We arrived safely at Schipol Airport and got rid of the car, checked in and got settled in the Lounge to wait for our flight.

When I was booking the flights, I had asked Gerard at HelloWorld Travel about getting access to the golf carts at the various airports to reduce the need to walk and, apparently, the only way you can do that is to request “assistance”. So, I’m not proud and I asked for it, for both Nick & me.

At first, Nick was reluctant, but when he realized how much walking would be required at Dubai and Schipol airports, he was thankful! BUT… as our plane from Schipol to Dubai was a 777, it was “bus to plane and up the steps” to board the plane. And, poor “old” Nick was suffering with his foot and back, so didn’t feel up to doing the steps. All of which meant that we were taken out to the plane on a x-lift truck and were first onto the plane! Ain’t it grand to be a cripple! LOL!

We eventually arrived safely in Cape Town and were met by our driver to transfer us to our first hotel. He scooted off to bring the car to the kerbside and while we were waiting, we were accosted by touts, all offering to get us a driver!

For the main part of our time in Africa, we will be doing a Safari with “Drifters” but we also had a credit with Intrepid and took the opportunity to use it, with a 5-day tour around Cape Town. There was some confusion about our arrival, as we had  booked an extra day in Cape Town and at the end of Day 1, we hadn’t heard anything from the tour company. However, things got sorted out and we were the only people on the tour, so we had our own personal guide for our day trip down to Cape Point & Simon Town, and our day touring 3 different wineries around Franschoek. Day 4 was a “free day” so we had arranged to catch the ferry over to Robben Island for the tour of the maximum security prison where Nelson Mandela was held for 18 of his 27-years imprisonment.

On an aside, we felt a bit ripped off because we were booking a 5-day tour, but Day 1 was Pick-up and take to hotel (we were already there), Days 2 & 3 were with a guide, Day 4 was a free day and Day 5 was over after breakfast! I know that that is normal for the first and last day, but it was a bit suss to have a free day in there as well!

Our first hotel was the Cape Milner Hotel, which was a great hotel even though they are currently carrying out some major renovations. It was easy to walk down into town, to discover some local eateries, visit museums and walk through the Gardens. We also managed to visit Table Mountain on our first day in Cape Town, which was a Saturday, and clear and sunny. We spent almost half the day up there – the views were stunning! We used Uber to get around – it was only R51- from our hotel to the bottom Lift Station to up to Table Mountain. On a generous day, that is about $A5-00! So we ended up using Uber quite regularly. And, if anyone is coming to Cape Town, we can thoroughly recommend staying at the Cape Milner Hotel.

One of the highlights of our trip down to Cape Point and Simon Town, was a visit to the Penguin Sanctuary at  Boulders Beach. They are so cute! They are the African Penguin and we saw lots of family groups, nurseries and also the singles pad!

On our seventh day in Cape Town, we transferred down to a hotel close to the V&A Waterfront – actually not as close as we had hoped – as that would be the starting point for the Safari with Drifters. The problem with this location was that it was located between the port and the South African version of Darling Harbour, ie full of expensive, trendy shops and yuppie eateries, which always have the music playing too loud!

We met up with the rest of our tour group – we are a group of 10 people, which comprises of 3 couples from NZ and 2 Australian couples, of which one couple are ex-pat South Africans! So we are feeling a bit outnumbered. But, as is usual with groups, within a few days, we were having conversations and possibly making new friends.

We have a guide and a driver, who is also our ranger – Lou and Dion. They are fabulous! And we travelling around in an expedition truck called “The Green Elephant”. Our first two days with the new group included another trip up the top of Table Mountain and also a repeat trip down to Cape Point. For those of you who don’t know, Cape Point is where the Cape of Good Hope is located, but it isn’t the most southerly point of the African continent – that honour falls to Cape Agulhas, which is just a bit further south-east.

We have learnt some interesting history about early discovery and explorers. For example, did you know that Bartholomew Dias was the first Portuguese explorer sent to find a route around the African Continent to India? He got as far as the Cape of Good Hope, where he dropped anchor to rest and recuperate before turning back to report to King John, the Portuguese King.  Dias christened the area “Cabo dos Tornados”, or the Cape of Storms. But when he returned to Portugal, with his report, King John said, “We don’t want to discourage people, so I will change the name to “Cape of Good Hope”. Vasco da Gama was the next explorer sent to make the trip and he successfully charted a route to India. There are monuments to the two explorers in the Cape Point National Park – one is all white for Vasco da Gama and the other one is half white and half black for Bartholomew Dias.

Day 4 was our first big day on the road. We left Cape Town early and headed north to Springbok, managing to drive some 600+ kms. What can I say about South African roads? Not a lot that is complementary! They need to learn the fill the gap between the road and both ends of a bridge, bugger it – on all of the bridges – so that you don’t feel like your head is going to pop off and your stomach meets your shoulders every time the truck drives over a bridge!

We overnighted in Springbok to get a good sleep, do a final shop before moving to the border between South Africa and Namibia. And that border crossing will have its own story!

Animals seen in South Africa:- Penguins, Seals, Baboons, Ostrich, Impala, Dasses and lots of birds.