6th February: Visiting a Township at Knysna

We wanted to get closer to understanding and if possible experiencing more of the life of black South Africans as our trip was largely going to be through "white South Africa", so we booked a township tour with a local agent.

Visits to the Knysna Township by an organised agent means that a proportion of your visit fee goes to support community ventures within the township itself.  Our tour organiser supports after school meal  provision for school children and a creche for the very young.

Our tour was a real eye opener.  The township has properties of all kinds, from shanty town huts of corrugated metal or wood to modern brick and tiled houses.  In many areas the oldest properties have been removed and the occupants now live in Mandella houses, government funded homes with basic minimum standards laid down by the Mandella government following the end of apartheid.  These have electricity, a plumbed water supply, indoor sanitation, a bathroom, two bedrooms and a living room.

As a former teacher I was particularly keen to visit a school and we were warmly welcomed in one of the large primary schools.  This was a modern building, where in classes of around forty-five teaching methods were reminiscent of the '40s and '50s - very formal.  However the school also had a large IT suite with over thirty workstations and a specialist teacher.

We were warmly welcomed wherever we went with each class singing their class song in each room we visited.  That on its own was fantastic.  The creche we visited clearly needed the support of the charity we had chosen to visit with.  I was the source of much amusement with the children using me as an obstacle course and laughing hysterically at their game!

5th February: The Robberg Nature Reserve

I had picked out the Robberg Nature Reserve from Internet research and Google Earth ahead of our visit, so we set off with a high degree of optimism and we were certainly not disappointed. It was a sunny day with high temperatures and after paying the small entrance fee we drove up to the car park, from which their are stunning views of the peninsular and the walk ahead.

There are three options, a short on, a middle distance and a full hike. With the time we had and in the high temperatures we opted to take on the middle distance which looks interesting. The path is well maintained with wooden steps and platforms with fantastic 360 degree views.

The path follows the edge of the coastline and at the Gap we have the option of taking the direct route back to the car park but opt to continue. This takes us further down the coast on a high path overlooking rocks where fur seals are pulled up out of the water.

As we approach the half way point the path turns to cut across a sand dune and we cross to the other side of the peninsular. This is a fabulous section and leads to a beautiful beach.

The return walk continues to be as beautiful with the climb back to the car park providing further fantastic views up and down the coast.

4th - 7th February: Oyster Creek Lodge at Knysna

We are packed and ready to move on before breakfast and continue on the coast road towards Knysna. The road out of Hermanus is spectacular and we make our first stop for photographs after driving just a few miles, if we continue like this we'll never reach our next destination.

We then have to head inland to pass through Swellenham, though it proves considerably less interesting than the Eyewitness Guide suggests. But we do enjoy a coffee just off the main road. We spot a troop of baboons playing in the inside lane and on the hard shoulder and later an elephant is seen a short distance off the road. We stop off at Mossel Bay with the intention of visiting the Maritime Museum which has a replica of the ship Bartolomeu Dias sailed to this bay in 1488. The museum itself is a little disappointing, it's in urgent need of a makeover and update, but the museum complex is also the site of the Post Office Tree, the site of an amazing milkweed tree where messages were left by 16th century seafarers for subsequent arrivals.

From here we continue to our next accommodation at Knysna - Oyster Creek Lodge. This is an interesting wooden building constructed on stilts on the edge of the Knysna Lagoon, with a wraparound deck providing great views. From here we get stunning sunrises and sunsets and plenty of birdlife - especially plenty of ibis.

We

We have quite a few options for places to eat and each day we head for the Waterfront for our evening meal, eating in different restaurants for each of our evenings and particularly enjoying some stunning fish meals.

2nd February - 3rd February: Whale Rock Lodge at Hermanus

We have been looking at alternative routes to our next destination as roadworks in Stellenbosch have been causing long delays, but opt to take the risk and head straight for the coast, which we intend to follow round to Hermanus. It proves a good decision as we have an easy drive and reach the coast at Gordon's Bay before following the 44 coastal road pretty well all the way to to Hermanus. This is a spectacular road with dramatic views in both directions.

We stop at Stoney Point near Betty's Bay for a second visit to a colony of Jackass Penguins. This is a much quieter place than at Boulder's Bay and there are also lots of seabirds nesting on the rocks here.

We arrive in good time and decide to take a look at the centre of the town before heading for our accommodation at Whale Rock Lodge. We like Hermanus with its relaxed feel and beautiful coastal scenery. We take a short stroll along a section of the long coastal cliff path which we intend to follow in the morning, then find a cafe/bar for a drink and a very late lunch.

Whale Rock Lodge does not disappoint, a beautiful thatched building with extensive gardens and large swimming pool; though we are in the new villa building it is very comfortable with it's own pool and sheltered outdoor areas.

The new deck area and pool are a great place to relax and we soak up some of the final rays of the sun before heading for our very comfortable room and a relaxed evening with a bottle of wine!

We have a super breakfast by the pool in the main lodge and plan our day of walking on the Hermanus cliff path.

This is an easy, largely level walk, following the low cliff line with occasional drops onto sandy beaches. It is possible to walk some 11km from close to our accommodation and ending at Grotto Beach. We opt to walk a good section both ways and then took the car to the fabulous Grotto Beach and the super beach bar there for a relaxing drink with a view.

