At Cape of Good Hope.
The trip
Below is a very rough sketch of my recollection of our
South African itinerary. Some of the exact events may be
recorded in the wrong days or missed and places may be
confused. But it does provide a broad indication of the
trip.
Saturday 18/12: TGV Train
Brussels-Paris Airport, Paris-Frankfurt,
Frankfurt-Jo'burg.
Sunday 19/12: Arrival. 14 on
trip. Met by guide Materne and driver MZ from African Eagle. Into our
van, visited Johannesburg and guided tour of Soweto from a
resident, including Nobel prize alley (D. Tutu & N. Mandela). Visited
Pretoria. Ate many varieties of meat at
the Carnivore
Restaurant.Stayed at Courtyard
Hotel at Eastgate.
Monday 20/12: Headed for
Hazyview, visiting the old gold town of Pilgrims'
Rest and
Blyde River Canyon (the third largest canyon in the
world, after the Grand Canyon in the US and Fish River Canyon in Namibia)
on the way. Stayed in Sanbonani
Hotel.
Tuesday 21/12: Kruger
Park South. Day on safari. Back to same hotel.
Wednesday 22/12: Headed across
the border to Mbabane, capital of Swaziland (see map).
Visited the
'Happy Valley' and the swazi candle
factory at Malkerns as well as the Ngwenya glass
factory. Stayed at Foresters'
Arms hotel.
Thursday 23/12: Departed for
Lavumisa. Travelled through the plains of south western
Swaziland crossing back into South Africa. Headed for Hluhluwe.
Afternoon safari in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi
reserve. Stayed at Heritage Zulu
Nyala hotel.
Friday 24/12: Visited the Zulu
village next to hotel. Then to Durban on the Indian Ocean.
Visited the city, its Indian
market and botanical
gardens. Night at Riverside Hotel
on the Umgeni River.
Saturday 25/12: Headed for
Bergville. Explored and hiked in the Drakensberg
mountains , a World Heritage Site. Stayed at the Sandford
Park Hotel which started its life as a coach house in
1850.
Sunday 26/12: Headed for
Bloemfontein. Visited Golden
Gate Highlands' National Park in mountains at edge of
Lesotho. Visited the
National Women's Monument which commemorates 26,000
Boer women and children who died in the Bloemfontein
concentration camp during the Anglo-Boer War to interned
Boers and the city of Bloemfontein, the judicial capital of
South Africa. Stayed at
Holiday Inn Bloemfontein.
Monday 27/12: Set out for Graaff
Reinet/Cradock. Safari in Mountain
Zebra national park. Stayed at Die Tuishuise hotel
in Cradock consisting of 20 or so restored 1840's houses on
both sides of one street.
Tuesday 28/12: Headed for Port
Elisabeth. Another safari in Addo Elephant
Park. Spent night at the quaint Tsitsikamma
Village Inn near Plettenberg.
Wednesday 29/12: To Oudtshoorn.
Visited world's longest bungee jump 220m, but no takers
from group. Swimming at
Plettenberg Beach on the garden route. Visited the town
of Knysna.
Visited Highgate
ostrich farm. Patrice was the only one to ride an ostrich!
Dined on ostrich steaks and omlettes. Night at the four
star De Oude
Meul Country Estate and Game farm . Slightly
utilitarian, in the middle of nowhere (ostrich country -
90% of world output). But opportunity for personal
communication with birds before 7 a.m. and a nice
breakfast!
Thursday 30/12: Traveled on the
wine route. Visited Mossel Bay and
its maritime
museum which traces Portuguese maritime history from
1488 and has a replica of Bartolomeu Dias' caravel which
rounded the Cape. Then on to Swellendam
founded in 1746 by the Trekboers. Ate and stayed at the Stellenbosch
Hotel.
Friday 31/12: Wine route to Cape
Town. Visited Stellenbosch first and had wine tasting at Seidelberg winery
in Paarl. Interestingly enough their historic label 'De
Leuwen Jagt' has now been relegated to their second string
wines. Visited Franschoek
established by French Huguenots in 17th Century and the
museum there. Headed for the Cape. Visited the Victoria and Alfred
Waterfront in Cape Town. Dinner at the
Societi Bistro. Stayed at the Courtyard
Hotel.
Saturday 1/1: Back to Cape Town.
Boat tour to Duiker
Island at Hout bay to see the seals. Visited the Cape
of Good Hope National Park and walked to
Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope. Visited the Kirstenbosch
botanical gardens, the city of Cape Town and the
Malay district. Stayed at same hotel.
Sunday 2/1: Morning free. Spent
at Victoria and Alfred Waterfront and the Cape Town
aquarium. Seafood lunch at the
Ocean Basket restaurant. Since Table Mountain had been
closed due to wind for several days, visited the historic
Groot Constantia winery, founded in 1685, a favourite
of Napoleon, and tasted the offerings there. To airport at
5 p.m. and long flight from Cape Town to Frankfurt, across
to Paris and eventually back to Brussels, arriving at 2
p.m. Monday.
Go to Sth. Africa 2004 pictures from others page
Return to main South Africa page
Or
go to data for the index to Lenn*n
entries.
Alternatively,
go to my railwayana.com
pages for Irish railway data
Or
even, go to my railwayana
auction price pages
