops all around to spend time.

Handicrafts

We then started looking at the handicrafts in the shops and ended up spending two hours (!) bargaining and finally buying some African handicrafts and small furniture. And then it was time to leave the town.

By the way, PE is known as the friendliest and sunniest city in SA. I get the fact about sunniest, but wonder why and how they came up with the 'friendliest' epithet:). I also noticed another thing about PE which was different than the north. We saw very few non-whites in town. It really felt like a European place, not an African one. Was that why everyone told us that it was a very safe place?

We left around late afternoon for our next halt at Tsitsikamma National Park. The drive was a straight one on A2 all the way till Cape Town, sometimes near and sometimes far from the sea. The drive overall was a refreshing and interesting one - with rivers and gorges and green mountains and the sea running on either side. We first stopped at a township called Humansdorp on the way. It was not a touristy place at all, but a place where Africans lived and worked. We walked into a huge Shop Rite and shopped for food to barbecue for the next two days. It was like we had come to the real world finally - we were becoming one of the people around:).

St Francis Bay

We had also planned to stop at a couple of touristy locations on the way. However, these stops made us feel we should have stayed there too:). The first of these stops was St Francis Bay. It turned out to be a small village with huge white villas right on the beach. And there were a couple of lodges and Golf resorts in the village for tourists to stay. How lovely would it be to have a place here? It was too windy though that day and we could not spend as much time there as we would have wanted. As we drove further, we reached the tip of land at Cape St Francis which felt like a less affluent village. It is famous for surfing and a lone lighthouse. But again, it was too windy that day for us to stay there for long.

Oyster Bay beach

After that, we drove on towards Oyster Bay which was one of the lows of this trip for us. The road till there - about 20 kms or so - was not completed. It was as good as a dirt road! We kept on driving expecting it to improve but it never did:(. There were windmills and horse farms on both sides all the way. But why was there no road? Anyways it was worth it in the end thankfully.

Oyster Bay hamlet

Oyster Bay felt like a small hamlet, but the beach there was fantabulous! It was like a desert, with huge dunes next to the sea. It was so impressive, I was surprised why there were not enough people there. Maybe because of the road?

Huge cow farms

Driving back from there to A2 was again the same dirt road. Thankfully the drive was pleasant on both sides, providing an insight to South African rural life. There were vast grasslands with sprinkler farming and farms with thousands of cows everywhere. Even though am from India where cows are usual, I felt like clicking pictures:); it felt so fascinating. Though I must say that it was clear that all the cows were injected with hormones. They were overflowing with milk and you could see that they could barely walk because of that. How humane is it to treat animals like this?

Storms River Mouth Rest Camp

Anyways, after this terrible ordeal, we were back on the highway where the route was green and beautiful again:). Thankfully we reached our accommodation of the night just before dark. We were staying at Storms River Mouth Rest Camp in Tsitsikamma National Park for two nights, again booked on the Sanparks website. It was a camp site on the river mouth of Storms river and there were a couple of forest huts located right next to the sea, with the mountains behind them:).

The seaside wooden huts

This location was the best we stayed at on our trip. The first night we stayed in a wooden hut with a captivating view of the sea waves crashing on the rocks, right in front of the hut. And the hut was amazing! Very well stocked, extremely clean and comfortable, and even though we were fully prepared for a barbecue, the kitchen turned out to be a proper well stocked one with no need to barbecue. It had been a long day, so we slept early after having a quick dinner. And it was only the next morning that we realised what a breath-taking place we were in!!

Day 6: Trails in Tsitsikamma National Park

Morning tea view

Also I should mention here, there is not enough marketing done for this camp - the information available online barely does justice to how good the real thing is. The camp has multiple accommodation options available - trailer areas, camping, small huts housing 2 (with outside toilets), small self contained huts and then family cottages housing 4. All of them are wooden cabins, spread out next to the water or the cliffs. And then there is a restaurant and a couple of shops nearby for any requirements. There was also a pool in the camp which we never found:).

Suspension Bridges

There are loads of activities to do all along the garden route but we spent our entire next day within the National Park. In the morning, we went on the suspension bridge trail, which takes you on a 45 mins walk through very dense tropical forests. The end of the trail are three suspension bridges which were built on the river mouth right before when it reaches the sea. This trail is quite popular with tourists and there were busloads full of tourists coming in the morning for just the trail. It was a nice walk, not so tough except the end which includes going all the way down the hill.

