South Africa Travelogue

The most reasonable way for us to get to South Africa was a not by a direct flight. First we flew from London to Schipol Holland, where we had a short wait in the airport, before boarding another flight to Johannesburg. In Johannesburg our plane landed briefly to refuel and allow passengers to disembark and board the plane, before flying on to our final destination, Cape Town airport.

CAPE TOWN

We had wanted to visit Cape Town for some time and were pleased when we finally arrived. Initially we stayed at a Bed & Breakfast for a couple of nights whilst we looked round for somewhere more permanent. The B & B we chose for our first couple of nights was Carmichael House, 11 Wolmunster Road, Rosebank, Tel: 6898350. We were both quite excited to be in South Africa, and really looking forward to all of the adventures to come, and this was definitely a good start. Carmichael House is a turn of the century two storey house with six large rooms. All of the rooms were well furnished with telephones, safes, e-mail and fax services. There was a lovely quiet garden, swimming pool, and although not neccesary for us, it had secure parking too, all situated about 1 km from the Rondebosch shops. At the time we visited it was run by a lovely friendly helpful lady who had her niece helping her. Our room was huge as was the en-suite, with high ceilings and a very comfortable bed, where we enjoyed a very good, much needed nights sleep after our flight. The next day we went out in search of some self catering accommodation. We found a really great place very close to the Victoria and Alfred Docks. Unfortunately neither of us can remember the name of it, it's not listed in any of our travel books either, which is a shame as we would highly recommend it. Anyway it was a large building with lots of apartments at very reasonable prices. After being shown an apartment, we liked it and chatted the the owners, and then we agreed on a deal. We lived at this apartment for over a month. It had a separate fully equipped kitchen, a separate bathroom, and an open plan lounge, dining and bedroom area. Every day a maid came in to clean, and the bed was made and fresh towels were left. After settling in we walked the few minutes over to the Victoria and Alfred Docks. This shopping complex had lots of good shops, bars, restaurants and also a cinema. After stocking up on food, at the Pick and Pay supermarket, we got a taxi back to our apartment, we couldn't have walked as we had bought so much food. We have always and still do seem to buy lots of food, good job Richard likes cooking! I think we got a bit carried away on this first shopping trip though because everything was so cheap. At the time the GBP was so strong against the Rand, so that helped. I can remember that the price for an avocado was particularly good value, they were very large, and only about 9 pence, at that time they were about 99p back in the U.K. Although we were self catering we still ate out quite a bit. In particular the Musselcracker Restaurant, in the Victoria Wharf shopping centre, became a regular haunt for us during our stay. We ate lunch there one day which was delicious, but mainly we used to sit up at the bar enjoying a few beers. I don't know if it's the same now, but when we were there they had a large conveyor belt around which diners could sit and help themselves to dishes of lovely food from the seafood buffet, similar to a sushi joint. Typical dishes included, bread and anchovy butter, pate, soup, cold gravadlax, herring and fish bobotie, which could all be topped off with a tasty pudding. There were also regular tables where we sat and were waited on by attentive helpful staff. We are not big fish eaters (various allergies), and the staff were very happy to explain what all the dishes were and make recommendations. We spent a lot of time over at the V & A Waterfront as it was such a short walk away from our accommodation, and there was so much there to keep us occupied. There were a good choice of upmarket shops which included outlets of all of the major South African chains, we bought books, clothes, shoes, food and crafts there. Richard bought a very snazzy pair of snake skin loafers at a fraction of the price he would have paid in London. It wasn't all shopping though, we did visit the local places of interest too.

TABLE MOUNTAIN

Table Mountain is striking, South Africa's most famous feature. We could see it from our apartment, though usually the top was obscured by clouds. I don't think a visit to Cape Town would be complete without a trip up Table Mountain, we took a taxi up to the cable car station. From there we made the journey up the mountain by cable car. Apparently half a million visitors make the journey each year, so it's a good job that they installed a state of the art Swiss system in 1997 to cope with the number of people. The cars themselves are pretty impressive, the floor of the oval shaped cars is designed to rotate a full 360 degrees, which was all done very smoothly, enabling us a full panorama on the way up to the top. Cars leave from the Lower Cable Station on Tafelberg Road every day at 10-20 minute intervals. Open May-Oct 8:30am-6pm, Nov 7:30am-9pm, Dec-April 7:30am-10pm. The trip takes you to the Upper Cable Station at the northeastern end of the Western Table, a height of 1073. Once you are there you can walk along the circular path where you will see spectacular views of Table Bay to one side with the Atlantic seaboard on the other. There was a nice tea room which had good views, and also a bistro and a gift shop. It is possible to walk up Table Mountain, but it was rather warm whilst we were there, and we were far too lazy! The weather can change very rapidly too, so if you were going to walk it would be wise to stick to the simpler planned routes and be prepared for mother natures changing moods. Once we were on the top of Table Mountain we had a lovely walk admiring the amazing views and taking photographs. Table Mountain 1087m is a flat topped massif with dramatic cliffs and amazing views in every direction. The north face overlooks the city centre, unmistakable formations of Signal Hill and Lion's Head to the west and Devils Peak to the east. The west face consists of formations known locally as the Twelve Apostles. Looking southwest you will see over Hout Bay and the eastern face looks over the suburbs of Cape Town. It's interesting to think that even in the centre of a city, Table Mountain is a wilderness and home to wildlife and 1400 species of flora. Indigenous mammals who can be seen at Table Mountain include porcupines, dassies and baboons. The animals inhabiting the area are Himalayan tahrs which look like mountain goats, apparently descended from specimens Cecil Rhodes introduced onto his estate, which escaped and set up home on the mountain. We saw mainly dassies or hyraxes when we visited, lots of them all lounging on rocks basking in the sun. Dassies look like large fluffy guinea pigs, apparently they are not rodents at all despite their appearance, they are the closest living relatives of ....... elephants, strange but true! We spent a good few hours up Table Mountain before getting the cable car back down to the Lower Cable Station, from where we decided not to get a taxi home but to walk, and stop off for a couple of drinks at a very nice looking bar we spotted.

