August 2012

Having had a very satisfactory safari we braved the long flight to Cape Town, proceeding from Nairobi to Johannesburg and thereafter catching the connecting flight. At the O.R. Tambo airport in Johannesburg, which is a very large hub, we had the intimidating experience of taking all our checked- in luggage via an escalator as we had to change airlines. Although the carts are equipped to do this, it was nevertheless scary and made us wonder why the airport was not better organized. We had a wait, but time passed pleasantly as we were in very good company.

Table Top Mountain

Since we had departed very early from Nairobi, we reached Cape Town by mid afternoon around 4 p.m. and since we had already cleared immigration and customs at Johannesburg, we were out fast and met our guide. It was a beautiful day and our guide alerted us to the fact that the next day would be drab and rainy which may cancel the outing to Table Mountain. He gave us the choice of doing the visit right away, straight from the airport! We were all in fairly good shape, so we said yes and drove the half hour to the base of the mountain. Along the way we got a beautiful glimpse of Cape Town, sprawled on the slopes of the mountains, reaching out to the aqua blue sea, sparkling in the sunlight like a gem.

What a contrast Cape Town is to all that we saw so far on the sparse Masai Mara plains! Here it is a so cosmopolitan and advanced, the big city life, affluence and urban conveniences. Yet, it is not overpopulated. Sure, some of the group was making enquiries as to how much it would cost to buy a house there. Maybe when you visit next, you may have a host! The other thing is that Cape Town is very mountainous and picturesque so we could not get enough of staring out of the windows of the comfortable couch. We went up the ski lift to a height of about 4,000 feet and could get spectacular views of the surrounding mountains, the Lions Head and the Twelve Apostle mountains. There were people braving the climb on foot but these had to be very experienced as the mountain was sheer with smooth rocks. Table mountain is very flat for a long stretch and this we could view from the air when our plane was landing and also later, when we were out at sea visiting one of the islands.

Botanical Gardens

We completed the visit and headed for our well deserved rest at Hotel Protea. King Protea is the national flower and we could later see a sample in the botanical garden. It was a comfortable hotel and we had the luxury of staying in the same room for three nights and having our food at the nearby Jewel of India restaurant among others arranged for us. After five Indian restaurant meals in Cape Town, we were all ready for pizza or pasta! Later at Victoria wharf nearby, the main attraction was the Out of Africa children’s clothing store which entertained the grandmothers for quite a while.

The next morning we drove along the sea viewing some homes costing multi-millions rands, the local currency. We had been scheduled to take a boat ride to view Seal Island from Hout Bay. After a choppy but fairly short boat ride we approached some rocks inhabited by hundreds of seals of all sizes. Back on land, our eagerly anticipated destination now was the Cape of Good Hope and the southern tip of Africa. The drive itself was pleasant as we passed through miles of protected land where habitation by people has been prevented by declaring it as a national park. This added to the serenity of the surroundings of scenic land dotted with wild flowering bushes. We were also shown crosses set up by ancient mariners like Vasco da Gama as navigational beacons, painted white on one side, black on the other The weather, as predicted was grey with light rain and wind. It was fine in the coach, but once we reached the Cape of Good Hope, the wind was strong enough to almost blow one off the feet, especially at the elevation we were taken to by the winch rail. Nevertheless, it was a big thrill to view the choppy sea in front of us and the land narrowing down to several premonitories, as they are geographically known. It was pristine and untouched and not at all hard to imagine the ships of bygone days buffeted by the rough seas, yearning to land safely and the thrill felt by the seamen who had travelled for months, kept afloat by their sense of adventure.

Famous Cape of Good Hope

We were soon ushered into the small exhibit that showed details of the map of the southernmost tip of the great African continent. Cape of Good Hope was the south western tip, Cape Agulhas was the ultimate southern tip, although the first name is what most of the world reads about. In fact travelers from Spain in search of other continents were often in doubt as to when they had actually rounded the tip! There is a bay named False Bay along the Atlantic coast, because it misled sailors into believing that they had reached. We saw details of ships that had bravely sailed but never made it to their destination because of the rough seas and rocky coasts. The Indian Ocean influences were much milder and brought in warmer currents, we learnt, but that was on the eastern side of the continent. We viewed the Atlantic ocean side. Our driver was kind enough to drive us all the way down to the ocean where there is a sign that says “The Cape of Good Hope” and every one of us took pictures next to it! To be able to see the shape of the land narrow down as it does on a map was an unforgettable experience. Similar to viewing the confluence of waters at Cape Comerin in India.

After a tasty and homely lunch at another Indian restaurant ( I think it was Bhandari’s), with generous servings of yogurt, we proceeded to view some African penguins on a small beach. These were small and cute waddling around, some nesting in the surrounding bushes. We also covered the Kirstenbosch botanical gardens when the weather was nicer the following day. Though very few flowers were in season, we could see some large specimens of Bird of Paradise flowers and the manicured lawns and shrubs against the beautiful backdrop of the mountains. It was a pleasant stroll and some were even able to spot some of the famous Protea flowers. Rest of us saw it at a florist’s!

