Benoni - The final leg of SA

Back to Benoni for our final 5 days in SA. Leigh & Werner very kindly offered as a place to stay again - we must have got them drunk enough last time for them to have us back ;)

We spent a bit of time here just chilling, doing some internet stuff, and planning for Oz!!

Friday night we went out for some farewell drinks with Leigh, Werner, Kelly, Rajmund, Kingsley and Yvonne. It was great fun, and Ev got to revisit some of her old haunts one final time. We had some good food at McGinty's - and some Jack D shots, then played a few games of pool at Shooters...

Next day, Leigh joined us as we visited the Cradle of Humankind. This was pretty interesting as we looked round some caves and saw one of the most significant sites for extracting fossils. This is where 'Mrs Ples' was found - she (but now they thing she may actually be a he) is the first Australopithecus Africanus remains to be found, dated 2.8 millions years old, which they say is the link between humans and monkeys!

Sunday was also pretty eventful as we went to Pretoria for the day. The Voortrekker Monument and Museum was interesting, as its the first time we've seen SA history from the white persons perspective. It was insightful to see why the boers left Cape Town and why wars with the Zulus broke out. This is a really beautiful monument as well, and it would be a travesty if the new government knock this down (as rumoured).

We had a little drive around the city, where the streets are lined with the purple jacaranda trees. We stopped briefly outside the parliamentary buildings, which are impressive with some nice gardens, before carrying on to Hatfield square. This is the party area part of town with loads of bars and restaurants situated round the corner from the university. We wandered around the craft markets that they have here on Sundays full of African memorabilia.

Monday was pretty good as we went go-karting with David, Leigh & Werner. It was great fun racing each other until Leigh's kart wouldn't stop and went straight through the pit lane and smashed into the barrier (her break became the accelerator!!) and she hurt her back in the process - so sorry Leigh :(

We had 3x 20mins spells on the track - and we managed about 60 laps 1st time, 70 laps 2nd, and then 90 on the 3rd, so we got better. The fastest lap was by David being about 14.15 secs and he probably would have won all three circuits if he didn't spin out ;)

We had some good battles, though Evelyn avoided too much conflict by gracefully moving over when she was caught by one of the boys. In the final session, she did over take both boys and made a race of it. Marc over took David once during the last session, which was as good as a victory ;) All in all it was a fun evening.

Our final night in Benoni we took Leigh & Werner out for dinner which was great - A big thanks to you both for letting us crash at yours we had a great time

Western Province: Cape Town part II

After Simons Town, we headed back to Cape Town. Francois' (a friend from London) parents, Neville and Charmaine, very kindly offered us a place to stay for our final 5 days in Cape Town.

It was great to relax for a bit, and have a base for a few days, after having to pack up and move at least every other day. We spent a bit of time at V&A Waterfront, did a bit of window shopping, and managed to get some free internet time to sort our photos/blog.



We spent a day in Cape Town CBD (central business district) which isn't too glamorous. We visited the gardens and the SA museum, which included the planetarium. Unfortunately, the art gallery is closed on Wednesdays, the day we were there!! Still, we wondered around for a bit, passed a few shops and felt slightly nervous of our safety (though nothing to worry about).

We also got a few bargains at the craft market at Green Market Square. We browsed for a bit and heard "it costs nothing to view", "Excuse me, I have a question", "good price for my lucky first customer" countless times. This was a bit too much for Marc so he needed a hot chocy to recuperate ;) Once re-energised, we played hard ball and found some nice "cotton" prints with some typical African designs. We took a liking to one with a white background and various San people (the original Africans) designs painted on. The price started at R250 for 1, but we ended up getting 2 for R280. She asked for R300, and we would have paid, but the saleswoman was chatting with her friends in her native tongue and started laughing, giving us the feeling we were being ripped off!!

We did feel a bit bad for not paying the full price, as R20 is maybe £1.50 and nothing to us, but hey, she looked a like she was putting on a show to get more money, and they don't cost much to produce!