ROBBEN ISLAND

The trip we took to Robben Island was excellent in terms of interest and value. We paid R100 which covered the entry fee and the ferry fare. The ferry departed hourly from 8am-4pm daily, we decided to go at midday as we hoped it would be quieter due to people preparing for lunch. It was a good idea, there were not too many of us. Robben Island was the main site of South Africa's liberation struggle and was intended to silence apartheid's domestic crisis, instead it became an international focus for opposition to the regime. The whole Island was declared a UN World Heritage Site in December 1999. We arrived at the Islands small harbour, Murray's Bay, then we had a bus tour round the island before we went on a tour of the prison. The bus tour was good and various historical landmarks were pointed out to us, the first was the Kramat, a shrine built in memory of Tuan Guru. Tuan Guru was a Muslim cleric from present day Indonesia, imprisoned on the island by the Dutch in the eighteenth century. Once released he helped to establish Islam among the slaves in Cape Town. Other sites, were a leper graveyard, the island was a place of exile for leprosy victims in the early twentieth century. and a church which was designed by Sir Herbert Baker. There is also the house of Robert Sobukwe, leader of the Pan Africanist Congress, where he was held in solitary for nine years. His original sentence was three years but a special law was passed, the Sobukwe Clause, and his sentence increased to nine years as he was considered extremely dangerous by the authorities. We were also shown the lime quarry where Nelson Mandela and other inmates spent hours of hard labour. It was the brightness of the soft pale stone under the summer sun that caused many eye problems for Nelson Mandela and other prisoners in later life. The bus drove on along a stretch of coast that was dotted with shipwrecks and sea birds, among which is the Egyptian sacred ibis. With the bus tour over we were interested to visit the prison building itself. Before this we all stretched our legs, looking round at the landscape. The island is six square kilometres and a rather bleak looking place, windswept with areas of scrub. The Island was eerily quiet, it certainly felt that we were a lot further from the bustling waterfront, which was just a few kms away, than we actually were. We were taken into the Maximum Security Prison by a former inmate. As you would expect, the prison is a forbidding place, made up of H blocks and set on the edge of the island. We were taken on the Footsteps of Mandela tour through the famous B Section first. Then we were all taken into a large open room with seats along each side, we all sat down in silence. Our guide and ex inmate began to tell us what life was like in the prison, and though we didn't expect it to be a holiday camp, we were surprised to hear just how terrible the conditions really were. The really sad and shocking part of his story was just how differently inmates were treated, depending on the colour of their skin. The cell which Nelson Mandela called 'home' for so many years was set out as it would have been whilst he was there, all of the other cells were empty and locked. It was weird to think we were actually standing where Nelson Mandela 'lived' for almost two decades. After the talk with our tour guide we were free to wander round, the word 'free' seemed to hold new meaning. As well as being able to see Nelson Mandela's cell there were plenty of other things to look at. In A Section, were the 'Cell Stories', an exhibition which gave the feeling of the sheer sparseness of prison life, showing donated prisoners personal items, such as a saxophone which had been made using found objects, there were also quotations, photographs and recordings. In D Section, communal cells, was the 'Smuggled Camera Exhibition'. This showed mounted life size pictures that the inmates had taken of each other with cameras that were sneaked onto the island at the end of the 1980's. You got a sense from the relaxed expressions that maybe they knew the end was within sight. In F Section, was the Living Legacy tour, where you could listen to ex political prisoner guides talking about their lives, and ask them questions.

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As we spent quite a long time in Cape Town and South Africa in general, we had the luxury of taking our time to do the things we wanted to do. The weather was great, the people were friendly, the food was excellent, and we were in no hurry to go back home to the U.K. We would often go for a walk round the area where we were living and find nice little shops and craft markets. Cape Town doesn't really have much indigenous arts and crafts like some other areas do, most of the goods on sale are originally from other parts of Africa, such as Zimbabwe and Zambia. Never the less we did find a very large market almost opposite to our accommodation which sold lots of interesting goods. Also just round the corner from our place was a branch of Bierodrome, which we used to go to a lot back home in London. It's your typical blonde wood, modern decor, casual place. They serve a good choice of delicious beers and nice food. Although our local branch in London had a wider choice of beers available. When we walked into the main town centre we spent a lot of time in Long Street, so named as it runs the full length of the city centre. When we were there it was rather shabby, but with signs of regeneration, with a couple of good modern restaurants opening. Apparently in the 1960's Long Street was a very sleazy road full of bars and whorehouses. They were still there when we visited but they seemed less evident, having delicatessens, pawnbrokers, antique dealers, secondhand book shops, cafes and secondhand clothing shops as neighbours. Long Street was also home to more backpacker lodges per square metre than any other street in Cape Town, along with which came student travel agencies and cheap car rental places. We found a particularly good bar along there and as usual I can't remember the name of it, and that's not because of the drink, I just have a terrible memory! Anyway, it was a very basic no frills place full of men who took their drinking very seriously. We ate in a very modern restaurant there one evening as well, once again name unknown. The service was good, tall dark handsome waiters, my favourite, and the food was Mediterranean in style. We didn't spend all of our time in Cape Town although we could quite easily have done. We fancied a little journey on a train.

SIMON'S TOWN

The train to Simon's Town from Cape Town was a really lovely trip, the final part of which had excellent views as the train skirted particularly close to the shoreline and we watched the sea crashing up against the rocks. The train was fairly empty, the journey took about an hour and we arrived quite early in the morning. Simon's Town is South Africa's principal naval base, and the country's third oldest European settlement. Apart from the naval dockyard, where you could occasionally glimpse a squaddie parading in his brilliant white uniform, Simon's Town was such a pretty place. The train was met by rikkis which can take you on excursions to Boulders or Cape Point, but we didn't wish to. We spent a lovely few hours walking round and we visited the Simon's Town Museum, situated inside the Old Residency which was built in 1772 for the Governor of the Dutch East India Company. The building was also the slave quarters and home to the towns brothel. Inside there were lots of displays about maritime life and a very large amount of the museum was dedicated to a famous local dog, a Great Dane. He was called Just Nuisance A.B. He was the only dog to serve in the Navy! He was adopted as a mascot by the Royal Navy during World War II. Apparently before he 'signed up' he used to help sailors find their way back from Cape Town to Simon's Town on the train after they had enjoyed a few drinks too many, apparently he too enjoyed the refreshing taste of the odd pint or two! That's why they made him an Able Seaman so that he could travel on the train without being kicked off! After reading all about the seafaring Great Dane we walked round Jubilee Square and the Marina, where we found cafes and shops a pleasant harbour, and we stopped off for brunch at a cafe. Strolling along the broad walkway by the harbour we saw a statue of Able Seaman Just Nuisance. After our delicious brunch we walked a little more and we found a pub, we thought it would be the prefect place to end our day in Simon's Town, and enjoyed a drink before catching the train back to Cape Town.

