Total duration 12D11N Singapore is 2.5hrs ahead of Sri Lanka and 4hrs ahead of Seychelles. Flight time is 4hrs on Sri Lankan Airlines from Singapore to Colombo and 4hrs on Sri Lankan Airlines from Colombo to Mahe.
Afternoon flight on 9th Feb at 3pm and arrival in Sri Lanka at 420pm followed by a transit duration of 15hrs 25 mins. Morning flight of 8am on 10th Feb and arrival in Seychelles at 1035am. Return flight is on the 19th Feb at 535am and arrival in Colombo at 1120am followed by a transit duration of 13hrs 40min. Morning flight of 1am on the 20th Feb and arrival in Singapore at 730am.
This escape plan was to utilised the long weekend from the Lunar New Year to get away for some R&R. Since during this period of time, the northern hemisphere would always be cold and we did not want to go to Australia (again!) and coupled with the irresistible airlines deals offered in December by Sri Lanka airlines, we decided on a visit to Seychelles for CNY.
Budget nature: Very expensive due to costly hotels and food.
Most of our budget was spent on food as each restaurant meal can turn up to about 60SGD per meal. Accommodation was overall costing higher than those we normally take in other parts of the world but these were pretty close to the beautiful beaches/waters. Although fuel price was comparable to that in Singapore and Seychelles islands being relatively small, we did not spend a lot of pumping gas. Activities and trips were not cheap and were offered in Euros.
Complexity: Easy to get around in a car.
It was easy to drive around in a car as the islands were served by a single lane road most of the time. However, in order to get from the east to west coasts, we had to cut across the hills by going through curvy hilly roads that might be difficult in terms of road sickness and also at night due to the lack of lights.
Started the day with breakfast in the hotel and checked with receptionist on the status of Robben Island ferry. Cancelled. OMG. That was unbelievable. We were really disappointed but there was simply no other choice. Drove our vehicle to V&A to collect our customised towels and also to get the refund on the tickets from the ticketing office. However, I forgot I left the tickets in the haversack that was in the car’s boot but thought I left it in the luggage and so we rushed back to the hotel only to remember after that. Cape Heritage hotel was really close to V&A and luckily we did not waste too much time and it took about 30mins max to travel to and fro. Furthermore, the traffic was light since it was still early on a weekend. After this, we tried our luck with Table mountain again and drove up to the same carpark spot. The heavy mist was still all around and then that’s when we decided to visit Lambert’s Bay, 300km up north from Cape Town, something that we planned as contingency should Robben Island fail.
So it was all highway on the N7 at average speed of 120km/h with 2 lanes till it became 1 as we moved away from Cape Town. One of the amusing behaviour of drivers in SA was that people here were generally courteous. On the 1 lanes, drivers at the slower pace would move to the shoulder so that the faster ones could pass. Once passed, the front driver would turn on the hazard light for about 2 flickers to say “thank you” to the slower driver. Then I learnt to do the same too since we were at a faster pace then some of the drivers and some of them would return my “thank you” with 2 short bursts of high beam flashes to say “you are welcome”. There were also some people who drove really fast, zooming past me even when I was at speeds of 140km/hr already.
When we moved onto side roads off from the main highway, the traffic became a little more congested. We even met a roadblock for road works that last some kilometers and they had to do the 10mins roadblock for each direction in order for the construction work to carry on and concurrently traffic continued usage of the road. Skies cleared as we moved closer inland and away from Cape Town and we were hopeful that Lambert’s bay could present a change of weather to what we have encountered in Cape Town.
Some 3hrs and we arrived at Lambert’s bay. Small town with small buildings with lots of space in between. It was already 2pm and we visited one of the restaurants (not many of them anyway) that was in Lambert’s Bay Hotel and there were only 2 of us. Looked at the menu that consisted mostly seafood, not surprising for somewhere just next to the ocean. The seafood was really tasty!
Crayfish with chips
Angel fish fillet
While waiting for the food, I went to the reception to get some brochures on things to do in Lambert’s Bay. There were some trips that could be arranged earlier for fishing and such. We were interested in a visit to bird island reserve and the receptionist informed that we could walked over to the reserve where we could see the natural habitat of the thousands of birds on the island.