Besides, it then meant we then had enough money left to by a nice hand painting of two giraffes at sunset. Evelyn really wanted this painting as it reminded us of our Hluhluwe safari, when we saw the two herds of giraffe at close range.

We spent a day on Robben Island. This was pretty interesting, and showed us more of the island than just the prison (ex- leper colony, World War II barracks, limestone mine, and some wildlife (buck, ostrich, deer). The tour was good, though a bit bias against the old white government. The ex-prisoner was also very interesting and gave a good insight to what life was like as an apartheid prisoner - tough, with guards ever trying to divide prisoners, yet this brought them closer together and made them more determined to succeed. In fact, many prisoners became better educated, and therefore, more of a political threat whilst they were locked up. All in all, it was worth going across to the Island.


Table Mountain from Robben Island

We also went out to a small town, Wellington, to buy some discounted Calibri towels - which we heard about from the lady at Simons Town - Evelyn insisted on getting them. So, if you come to stay, towel-drying will be like the Ritz ;) The Aquarium at the V&A Waterfront was good, and we timed it right to see feeding in the kelk fish tank, shark tank and the penguin and seal enclosures.


Us at Milky Lane - Yummy

Our final highlight here was the botanical gardens, which were beautiful. It was very pleasant to walk around in the sun, then have a picnic with the guinea fowl, ducks and their babies walking around. Our final evening we took our hosts out to a great steak house to say thanks for putting us up. This was a great last day in Cape Town and would definitely recommend this place to holiday.

Western Province: Simonstown & Cape Point

We thought it was going to be difficult to top Table Mountain, and in terms of personal achievements, this was true. However, when we ever think we've found the best that nature can offer, we always find something more awe inspiring.


12 Apostles from Camps Bay

We left Cape Town and headed along the coast past some of Cape Town's beaches and stopped at Camps Bay for tea and muffins. The water here is freezing as it come straight from the Antarctic so definitely no swimming here ;) As we were walking along the beach we caught sight of a whale playing in the bay, it was so close! Absolutely amazing!

After the excitement we headed along Chapmans Peak drive. This route is very scenic. You drive along, with the ocean on one side and sheer cliff face on the other, hoping that no rocks will come loose and tumble down - on some parts of the road there are nets to catch falling rocks!! The views here are just beautiful.

As we rounded a corner we came across the whitest beach we've ever seen (Witsand Beach) - we found a pathway down to the beach (the banks were quite steep) and just chilled for a bit, taking in the views and watching a few people brave the cold waters to surf. The sand was incredibly soft here, and we could see to Cape Point which looked misty with the clouds coming off the ocean.

We booked into our B&B which was just fabulous - one of the best we've stayed in so far - we had ocean views from our bedroom and our own private balcony. We originally thought about going to Cape Point the following day as the mist we saw coming in looked really thick but it was recommended that we go today as the weather was forecast to get worse... so we left straight away and en route we came across a load of baboons in the road - scary (but the babies were cute;)
Our first stop was the lighthouse at Cape Point. From there we could see whales swimming around the point and we even managed to spot some seals playing around in the surf below.

Far from home (left), Monkey giving directions (right)

Next was Cape of Good Hope where we stopped for sunset with a "glass" of Franshoek red. It was just beautiful sitting there watching the sun setting, we then realised that it was getting late and the park closed at 7 and it was 6.45! Oops, so we drove on only to realise that the full moon was rising behind us and further on it was an even more amazing to find the mists coming in around us and trickling over the mountain edges. Nature at its best!

We managed to make it home safe with some take away fish & chips to have on our balcony. We had exquisite views of the full moon shimmering over the ocean bay. As we were sitting there, enjoying the peacefulness and thinking about the beautiful views we experienced that day, we heard some odd sounds out in the distance - Marc thought it was warthogs from the farm next door, Evelyn thought it was whales.... and typically Evelyn was right as the next morning we awoke to the same sounds and discovered that it was whales in the bay outside our room!