We decided that we wanted to head out of Cape Town and see some more of this beautiful country. Richard rang some car rental companies for some quotes, we intended to get the most economical basic car we could, as we wanted to hire a car for a couple of weeks. Strangely enough after many phone calls it turned out that we could get a larger four door saloon for the same money as a basic two door car if we booked it through a travel agents. Who were we to argue! It was all booked and we had to collect the car the following morning. I stayed at the apartment, whilst Richard walked into town to collect our car. We had been told that it would be a BMW, so I stood at the lounge window watching and waiting for Richards return. Eventually I saw a Mercedes C Class cruising along towards our apartment , it was Richard. Excellent, we are not fans of BMW or Mercedes for that matter, but we prefer the latter. Anyway it was certainly nicer than your basic A Class economy motor! We loaded up the car and set off towards Springbok.

SPRINGBOK

The drive from Cape Town to Springbok was rather a long one, but also a very enjoyable one. We loved driving in South Africa, the roads out of town were, good, long, straight stretches of tarmac, where we could really enjoy some speed. Apparently South Africa has among the world's worst road accident statistics, caused by a variety of things from drunk driving to overloaded and unroadworthy vehicles. We found most of the roads we used were relatively empty and thankfully we survived without accident or any other incidents. Although as usual Richard did the bulk of the driving, I did manage an hour or two behind the wheel, not that it really felt like driving as the car was automatic and there was not much other traffic to think about. After driving for a few hours on the N7 we arrived in Springbok and began to look for somewhere to stay. Springbok is the main commercial and administrative centre of Namaqualand, and roughly 550km from Cape Town. The main place of interest in town is the site of a British fort blown up by General Jan Smuts' commando during the Anglo Boer War. Situated on a mound of granite boulders called Klipkoppie ~ Rocky Hill. The town has a museum, in an old synagogue (Mon-Fri 8:30am-3:30pm). There's also the Blue Mine, which was the first commercial copper mine in South Africa, sunk in 1852 reopening in 1998 to mine gemstones for the Far East market, which were originally overlooked during the search for copper ore. About 10km past the airport southwest of the town brings you to Goegap Nature Reserve (8am-4pm), which is often described as Namaqualand in miniature. Incorporated in the reserve is the Hester Malan Wild Flower Garden, which is very popular during flower season. When we first drove into Springbok itself we noticed that there were beautiful colourful displays of flowers along the grass verges. We stayed at what was considered the smartest hotel in town, the Art Deco Masonic Hotel, Van Riebeeck Street. I would say that the hotel was nice enough, and we enjoyed a good dinner in Springbok in the evening. Bright and early the next morning we set off towards Upington, but first we planned to stop off at Augrabies falls.

AUGRABIES FALLS NATIONAL PARK

After a nice drive we arrived at Augrabies Falls National Park (April-Sept 6:30am-10pm, Oct-Mar 6am-10pm), where we spent the day, before driving on to Upington which was only about 100km away. The main reason for us to visit Augrabies Falls was for the mighty waterfall. The park was established to protect the water falls and the surrounding area, the falls are considered one of the finest cataract falls in the world. The Orange River drops 191 metres at the Augrabies Fall, and the original Hottentot residents believed that evil spirits were active there. The waterfall is still known by its Khoikhoi name, Aukoerebis, 'the place of great noise', the powerful flow of water is unleashed from rocky surroundings into the 240m deep and 18km long abyss of the Orange River Gorge. At peak flow the noise generated from the huge volume of water that plunges through the narrow channel at the head of a deep granite gorge is heart stopping. Augrabies was not as pretty or breath taking as Victoria Falls, but it was still a pretty amazing feeling to just stand and listen as we were absorbed by the water crashing down. The sound was deafening as the water thundered down the Augrabies Waterfall. To view the falls, we walked across really smooth granite domes along the edge of the gorge. We were warned to be very cautious where we walked, as apparently it's not uncommon for visitors who want to gain too close a view, to peer just that little bit too far at the falls, and slide helplessly into the object of their interest below. The most famous survival story is of a Scandinavian who was apparently stripped of all his clothes by the sheer force of the water before he was plucked to safety. Apparently over twenty people have met their deaths since the park was proclaimed in 1966. There is a large fence to protect you from falling, however since the suspension bridge over the gorge was washed away it is rather difficult to get a clear view of the main attraction. I guess the temptation to get closer and closer to the edge just proves too much for some people. Apparently the best time to visit is near sunset as the softer sun shines straight into the west facing gorge and the roar of the water disappears into the sky. We enjoyed walking round the falls, we felt as though we were the only people there as it was far from busy during our trip. You can drive on the link roads round to Ararat or Echo Corner if you like too. We mainly wanted to see the falls, so we didn't bother too much with the rest of the park, which covers some 184 square kilometres on both sides of the river. The land is dry and home to plants typical to arid conditions such as Kokerboom ~ quiver tree, camelthorn and Namaqua fig. There is the possibility of seeing some small animals such as antelope, dassie, mongoose and many lizards as you wander round. There is accommodation at Augrabies Falls, various levels of self catering chalets and cottages and a large camping and caravan site along with swimming pool, shop, self service snack bar and a restaurant with good views. Also popular was the 'Augrabies Rush' which was a half day trip on small rafts down 8km of very swift river above the falls, this was run by the Kalahari Adventure Centre. We didn't want to stay at the falls so we drove on to Upington.

UPINGTON

The driving in South Africa was such a pleasure that we were never in a rush to get anywhere, and yet as the roads were so fast, or maybe that was our driving, the miles just seemed to fly by. Upington is a fairly busy place with people passing through on their way to the Kalahari-Gemsbok and Augrabies National Park, along with those going and coming from Namaqualand. As we had just come from Augrabies, it seemed we were doing things in the opposite direction. Anyway, once we got into the town of Upington we began to look for somewhere to stay for the night. We saw the Affinity Guest House and went in to ask if they had any vacancies, they did, excellent. The Affinity Guest House is situated on the banks of the Orange River, with excellent views of the water. It felt like a home rather than a traditional Bed and Breakfast, our room was en-suite and although on the small side it had everything we needed and was clean. There was secure parking which was good, and we were within easy walking distance of the local shops and restaurants. After checking in we had a little walk into town, where we found a pub and enjoyed a drink before going back for a nap. Feeling refreshed after our nap we decided to go into town for dinner. The owners of the guest house were having a BBQ in the garden with family, and the smell made us quite hungry. I knew I wouldn't want to walk back after eating so I drove us into town. We were not exactly spoilt for choice, and too tired to really care, we ate at the well known Spur Steakhouse. The service was excellent, and the food was fine, in fact I don't remember eating any bad meals the whole time we were in South Africa. The next day we were going to be driving quite a long distance, so we went back to our B & B after we ate for an early night. Early the next morning we set off on our way towards Knysna, we didn't end up going all the way there though, we stopped off just short of it and stayed overnight at a place called Oudtshoorn.

