17 March 2008 Robben Island, Kirstenbosch & Cape Town, South Africa

17th March 2008, Robben Island, Kirstenbosch & Cape Town, South Africa

We arose fairly early in preparation for our visit to Robben island which was the incarceration centre for some 20 years of all the ANC and PAC freedom fighters including Nelson Mandela. First though, D took a pic from our cabin window across the bow of a French warship which gave us a direct view of Tafelberg. Had we been in a hotel, this view would probably have cost serious money.
We went off for our Robben island trip at 9.30 and we were walked round to the Nelson Mandela Centre and given tickets for the 1.00 sailing. These showed that the actual price, had we gone under our own steam, was less than a third what we charged for doing the tour and given there was little by way of value added - we were walked 10 mins to the terminal, the location of which we knew anyway - and M was incensed by this rip-off.
However, we had a reasonably pleasant 50 minutes sailing to the island which had served in a variety of isolationist guises before its usage as a high security prison, including being a leper colony. We were given a tour for just over an hour round the island and shown various historical buildings and the quarry where the prisoners were sent to do daily hard labour before being dropped off to do the actual prison tour with a second guide. Both of these guides were former political prisoners. The prison regime was harsh, but this may have been expected and we were assured that the current decor was as it was in the 70s and 80s. In fact the surroundings and the outside of the buildings were harsher than the insides. All the cells were painted in gloss paint and boredom must have been a major issue. Those held in the communal cells - there were four we recall, each held 40 inmates. However they were subjected to discrimination. First, no white prisoners were ever sent to Robben island - even when their convictions were for the same offence. Secondly, the extremely meagre rations were better for the coloureds than the blacks. But they were fed in their large communal cells and had internal toilet and washing facilities. Those assessed as needing to be held in individual cells including Mandela were not so lucky. Their accommodation comprised a single unit, about 8ft x 6ft sparingly furnished with no facilities. By all accounts the climate conditions also rendered all this worse. After out tour we went back to the boat, but as usual with tours from the ship were 25 mins late whilst fellow guests minced around the gift shop. The upshot of this late start and the 50 min trip back was that despite our dashing back quickly to MSVG we had missed lunch!
We were scheduled to leave at 3.00pm but at about 3.30pm there was a tannoy that we were not leaving until 8.00pm (it was actually 9.45pm) which was good news for M. One of the few sites we had missed in Cape Town that she had wanted to see was the botanical gardens at Kirstenbosch - around the back of Tafelberg - which has an international reputation. We raced back round towards the Mandela Centre and took a cab there straightaway. We spent two hours wandering, with very few other folk, around the large and idealic centre, located on the lower foothill of the mountain. We saw plenty of flora but there was also a goodly array of birds - including lots of guinea fowl - and a sculpture garden as well as a concert venue rather like Kenwood in North London. We took the cab back at about 5.45pm and spent a further hour looking for presents before re-embarking MSVG.

16 March 2008 Cape Town, South Africa

16th March 2008, Cape Town, South Africa

Sunday morning and we were to return to MSVG which had arrived in Cape Town at the Victoria and Alfred (yes Alfred not Albert) Water Front at 7.00am. S & P met us at 10.00am and kindly helped us transfer our bits and pieces to the ship. As well as our two small backpacks our chattels had been increased by Geoffrey a 1.50m carved wooden giraffe, about 15 bottles of assorted Stellenbosch and assorted cushion covers and presents for the kids and friends. By a streak of genius with a bit of local knowledge, even though we did not know at exactly which quay the ship was moored, S managed to go straight to the right gate and D to chat the gatekeeper to let us through. So, we arrived within 20m of MSVG but couldn't talk the final guy into letting us on the actual jetty - probably because the French navy were in port opposite and it was more than his job's worth. Also, it wasn't possible to get S & P back on the MSVG which they were rather looking forward to. So, after half an hour of legging the backpacks, wine boxes and Geoffrey etc. back to our cabin, it was approaching lunchtime.
In order to thank S & P for a fabulous time we suggested we had a final lunch on the Water Front and went to an excellent eatery called the Greek Fisherman. We didn't know it at the time, but later reading the collateral we learned that this restaurant had won an award for fine food the previous year. It was very good, as were all of our eating experiences in South Africa and, given the location right on the waterfront with fabulous views of Table Mountain, extremely reasonably priced. We lingered over our lunch for around an hour and a half.
After lunch, we were driven to the foot of the cable car so we could spend the afternoon atop Table Mountain (Tafelberg) and said our final goodbyes to Stewart and Pam. We may have been fortunate with our timing but we waited seconds to purchase tickets and got on the first cable car. As a neat innovation, the inside of the car rotates so during the journey up all punters get a full 360 degree panorama. There were a number of walking options on the plateau and since we were not institutionalised in a tour we decided to do our own things and walked around anti clockwise for a good hour or so. M was disappointed she didn't see the Dassies - small rodent like creatures that are actually related to elephants. We did, though, get some great pics in most directions. We finished our walk with a glass of wine before descending on the cable care around 4.30 when, surprisingly, there were more people ascending than we had seen when we went up a couple of hours earlier. We took a cab back to the V&A Water Front and watched a jazz band of old timers perform for half an hour or so before we scoured the shops. We then went back to MSVG.

