(1) Makrand and Bhagyashri Dekhane - South Africa Trip (Jul-2023)
Recently, I and Bhagyashri (aka Mrudula) visited South Africa [Cape Town and towns along the Garden Route]. Here is a short write-up capturing the highlights of the trip.
We could not post some videos (which we wanted to share), and hence, have shared the images captured from the videos.
Enjoy....
Mumbai --> Nairobi --> Cape Town
Our flight from Mumbai got delayed and we had a bit of a trouble due to that. Eventually, things turned out ok, with some adjustments along the way.
As soon as took off from Nairobi, we saw Mt. Kilimanjaro, covered on top, with ice. It was a fantastic sight, especially in the light of the fact that about 35 of our friends (with families) were trekking to reach the very same peak at that time.
As we descended into Cape Town, we saw numerous cloud shadows (they would appear green from a height and then, start looking blue). We also saw a few windmills on the way down.
We arrived at Cape Town airport in the afternoon, and got picked up by our guide-cum-driver for the next 8 days, Mr. Mansoor.
We reached our hotel (Raddison Red) located at the Victoria & Alfred (V&A) waterfront. It is a very nice location, with a lot of tourists around, and lots of shops and restaurants to choose from. We went to MTN outlet and bought ourselves 2 local SIMs (we usually buy local SIMs when abroad – this gives us flexibility to call [or receive calls from] local numbers in an inexpensive manner).
Our home for the next 4 days: Raddison Red, V&A Waterfront
We also saw the picture-frame showing 'Table Mountain' (one of the 7 wonders of the world), as we walked to the Waterfront, in the evening.
Day-2 (21-Jul-2023) Fri
Cape Town
First thing of the day, we visited Table Mountain – one of the seven wonders of the world. The drive, the ride in the cable car, and views from the top – were absolutely stunning.
Some stunning views at/from the Table Mountain trails. City seen below is Cape Town - spread over a large area.
Table Mountain Wildlife
Then, we toured around the city and passed through Long Street (night life area); District 6 (schools); castle (also used to lodge slaves); provincial building (Nelson Mandela statue in front); Parliament; Company gardens; 14 frames (representing 14 chapters of S Africa constitution)
Our guide told us that there are 3 parliaments in S Africa, and each one has its own function
• Cape Town: Seat of legislature
• Bloemfontein: Seat of judiciary
• Pretoria: Seat of executive
Then, we visited Green Market Square (local shops at a square, where handicrafts and other art/souvenir items are sold)
Then, we went to see Bo Kaap (means highest point, in Afrikaans). The outer walls of the houses are painted very colorful, as it was to protest and delay against forced evacuation of black people from the neighbourhood.
We had a quiet dinner, at the waterfront.
We found this everyday - different performers, and different songs
Day 3 (22-Jul-2023) Sat
Cape Town
On our way to ‘Seal Island’, we drove past ‘The One And Only’ – the only 5-star hotel in Cape Town; govt hospital; And, then, Camps Bay (12 Apostles – mountain resembling 12 apostles)
We went to the Hout Bay (Hout means wood in Afrikaans; Dutch people took wood from there), for catching a boat ride to Seal Island. Seals are visible on a rock-island in the middle of Atlantic ocean, and they are seen playing, resting there
Then, we drove to Chapman’s Peak
– very scenic drive (11 kms, 114 curves). View from there, is also excellent.
We also saw Neutu (North, in Afrikaans) beach – before 1994, a person of color would be jailed if seen walking on the beach
From there, we went to Cape Point, which is supposedly the point where Atlantic and Indian oceans meet. We could not go up to the point, from car-parking point, since Funicular ride was not working due to load shedding (a new concept in S Africa)
Fun-Fact: Contrary to usually believed info – the real point where Atlantic ocean and Indian ocean meet is at Cape Apalagus (170 kms SE from Cape Point)
We also drove to the ‘Cape Of Good Hope’ (South-West-most point of the continent).
Then, we went to say ‘Hello’ to the penguins on the Boulder’s beach. It is a nesting site for penguins. The baby penguins also learn to walk and shed their furs and fears here.
We were late for lunch, so we stopped at another beach on the way, for a quick bite.
We returned to the waterfront, near our hotel, and had dinner at ‘City Grill’ – local S African cuisine restaurant. We had wine, and a mix of veg/chicken preparation
Day 4 (23-Jul-2023) Sun
Cape Town
We visited Robben Island museum (Robben means ‘seal’ in Dutch; and Dutch were the people who displaced the Khois from the island) on boat name Krotoa (named after first female prisoner, who was the interpreter for the Dutch). This is where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned during the last days before his release in 1990. This was the island where prisoners from Far East were also kept, later.
Some key timelines related to Robben Island prison:
✔ 1887 - leprosy repression act was passed and patients were brought there
✔ 1921 - mentally ill patients are removed from the island
✔ 1948 - apartheid government
✔ 1950's - ANC starts campaign against apartheid
We also saw the torture device used at the Robben Island museum.