OUDTSHOORN

We arrived in Oudtshoorn not knowing where we were going to stay for the night, we saw a tourist information and went in. They recommended a place and we drove there, as usual I don't remember the name of it, which is a shame as it was really lovely. The actual building was very pretty, all carved wood and very decorative. Our room was lovely too, absolutely huge and furnished with antiques. The owners were really friendly, and breakfast the next morning was delicious. There is a saying that if you want to eat well in the U.K. eat breakfast three times a day! Well I would say that the best breakfast we have eaten during all of our travels were in South Africa, they certainly know how to cook a good breakfast. I think it's all down to the wonderful quality of the meat they have, it really is excellent. Anyway, breakfast aside Oudtshoorn is promoted as the 'ostrich capital of the world', and as such there are ostrich farms surrounding the town. You can visit several of the ostrich farms, and we felt like doing something really touristy so we decided to spend the whole of the next day visiting as many of the local tourist attractions as we could before laziness got the better of us. The first place we visited was the Cango Wildlife Ranch.

Cango Wildlife Ranch

The Cango Wildlife Ranch and Valley of Ancients endangered species breeding facility, was quite an interesting place. Apparently it is the oldest and largest cheetah contact centre in the world. It offers visitors the rare opportunity to actually interact with the hand reared cheetahs, which with the small fee you pay on top of the normal entry fee helps toward saving the cheetah and other species from extinction. Cango Wildlife Ranch is internationally recognized for its far reaching conservation efforts. We arrived at the Cango Wildlife Ranch early, there was plenty of parking on the road out the front, and we noticed that the whole road was a tourist trap with ostrich farms and souvenir shops lined along it. When we first entered the ranch we wandered round on our own for a while looking at the animals, before meeting up with a guide for a more in depth chat and look at the animals. Our guide first took us to have a very close look at the crocodiles, she fed them and made some jokes, not very funny but at least she was trying ~ very trying! After seeing the crocodiles we were then led up on a walkway that led us right over the top of the big cat enclosures. It was whilst we were walking along above the big cat enclosures that we were told, that later for an additional fee, we could actually go inside one of the enclosures and touch some of the younger cheetahs. Only about four of us from our the group we were walking with said they wanted too, we we two of them, well we were having a 'tourist' day! Before we were taken into the enclosure we were told how to approach the cheetahs and given other advice to help keep us safe. I must say that as naff as it was, it really was a great experience to be so close and tactile with these amazingly beautiful animals. The guide who came in the enclosure with us took lots of photos of us with the cheetahs, and when we left we were given a certificate so say that we had bravely stroked a cheetah, I guess they are really meant for visiting children! Once we had enjoyed our visit to the Cango Wildlife Ranch we were still in the mood for more touristy adventures! So we headed to the ostrich farm across the road.

Cango Ostrich Farm

I think it was the Cango Ostrich Farm we visited, there were quite a few though so I could be wrong, I guess they are all much the same anyway. There were farm tours every twenty minutes, so we didn't have long to wait before we were taken on our tour of the farm. There were only a few of us which meant we could all hear and see everything clearly. The tour was surprisingly in depth and informative. We had everything there is to know about an ostrich egg and more explained to us, as well as being able to feed the ostrich and for anyone who was interested we were able to actually ride an ostrich! That was not something that appealed to either of us though, especially after we saw the look of sheer terror on the face of the first lady brave enough to try it! There was a curio shop selling a wide range of ostrich products, from leather handbags to biltong and everything in between. We were both enjoying our morning so far and we felt like doing something else, so we left the ostrich farm and set off for the Cango Caves.

Cango Caves

The Cango Caves number among South Africa's most popular ten attractions and are visited by a quarter of a million people every year. The Cango Caves are situated 26km north of Oudtshoorn in the Klein Karoo, representing a stunning landscape growing inside the Swartberg foothills. The caves are described as one of the great wonders of the world, well I'm not sure about that, maybe an underground wonderland. Legend tells it that thousands of years ago an intrepid tribe of KhoiSan people wandered through the arid plains of the Klein Karoo taking shelter in a large cave entrance. Centuries later in about 1780 a colonial farmer Van Zyl decided to venture past the caves entrance lowering himself into the darkness. Judging by the echo of his voice he felt he had entered a cavern of breathtaking proportions, and by the dim light of his burning torch he could just about make out some shapes in this subterranean wonderland. It is thought he had first lowered himself into the first great hall which is about 98m long, 49m wide and 15m high. Since 1929 the Cango Caves have been lit with electric light, and attracted thousands of local and international visitors each year. The caves were declared a national monument in 1938. I think we chose a good day to visit as it was not too busy. We were taken on a tour of the caves by a very knowledgeable guide. There were a couple of different tours to choose from, the standard tour which lasts an hour, or the adventure tour which is longer at one and a half hours. We chose the standard 60 minute tour. Apparently the Cango Caves are among the biggest stalagmite formations in the world. The time taken to form many of these formations varies as it depends on water supply and carbon dioxide. At the Cango Caves many of the formations are thought to have been started several million years ago, with many still in the process of growth. Some of the formations were lit by coloured light to add interest, and although there are many areas that are unfortunately not open to the public there was still so much to see. The chambers have names, and in each one the guide told us the names of each different formation. You could see where most of the names came from, such as 'The Bridal Couple', 'The Coral Chamber' and 'The Angel's Wing'. Walking round was pleasant enough, and the caves were not as cold as some other caves we have visited in other countries, these were around 18c/65f. I don't think I would have liked to have been one of the first visitors to these caves before electricity was installed, but today they definitely make a worthwhile visit. There was a self service restaurant at the caves along with a curio shop, kennels, parking and a creche which is an excellent idea for those with very small children as there was quite a lot of walking involved and lots of stairs to climb.

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We enjoyed our day doing the touristy things, the Cango Wildlife Ranch, the Cango Ostrich Farm and the Cango Caves were a pleasant and unusual distraction from drinking in bars! From Oudtshoorn we drove to Knysna.