After lunch, we drove closer to the entrance that was just 1 min away. I approached the guardhouse personnel to ask for directions but he gave me a disappointing answer. The island was close due to bad weather. This was really frustrating, 300 km away and still bad weather! He went on to say that the tide was too choppy and we would not be able to walk across the land that was connecting the main island to the bird island. It was the truth and we had to turn back. We came 300km just to have lunch.
Bird island from afar. Many birds flying above.
Choppy ocean wave crashing against the rocks.
Lambert’s bay beach
It was the same route back, same areas picturesque with landscapes and vegetation. It was an enjoyable road trip. Stopped by a hydrodam to snap a picture too, though it was not like we haven’t seen one before.
Hydrodam
When we arrived back at Cape Town, we saw that the clouds at the top of Table Mountain have cleared! A tinge of regret felt as we were contemplating whether to climb or to go Lambert’s bay, looked like we chose the wrong option!
Silhouette of Table mountain on the highway back to Cape Town.
Drove to V&A again for dinner and again we ate at the smaller branch of Simply Asia, which was grouped together with a few other fast food counters. Went back to the hotel feeling disappointed and packed in preparation for the trip back home the next day. Not an ending that we all expected.
Day 17: Home Sweet Home
Our flights was planned at 10ish in the morning and thus we had to leave really early since we had to return the car too. As usual, the traffic was light on Sunday morning and driving to the airport was of no hassle. While on the road, we saw the clear view of Table Mountain and it was like telling us again how unfortunate we were to visit at that time of the year. Took a final shot and continued towards the airport.
Table mountain cleared!
Returning was a bit tricky, we had to pump gas till it was full at the station nearest the airport and then returned at the designated location. GPS really came in handy in this aspect even though we still had to go around in circles trying to find the entrance of the car return location. There was one huge parking lot designated for return of rental vehicles for many different companies, and locating the same company sign was not easy. Once we parked the vehicle and handover the keys, we had to cross the road to return the GPS at the main office at which then the whole procedure was completed. Checked in was no drama and we were soon shopping at the waiting area of the airport.
This was unlike Changi, the area was so much smaller and not much to see. My wife wanted to get some safari stuff toys but eventually did not as there were space in the house to place them. They were quite cute by the way, especially the warthogs and rhinos.
Shopping area
Then it was a 12hrs flight back to Singapore, via Joburg 1hr transit. We only arrived at 6am following day due to the time difference.
This travel experience gave us much insight to the culture and lifestyle of South Africa. We experienced the extremes between the insecurity felt in Joburg and the comfort in Cape Town. It was also our first safari experience that we enjoyed thoroughly and having to visit 2 different safaris, it was a good introduction of what to expect for future safari visits. The visit of Vic Falls gave us time to appreciate the beauty that Earth could offer and the grandeur of the falls showed the insignificance of ourselves in the greater environment. Overall a successful trip lest would be more perfect without the constant bad weather.
Woke up today feeling unwell. The weather outside remained gloomy but a rainbow soon appeared in full view from our room. Attempted to go to the beach for a little walk to see if we could catch sight of whales close by but after reaching the beach in the cold wind, my poor health status got the better of me and we trekked back for breakfast instead. Didn’t eat a lot of the complimentary breakfast, which I thought looked really good and just had African Rooibos tea which was said to aid digestion. As I proceeded back to our room to take a rest, I approached the owners for some digestion pills and that helped improve my situation. Slept for a bit before we checked out the room and headed to town again for some whale watching and pills shopping. The plan was to drive to Oudtshoorn but since I wasn’t feeling too well, we were thinking otherwise. What really changed our idea completely was when we saw the amount of whale activity going on at the same spot we were the previous evening and that got us hooked to whale watching for practically the whole morning!
Rainbow arising from the ocean in morning.
The edge where people climb to in order to get closer pictures.
Famous whale crier of Hermanus blowing the horn to communicate with the whales.
Quiet little town of Hermanus
The whales were pretty active today. We wanted to get some pills first and so while walking near to the whale viewing spots, we saw whales coming out of the water. After we reached, the activity then lessened. Just when we thought it ended and started to turn around, the whales came out of the water again. We turned back and again the activity lessened. It was like hide and seek in a mean way. Finally we decided to just leave first, get the pills and whatever we needed from the shops and returned. It wasn’t too bad an idea cause after we returned, we saw whales coming out from the water pretty frequently!
