Tag: south-africa

At sea… and another update from previous excursions.

3/27 Hermanus

Hermanus… by road. We were to start out trip up the coast on boat but due to heavy seas and very heavy winds, we took the road. Interestingly, there was a large cruise ship in port that has been stuck there for several days due to the wind. It just could not get out of the port as it was too high.

Tuesday we had a tour to Hermanus and an abalone farm…as well as a lot of long delays with traffic. And sadly, no time to wander Hermanus which is what I’d hoped for. On the boat and more info/dinner/greeting fellow passengers and getting acclimated. Wednesday morning, I took off while Melinda when to the botanical gardens. I’ve been and appreciated some down time. About 3:00 the ship NG Explorer set sail and we said good-bye to Cape Town… what a view of Signal Hill and Table Top Mountain. It was choppy, windy and a bit of a wild ride but meds were had and we all survived. 

We had a lovely drive, along with a least an hour delay both directions of an hour or more due to road works…learned a lot about abalone, something I never thought I would see… we had a great lunch and sadly no time to explore Hermanus, which is southeast from Cape Town, due to delays. TIA

View from our lunch spot! 

3/28 Mossel Bay

The next day we arrived in Mossel Bay by ship, another area as we travel up the Indian Ocean and eastern side of South Africa. A lovely town on the coast… there were several unique excursions. We visited an amazing Mosaic Tunnel and a local (stunningly set) golf club…There was also a hike but I simply took in the vistas. This afternoon we continue up the coast and will have our first game drive tomorrow. 

March 29 – day at sea – wonderful presentations by Naturalists!!

Catch up – in the Indian Ocean leaving Richard’s Bay and on our way to Madagascar…

Quick side note – one of our favorite comments when in Peace Corps Kenya was TIA…This is Africa… this continues to hold true…we have had to skip Mozambique due a cholera outbreak and also a storm that had hit last week and the waters on the way are proving to be a challenge. Our sailing times have increased significantly.

Pictures from our couple of free days…before getting on the boat.

March 25/March 26…African penguins are smaller and have black dots on their front – each penguins pattern of does is different. The two mountains are Table mountain and Signal Rock. The Cape of Good Hope is where the two oceans, the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean meet…

While in Cape Town we explored the waterfront, took a hop on/hop off bus tour and met up with Monica and Emily who both live in Botswana. What a treat for them to come down and see us while in Cape Town. We also went to Cape Point and enjoyed spectacular view, especially from Chapman’s Peak Drive. An amazing road and construction feat.

We enjoyed a lot of great food and Melinda and Monica who has not seen in other in about four decades got to catch up! A side note, in the last seven months I was able to visit with all three of the amazing women/dear friends in our wedding (1983) as well as Bob’s Best Man and family. Wonderful sharing with so many of good memories.

On Monday Monica, Melinda and I took a fun tour to the the Boulder Penguins as ell as The Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point…it’s as close as one can get to where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet as well as the most Southwestern tip of Africa. Cape Town offers some amazing views, beaches and experiences…

After a late lunch and some beverages we said farewell to Monica and went to meet up with our National Geographic/Linblad group – a cocktail reception and dinner, directions for the next days tours and embarking on the ship. TIA was reflected on (this is Africa), a slogan we often used even in the Peace Corps way back when. This expedition is the first time NG has done it and things change all the time…on this continent.