KNYSNA

Knysna is one of the Southern Cape Coast's best known holiday destinations. It nestles on the edge of a beautiful tranquil lagoon in the heart of the 'garden route'. Surrounded by a natural paradise of indigenous lush forests, peaceful lakes and beautiful golden sandy beaches, offering a wide variety of activities to suit all. As we approached Knysna we were impressed with the view, everything looked so beautiful. I hadn't wanted to stop at Knysna, I don't know why, I think by this time I was just really looking forward to getting back to Cape Town as we had been away for almost a fortnight. But as usual I am so pleased that Richard talked me in to staying overnight because it was such a lovely place, probably one of the nicest, prettiest places we stayed on this fortnight away. We spoke to the people at the tourist information who recommended somewhere for us to stay. We stayed at the Knysna Manor House, Bed and Breakfast, 19 Fitchat Street, which was lovely. Our room was separate from the main building, on the second floor overlooking a courtyard. It was nicely furnished with everything we needed, and most importantly there was private secure parking directly underneath our room. Knysna was very busy when we were there, full of tourists, but it had a very relaxed friendly feel to it. There was so much to do for those who wished to be active, such as four shopping centres, supermarkets, boutiques, restaurants, cafes and lots of smaller independent specialised shops, as well as fifteen churches, and most importantly lots of pubs most of which offered good wholesome food along with locally brewed beer from Mitchells Brewery, more of which later. If shopping, cafes and restaurants are not what you want, there were lots of galleries where you could purchase local arts and crafts, and for fans of the train Knysna is home to one of the last single gauge working steam trains in the world. The train travels between Knysna and George, passing beautiful scenery of the Garden Route along the way. Bird watching is another popular pastime as the area is home to over 280 species of bird. Knysnas location on the lagoon near to forests, sea and mountains made it excellent for leisurely walks, more energetic hikes, biking, paddling, horse riding or a lazy picnic. I think we only stayed for one or two nights, can't remember. We were more than happy to relax and stand still for a while after all of the driving of the last fortnight. We did drag ourselves away from the great bars and restaurants for a couple of hours though, we visited Mitchells Brewery. The brewery was much smaller than we had imagined it would be, and thankfully empty when we arrived apart from one old guy sitting quietly enjoying a large tankard of beer. The brewery was on an old industrial estate and quite hard to find, but worth the effort. The guy running the place was very friendly, and we sat at the bar chatting and sampling the beers, poor old Richard couldn't drink too much as he was driving. Foresters Draught and Bosuns Bitter were a couple of the brews and when blended together they came up with Mitchells Gold, lovely! We had drank some of the beers from this brewery whilst in Cape Town, and as we were so near to the actual brewery we thought we may as well pop in. The rest of our time was spent wandering round the shops and relaxing, chatting, drinking and eating by the waterfront. One evening we ate out at a really good restaurant, or so I thought during dinner. The restaurant was made to look like a train carriage, the food was, as always on our South African travels, absolutely delicious. But unfortunately during the night I was violently ill, I felt so bad. After a very restless night I was still feeling less than fit the following morning but I insisted that Richard go in to the main part of our hotel and at least have some tea or coffee, even if he didn't feel like eating any breakfast. I was still groaning on the bed when he returned a little later, with some tablets for me. Seeing that he was sitting on his own, two other guests had asked him to join them, everywhere in Knysna was like this ~ so friendly. Anyway these two gorgeous women (I saw them later) took quite a shine to Richard, no surprise there, he does tend to attract lots of attention from the female of the species ... he is rather gorgeous himself, or at least he was when he was younger! Whilst chatting to his new friends Richard had told them that his poor wife (me) was up in our room unwell. Straight away one of the ladies went and got some tablets for me, how nice, and they weren't poison as I lived to tell this tale! It was when Richard was packing the car, with me standing on the overhead walkway watching him, that these two women came out to their car. They said hi to Richard and then looked up and saw me, asked if I was feeling any better, which thankfully I was, and then said how disappointed they were that Richard really did have a wife with him, and that they're loss was my gain! With that they drove off. We were off too, on our way to Stellenbosch. Ooops ~ not before making a quick u-turn to our hotel to pick up a bag we had left behind, nothing too important, it only contained our passports, driving licence, money etc! The maid was already in our room cleaning when I rushed back up there, and our bag was sitting untouched where we had left it, very refreshing to know there are still some trustworthy people in the world. So once again, we were off on our way to Stellenbosch.

STELLENBOSCH

Stellenbosch was a lovely place to stop for a couple of nights before heading back 'home' to Cape Town. With its rolling green hills and lush valleys Stellenbosch is often compared to southern France. I guess the fact that there were lots of different wine producing estates in the area also meant people would be reminded of France. Apparently wine producing began in the region in the 1670's after the arrival of 200 French Huguenots. The town itself felt very European, and locally to where we stayed the wide avenues were lined with oak trees. Many of the buildings were of the Cape Dutch style, and there was a lively young feel to the place, probably due to the university students. We stayed at Michaelhouse guest house and bed and breakfast, 29 Van Riebeeck Street, which is situated in the historic heart of Stellenbosch, within easy walking distance of the town centre and the University of Stellenbosch. There were four double bedrooms each individually decorated with en-suite, television with DSTV, air conditioning, mini bar and everything else we could have possibly needed. Our en-suite was very nice and large with a lovely big roll top bath, the bedroom was also large with a sofa at the foot of the bed, and double doors that led out onto the pretty garden. We wanted to taste some of the local wines so we got in the car, turned the stereo up full blast and hit the accelerator, very happily driving along until we came to Neethlingshof Estate. The estate was founded in 1692, but much has changed since then. We drove along an avenue of beautiful pine trees which led us up to the estate. Neethlingshof has a long tradition of wine making and is now owned by Lusan Premium Wines, the estate also capitalises on its magnificent Cape Dutch manor house and the beautiful panoramic views of mountains and False Bay. We were told that Neethlingshof's fine wines were award winners on the international stage, made from a variety of grapes including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinotage, Shiraz, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. We decided not to go on a tour but we did taste a glass or two, me more so than Richard, as yet again he was the driver for that trip! Tastings are offered from 9am-5pm Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm Sat & Sun. You can also tour the cellar by appointment. There was a restaurant in the main house, the Lord Neethling, we didn't want to eat there we were happy to sit outside the restaurant on the Palm Terrace which overlooks the gardens of the estate. When we were ready to leave we were offered our glasses from our earlier wine tasting as a keepsake. We thought we would keep them and they were carefully wrapped in tissue paper for us along with a few bottles of red wine. Just as well we kept the glasses as we still have them today, which is how I know the name of this particular estate, I would not have remembered otherwise. The temperature on this day was extremely warm, so sitting out on the terrace and having the sun beating down on me, and drinking the odd vino or two really took it out of me. I felt like I had a bit of a hangover, must have been all that sun, glad I wasn't driving anyway! One evening we walked into the centre of town for a drink and possibly something to eat, we felt quite old as there seemed to be fresh young students everywhere. After a drink at a cafe/bar we walked round a little more before we found a very loud lively pub. They were serving food which seemed popular, so we decided to eat there. As usual I can not remember the name of the place we ate, but the food was as always excellent. There were a large number of very good places to eat in and around Stellenbosch, including De Akker, 90 Dorp Street, good for pub lunches and it gets more lively after 11pm, popular with students. Another good place was De Cameron, 50 Plein Street, which was considered at the time to be one of the best restaurants in town, serving southern Italian food and excellent seafood. Stellenbosch's top restaurant and run by a master chef was Ralph's, 13 Andringa Street, which served fantastic international dishes such as it's popular ostrich steak, thankfully the food outshone the decor which was in need of a rethink, all 1980's black red and white. As we were on our way back to Cape Town, and mainly in Stellenbosch for the wine, there is not much else to say about the place. It was absolutely lovely though, and apart from some seriously frightening nightmares (side effect of anti malarial drug), we had a thoroughly enjoyable stay in Stellenbosch, which like Knysna was incredibly pretty. The next thing for us to do was to drive back to Cape Town.

