APRIL 5th - we had an early flight so decided against a morning game drive. All guests at the resort (10) were leaving so we all got on the same plane and had a 50 minute flight to Okunago - another lodge in the delta which has a lot of bird life. We dropped 2 passengers off and picked up 2 for the 35 minute flight to Maun. This was a grass landing strip. From Maun we boarded a flight to Johannesburg to pick up our heavier bags prior to catching a plane to Capetown. There was a screw up with our flights to Capetown so 1 member of our party flew down herself and the rest followed an hour later which meant it was after 10 pm when we arrived at the Table Bay hotel. There was a dinner planned for us but we changed it to lunch the next day.
APRIL 6th - Len was sooooo happy to finally have a gym to use. It was small but after so many days of only getting small walks as exercise it felt like the best spa in the world. The hotel has 2 rooms for breakfast and has the biggest buffet we've ever seen. There was a juice room, many fruits, yogurts, sushi, cold meats, oysters on the half shell, hot dishes, waffles, wonderful muffins, cheeses and special coffees. We had lunch and then went on a 4 hour city tour. There were gale force winds at the top of Table Mountain so we couldn't take the cablecar to the top. A lot of people walk it - the shortest route (there are over 300 paths) takes at least 2 hours so that was not a possibility due to time constraints. We went to Signal Hill and saw the island where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for so many years. The city is very cosmopolitan. A lot of investments have been made by Asians, Europeans and Americans. We drove by the soccer stadium which seats 70,000 built for the World Cup in 2010. Sadly, it is not used much now except for concerts by big international stars.
Dinner was at Reubens - food with an African twist. Very good.
APRIL 7th - After the gym and breakfast we left for a full days tour.. The first stop was a visit to an African penguin colony (known as jackass penguins due to the braying sound they make),. We encountered a human chain of protesters as we proceeded to Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope. It was so windy at the Cape of Good Hope that we had problems standing up. Lethbridge winds do not compare to what we encountered. Incredible surf and white caps. We carried on to Cape Point where we had lunch at the world famous Two Oceans Restaurant. We then visited a couple of wineries for wine tasting and had to make a purchase.
Dinner was at La Bon Vivant in Franschhoek with a 5 course secret menu. It was french cuisine by a Dutch chef. We started with a palate cleanser - mousse with peas (not a course). Then we had tuna 3 different ways - raw, cured and a tuna pop. 2nd course - duck breast, duck terrine and a quails egg. 3rd course - prawns , fish balls. 4th course - a small filet and pork belly with potatoes and veggies. Dessert - 3 mousses - chocolate, mocha and vanilla. A different wine was served with each course and they did not skimp on the servings. We all skipped the dessert wine. The servings were not huge but we were all stuffed for the hour and a half ride back to the hotel,.
It was a long and tiring day but we saw incredible scenery and learned a lot about the Cape.
Pictures -1 - Table Mountain from Signal Hill
2 - jackass penguins
3 - Cape of Good Hope from the safety of the van
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