15 March 2008 Stellenbosch & Wine Routes, South Africa

15th March 2008, Stellenbosch & Wine Routes, South Africa

After a full breakfast at our B&B, we were collected by Stewart and Pam for a day in wine country. First though we went to a craft market in the town where they were staying with Stewart's sister, Somerset West and we then visited a very arty designer shop which sold the super pewter ware present in our B&B. Beautiful though it was, this was mortgage territory! Next, we were given a tour of the classier parts of Somerset West which was a real eye opener. Houses we could have bought here for £500k would have been about £5-6m in most of north London and £8-9m in Hampstead. We are talking serious 6 bed properties in half an acre apiece with great views, gated grounds and triple garages.

So, around 11.00am we commenced our trip to the Stellenbosch area. First, we went to Vergelegen, a fabulous country estate and vineyard on the edges of Somerset West which was originally the home of one of the early bigwigs in Cape Colony until he was driven out. In more recent years it had been in private hands until recently when it was purchased by an international corporation. The advantage of this was that its primary function today is as a place to entertain important international clients so the place has to be maintained in as pristine a condition as possible. We toured the house, the library, the gardens and the, of course, the wine tasting room. We paid a nominal charge, ranging from 12p to 60p to taste a glass of wine which was brought to us on mats with numbered areas to match the selections we had made. After a very pleasant further half hour tasting we bought a bottle of wine and left this fine estate for our next port of call.

We went then to the Avontuur Estate some five or six kms from Vergelegen. This was unusual in being very low key - but more particularly in being a vineyard doubling as a stud farm which M & P were looking forward to - seeing the fine horses being part of the agenda. Unfortunately, they were going to horse sales within the week and had to be protected from any external presence. Hence, we couldn't see the horses. However, we did taste the wine. But this time were attended by two young ladies who brought whatever wines we wished to taste at no cost whatsoever. Needless to say, we tasted a number and also purchased a couple of 6 packs of white and a couple of fine bottles of the 2003 Pinotage and Cabernet Sauvignon. The only mistake we made - but were not to know at the time, Rita having told us on our return to the B&B - was not to take lunch at this venue. Apparently, it has a reputation for doing great meals and they were serving on our arrival. Still, there's always another time.

Finally, we went to Spier which has a reputation for being the more commercial of the Stellenbosch wineries. Indeed it was, but in the best possible taste. It is organised to take a couple of hundred cars and a dozen or so coaches, but it was not too busy when we arrived about 2.00pm. We started with the wine tasting which was organised to take volume punters. First, we had to purchase a 'package' which was either one of the straight wine options - 5 plonks, 3 middling or 3 specials - or the mixed wine and cheese packages. This came with a tick list - so every wine tasted had to be ticked off the list and was only served at the bar. No waiter service. This actually suited D & S. So whilst M & P sat at a table, venturing up only when a new glass was required, D & S stood at the bar and tried to sound knowledgeable about the wine. This had its own rewards as their efforts generated free tastings of the specials - which were running at about £16 a bottle. After a very boozy hour we passed through the commercial centre with the predictable sales opportunities and we found the excellent delicatessen where we purchased all the necessaries for an excellent picnic which we took on the lawns overlooking the lake; ciabatta bread; ham, cheese and salami fillings (butter pats of course); a bottle of rose; crisps; and D even gorged on a pecan pie - much to M's irritation as she had fancied a lemon meringue. Having pigged ourselves we belatedly sought out the wildlife park; but it had closed. Nevertheless, we saw some wild birds from the outside and were lucky enough to see one of the female cheetahs who was being prepared for an evening presentation at a flash hotel. She was tethered like a dog to a leash and brought out through the gate and right in front of our eyes, literally 2 m away from us, placed in the back of a small van. D was tempted to say what would have happened had the van crashed, or whatever, but since these animals are indigenous and wild, the answer is probably - not a lot that didn't happen anyway.