Whale coming out from the water seen from shore.
And also the tail
Sequence shots of whale coming out of water.
Hooked till it was close to noon and by then it was really late. As we need to get into Oudtshoorn for an Ostrich farm visit, 5hrs drive away, we figured it was too late and not a good option, since we need to return to Cape Town the following day early so as to get on the afternoon ferry to Robben Island, it definitely does not seemed like a good deal. Back to Cape Town.
Mountain views on the way back to Cape Town.
Since we planned for a ostrich farm visit, we decided to visit one too, not too far away from Cape Town. Punched in ostrich farm near destination Cape Town into Garmin and we were on our way. Cape Point Ostrich Farm.
The farm was situated at the location close to the Cape National Park which we found really familiar since we were there on the first day of our visit to Cape Town. The drive was really easy, not many vehicles on the road and both road signs and directions from GPS was easy to follow. Conditions of the road was good too. Took about 2hrs to reach the ostrich farm. Thought that there was some restaurants nearby but was not what expected – a simple restaurant at the farm but selling foodstuff from the farm itself. In the end we bought a muffin for lunch as I was still feeling bloated.
The tour ran every hour and we were able to join one soon after. It was a “private tour” in a sense since we were the only people there at the time. A guide from the farm met us at the waiting area and walked us around the farm, explaining what their farm did, how they breed the birds and stuff like that. Along the way, we saw birds of different ages, held in different holding area. Educational for people who were interested in these birds.
Egg incubator exhibit
5 month old chick
7 months old
The tour was about 15-20 mins. There wasn’t much interaction with the birds and you couldn’t ride a bird there, a little different from those in Oudtshroon. Understood from the guide that it was cruel to ride one anyway and that usually those birds would get injured and often killed after that. Since theirs was a small establishment and they weren’t keen to put the birds under stress, they did not have that. Point taken.
There was bird feed that was on sale at the waiting area which we bought to feed 2 birds that were out in the open fenced up area. They were left there so that they could mate. The wind was really strong but these 2 birds didn’t seem much affected by it. It was really amusing to feed them as they weren’t really smart, especially the male, which did not know how to reach my hand when I brought the feed close to the ground and it was obstructed by the top horizontal wooden log. The female stuck her head between the top and bottom log and managed to pick some feed off my hand. We were told during the tour that these birds weren’t smart and had very small brains, but I guess the feeding experiment showed that the male bird had the smaller one.
Bird feed
Feeding the ostrich was amusing
Female bird which is not as brightly coloured as the male.
Male bird, bright red beak showed that it was on heat.
We didn’t planned anything else that day and thus we decided to just drive around and stop at places with good views. Weather wasn’t on our side so we didn’t stop any many places either. Revisited Simonstown and parked at a location that was indicated panoramic viewpoint on the GPS. There was a rainbow yet again. We looked out for whales too but didn’t see any. However, as we drove along the shore towards Cape Town, there were some places where we could also see whales sticking their fins out of the water.
Rainbow in the gloom of Simonstown.
We reached Cape Heritage hotel in the early evening and approached the receptionist for assistance since we didn’t reserve a room. She was really helpful and managed to get one room for us such that we did not need to change room for the next night. It was a different one from the first time that we were there, designed differently but just as nice. The only complaint was that it was a just above the pantry and noise from the pantry was really audible in the room.
Had dinner at a Thai restaurant called “Simply Asia” around the corner and had some spicy food which really warmed us up in the balmy weather. The food was ok but a welcome change to the daily western cuisine that I was getting a little sick of. The small restaurant was busy and there was a commotion when someone who didn’t pay for some takeaway left the restaurant. Also enjoyed watching the TV that was showing world athletics games, a channel that we didn’t have in the hotel.
Spacious bathroom with tub and separate shower and double basins.
Chinese inspired design room
Back in the room, we went online to look at the options we had the next day if the Robben Island tour was to be cancelled again, which was very likely. We heard news the good weather would only return the following week after we left. That was really unfortunate.
Today we checked out the Cape Heritage Hotel for our onward journey to Hermanus. We spoke to the recept on leaving the bulk of our luggage at the hotel since we were coming back a few days later and they agreed! This would have helped us save some costs in terms of fuel since we would be carrying less load on this mini road trip.
We went to the Skinny Legs cafe for breakfast which was a few streets from our hotel. It was a modern design cafe with pretty good food!