From there, we went for a quick drive-by to the Constantia winery, near Cape Town.
Then, we went to the waterfront, to enjoy the Sunset Cruise. We enjoyed it thoroughly. It was cold, and it also drizzled a little bit. We were fortunate to see semi-circular rainbow.
Some photos from the cruise.
We had dinner at Indian restaurant ‘The Raj’ – taste familiar to the palate.
Day 5 (24-Jul-2023) Mon
Cape Town --> Garden Route: Hermanus
We left Cape Town at 8 am.
The plan was to go
to Hermanus beach, for whale watching.
On the way, we stopped at Sir Lowry's Pass
And, then, we stopped briefly at Farm Stall.
Another spot, on the way, as we drove...
We reached Hermanus beach, well within time, for a nice technical briefing about whales and hot coffee, in that cold weather.
You can see Southern Right Whale there. Killer whales are seen eastward of this beach, and only seen sometimes neat these shores. In our whale-watching cruise, we managed to see 5-6 whales, and could film only a couple.
From there, we went for private wine tasting at Bartho Eksteen
We sampled the following wines there:
✔ White: Souvignon Blanc, Souvignon Blanc, Rose
✔ Red: Syrah Mouverdre Grenache, Malbec, Pinot noir
✔ And, topped it up with dessert wine – but both of us did not like it.
From there, we drove to Windsor hotel - out place at Hermanus. Hotel had a nice view in front, and no lift, basic but decent room.
Ate dinner at Indian Restaurant 'Mount Everest', amid load shedding between 6 pm and 10 pm.
Day 6 (25-Jul-2023) Tue
Garden Route: Hermanus --> Knysna
We had breakfast in the hotel, and left Hermanus at 9.30 am. We were going to Knysna (pronounced as ‘NAAEESNAA’).
The route had nice landscape, no tall trees, grass growth like lawn and many wineries on the way.
We stopped at Mossel bay, on the
way. This being the off-season, there were fewer people. There are a lot of water
activities at this point usually.
We saw many flowering shrubs/plants just outside the shack where we had our lunch (seen below)
We also went to the zipline point. This is the longest (1.1 km long) zipline, and is partly above the ocean waters.
Read this outside a cafe at the ziplining point. Totally resonated with me 😁
Just before reaching the hotel, we visited ‘View Point’, and watched the sunset.
Then, checked in at Knysna Log Inn. It has a nice room, very nice hotel structure (reminded us of log house).
Then, we walked across to the waterfront but shops were closed at 6 pm – safety is the most-offered reason for early shop-closures.
For dinner, we had pasta and wine at ‘Chatters’, an Italian restaurant, very near the hotel. The dinner was very nicely prepared.
Day 7 (26-Jul-2023) Wed
Garden Route: Knysna
We got up at 5 am, since we wanted to be out of the hotel (to go to Oudtshoorn, to see Cango caves) by 7.30 am.
It was very dark and nice cold outside.
On the way, we drove past hotel ‘Fancourt’ - where Bollywood stars and sportstars stay, according to our guide.
We stopped at Outeniqua pass, on our way to Oudtshoorn, for a quick photo.
Oudtshoorn: Cango caves - originally discovered by Khois
They doscovered 150000 - 800000 years old limestone.
It is a one hour long Heritage tour, which covers 6 sections of tha caves. More adventurous people can take all sections, but it is a longer tour, and you need to be prepared for that.
Then, we went to Oudtshoorn Safari Ostrich Farm. It is spread over 1800 acres, and has Kenyan birds, Zimbabwe birds, local SA birds.
One the way back, we noticed an Indian restaurant ‘Mumbai Café’ in town named “George”, and had lunch there.
Then, we returned to Knysna Log Inn. We also walked along the waterfront there in the evening, before having a quick bite for dinner.
Day 8 (27-Jul-2023) Thu
Garden Route: Knysna --> Cape Town
We started from Knysna, after a sumptuous breakfast, at 9 am, and stopped at around 1 pm, for lunch on the way.
We reached Cape Town Radisson Red hotel by 3.15 pm.
Lots of rapeseed crop along the way.
Took rest and went to waterfront
Had light dinner and went back to the room
Day 9 (28-Jul-2023) Fri
Cape Town --> Nairobi and Masai Mara (IITK90 Safari Reunion 2023)
We had breakfast, checked out and got to the airport by 11.45 am.
The excitement to meet friends from IITK batch, and having the reunion in Nairobi and Masai Mara, was just too great. We were very eager to fly off to Nairobi.
We comfortably checked in, and went to the airlines lounge. Had something to eat, and relaxed there.
Flight to Nairobi took off at around 2.45 pm. It stopped at Victoria Falls, for re-fuelling. As we took off from Victoria Falls, we could capture the Falls from the plane.
Victoria Falls (as seen from the plane)
We reached Nairobi at 10.15 pm, and began our next phase of exciting trip.
Here's the latest addition to our currency collection...