CAPE TOWN The Blue Train

After being away for about two weeks it felt good to be back 'home'. Now we were back in Cape Town we were looking forward to our next journey, both of us had wanted to travel on the famous Blue Train for a long time, so the next thing to do was to go and find out about reservations, prices etc. We went to the Blue Train VIP Lounge at the station in Cape Town, and after finding out the departures times, the route, scheduled stops, suites, and all that the Blue Train experience had to offer, we made a reservation for a couple of days time. On the day of our departure on the Blue Train from Cape Town to Pretoria we were both excited and arrived at the station long before we needed to. We were quite happy sitting across the road in a cafe enjoying a coffee until the time came for us to walk across to the VIP Lounge in preparation for boarding. Once in the lounge we had just one hour before we would be enjoying the luxurious surroundings on the Blue Train, one hour which we spent drinking Champagne and relaxing on the comfy sofas of the lounge. There were already some other passengers there when we arrived, with more arriving right up until we boarded the train. We had read much about the train and its passengers, and we thought we knew what to expect. When we had booked our tickets it was made very clear to us that there was a very strict dress code, and that is was compulsory to dress formal for dinner 'to match the sheer elegance of the Blue Train'. Evening wear was to be elegant, with gentlemen wearing a jacket and a tie, day wear was smart casual. As by this stage of our travels we had perfected the art of travelling very light, with just hand luggage wherever we flew, this meant a shopping trip for us before we travelled on the Blue Train. When we booked our tickets Richard had asked if a jacket was strictly necessary, he was told it was. Fair enough, although neither of us like to be told what to do, let alone what to wear, we both like to wear good clothes anyway so it was not a problem. Anyway, after all of the passengers had arrived we were taken on to the train and shown to our suites. Our suite was as we had expected, it looked very similar to the pictures in the brochure. There was a choice on booking, of a suite with a shower only or a bath, and of a double bed (which were limited), or single beds. We had booked a suite with a bath and a double bed, which is what we got. We were shown how everything in the suite worked, the television, the air conditioning etc, where the lounge car was located, and the general layout of the train, and then we were left to it. So far so good. We went along to the Club Car, as it was the only place on board where smoking was permitted, and Richard smoked at the time. The Lounge Car was for pre lunch and dinner drinks, the Club Car opened as soon as the train commended its journey and closed when the last guest departed, excellent. All drinks except Champagne were included in the all inclusive rate, as were all of the meals/food with the exception of Caviar. Each coach on the train had a butler available 24 hours a day. We were the first to enter the Club Car and immediately served at a table. We started with a nice glass of red wine and we didn't really stop drinking until we departed the train in Pretoria! Not because we are alcoholics but because we were so disappointed with the whole Blue Train experience. It had all started out so perfectly, and I have read so many good reviews of the Blue Train, so either other people have lower expectations than we do, or we were just unfortunate and it was an uncharacteristically bad trip. After sitting in the Club Car for a while some more passengers came in and everything was good. We were chatting to a young lady who worked in the travel industry, and had taken her mother on the train as a treat, a free perk of her job. Soon it was time to get ready for lunch, as soon as we entered the dining car we were surprised to see that the four people who were seated at the table adjacent to ours were dressed down ~ very down, scruffy. We ordered our lunch, which we were led to believe would be a sophisticated experience with food from a gourmet menu and the finest South African wines. The menu did offer what sounded like a delicious choice of dishes. Typical South African cuisine such as kabeljou, karoo lamb, knysna oysters, crayfish, impala. When our first course arrived it was presented well, and was fine. The main course was fine too, as were all the courses. That was the problem everything was just fine, we were not enjoying the culinary delights we had been promised. In fact the food was so mediocre that I can not remember a single meal. Thankfully the wine kept flowing. As neither of us completely finished anything we were served at that first meal, our waiter asked us if there was a problem. We know from having friends/family in the food service industry, that it is not wise to complain about anything if you are planning to continue eating. As we were going to be enjoying the pleasure of more meals aboard the train before we arrived in Pretoria, we just said we were full, how very English! As we got up to leave we overheard the people at the next table saying how fantastic everything was, and that there must be something wrong with us! Well at least someone was enjoying the food, and they were really enjoying it, all of it. There was a choice of first, second courses etc, they had asked for everything on the menu, much to the disbelief of their waiter! We headed back to Club Car for a drink to cheer us up. We were still looking forward to dinner, for one thing we were hungry already, and who knows maybe the food would have improved? We dressed for dinner, and after drinks with the young lady who we had met earlier and her mother, we headed to the dining car. They had asked us what we thought of it so far and we said we were a little disappointed, but we didn't elaborate too much as we had only just met them. Moaning is kept for real friends! They too said that it wasn't quite as impressive as they had expected. They had dressed up in lovely evening dresses, their hair and make up finished perfectly, and we were dressed well in our new clothes, shoes, and Richard in his new jacket. We entered the dining car and were shown to our tables, given menus, and soon after some more passengers came in. The first people, were the two couples who had been sitting next to us at lunch. Richard and I, and the young lady and her mother all looked up at them, shocked, they were still dressed down. The women were not too scruffy, they were wearing regular everyday wear, the two men were wearing jeans and t-shirts. Normally it would not have bothered us, but as we had had to purchase clothes, that for the whole rest of our trip we did not need, and which we were going to leave behind anyway, it was a little annoying. When the waiter came to their table he sarcastically said, I see you have dressed up! Our first course arrived, and unfortunately there was no improvement in the food since lunch. More courses followed which were equally dire, so we decided not to complete this dining experience and left the dining car early. Unsurprisingly we walked on auto pilot to the Club Car for an after dinner drink, well we needed the calories! Almost straight away we were joined by the young lady and her mother. They had wanted the leave the dining car too, disappointed with their food but did not want to be the first to leave. We told the waiter that we all needed cheering up, so he should bring us something nice to drink. He returned promptly with lots of glasses and some bottles. Port. We were sampling South African port, and it was all delicious. Once we had all decided on our favourite one we told the waiter, and we asked him to bring over a couple of bottles, this was not the time to be messing about with silly little glasses. By now the four of us were chatting away happily and laughing a lot. The young lady's mother was Greek and so funny, she was really maternal toward us two, in fact so maternal that she told us to call her Mum. Later some of the other passengers came to the Club Car for drinks, and obviously as it was a cosy train carriage we could overhear each others conversations. Most of the other passengers were impressed with the Blue Train experience, but there were one or two that were beginning to feel let down. We stayed in the bar for hours with our new drinking buddies. The next morning breakfast was the expected disappointment, but we were thirsty so we tried to fill ourselves up on drinks and bread. We couldn't wait to get to Pretoria and get something decent to eat. By now we could hear that most of the passengers were unhappy with everything too. Thankfully the train did stop en route to Pretoria at Matjiesfontein, where we were taken on a short ride on a London double decker bus! Matjiesfontein was a couple of dusty streets and not much more, but it was good to be off of the train for a while and to stretch our legs. The village looked like a film set, the buildings were Victorian and there were original nineteenth century London lamp posts, it felt like we were stepping back in time.