Lilies on Suspension Bridge trail

The trail starts with a small waterfall next to a beach and then you walk through green dense trees filled with myriad yellow, purple and orange flowers everywhere. In the end when you walk down the hill, the edge is dotted with loads of white lilies. We even spotted a few dassies on the way, sitting on top of rocks on the edge. There was also a constant chirping of all kinds of birds but even though I tried, I could not spot the birds making the sounds.

The restaurant from afar

All along the way, there are small beaches and bays and majestic views of the sea, the beaches and the camp where we were staying.

Storms River mouth

The two suspension bridges were just about ok though. At the end, there is also a small pebble beach where we spent some time sunning in the sun as the weather was quite hot during the day and we needed to rest to get over that.The water was not too cold here and we could have gone in, though we didn't.

Since there were no clear descriptions and photos of the rooms available online, the first night we had booked a two person cottage + a singles hut, and for the second day we had booked a 4 person cottage. Of course when we reached there, we realised the two person cottage was enough for 3 people to stay. And then even though we asked the park reception to allow us to stay in the same smaller cottage for the second night, they refused and so we had to shift to the other bigger cottage during the day. (This is another thing about South Africa, people just don't bend rules even if makes sense and is more convenient. In that perspective, SA is closer to Europe than developing countries in its attitude)

The second cottage was even more luxurious - with two bedrooms, a living room and a kitchen. It was very very convenient and comfortable, with everything you need inside and a picturesque view of the sea outside the balcony. One thing though is worth mentioning - in this and Kruger park accommodation, only the 3 point South African plugs are available. So you need to carry the appropriate adapter unlike the hotels in cities where you have multiple options available.

Vistas on waterfall trail

Immediately after shifting, I left for another trail, called the Waterfall trail. It is about 6.5 kms long and took me a total of about 3 hours going and coming. This trail is the first part of the famous 5-7 day Otter trail along the coast that is popular among enthusiastic hikers. It wasn't a tough trail overall, just involved walking along the sea over rocks and sometimes within the jungle.

Waterfall and the pool

It again offered stunning vistas of the waves lashing on the cliffs. At times the trail did get lost as you just had to get down to the rocks and keep walking along till you reach the trail markings back in the jungle. The end of the trail was worth getting lost though - there was a small waterfall which created a huge pool where you could swim. I hadn't prepared for the swim, so I missed it but I think this would have been lovely to do given how hot it was outside.

A deiker

I had seen a deiker right when the walk started. It was not at all scared even when I came close. And while coming back, I saw a family of about 5-6 dassies sunning themselves on the stone.

Dassies sitting on rocks

And of course, lots of lovely birds were giving me company all the way with their chirping:). I ran into lot of people both sides and was surprised how many of them were starting on the trail so late even though there were warning signs suggesting not to start too late in the day. For me though I thought it was a lovely trek and a definite recommend from me.

Vistas on waterfall trail

Vistas on waterfall trail

Evening view from the bedroom

Back from there, we enjoyed a relaxing sunset from our balcony and then finally used up all the barbecue stuff we had bought. It had also gotten a bit chillier by evening after the blazing sun during the day, which made the barbecue even more fun. We first made butta on the braai, then maggi and then roasted potato - it all tastes a lot better than when its cooked on the gas:). And then we sat outside for quite some time - listening to the sound of waves, eating coal-made food and observing the starry night which is so rare to find in the city. The experience was priceless. The night sky was the best I have ever seen in years. I even got to see the milky way crossing the sky. (We also noticed clouds on the horizon across the sea which had been there for the entire day, we saw the after effects of those the next day).

The camp as I mentioned before was very convenient. There was a restaurant on the beach, a couple of shops and also a pool which we could not find ;-). There were loads of different activities to do here - diving, boating, trails, bungee jumping, kayaking etc.. The day we were there, the sea was strong, so a lot of these activities had been cancelled. But they are enough to keep you busy for quite sometime:). There are many trails around and of the course the Otter trail if you are feeling more adventurous and campy.

