We took a quick flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town,
ALMOST without issue. What wouldn’t travel be without a little issue, though?
We found out upon arrival that our budget Mango flight included only one bag
each. We had to open our bags and re-organize our stuff, putting everything
from our backpacks into our carry-ons. We had a surprise meal voucher when we
were on the flight, which provided us with sandwiches, chips, chocolate and
candy – you lose some, you win some!
Where we stayed: At Cape Royale, a luxury hotel in downtown
Cape Town, near the harbourfront. We know we’ve said this before, but it’s
literally the biggest place we’ve ever stayed – a full suite with a kitchen,
dishwasher, laundry, dining room area, living room, two bedrooms, and two
bathrooms. The hotel also had a business center (perfect for Ashley to print
her presentation) and a rooftop patio with a view of the surrounding mountains
(perfect for pre-dinner cocktails).
What we ate and drank: We were wooed by Cape Town’s posh
drinking and dining options. We started with Harbour House, where we sipped on
cider, wine, and long island iced tea, snacked on sushi, and looked out at the
beauty of the harbour. We then upped the ante, opting for a six-course
vegetarian tasting menu at Signal. The next day we dined on yummy Mexican food for
lunch, and then went out to dinner at Pot Luck Club, a trendy restaurant
developed by Luke Dale-Roberts, one of South Africa’s most renowned chefs.
There we had delicious cocktails and a bunch of tapas items, like pig head
lettuce wraps and chickpea frites. The restaurant was way ahead of the recent
charcoal trend, even giving Ashley a full bite of charcoal in her food (no
really it was a complete accident and it was very gross). Luckily the meal
ended on a delicious chocolate souffle. We also drank South African wines,
described below in reference to our wine tour! We soaked up all that alcohol at
a pub for dinner, where we ate burgers, sliders, curly fries, and onion rings,
and as if the wine wasn’t enough, drank fishbowl cocktail drinks.
What we did: Besides eating, we did manage to also go on three
awesome tours. First up was a city tour of Cape Town, where we learned the
history of the city, visiting the historical area of Bo Kaap, the Castle of
Good Hope, and the balcony where Nelson Mandela gave his freedom speech. When
the fog lifted we took a cable car up Table Mountain, feasting our eyes on one
of the new seven natural wonders of the world. We had a view of Lion Head, the
city of Cape Town, and the coastline with glistening blue water. Here we met
our first taste of Cape Town wildlife, the Rock Hyrak – basically a mountain
hamster. We finished our tour at a diamond and tanzanite store, where they
served us champagne and orange juice… and where we got really excited thinking
they were offering “free jewels”… when they really said “free juice”. Our
second tour was a wine tour, featuring a small cast of characters including an
Israeli man sailing around the world and three women from the US. We stopped at
Fairview, where they make Goats Do Roam, and met our second taste of local
wildlife – an actual goat that lives on the property. We started the day right,
tasting 6 different wines and cheese starting at 9:30 a.m. Hello, Breakfast!
Our second winery was Dieu Donne Vineyards, in the French town of Franschhoek.
This wasn’t our favourite spot, with sub-par wines and no cheese (how dare
they?). That day we stopped in Stellenbosch for lunch, before ending at
Neethlingshof Estates, where we tried five different wines and then a surprise
sixth that just arrived 45 minutes before we got there. No tour in South Africa
would be complete without important history – we stopped at the final prison of
Nelson Mandela and learned about informal townships as we travelled back to the
city. For our final day tour we went out the Cape of Good Hope, which is the
most southern and western tip of Africa. En route we went to Boulders Beach,
home to the African Penguins. They were about the cutest thing you could ever
picture, so many of them, heading out to fish. Cape of Good Hope was a vision
with a full arc rainbow. We took a
trolley up a mountain hill to a lighthouse where we were enveloped in the
beauty of the cliff side. It was a day to remember. Interspersing all these fun
day tours, Ashley worked on her presentations for the International AIDS
Conference.
Saddest moment: When Britt and Ash said goodbye in South
Africa, and Britt held it together for about 5 minutes, before she full-on
crumple-faced. Luckily JD was there to break the sadness by making fun of her,
and then giving support.
Lessons learned: If your tour van is going to fall into a
ditch trying to make a quick exit from a winery, make sure to do it next to a
crew of 15 men who are working nearby and can dig you out.
That’s it for this adventure! Where will we go next?
Stay tuned!
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