After a lovely brekkie on the veranda (from which we could still see the whales) we went to Boulders Beach, home to colonies of African Penguins. It was a pitty they were moulting as they don't swim or eat during this time, so they just sat about in the shade looking a tad messy, but still very cute. When not moulting, you can swim with the penguins around you.

When we left Simons Town we came across a whale in the bay and loads of cars had pulled over to watch it splach about which was the perfect ending to our Simons Town adventure.

Western Province: Cape Town & Table Mountain

Doing this blog is making us realise how much really cool stuff we are doing, and the main attraction is yet to come - Table Mountain!

We checked into Almafi flats (at Greenpoint), which were basic, but ideally situated and they had lovely views out across the bay (Evelyn & Jennifer stayed here a couple of years ago).


View from bedroom window

We headed down to the V&A Waterfront to mozy around the shops and have a beer, with table mountain in the back drop. V&A is vibrant and full of life, with loads of eateries outside, and a few street entertainers. There is a nice little harbour, and the footbridge raises to let the boats in and out. There is also a nice little craft market, but with everything at tourist prices we didnt buy anything.

We hoped to wake up early and climb Table Mountain - but by now we should know that this was impossible... so it was that at about 12pm we started the accent of Table Mountain (from Platteklip Gorge). The climb (steep walk) of 700m took us about 2hrs, and wasn't easy at the hottest point of the day. Another couple (some cops) set off the same as us, and they found it just as tough.



All the effort was worth while, once we to the top and saw the stunning views on offer. We could see to Cape Town city, V&A Waterfront, Robben Island, the start of the Karoo, the wine regions, False Bay, and Cape Point. Marc came here 8yrs ago, and it looks like the size of Cape Town has doubled. There is very little green land left by Cape Town now, and its all buildings...



We decided that the climb wasnt enough exercise for us, so we walked across the top of the mountain to the sumit, Maclear's Beacon, which provided even more spectacular views.



We then made it back over to the cable car for sunset, and got a beautiful view of the sun setting over the sea, the full moon rising over the hinterland, and cape town by night. The cable car down was a bit nervy as it was very windy, its not good if you dislike heights as it revolves, so matter where you stand, you always see the drop!!

Western Province: Franshoek

After the excitment of sharks and whales, the serenity of the vineyards beckoned.

Most people will hear of Stellenbosch over Franshoek, but Franshoek is a lot smaller and a lot prettier, and surrounded by mountains. We stayed on the Chamonix winery, which is gorgeous.

Once settled in our quaint little cottage, we headed up to the wine tasting. They had a really good selection, and we had 5 tasters, with the Shiraz being the pick. We then moved on to the Appertifs and Liquours and had a variety of schnapps (nasty) and grappa (very nasty). And it may have been wise to have had lunch before going for the tastings ;)

We went for a wander around the town and found this lovely choclate shop, which normally offers tours around the factory (they were booked out unfortunately). Still, it was rude not to buy a slab (which is still going some 2 months later;)

Then back to the cottage to watch the sunset over the mountains, with a glass or two of shiraz, before heading out to a lovely restuarant and we were introduced to the Boschendal Rose;)

The next day, we went for a tour of the wine cellar, but due to the guide not turning up one of the marketing men had to do the tour...

We so thoroughly enjoyed our drink last night that we ended up stopping off at the Boschendal winery and did a tasting there. We just couldn't resist purchasing a few more bottles ;D

Western Province: Hermanus

And now for our most looked forward to part of our journey - Hermanus - whale spotting heaven

From July to November, this is whale watching town, as the whales embark on their annual migration from the Antartic to the warmer waters of the Pacific to mate and calf (1 year they mate, the next year they calf). We stayed at Hermanus Backpackers, which seemed an OK place. We arrived on Sunday, and all the evidence suggested that Saturday was a big night, so the place was a bit sedate, and we probably didn't see it at its best during our stay. And they need a new pool table!!