Quiet sunset

The entire two days we were here, we experienced total peace and quiet all around us. This was the best place we had stayed in our entire trip. And I could stay here for days more. No wonder all the accommodation was totally full:). I also realised another thing - 'nature is always beautiful by itself. Its generally the man-made things which sometimes make it look ugly...'

Day 7: Garden Route towards Cape Town

In the morning, we woke up to the sound of waves just outside our rooms. And baboons!! There were loads of baboons in the Park and they had come out that morning creating a lot of ruckus. When we went out to look, they had overturned all the trash cans and there was a guy in a quad bike driving up and down the road trying to chase them away:).

Brenton-on-sea

We did not feel like leaving this place at all, there was something so peaceful and serene here. It was definitely the high point of our entire SA trip. But we had a long drive to Cape Town ahead, of about 7-8 hours. So we finally left early with a plan of stopping at multiple places on the way to break our journey. Plettenberg Bay for its beaches, Knysa for activities, Mossel Bay for its beach, Hermanus for whale watching and so on. However the weather turned for the worse and it was London weather all through - heavy rains, fogs, clouds and winds. So even though we stopped at Mossel Bay and Brenton beach on the way, we could not enjoy the stops at all. We did see the potential though:).

Brenton-on-sea beach

Plettenberg Bay is quite popular with tourists. While driving through mountains, the road suddenly opens up into flatlands with the lazy river creating a huge delta. Knysa was a huge city and there were many options for activities there. We drove through both these places because of the weather and finally stopped at the Brenton beach. It was lovely - a huge stretch of sand next to the sea. But the weather ensured that we did not stop there for long either.

Mossel Bay

We also stopped at Mossel Bay next but the beach there was pretty average. I don't think its one of the popular touristy places. In fact, Google maps didn't even show the way to the beach. So we drove on towards Cape Town without really enjoying any beach time yet:(.

Garden Route drive

Other than these specific places, the drive was very picturesque by itself. We crossed a lot of rivers about to meet the sea, creating fascinating and deep ravines just near its river mouth. We drove past some picturesque townships and towns on the way, perched on hills or located next to the sea and other such fantastic locations. There were also many animal parks on the way, elephant parks, snake parks, crocodile parks, eagles parks and so on. We had already done safaris in Kruger, so these were not of interest to us anymore. But I think some people might definitely like them.

Garden Route drive

There were loads of baboons on the way too. And we saw lines of farms with ostriches!! For a second, we took a double take thinking it can't be. But then it was:). Overall, the whole of Garden Route was a great drive through green country with the sea on the side. Wish the weather had been more friendly. As with most highways in SA, the quality of the roads was perfect also. Though this highway was a fully toll road.

Other than these places, our host at PE had mentioned a couple of spots to visit which we couldn't - Beacons island and hotel, Americo restaurant in Plettensberg bay to see the sunset and have fresh fish, trip to Storms river village to see an eclectic village, zip lining and bungee jumping and visit to the cat sanctuary. Again, maybe for the next time:).

Drive through wine country

After leaving the Garden Route, the drive got very boring. It was barren grasslands everywhere. So I decided to even sleep for some time:). To make it more exciting, we took a detour and shifted to A1, driving through the South African wine country. It was definitely better but still wasn't exciting enough and weather was so hot, that we got tired soon. So we drove quickly and were in Cape Town soon. And then the city life came to the forefront again. Townships outside town for the not so rich. And Cape Town for the rich:).

There was loads of traffic going into town. And it took some time to get to our hotel. We stayed at Radisson Vendana which was well located on the waterfront. Checking in quickly, we took the hotel shuttle to the Victoria and Albert waterfront to have dinner (the same waterfront I hadn't been able to find the last time:) ). It was like a huge mall on the seaside, very spread out with rides and shopping and restaurants. I forgot to take my camera though, as it looked captivating at night with all the twinkling lights. We had Indian dinner at Bukhara which was just about ok and not as great as Raj. And then as we had had a long day of driving, we called it an early night and crashed soon enough.

Day 8: Explore Cape of Good Hope and around

We stayed in Cape Town only for a day and spent that day in the Cape of Good Hope area. Most of my experiences are similar to what I had felt the last time I had been there - Cape Town. This time around though, the weather was a lot better as it was summer - sunny and warm. And the route Google Maps took us through to Simon's Town was through the mountains rather than next to the sea. While driving on the mountains, you can see the sea on both sides, a different but equally picturesque route compared to one next to the sea. But wonder why Google Maps took us through this road, is it a new route that has come up recently?