Cecil John Rhodes dreamt of a railroad from Cape to Cairo, and we were following in his tracks. Other people to have walked the dusty streets were, Lord Randolph Churchill, Olive Schrienwe, and the Sultan of Zanzibar. We were hot and thirsty, thankfully the Lord Milner Hotel welcomed us with some drinks served in souvenir glasses, after that Richard and I headed to the museum. The museum was surprisingly interesting and full of things to look at, including a collection of old childrens toys, dolls, a rocking horse, and rather oddly there was a dentists chair complete with lots of gruesome looking tools. Riding on the top deck of the route master (London bus), was quite a laugh, and we were telling jokes and generally being silly, everyone was laughing, with us not at us, I think! Our jovial mood was due to the fact that we had been drinking constantly since we boarded the Blue Train and not exactly eating that much, well we had to get through it somehow! We boarded the train again, wavedd goodbye to Matjiesfontein, and headed on towards Pretoria. It was on this last part of the journey, whilst relaxing in the Club Car drinking lots more delicious port, that we got chatting to most of the other passengers, who by now were of the same opinion as us, and that is that the Blue Train was not the wonderful special experience we had all hope it would be. One lady that we were chatting to had travelled on the Orient Express years ago, and she said that she had been told that the Blue Train would equal that experience if not better it, so understandably she was very disappointed with the whole trip too. We did buy a souvenir of the trip from the boutique, which was basically a man selling Blue Train logo products from one of the suites. We bought a key ring, as we liked the one that held the key to our suite. However when we looked at our purchase later we noticed that it was not the same nice solid heavy metal key ring as the one for our suite, it was plastic and very poor quality. No problem we swapped it with the one for our suite ... Shhh, don't tell anyone! Looking back now, I am pleased that we travelled on the Blue Train, although not at the time, as we had both always wanted to, but it was such a let down and not something I would recommend or ever repeat doing.

PRETORIA

We were pleased to be in Pretoria, we got off of the Blue Train happy to be on firm ground. We had decided to stay at Hotel 224 on the corner of Leyds and Schoeman Street. As I tend to suffer quite badly from travel sickness, and after being on the train for so much time, we walked from the railway station to the hotel. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but it was a little further than we had thought it was, and by the time we arrived at the hotel we were hot and sticky and very thirsty. The hotel looked okay, in an inner city 70's tower block sort of way. We were greeted with a very warm welcome by the lady on reception. We checked in and went up to our room for a shower. Our room was small but nice and clean with everything we needed. The hotel has 224 en-suite rooms hence the name, and our room was almost at the top of the building. We had good views of the Union Buildings and of the local area. There was a restaurant at the hotel, and a bar The Olde Town Tavern, which also served food. After showering we went to quench our thirst in the bar, where we chatted to the friendly barman. Our sleep that night was not the best we had ever enjoyed due to some rather excited young people banging doors, screaming and generally causing chaos from about midnight until around 5am the next morning. The next day we walked in to town to have a look round. We headed straight to Church Square which is situated at the centre of Pretoria, it was pedestrianised so the perfect place to start exploring the city. Church Square has been an important place over the years for meetings and protests of various kinds. The square is surrounded by some of the most interesting and impressive buildings in South Africa. The old Raadsaal, parliament on the southwest corner was built in neo Renaissance style in 1891. Next door was the tourist information in the building which used to be the Netherlands Bank. Apparently these buildings were going to be demolished in the 70's, but 10,000 people gathered in the square to protest against it and after five years of deliberation the decision was reversed and the buildings saved. The Stamp Museum (Mon-Fri 7:30am-4pm, free admission), displays over half a million stamps, one of the rarest being a Cape Triangle of 1853. The building of the Palace of Justice commenced in 1897 and half way through was used as a hospital for the British troops during the second Anglo Boer War. Unfortunately the weather on the day we were there was very damp and dull making many of the buildings look rather austere and ugly. There are lots of different districts in Pretoria, Arcadia which is where Hotel 224 is situated, and is home to the famous Union Buildings, and the Zoological Gardens to the north are worth a visit. Most of the districts in Pretoria are worth a stroll round, Hatfield is where the students from the nearby Pretoria University hang, out and it is also home to Pretoria's diplomats who reside in suitably flash houses. Sunnyside was a very pleasant district for a walk along its streets which had a really friendly feel about them. Waterkloof is where most of the expensive accommodation was, and New Mucleneuk which was one of Pretoria's newest suburbs also had a variety of hotels and Bed and Breakfast places. We spent quite a lot of time in Pretoria, not in one stretch but on various comings and going to other places, it made an excellent base for us. The shopping in Pretoria was very good, Brooklyn and Menlo Park are the best known suburbs in Pretoria, and we spent a couple of days there in the large shopping centres. We were staying at a different hotel by now, Best Western Pretoria Hotel, 230 Hamilton Street, corner Church Street, Arcadia. This hotel suited us much better than Hotel 224 which we liked a lot but it was just too noisy, although the bar and bar food was good. The Best Western had 124 en-suite rooms all with TV, M-Net access, and everything else we could possibly need or want, and 24 hour room service. Apparently they have safe undercover parking too. The bar there was also nice and friendly and the restaurant food was good. Right next door was a McDonalds ~ Yuk, but handy in emergencies! We usually ate out whilst staying there as there were so many good quality and good value restaurants in the local area. We really liked Pretoria which is probably why we spent so much time there, it felt like a much larger city. Pretoria was the scientific and technological capital of South Africa, and home to the most highly developed technology and research centre in Africa. There were also four universities and several scientific centres based there. Often called the Jacaranda city due to the beautiful blanket of mauve the Jacaranda trees throw over the ground, Pretoria was culturally diverse and we always felt completely at home there. There was so much to do from shopping, visiting museums, art galleries and enjoying local cuisine in the many restaurants. Apparently Pretoria has over 100 parks including bird sanctuaries and nature reserves so there was always somewhere to relax and watch the world go by. We got our fill of historical architecture, ate out a lot, and shopped until we dropped at probably all of the shops Pretoria had to offer. The main shopping area in the city centre were De Bruyn Park, Sanlan Centre, and the Standard Bank Centre. The larger shopping centres were the Arcadia Centre, Jacaranda Centre, Menlyn Park, Sunny Park, Centurion City and Wonderpark. There was a good selection of shops that you would get in most westernized cities along with African crafts. Toward the end of our time in South Africa we went to the cinema a few times, mainly to waste time, and on one occasion outside the shopping centre several traders had set up market stalls selling traditional African handicrafts such as rugs, woodwork, ceramics etc. We had taken a taxi there and unfortunately left most of our cash back at the hotel, so we couldn't purchase as much as we would have liked. We did manage to buy two beautiful carved wooden masks though so we were happy. In fact one of the masks was not locally made, it was from Nigeria but as we didn't plan on visiting there we thought we would buy it anyway as it was so striking. After staying in Pretoria for a while we wanted to visit Bloemfontein, this meant a journey on a Translux Bus for us.