The next day was pretty much dedicated to our trip to Robben Island, the famous place where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for 17 years! He spent many more years at other prisons. The boat trip itself was adventurous as we found the sea to be extremely choppy and those sitting on the wooden benches were sliding from side to side. Though the sides of the large boat were low, the waves never splashed in. After a good 45 minutes we sighted a very pretty island and our boat headed for its wharf. We were met by several group leaders who escorted us inside and our guide was a former inmate, a political prisoner. He told us that from 1962 political prisoners were imprisoned there, prior to that people with mental problems were sent away to this island. Currently it is just a heritage sight and there are no prisoners. We saw Mandela’s spartan cell, small with its basic items, we were allowed to go inside. We were shown isolation cells used as punishment for some, group housing cells and the quadrangle where they were taken out for short periods each day. Mandela wrote a book titled Long Walk to Freedom. Empty cement bags were used as writing material. He is now 94 years old and has returned to the village of his birth, 2-3 hrs. away from Port Elizabeth. We also heard about ingenious ways in which the inmates communicated with each other. Our guide told us that the prisoners had to do hard labor at the nearby limestone quarry. Mandela returned later 14 times, the last time being in 2004. The island itself is beautiful, with great views of Table Mountain and surroundings of Cape Town on our return boat ride.

All too soon it was time to bid adieu to Cape Town. Yes, we did see the Malay quarter where the houses are painted in bright colors like yellow, green, blue, magenta and red. It appears that the imported labor could not read or write, not even numbers, so they had each house painted differently in order to identify them. Till today this happy tradition is followed.

We were on a flight back to Johannesburg the next morning, making a connection for Livingston airport, Victoria Falls. This airport was really tiny, reminiscent of some of those in India in small towns. I am sure our entire group will agree that Victoria Falls was the best stop of our southern Africa tour, relaxation wise. We had two full days and two nights at a beautiful resort, the Zambezi Sun Hotel. The rooms were great, the grounds beautiful and conducive to walking around. Right in the middle surrounded by a gorgeous turquoise blue swimming pool was the bar and snack shop that was amazing. As lunch was not provided to us, we were quite happy to buy pizza and veggie wraps and pina coladas which were delicious. The breakfasts and dinners they provided was sumptuous as well (notably the African eggplant curry). An added bonus was the nearby Victoria falls and a row of shops very reasonably priced, selling local arts and crafts. Everything was at walking distance, we actually had free time to relax and enjoy the ambiance!

The falls itself was a bit of let down as it appears that the water levels were low for this time of year before the rains. Normally it is referred to as “the smoke that thunders”. The hydro electric project also diverts some of the water for its own use. Nevertheless the walks were very scenic and our guide took us to the other side over the falls where we could go all the way down to the river before it took its plunge. He also drove us to the bridge separating Zambia from Zimbabwe where adventurous sports like bungee jumping was available (what, us try it? No way, too old for that!!). It was scary enough just viewing the apparatus! One from our group did take a helicopter ride and captured the aerial view of the river, delta and the falls. On the final morning before our departure, we had time to discover the Zambezi river flowing briskly by at walking distance from our rooms at one end of the hotel.

The other highlight of the Zambia visit and my personal top favorite was the leisurely sunset cruise down the Zambezi river on a charming ship, a 70 ft. catamaran named the African Queen, on the afternoon of the second day. It was reminiscent of the splendor of the British Raj with comfy cushiony rattan chairs facing the river on either side and a well stocked bar and snack area in the middle. The staff was friendly as always in Africa and served us free drinks and tasty tid-bits like mini samosas and pizza bites, freshly made! We could freely walk around as well. It was the cruise itself and the gorgeous sunset that made it unforgettable. As our boat slowly ambled down the clean, wide river, all we could see for miles along the edge of the river was greenery and sandy banks, not a hutment in sight, not even a small boy with a stick, waving to us! But true to the African habitat, we soon began to see animals frolicking in the water and coming down for a drink to the river edge. Kamakshi rightly called it the “Cruise Safari”! How fortunate we were to see almost at arm’s length, hippos, elephants and all sorts of birds. Soon our boat reached a bend in the river and it widened out hugely and we slowed down to watch the beautiful red orb that was the sun, sink into the placid waters. That scene is etched in our memories, probably for eternity, the peace and tranquility of that moment making it soooo perfect!

Reluctantly we said goodbye to Victoria Falls and the Zambezi Sun resort after the leisurely breakfast and stroll was over and proceeded to the small airport to catch our flight back to Johannesburg. This time we were not in transit, we actually went into the city and our rooms were at the unique Peermont Mondior Hotel, attached to the mall and casino known as the Emperor’s Palace. Though we were not enticed into the casinos, we did find the ambiance interesting with a beautiful night sky effect of the ceilings with simulated clouds and stars. Our Indian restaurant, the Taste of Mumbai was also located within walking distance inside this area.

Gandhi Square, Gold mine viewing
The next morning was our last day of the entire Africa trip but our flight was only late at night. After breakfast, we went in the coach for a city tour. We saw the Mahatma Gandhi square where there is a statue of Gandhiji depicting his young years as a lawyer in Johannesburg. Then we headed for Gold Reef city where we were taken down a gold mine shaft by a utility elevator to view the scene below. Though the mine is not financially viable any more, it is used to show tourists the conditions down below. The entire mine goes over 10,500 feet into the bowels of the earth, but even the 800 feet into its cold depths made it a unique experience. We walked inside the long dark tunnels and we were protected from any falling debris by our hard helmets.

Back at the airport, we splurged on a delectable dinner of squash or tomato soup with fresh baked bread and vegetables and mentally got prepared for our long journey home. Though what we had was a mere glimpse of Africa, it was unforgettable and we were really fortunate to have had the opportunity to experience it.