But we were here for the whales, not the nightlife, and it was an awesome stay. In the morning we walked around the bay, and saw some Southern Right Whales about 50m out, which we stayed and watched as they ambled along the coast. We then got some lunch and found a great spot just away from the crowds and a bit closer to the water, once we had got passed the resident Rock Dassies (like rabbits) sleeping on the steps. We just sat and watched more whales glide past, flipping their tails in the air, blowing water, and spy hopping (sticking their heads out of the water to watch us). Further out, more whales were breaching (jumping) and sticking their fins out of the water.




Hermanus is also famed for its Great Whites. About 20km away at Klein Baai they do shark cage diving, where you can get face to face with these beasts. We weren't keen to go diving, so we got a boat out to watch the more crazy people do this challenge. Due to the rain the previous day, the waters were still a bit murky, and there were not as many boats out, but it was still an incredible trip.

We arrived at the port, to find our guide waiting, and we looked around for his boat. There was an 8mtr dingy in the water, which couldnt possibly be for us... surely. That immortal line form the movie, couldnt be more true - "we're gonna need a bigger boat!" We were reassured that great whites only grow to about 6mtrs... normally... sometimes bigger!! And when this guy was filming with National Geographic, and the shark attacked the boat, it only flattened the rubber surround (designed to stop us falling out) and the boat didnt sink!!!




After that confidence booster we set out. We arrived at the dive site to find a smallish fishing boat with a cage on the side. There was someone in the cage, and then someone throwing bait (fish in a net-bag) into the water. Then as we pulled up we saw the fins.




This one was just a baby - maybe a couple of meters long. This one came up quite a few times. We were there for about 20mins, watching the divers, and there must have been about 20 sightings - our guide reckoned there was half a dozen different sharks, though with our trained eye, we couldnt really tell the difference, apart from one that was 6mtrs. This one was big. Saying that they are all big, and very fast & powerful. Despite this, one guy who was throwing out bait to distract the gulls, was washing his hands and feet in the sea!!



The water visability was poor, so we could only see about 5 mtrs (On a better day we would be able to see 10). Still, we did see one shark close up as he swam around and under our boat!! That was pretty cool!!

Then we moved on to see why sharks are in this area - Dyer Island, aka Seal Island. About 50,000 seals live on this 3 hectare island. Its a small island, with no irrigation/sanitation, and the stench almost made Evelyn sick!! We moved downwind (down shark alley), and watched the cute playful seals swimming around the boat, jumping and dancing in the water, trying to see what we were doing (similar to how we expect dolphins would behave). Generally, the seals are safe around the island, as its surrounded by kelk, which the sharks hate. However, when feeding the seals stray from the island, which is when sharky gets lunch;)



On our to see the sharks we saw a few whales in the distance, so when moving over to Dyer Island, our guide took us for a closer look. There were two Southern Rights, and both were over 20mtrs long. This was the highlight of the trip as these glorious mammals were almost in touching distance of our boat. There were just swimming along, blowing air, and watching us as much as we were them. Our guide was great to keep us in the right position, not to scare them off (they get scared of hitting the boat), and give us the best possible view. Awesome!!



He then saw a humpback whale, but it disappeared, so after seeing the seals, he tracked it down. He tracked it so well, that when he found it, he did an emergency turn as it surfaced for air right next to our boat!! Much closer and we'd have been in the water!! We also saw a penguin colony with the use of binoculars.




Double Jack on the Rocks please ;)

Western Province: Garden Route

The Garden Route is famed for specactular scenery - the Southern Ocean hits the coast, which in parts is rugged, and in parts beautiful sandy beaches. The combination of rocks, wind and ocean rips, makes for good waves and some of the best surfing spots in the world. Hugging the coast line are the mountains, which make a stunning back drop.

So far the weather in WP has been good, with clear blue skys and temperatures in the early to mid 20s. Pretty much perfect for visiting beaches along the Garden Route.