Hawksmoor House near Paarl: 30th January - 2nd February

The final leg of our drive to Hawksmoor House was our first, but certainly not our last experience of driving on dirt roads. But our trusty Garmin SATNav took us to the door!

The estate is made up of the original Manor House and a number of outbuildings which have been tastefully converted into luxury accommodation for guests. The setting is beautiful with well maintained gardens and grounds and there are views in almost all directions with a distant Table Mountain on the skyline. We are shown to our room "The Dispensary" and we arrange a wine tasting for early in the evening.

The atmosphere is one of relaxed elegence and the wines when we taste them all enjoyable, though we quickly determine a favourite and this becomes our wine of choice at every opportunity!

The evening proves a sociable one sharing cheese and meat platters and a couple of bottles with two other guests from Denmark. During our stay we find them excellent company.

I am awake far too early and my usual holiday excitement hits a new high when I peer through the curtains at a beautiful dawn view over the surrounding countryside.


We are scheduled to take a wine tour today with Paradise Touring, booked by Pam; and our driver Ian arrives shortly after we finish breakfast to whisk us off on a personal private tour! He has selected three wineries for us to visit and links these with a scenic tour of the area. Our first stop is not at a winery at all, instead we stop at the prison gates of the former Victor Verster Prison from which Nelson Mandela was released from his incarceration.

This event is marked by a stunning statue of this great man at the prison gates and a quote from his first speech following his release. Since our arrival in South Africa we have both been reading Mandela's autobiography "The Long Road to Freedom" and reading the inscription at the base of the statue is very moving.

"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's own chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. The test of our devotion to freedom is just beginning. I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter. I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill one only finds that there are many more hills still to climb. I have taken a moment to res, to steal a view of that glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities and I dare not linger for my long walk is not yet ended." 

From here we visit our first winery, a very modern enterprise where we are able to see grapes being crushed and to taste the first pressing of grape juice, which is delicious. We then taste several wines and enjoy two of them so much we make some purchases.

The scenery in The Winelands is magnificent and the weather is on its best behaviour with mountain to mountain blue sky and warm sun. Our second winery is a real contrast, being established in 1699 and we are presented with a wide range of wines for us to taste though in our view none were as good as the new kid on the block we had already visited. From here to lunch at a further winery further up the valley and having had a long flight, two early mornings and rather a large amount of wine we suggest to Ian that we call it a day. Back to Hawksmoor for a siesta and a delightful dinner with Danes, Germans and another English couple at the long dining room table.

Our final day in the Winelands and we visit Boschendal, an estate established in 1685 by Huguenot refugees and now a rather upmarket venue for wine tasting, picnics and fine dining. We need to relax a little and so after a walk around the gardens we have a long lunch at the bistro; then finally drive across to the other side of the valley and take the track to a viewpoint providing a wide vista of vineyards, fruit farms and mountain scenery.

Cape Town: 30th January

Our flights from Bristol to Schiphol and Schiphol on to Cape Town were uneventful and we arrived on schedule at the modern Cape Town International Airport on schedule and were met at the gate by a charming South African driver who took us to our overnight accommodation at The Dolphin Inn at Mouille Point. We had planned to be here for five nights and it would have been an ideal location to visit the city and also to explore the Cape area more extensively, but this was not to be. So our first decision was how to make the best use of our only day in Cape Town.

We decided to set off as soon as our hire car was delivered and take an abbreviated Cape Peninsula tour, not driving as far as the Cape of Good Hope itself but seeing some of the scenery and at least visiting Boulders Bay to see the penguin colony there. The day was initially overcast but as we drove the very scenic coastal route of Chapman's Peak Drive the clouds broke and for the rest of the day we had blue skies and warm sunshine.

Click here for a short video of Chapman's Peak Drive.

Boulders Bay at Simonstown has had a colony of penguins only since 1985 but they are now very well established and it is possible to get up close and personal, providing some great photo opportunities.

The most direct route on the drive from Simonstown to our next stop took us through the Townships of Mitchell's Plain.  This was our first experience of the extremes in South African life. Townships have an enormous range of housing which include modern two storey dwellings of brick and tile to shanty constructions of timber and corrugated iron, with just about everything imaginable in between. What else stood out as we headed for Paarl were the modern schools and, at the end of the school day, the number of children and young people now in full time education who were largely denied this opportunity during the apartheid era.

Introduction

When our nephew and his fiancee told us that they were going to be married in her home country of South Africa we made the decision to use this as the ideal opportunity to visit a part of the world we had never been to before.

Recognising that organising this kind of trip might be difficult for us to do, even over the Internet, we enlisted the help of Pam Roper at "The Unpackaged Travel Company" (http://www.unpackagedtravel.co.uk). A few phone calls and exchange of emails and we had our itinerary. So, as we began the new year, excitement levels were high.

Unfortunately I was unwell just before our planned departure date which had to be postponed for a few days. Pam reorganised our flights with KLM from Bristol to Cape Town via Amsterdam with great efficiency.

We decided to miss out on our time in Cape Town and pick up our itinerary where we would have been. A good excuse for a return at some point in the future.

It was a very close thing but at crack of dawn on Monday 29th January our taxi arrived and we were off on our great South African adventure.