We first stopped to watch penguins in Simon's Town. Simon's Town looks just like a small English village, like Brighton. It has similar white buildings located all along the water, with a narrow road going all around. I think it would have been a good idea to stay in a place like Simon's Town than in Cape Town city. Maybe for the next time:).

Boulders Beach

While looking for the penguins, somehow we landed up at Boulders Beach, which was next to the beach where the penguins are generally spotted. There were loads of people swimming on the beach, plus a group of penguins sunning themselves on one of the boulders. It was a nice sight to watch them toddle along and play with each other.

Penguins sunning on the beach

One of the penguins was sitting on a rock alone for sometime, and then she got up, jumped into the water and swam all the way to the beach. She walked up to one of the bushes, almost coming close to the tourists sitting there and then vanished! We tried to find her in the bushes but were quite unsuccessful. Seeing the penguin swim, I realised they can swim so fast. It was quite a captivating sight to see it.

Cape of Good Hope

And then we went to the Cape of Good Hope. Entry into the Park had a very long queue because of the construction going on the Main Gate. We first went to the Cape of Good Hope and saw a dead whale on the beach. It was a sorry sight and the whole area was stinking heavily. So we quickly moved to the Cape Point. We think we saw an Eland on the drive up there but am not sure.

The park vegetation

The whole park was flowering right now - yellow, purple and white flowers covered the whole landscape. At Cape Point, this time we walked up to the lighthouse. It was a half an hour walk up with panoramic views of water on all sides and a narrow Cape jutting out. I loved the quick walk up. The weather also made it more enjoyable, it felt quite warm whenever we were in the sun though it was quite windy the whole time.

View from the lighthouse

Sea on both sides

Beaches on Chapman's drive

And while coming back, we drove through Chapmans Peak, which was again lovely providing fascinating vistas of beach towns and villages, and the lazy life there. All along the route, there were also loads of people selling sculptures. A lot more than anywhere else we had driven.

Views on Chapmans drive

Our favourite village was Scotts Estate (yes that's a name) which had one of the prettiest beaches on this route.

Scotts estate beach

Holiday homes:)

Camps Bay

While back in town, we crossed another Raj on Camps Bay and stopped there for dinner. The food was tasty (as usual) and the entire atmosphere around very lively. This set of shops were located right next to the beach and it was full of people out chilling in the sun on a Saturday.

People chilling on Camps Bay

We also saw two groups of people just dancing to music on the streets - it felt so chilled out and fun. There was a vibe to Cape Town which I could sense here but which I have not explored much yet as all my trips to CT have been spent outside the city. Maybe once I should stay within and try to understand what it is about the city which everyone in South Africa loves to rave about. Anyways after a long day, we were tired again and soon after slept off once back in the hotel, so no more exploring happened that day:).

Day 9: Goodbye to South Africa

Waterfront

On our last day in SA, we got ready early and first walked a bit on the waterfront in front of our hotel. It was a nice walk and a good way to freshen up the day.

Signal Hill drive

Thereafter, we drove up to Signal Hill, one of the three mountains around CT. The drive was stunning and the views magnificent. It is one of those places you can stay for quite some time. From the top of the hill, many people were getting ready for hang gliding; something I would love to do on my next visit. And loads of people were hiking up the peak also. As we did not have enough time, we just spent some time there admiring the city below. And then were off to the airport, which was about 20-30 minutes ride away.

View from Signal Hill

Cape Town from Signal Hill

Also, even though now I have visited Cape Town twice, I still have not been up to Table Mountain. So another trip is definitely due:).

Landing in Joburg

My flight back to London was through Johannesburg where I had a break for a couple of hours. While landing in Joburg, I could see the difference in the two cities - Cape Town felt so much more open than Jozi. Jozi felt so much more up and coming, trying to redevelop itself. And which also means it may be less good-looking for now. Once in Joburg, I spent my time in the airport shopping but turned out all the things I was picking up were not from SA, so decided not to shop :D. Anyways this was the end of my two very interesting months in SA, and I was feeling sad to leave - but of course with a promise to be back soon:).

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