Scrambled eggs and toast
Banana bread with strawberries
After breakfast, we packed a sandwich each for our Table mountain climb from the same cafe and went back to the hotel to wait for our pickup. The company “Around about Cars” sent a vehicle to picked us up to the company which was just around the corner. Gone through the usual procedures which was done pretty quickly, partly because there weren’t many people there and we were soon off with our Nissan Latio equivalent with a GPS. 1st stop was Table Mountain.
Parked near the Platteklip Gorge climb entrance. Misty background was the route upwards.
Reached the climb entrance where there was a parking lot for a few cars. We stayed in the car for some 15 mins to observe the weather, hoping that it would really change for the better. But the cloud did not dissipate for as long as we waited so we decided to take a risk and tried climbing. After all, there were just steps and should not be too difficult.
View of the city from the parking lot. It was one of the better times during the bad weather.
Signboard of the Platteklip Gorge entrance.
So we started going upwards. The weather was really cold but we wore enough to keep us warm. The steps were easy but a little slippery. Started climbing for about 10mins and was stopped abruptly. The flight of steps had a stream of water gushing across it and we weren’t able to cross it and thus had to make a U-turn.
The little stream on the left interrupted our climb.
On the way down, we noticed a group of 3 locals also attempting the climb. We told them about the stream but they appeared unhindered and continued on. I supposed they were going to go for it. Upon reaching the car, we did not see the group coming back down so I guessed they really made it through. It was also a wonder how they managed to get up to the entrance in the first place as it was a really long walk up! Salute to these experienced walkers!
Punched in the next destination, Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, an Unesco heritage site. This was part of our contingency plan since we did not really know if we could do the climb. It was not too far away from Cape Town and also en-route to Hermanus so it was not a bad idea.
Intro signage at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden
We also read that the garden had a nice collection of flowers and a lovely view of the city with the Table Mountain as the backdrop. It was not far off from expectation if not for the misty weather that plagued the city view and the Table Mountain. And it was still winter but there were still some flowers in bloom.
Tiger lily flower
Pretty in bloom
A walk in the park
And of course, we were there to look for the National flower, King Protea.
King Protea – about the size of the hand.
King Protea also in bloom
Colourful Fynbos flowers
Walking around the garden didn’t take too long. For one, we weren’t exactly flower people and two, there was not much flowers due to the season. But it was a refreshing view from the city or the safari.
A duck family with ducklings waddling behind.
Our lunch place where there is a pond and the mountain view. But it was cold too!
The garden was split into various sections, we chose some to visit and also attempted to explore a route that led to Skeleton gorge, which we didn’t know any details about it and later gave up as it looked like an never ending route up to Table mountain. Had a coffee at the cafe in the gardens before it started to drizzle and then left the gardens during the periodic stop of the rain.
Yellow Crane flower, known as Mandela’s Gold
So we began our road trip towards Hermanus. The route was straight forward and driving on the highway was really easy. The initial plan was to take a boat trip out to sea for whale watching but it was also cancelled due to weather. So we decided to just do the whale watching from the shore, as many had claimed that the whales were close to shore for our viewing pleasure.
Clouds covered skies most of the time with the occasion rainbow that brightened the drive.
Short 1.5hrs of driving and we reached the Hermanus Beach Villa and checked into a Grotto suite on the 2nd floor that had a good view of the ocean. We were told that some whales were seen really close to the shore while the owners were preparing breakfast at the ground floor. That really got us excited. We stayed in the room for a while watching out in the far but did not manage to see anything. Then we went to Hermanus town where there were higher chances of whale sightings, as told to us by the lodge owners.
Room with a view.
From our balcony
Town was just a 10 mins drive away. Parking was easy since there are many parking lots available. There were already some people near the stone shores looking out at the whales, and soon enough we could already see some parts of the whales when they surfaced for air!
Whale statue in Hermanus town.
View of the bay from the town.
Again, although the whales were not too far away, it posed a challenge for my camera without a good telephoto lens. We had to depend on digital zoom.
A shot of some parts of the whale surfacing.
Whales close to the rugged shore.
Blowing out water from its blowholes.
Showing its fins.
