It is a fact that I am not as interested in cities as I am in nature. I appreciate that cities are important and there are people that prefer them to being out in nature. I like to travel to places that have critters (even small ones and what some would consider creepy crawlies) and landscapes (especially beautiful ones) that are new to me and different from what I know. On this trip I planned to see and photograph new critters and landscapes, but to get there, we had to make the long haul to a place big enough to start the adventure. Cape Town was the city of choice. Fortunately it was rated in a recent article in Travel+Leisure as one of the “25 Most Beautiful Cities in the World.” I had seen in a recent travel show that it is also highly regarded as a food and wine destination (something my wife and I both enjoy), so I did some research and planned to use Cape Town as our starting point for this Africa adventure.
I worked with an American travel consulting group called Extraordinary Journeys (EJ). I used them when I took my wife on our first African Safaris in 2016. They did a great job then. It was worth the money to have a consultant with connections and experience in the remote places I wanted to see at a standard that my wife could enjoy. (She has places she says she won’t go that don’t make me feel as uncomfortable. To be sure, I have places I won’t go too, but my bar is set pretty low. It is one of many reasons I won’t be able to see it all, but I am trying pretty hard.) The agent I used the last time was no longer with the company, but they referred me to another agent, Kim Green. She and her team were a pleasure to work with this time. It’s not that my wife doesn’t trust my planning skills, but having someone who specializes in this type of travel helps make her more comfortable. My wife had people telling her that South Africa wasn’t the safest place to travel. I wanted to make sure she was convinced that we were in good hands and we would be safe.
It was a long flight from Amsterdam and we arrived too late to realistically plan on using the day for anything but travel. Still not adjusted to the time difference; we relaxed at the hotel for the evening and next day. We stayed at At Cloud 9 Boutique Hotel & Spa for four nights, and yes we both took advantage of the onsite spa. The exchange rate made it too good to pass up (just as it did when we visited Bali) and the rest helped us get adjusted. The whole staff at the hotel went out of their way to make sure we were happy. A fresh healthy breakfast was served every morning. It had an interesting architectural vibe (Yes, I am interested in architecture.) and was vetted by EJ to meet their green travel standard, which I also think is important.
After a day of relaxation, we ate dinner at ëlgr Restaurant; within walking distance of the hotel. It didn’t look impressive from the outside. We had an early reservation and were the first in the door when they opened for dinner. Once seated, I ordered the Chef’s Choice Sharing Menu with Paired Wines for two. We were a little confused at first because so much food was placed on the table after we ordered that we were not sure if that was all we were going to get. It was all good and paired well with the wine. As soon as we had finished the first offering, we each got another plate and another glass of wine served by the sommelier with an explanation of the reason for the pairing. Service was excellent even though by now the restaurant was filling up. The process was repeated for at least two more courses. At the end of the meal we were both satiated and grateful. We certainly felt by now that South Africa was even better than we hoped it would be and we barely had begun the trip.
The next day we met our driver (I didn’t want to rent a car my first time in South Africa.) who doubled as our tour guide. His name was Jackson. He took us up the iconic Table Mountain to the cable car, but unfortunately it was closed unexpectedly because of high winds. (The view at the base was worth the drive and it literally gave us an overview of the city.) Without missing a beat, he altered plans and went on with our tour of the city; keeping us interested by educating us on the fascinating and complex human history, as well as the natural history and architectural history of his native land. He was well versed in many subjects (including Rugby– coincidentally, the national team: the Springboks, won the 2023 world cup in France while we were in South Africa) and old enough to have experienced apartheid. He was a very kind man, who was able to skillfully keep us out of traffic while carrying on conversations on difficult topics. At the end of a full day seeing city sites with the right combination of exercise and recovery, he dropped us off for a seafood feast at Codfather Restaurant, in Camps Bay. We made our own way back to the hotel. It was a very good day! For photos of this part of the trip click here.
After an early breakfast the next morning, we were met by our driver again, this time to explore the peninsula that includes the southwesternmost tip of the African continent. It is not geographically the southernmost, but they seem to make a bigger deal of The Cape of Good Hope than Cape Agulhas; which is the actual place where the cold South Atlantic current crashes into the warm Indian Ocean current. (If you want a better explanation, it might be “worth a Google ” after you finish virtually exploring here.) Prior to the trip, this was the area we planned to visit in South Africa that I was most excited about. I knew there would be the possibility to take pictures of natural beauty, unique ecosystems like the Fynbos (an area of low growing plants, many of them with beautiful flowers and many naturally found only in this ecosystem), penguins and maybe even my first Southern Right Whales. A single bontebok, Damaliscus pygargus pygargus, a fairly large antelope that I confess I had never heard of before the trip, did show up for a photograph in the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve. The landscapes were impressive with some of the clearest and freshest blue skies you can imagine. I took plenty of photos. We saw South African penguins as well as many other birds. Baboons were on the march; seeming to ignore the tourists. Probably the best surprise of the day was the lunch stop our driver had planned for us at Harbour House Kalk Bay, where we were seated at a table right next to the crashing waves below. The day ended at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens where we walked for two hours on the beautiful grounds and I saw many plant species I had never seen before in person. I was especially impressed by the many species of endemic Proteus that were in bloom, and also I saw for the first time a living plant indigenous to the Namib desert I learned about when I was studying botany in college. It is a very odd plant that is a member of the genus Welwitschia, represented by a single living species, Welwitschia mirabili, today. We returned to the hotel tired, but I was excited to look at the photos of the day. I have shared some of the better ones. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any whales. It was a little too late in the season. For photos of this part of the trip click here
After the fourth night at the hotel, we got an early start. We went with our driver to the wine regions of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. We tasted wines from Meerlust Wine Estate and Kanonkop Wine Estate in Stellenbosch and after lunch at La Petite Ferme, Franschhoek (selected by our driver), we went to Mullineux & Leeu Family Wines for a tasting. After a full day our driver dropped us off at Mont d’Or Franschhoek where we stayed for two nights. The following night I picked La Petite Colombe, on the Leeu Estate, Franschhoek, for a dinner experience that I was hoping would be second to none. I made the reservation months in advance. The multicourse meal with wine pairings did not disappoint and will likely never be forgotten. It was that good! I hope to bring friends with us again someday. The following morning we returned to the airport in Cape Town for the flight to the main event of the trip. For photos from the events of our stay including the artfully crafted, delicious meal click here.
We were treated well by all we met. We had a terrific time in Cape Town and the surrounding area. We had some of the best food and wine of our lives. It is truly an amazing place. A bonus of its southern hemisphere location was that a visit in October, becomes a time of lengthening days. My wife especially appreciated it. She didn’t care for the short days and long nights of Amsterdam.