South Africa

Another morning of empty roads and exhilarating scenery (and, in places, some downright scary mountain passes) brought us to Oudsthoorn.

Not a lot to report here; we undertook a cursory tour of the town, but as the weather was scorching we felt the afternoon could be put to better use by partaking of 'light refreshment' somewhere...

Where better than the Art Rock Cafe -looking disconcertingly like your average British pub- which despite the heat was on the verge of closing when we arrived (15:00!); presumably because of an unexpected lack of custom. We felt it only fair to keep the barstaff busy for the next couple of hours to prevent them from getting bored.

Several pints of Castle lager, a bottle of wine, an Ostrich burger (well you have to really) and a rack of ribs later, it was all we could do to waddle up the hill to our hostel and collapse into a comfortable coma.

And so, on Saturday 22 Jan we ate a huge breakfast then picked up our hire car (a newish Corolla, thank God for the air-con!) and hit the open road to Stellenbosch. This is the Wine Route, with plenty to satisfy the 'thirsty' traveller...

Stellenbosch itself is a large friendly town with a very cosmopolitan feel and a bit of a 'cafe culture'. We explored for a while, taking in the varied shops and the market before heading to our hostel (the Stumble Inn). This was quite a different affair from the Simon's Town Hostel but no less friendly nor comfortable.

After a terrific meal at a restaurant called 'Attitude' (with plenty wine, of course!) we turned in, ready for the next day's journey to...

...Montagu.

This was an interesting trip, not only because of the unrelenting parade of spectacular scenery (rocky mountain passes, forests, rolling green hills and so on) but also because of the need to give way in places to tortoises crossing the road, and at one toll-booth, a troupe of baboons!

We had been lucky enough to find a cottage to rent for two nights in Montagu for a very reasonable price, and it would be hard to imagine a setting more idyllic. Montagu is a very small, peaceful town surrounded by mountains and peopled by friendly locals. More wine, and a slap-up braii (barbecue) on the patio was the order of the first evening.

The next day we felt like some gentle excercise; Montagu offers some great hiking trails and we thought we'd try a 12km walk through Cogman's Kloof ('kloof' = valley). This was described being non-arduous and should take about four hours to complete. Five+ hours later we were still going..! Despite an initial speedy climb up a mountainside which involved scrambling over rocks in places, our efforts were fully repaid with -yet more- spectacular views and sightings of various Bok, and Dassies (a kind of big Guinea Pig type thing).

Knackered but happy, we felt fully justified in having another large braii and copious amounts of wine (bit of a theme developing here).

Our last full day before heading off on to the Garden Route and beyond, we thought would be best spent on a visit to Table Mountain.

Table Mountain is an unavoidable and imposing feature of the landscape, and arriving at Cape Town station we wasted no time in finding a taxi to take us to the lower cable car station. Call us wimps if you like (OK, we're wimps) but the the temperarture was already in excess of 30'C and no way no how were we fit enough for the climb!

Luckily we arrived early and got a good place in the queue, but within 15 minutes hundreds of other tourists arrived. The patient wait for the cable car was well worth it for the spectacular views afforded by the slow ascendence of the rotating car.

Once on top, the heat really began to bite with the temperature rising to an uncomfortable 38'C. Luckily there are very well stocked shops and a restaurant up there.

We decided to walk to the highest point of the Mountain, Maclean's Beacon, which stands 1086 Meters above sea level and took in the fabulous panoramic views surrounding us.

NOTE: Photos WILL appear on this blog, honest, just as soon as we find a suitably equipped internet cafe!

Thursday, we decided to investigate what Simon's Town is best known for - the penguins of Boulders Beach. Setting off early, we took a gentle stroll through the town (already hot at 08:30!) and up to the penguin reserve.

It's quite weird wandering along boardwalks amongst sand dunes or scrubby woodland to suddenly be confronted by one, two and then hundreds of penguins!

They are so cute to look at, but in the reserve you can't really get up close (and, no, I'm not some kind of penguin-pervert). No, for the real penguin experience you have to walk a bit further on to Boulders Beach itself. This is just like any other beach except that half of the sunbathers are penguins...

If you're a penguin fanatic, forget the sub-zero icy wastelands, just come to South Africa and you can share your choc-ice with them (actually, that's forbidden).

Ooh, by the way, the local pub in Simon's Town is called the 'Two and Sixpence' and they have a two-for-one happy hour between five and six. Trust us. We know.

On Wednesday we arose bright and early, eager to start exploring South Africa and to experience for ourselves some of the things we had only read about so far.

Top of the list was a trip to Robben Island, upon which Nelson Mandela and others were imprisoned for their political beliefs. Firstly we needed to return to Cape Town, an enjoyable hour's train ride along a beautiful sun-kissed bay beside the sea, backed by seemingly endless mountain ranges.

Capetown itself is friendly and impressive, but we weren't here for sight seeing. Instead we made our way down to the Victoria and Alfred docks and were lucky enough to get tickets for the next ferry to Robben Island which was leaving in ten minutes.

Little can prepare you for the emotional rollercoater of visiting this island; the island itself seems innocuous enough, but it is the sheer passion with which the guides - some of them ex-inmates - speak about the history of the island and the origins of the ANC which is so moving. When coupled with a tour of the prison quarry where the men were sentenced to hard labour, and of the prison cells (Mandela's has been preserved as it would have looked during his incarceration), the overall experience is unforgettable.