BLOEMFONTEIN

Bloemfontein is known as the city of Roses, and is South Africa's judicial capital and the capital of the Free State province. It is not a typical tourist destination as it is situated at the crossroads of South Africa, with most of the tourists using it as a break in their journey across the country. We liked it though, although our main reason for going there was so visit Lesotho. There were some historically important buildings and nature reserves, craft centres, art galleries and shopping centres. The bus journey was conmfortable, we arrived at the drop off point pleased to be getting off of the bus and we took a taxi to our accommodation. We had decided to stay at the Stanville Inn, 85 Zastron Street, it was on a main road but we were not disturbed by the traffic, our room was nice, and it was excellent value. Apparently Bloemfontein had the honour at the time of our visit, of having Hobbit House which had been voted South Africa's best guest house. Hobbit House only had five rooms and the Stanville Inn had five storeys of rooms, although Hobbit House would not have been compatible with our budget anyway. Although I did like the sound of having a teddy bear tucked into the bed under the handmade quilts ~ oh well, I would have to make do with Richard tucked in at the Stanville Inn! After a good nights sleep we sorted out a rental car for the drive to Lesotho, where we stayed for a few nights, more of which can be read on the Lesotho Travelogue page. On our return from Lesotho to Bloemfontein we stayed at the Stanville Inn again, if it ain't broke don't fix it! After checking in we went for a walk round the local streets, and found a really cool little bar where we enjoyed a few beers before going to find something to eat for dinner. Not far along the road from our hotel we saw a Chinese restaurant, it looked quite busy so we went in. The service was good as was the food, it made a change from all of the heavy meat dishes we had been enjoying, lots of nice light fresh vegetables and tasty Chinese beer. There was more to do than eat and drink in Bloemfontein, such as visiting the National Afrikaans Literary Museum, the National Women's Monument and War Museum, and the Oliewenhuis Art Gallery and Freshford House Museum. One day we took a taxi to a small shopping centre and market, which was situated around a dock area but I can not remember where it was. I do remember that it was very busy and we stayed there until quite late in the evening sitting outside a pub drinking beer as we looked out across the water. As we had returned the hire car we took a coach to Durban for a few days.

DURBAN

Durban was up until the 70's white South Africa's seaside playground. Even whilst we were there it had a laid back hippie vibe to it with surfers and holidaying families everywhere. In the 80's with the collapse of apartheid, the area was besieged by Africans from KwaZulu Natal. We stayed at the Impala Holiday Flats, 40 Gillespie Street, which was a large tower block of family apartments situated near to the Wheel Shopping Centre. After we checked in and had a good look at the apartment we went shopping. Everything was included in the apartment, crockery, cutlery etc, all we needed was food. The area near the apartment felt run down and poor, although in the centre of town things felt more modern and sophisticated. We went for strolls on the beach, our apartment was only one street back from the sea, feeling the sand between our toes and generally just relaxed during our stay in Durban. There was lots to do like visiting the Local History Museum, and the National Science Museum, and Durban Art Gallery, and Sea World as well as shopping. Durban is one of South Africa's major cities and as such the shopping was quite good especially for crafts. As Durban is the home turf of the Zulus it was excellent for purchasing Zulu crafts like, grass brooms, baskets, woven beer strainers, bead work, along with more obvious Zulu pieces such as spears, shields, leather kilts, and drums. We also saw some sandals that were made using recycled rubber vehicle tyres, they seemed very popular as we saw lots of people wearing them. One day whilst staying in Durban we needed to sort out our ongoing travel arrangements, which meant lots of trips here and there all over the city. We worked out that instead of getting a taxi to take us everywhere it would probably work out much cheaper to hire a car for one day, which it did. We hired a basic car first thing one morning and got everything done so quickly that we took it back a couple of hours later. The manager at the company we hired the car from was surprised to see us back so soon, he thought that there was a problem with the car, until we told him why we were returning it so soon. When we mentioned to him that we were getting the bus to Mozambique he said 'why, don't you know what they do to tourists there'? Well we do now.