Of course, by the time we reached Mossel Bay, the sun had gone, and the fog rolled in!! We checked into the Santos Express - this is an old steam train, set up on the beach, next to a working train line, with the old cabins converted into bedrooms. This was something a bit different and it was nice being so close to the beach, or so we thought...

We could put up with the slightly dense and unhelpful staff, and the smallish rooms, but at 3am, the place came alive. We assume this was closing time for the pubs, as all the kids came down to the beach car park right next to the train. Then as they do, they were there for a few hours, playing loud music (the same two songs over & over again - r&b pop of all things!), chatting, drinking, and generally making a bit of a racket.

We had wondered why there were some slightly derogitary comments in the comments book, why we had to pay in full in advance for our stay (very unusual in SA) and why there were signs saying no refunds!! It all became clear after that 1st night, and the novelty of sleeping on a steam train lost its charm, so we checked out a day early (and got a refund - thank goodness)

This worked out for the best, and we headed over to Kynsna. We were originally planning to take the Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe (a working steam train) to Kynsna, but due to some severe storms a month or so earlier, the winds and rain caused massive flooding, landslides and rockfall down the mountains and have effectively destroyed this attraction (about R40m in damage) and it is unlikely this will ever be repaired.

So, we drove to Knysna, (and found that quite a bit of damage had hit the road as well), and were lucky to get to the accomodation office just before it shut, and they recommended this lovely self-catering log cabin over looking the lagoon and Knysna heads, complete with balcony and spa. We checked out the hostels, but after the previous night, decided to upgrade to some luxury and stayed at the lodge.

Knysna itself is a pretty little town that has been voted "SA's Nicest Town" two years running, so only fitting that we should see our first mugging as we drove along the high street!!

The attraction of Knsyna is the lagoon, forest walks and the headlands. Unfortunately, those bad storms meant that most of the walks were closed, so we headed down to Plettenburg for the afternoon. Plett, has some really nice beaches and good surf, so we had a little look, but the drizzle meant we ended up in a beach bar - this is where we saw our first whales ;D

The next day, we took a boat trip over the lagoon to the west side of the Knysna Heads, we caught a tractor train up the mountain where we were dropped off and walked back down through the forest to see the views from the heads which were amazing, then stopped off by some coves.

Luckily we lost the slightly insane group singing "Follow da leader" in very Jamacian accents, and Evelyn took care of her knees and joined the oldies group by taking one of the free walking sticks. There were some great views and nice fynbos, and after the long walk there was a great buffet (if you like seafood) so Marc really enjoyed himself... and the desserts where lovely. So after we filled our tummys we caught the boat back to the docks to continue our journey.

Western Province: Oudtshoorn

Next we drove to Oudtshoorn, with the little Karoo on one side and the big Karoo on the other. The Karoo is basically fynbos (shrubs and bushland) and mountains as far as the eye can see. So as you can imagine, there is not much here apart from beautiful scenery, and of course, the busy “Ronnie’s Sex Shop” !!



Oudtshoorn has a bit more life to it, and is famous for its ostrich farms, which are in abundance. There is also Cheetaland, which we visited, expecting a large sanctuary full of recouperating cheetas - a bit like Evelyn's lion experience. What we got was nothing like a land, but a zoo. We were a bit disappointed, as all the animals were squashed in and didnt look too happy, and whilst we wanted to go and pat some cheetha cubs we were a bit disheartened. The croc show was equally as small, and the crocs weren't in a playful mood or interested in the dead rabbits on offer (there was no disguising what was for dinner!!) The pigmy hippos, lemars, and meercats were cute and had a bit more space to play in.

We checked into Backpackers Paradise, and were pleasantly surprised – good, clean, ensuite room with balcony, friendly staff, cheap internet, TV room showing the footy (Germans got the remote early so couldn’t watch the Pool vs Galatasry;( ), BBQ/fire area by the bar. What more could you ask for at a backpackers;) This was the perfect place to relax after a 54km cycle...