After this brief interlude we headed towards Stellenbosch itself, a delightful little university town about 10 minutes up the road from the Spier winery. We wandered round the town for about an hour looking at the church and turn of century colonials buildings and M & P went shopping for various bits and pieces. The place was very Afrikaans. It would have been pleasant to have spent more time here but the truth is, this was all expended at the wineries and it would soon be dark. We returned to Gordons Bay where S & P dropped us off. We were tired but M insisted on a meal, which was a good idea. We had been told that the steps opposite our B&B dropped straight into the harbour but this was not quite correct. They ended on the road some way away and we didn't know which way to turn, quite literally. Anyway, we went downhill - this seemed logical - but we were going in the wrong direction. After a delightful walk along the coastal footpath we could see that we were heading for the place we had eaten the previous evening. So, although it was getting late, we retraced our steps, carried on and arrived at the harbour by the naval college where S had been trained many years earlier. We went to an excellent eatery, M thinks it was the Merchants Tavern, not arriving until nearly 9.00pm, got a table without too much bother - but being a Saturday it was busy and continued to be so until 10.30pm - and had a nice meal. Something for Tasmania to learn from if it wants a tourist industry - you cannot stop serving evening meals at 8.30pm; its too early by at least an hour. An excellent day, and all the better for our walking out for nearly an hour without in any way feeling unsafe.

14 March 2008 Cape Peninsula, South Africa

14th March 2008, Cape Peninsula, South Africa

This day, like our first day in Sydney, was to prove one of the finest days of our double trip. And the common reasons are not difficult to find. Despite the rhetoric, there is actually no substitute for personally experiencing arrival in one of the world's great cities. In the case of Sydney, it was arrival by sea into the harbour, past the Opera House and under the Harbour Bridge. In the case of Cape Town, it was by air with a fabulous view of Table Mountain (Tafelberg) covered in its table cloth. (Unfortunately, for reasons we cannot fathom, we never got to photograph the table cloth). The other features of commonality were that on both occasions we had less than a full day after our arrival so we packed lots into the first day and were met by great friends who showed us around. Neither of us has been disappointed by the great cities - we include New York, Paris, Rome and London as well.

After an early start we caught the 8.55 from Durban and arrived slightly late at 11.15 at Cape Town. We were met by Stewart and Pam, our friends and dining companions from the first leg who spend part of the year in SA from whence Stewart originates. They had organised a programme for us and we set out in Stewart's great 1974 Mercedes Benz like film stars of yesteryear into Cape Town on the N2 motorway. We then journeyed along Rhodes Drive, passing the rear of Table Mountain and the great man's monument and Groote Schuur as we headed to Hout Bay and the Cape peninsular. Coming down into Hout Bay we next travelled along Chapman's Peak Drive, a fabulous coastal toll road only reopened in the last year which travels across precipitous cliffs, much of the time inside overhangs and protected most of its length from falling boulders. We have a pic of M and Stewart from the highway looking back towards Hout Bay and one of the toll road which better captures the wildness. At the end of the highway, looking south, the cliffs give way to a huge sandy bay where a Brit was taken by a great white last year. The waters off the Atlantic shore are chilled by the cold Benguela current and, being rich in sea life, are populated by sharks. Our pic of this bay includes a large thatched house, which came as a surprise to us, but we soon got used to seeing thatch on buildings of all types. We crossed the bay and stopped for a late lunch which seemed at first like an ordinary eatery, but one with a superb courtyard half shaded by trees. M had spare ribs and D, S and P had 'line fish' (otherwise known as freshly caught fish of the day - Cape salmon), all washed down by a bottle of local wine. The bill for the four of us was just £20 including the wine.