Ahhh, the story of the 54km cycle ride - After leaving the backpackers at 9am by mini van and being dropped off an hour later at “Die Top” (The Top) of the Swartsberg mountains (This mountain range reaches a height of 1585m above sea level), and so our journey began.



Looking over all the mountains that we were about to conquer we finally realised that we may have slightly over judged our fitness (well at least Evelyn thought so…) Although most of it was downhill it made it quite treacherous with the steepness, windiness and adding to that the wind factor, so staying on the bike was a challenge!! So no matter how hard you tried to pick up speed before the inclines the wind just took it away from you, not to mention the optical illusions of some of the up-hills that looked like down hills. But it was great fun trying to outdo the other couples ;)



After 1.5hrs (25km) we got to the Cango Caves (and what an up hill it was to get to them!) Marc sneakily cycled up and around the corner - to impress Evelyn as she got off her bike at the start of the hill with a few of the other girls - and once out of eye shot also walked ;)

So it was that at around 12.30 we did the adventure tour at the famous Cango Caves. This tour takes you 600m under the mountains and through the caves showing off the stalactites and stalagmites and all the other rock formations that have built up over millions of years. Once we passed through the easy bits and climbed down a few stairs we got to the tight bits.

It started with the accent up Jacobs Ladder, before coming to lovers lane, named so because the only way to get through is to hug the rock. This was followed by a tunnel where you have to bend over double to get through. By far the hardest part was climbing the Devils Chimney – no stairs on this one - you had to lift your right foot (or knee) to about waist height to get the first footing, so you could push yourself up to get a hand hold, and begin the 7mtr almost vertical climb. The complication is that there is barely enough room to get you first footing - the diameter of this tunnel was less than ½ metre, and it was dark so you couldn’t see the top. The girls & guys at the front of the group were scared about going up and getting stuck, so Evelyn volunteered to up first. She made it look easy ;)


Lovers Lane (left) Devils Chimney (right)

A few people then followed, and this big, burley man was having a few problems, so Evelyn had to virtually drag him up. His girlfriend, then tried to go up, but wasn’t listening to the instructions about the foothold. So she tried to just scramble up the rocks – this is impossible to do without sucker pads as the rocks are smooth, slippery, and virtually straight up. Marc was watching from the bottom, and was in hysterics at watching this womans feet move so fast, but getting absolutely nowhere ;) – imagine the speed at which a meercat moves its front paws when digging a hole, and thats close to this womans feet!!

There was then the post box (takes letters, but not parcels). You have to shimmy on your stomach, head first, to the gap, then reverse through the gap on the side, feet first, on your back. Marc is almost classed as a parcel ;)



This tour took us about 1 1/2 hours (it felt like three) and we still had another 25kms to cycle, and the downhill bits were over!!! Our next motivational check point was a cute little tea house, which offered much needed refreshment (tea & scones) and a pool! There were a couple people from the hostel there, so it was nice to sit down, chill, chat and forget about the remaining 10km home…

This last leg was ok, but a bit tedious and demoralising - it was a couple of long straight (flat:D ) roads - one was about 4km - a really long distance on a bike!

When we got back, a Braai (BBQ) was on the go, and Marc signed up to get some Ostrich steak. Marc likens this to beef - it was red, soft, succulent, and pretty tasty - and is probably better than beef as less fatty than rump. Evelyn thought it tasted of sea salt and compared it to fish! After dinner, the fire was kept going, so a few of us sat outside, and relaxed with a well earned beer and chatted trying to get over the throbbing of our sore muscles.


The next day we visited one of the ostrich farms. You learn a bit about how the farm works, and how stupid the ostriches really are!! There are various exicting facts about ostriches which are best saved for a chat with a beer. The farms are also fun, and you can feed, touch, and ride the ostriches, stand on their eggs, and get a neck massage from them (we've got some funny videos)!!




Our final stop in Oudtshoorn was a waterfall, which we opted out of on our cycle ride ;)