We then set off for the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve - but not before M procured a 5ft carved wooden giraffe which was so huge it wouldn't fit into the boot of the Merc - so rested for the remainder of the day between the seats, running from the gear select (auto) and the rear parcel shelf, much of the time on D's shoulder. We then turned into the park, S teaching us how to benefit from the reduced rate for pensioners. M proved to be relatively expensive that day! We drove the 10 or so km to the Cape Point car park from where we took an excellent photo of Diaz Bay and the Cape of Good Hope. Few realise that the extremity - with the lighthouse and the high point - is actually Cape Point. We rode up the funicular from the car park towards the lighthouse and legged the remainder. S & P sensibly remained perusing the items in the car park gift shop, but M took a pic of D from the lighthouse with Cape Point in the background.

Following our visit to the Point we journeyed towards Simonstown - the former Royal Navy Base - now used by the SA Navy. On the way we called in at Boulders Beach to view the colony of South African Jack Ass Penguins, which were both numerous and very tame. Simonstown provided for some interesting colonial architecture but was otherwise unexceptional. We motored on via Muitzburg past a couple of townships to Strand and on to Gordon's Bay where our accommodation was located. This comprised an excellent B & B. After establishing ourselves we went with S & P for an evening meal at the end of a fabulous day.

13 March 2008 Durban, South Africa

13th March 2008, Durban, South Africa

Few people appreciate what a spectacular harbour Durban has; probably because it has no notable buildings or identifiable landmarks to give it prominence. Nevertheless, its narrow entrance, flanked by impressive beaches to north and south opens to a large basin within which is the commercial harbour and cruise ship terminal. Durban is a large city but we're inclined to say not particularly interesting.

Unfortunately, Durban had a very bad press before we arrived. Passengers from previous cruises and those who otherwise knew the city reported it as particularly crime prone with a high incidence of muggings. We were warned on MSVG to be particularly vigilant and to move around in groups. We had decided to jump ship here and fly to Cape Town so had attempted to book a hotel online in Mauritius only to have a window pop up asking for exactly those security details banks advise one should never supply online. Hence, we aborted the booking without ever knowing what had transpired. Consequently, we spent the early morning trying to check whether we had a booking - we hadn't - but were advised by our bank that reserve of £100 was set against our account. Beware online bookings with strange procedures. Eventually, we did book into the Hilton - we needed a safe hotel with a safe taxi to the airport early next morning. When we asked whether it was walkable from the cruise terminal we were advised in absolutely no circumstances. This all came home when we picked up our tourist map in the terminal which, besides having the map was surrounded by information with telephone numbers of embassies, the police and other emergency services, procedures for reporting a lost or stolen passport, telephone numbers for reporting stolen credit cards and tips for safety. In the event, it would appear the city was not a 'cert for trouble' but clearly had a very high incidence of crime. (When we eventually arrived at our hotel, there was a further map showing which streets were safe to walk along in the dark - there weren't many).

All this was a great pity because once outside the city - and parts of the suburbs were, as D's daughter would say, 'skank' - the surrounding countryside was beautiful and the city itself was significantly more modern and westernised than we were expecting. We had spent the reminder of the morning - after sorting our logistics - in the cruise terminal because it was at least a km to the end of the pier which arrived at a not particularly exciting part of the city , but also because we had a tour in the afternoon to a Zulu village. After an early lunch we took a coach for an hour or so's ride to the valley of 1000 hills nearly half way to Pietermartizburg. The countryside was gently rolling hills but on a more spectacular scale than we get at home; it was, to our surprise, also extraordinarily green. We could see why Natal was attractive to the Brits.

Our tour comprised exclusively a visit to the Phe-Zulu village. This contained traditional buildings near a hill top with great views over the valley and we were exposed to a ritual dance of a young warrior seeking to marry a local girl whom he first has to persuade and then get checked out by the local fortune teller to check if the future will be rosy and the girl is good for motherhood. Prior to this we had the predictable commercial/shopping experience and the show was followed by refreshments. The second part of the trip comprised a visit to the wildlife compounds which consisted of the largest number of Nile crocs we had ever seen. In one enclosure (of which there were about 5), there were as many as 25 grown reptiles and in another a beast called Junior about 7 m long aged a 103 years. He was a vicious b! Finally we saw the snakes, mainly indigenous but with some from elsewhere. Fortunately, these nasties were behind glass which is as well as a number were venomous mambas and constrictors.

On our return, we packed and took a cab to the Hilton. We had a car arranged for 6.30 in the morning and a huge twin room the size of a tennis court. Not cheap, but appropriate in the circumstances. However, the food and drink was both cheap and sumptuous. D had a three course buffet meal for £16 which included oysters, smoked salmon, prawns etc as the starter followed by cooked salmon, barracuda and the best squid ever and a great pudding. Wine was just over £3 per bottle - in the Hilton! We certainly finished what had started as a tentative day in real style.

9 March 2008 Port Reunion, Reunion

9th March 2008, Port Reunion, Reunion

Only a day from Mauritius but a world apart. Fewer Indians, more Africans and Europeans, but more particularly, a much more mountainous and sophisticated island. But after all, this is France as no one tired of telling us.

Our port of arrival was disappointing; Port de Reunion is just that, a commercial port with little to recommend it, particularly on a Sunday. Having said that, being in the middle of nowhere and with no facilities to speak of the day of our arrival made little difference. It's as well we had a tour.

The island had peaks rising to over 3,000 m as well as an active volcano and three huge craters (caldera) which the French described as cirques - they're not - which were no less spectacular for being misnamed. Our tour took us to the crater edge of one of these caldera at 2,200 m. It took us about an hour and forty minutes to get to the top and we watched the scenery change significantly as we climbed higher. Unfortunately as we reached the top the whole area clouded over and we got a view for about 30 seconds through a brief clearing down to the bottom of the extinct caldera. This was populated by a handful of small hamlets with no road access, one of which we saw for seconds. Apparently, they are serviced on a daily basis by helicopter. That seems rather expensive to us. We had enough time to walk around the crater which was, itself, clear of the cloud. No pics were possible here.

We then descended to a geranium farm which we thought would be the usual commercial rip. However, it proved more interesting that we envisaged, being a supplier to Parisienne parfumiers. The plants used are pink geraniums, also called lemon geraniums and the parts used to produce the geranium oil constitute everything except the flower, the leaves stems etc. These are all placed in a still with a small amount of water at the bottom. This is heated by a wooden fire to produce steam which then takes all the essences out of the geranium shrubs. I guess its like producing espresso coffee. The resulting steamy material is then distilled in a second stainless steel chamber and fed into a large bottle from the bottom. This is then calibrated to allow the water to run off, as the oil rises to the top of the bottle to be tapped off. All very clever. We avoided buying any perfume, but did buy coffee and a number of other items including a vanilla pod holder.

Finally, we went to a rather smart beach resort called St Gilles. All photos were taken here.

Unfortunately we only had about half an hour here. It was very smart with a nice harbour and an aquarium plus a nice beach. But there was insufficient time for a swim. We then returned by the coach to MSVG and took off for Durban.

8 March 2008 Port Louis, Mauritius

8th March 2008 Port Louis, Mauritius

Arrived early morning and walked into town - about 15 minutes - rather than take the ferry, just to see a little of the local life. In the event, our seeking of an internet cafe took us to a newish shopping centre close to where our fellow passengers were arriving. M did the business whilst D took a few beers on the waterfront with a fellow passenger from the principality (Wales to you lot).

On our return to MSVG we lined up for the Mauritius - South of the island tour and weren't disappointed. We meandered down the west coast and then turned inland to a fabulous waterfall of about 100 m before journeying to a site of various volcanic sands in six or seven different hues. We travelled on to other places with waterfalls and volcanic craters including one site which was a religious Hindu location. We missed the main annual ceremony by 3 days only. We finished our fairly long tour in Curepipe (Pipecleaner) where M procured her mandatory (rest needs no words) before accessing the finest volcanic crater of all (too dark for pics) known as the 'Deer's arse' which was spectacular for being a mere 200 m diameter and 100 m deep. We guess you get the allusion.

Returned to MSVG for our onward journey to Reunion. Our only observation was the island was flatter than we expected and whilst pleasant not as spectacular as we anticipated. M was fascinated that although the official language is English - and everyone speaks it - the only lingo we heard anywhere was French or patois!