Sunset at Hermanus town
Stayed for at least an hour just watching these water mammals in sea was really amusing. Though it was really windy and cold, we can’t help but had our eyes glued to the ocean just so that we didn’t miss any actions. Would have spent more time if we could but the sun set and we went to the nearby Burgundy restaurant for dinner. Tripadvisor was accurate on this, the food was excellent!
Fish cakes
Fish
Soup
While at dinner, we took the window seat so that we could try to see some whales during our dinner. And then we caught a glimpse of whale jumping out of the water, once. The waiter who was staring outside witnessed the whole event and informed us but it was too late already. That’s wildlife, nothing is planned and luck was all we had.
After dinner, we drove back to the lodge for our overnight stay. The temperature was really cold and so was the room. The helpers brought some some warm water bags to be placed under the sheets to provide warmth for our sleep, that made the stay so much heart warming too.
This day began with bad news over breakfast. The morning tour to Robben that we booked was cancelled due to bad weather and it was informed to us via SMS. It was a real bummer as we were looking forward to visit Robben Island to know more about the history of Africa and the former president Nelson Mandela. Furthermore, we had also arranged the guide to do a transfer for us to the harbour and he had on the other hand, have his wife do this transfer while he had to attend to another group of inbound tourists. As soon as his wife arrived, we informed her about the information and she immediately called the guide. There were several exchanges on the phone and soon she left and he came for us, to carry out the afternoon activity, which is the Cape Town half day city tour.
Again there were some grumblings on why we did not inform earlier but still we proceed with the tour. Got in the vehicle and we were taken around the city in the freezing Cape Town morning.
Easily the oldest building in Cape Town, Castle of Good Hope, now a musuem. Not much of the castle left though.
English style building that resembles Big Ben
After a while, we got off at some street to walk around. We were brought to a piece of the Berlin Wall given to Cape Town as a gift.
Piece of Berlin wall at St George’s mall
Then we proceed towards the Company’s Gardens, we were introduced to one of the cathedral where Nobel Prize winner Tutu used to preach.
Cathedral where Tutu preached
2nd oldest building in Cape Town, once a slave lodge, refurbished as a museum.
The gardens had a collection of plants (though we were not sure what) and some statues. Some interesting old plants and various plants were also found here, brought to Cape Town long time ago from Asia.
Old tree with a thick trunk.
Tap trapped in the growth of the tree.
Huge duck waddling around.
Oldest tree in the gardens, currently requiring man made supports.
View at the back of the gardens
After the gardens, we were driven to Green market square for a little walk.
Stalls at Green Market square
One of the old buildings with English architecture at the square
After the city tour, we were driven to signal hill where a panoramic view of Cape Town can be seen. It would have been better if the table mountain wasn’t covered with clouds.
View from Signal Hill
Another popular natural landscape in the form of Lion’s head
The next stop was Bo Kaap, where the Cape Malays stayed in the past. The pastel coloured buildings were the highlights of this visit.
Colourful buildings of Bo Kaap
Indicates the number of shots it has fired. Our visit was the 65164 times
The Noon Day Gun was really a impressive culture that was practised for ages and was the longest running of cannon firing in the world. The cannons were also original with slight modifications to auto firing that was linked to the time station so that the cannons fired off at exactly the correct time.
The old cannon
Loading of the gun.
There were 2 guns side by side. If one did not managed to fire, the other one goes off. The guns were fired alternatively. After the flag raising and an introduction to the history of this custom and the workings of the cannon and the auto ignitor, we were counting down. And the shockwave felt after the “boom” was fantastic!
Smokes followed the bellow of the cannon
This concluded the half day tour and also our meeting with the guide. We were dropped at V&A waterfront for lunch and to spend the day since there wasn’t anything planned for it. We were supposed to get a refund from the ticketing counter in the Robben Island museum also at the V&A waterfront, for the reservation made online. We explored the places for a little after lunch since we didn’t do it the other night since it was late already and in the day, the waterfront was a really big place to look around.
A ferry entering the habour. A movable passenger bridge rotated away for the ship to enter.
View of the habour without the bridge
The museum was just across the ferry crossing. There were a few tourists who wanted to visit Robben Island. Unfortunately, there weren’t any ferry services on that day. Even if there was, the tickets were way too hot to be still available for counter sales, which was why we bought it in Singapore before arrival. Talked to the sales rep and informed that we wanted to try to visit again on the coming Saturday, hopefully if the weather could improve.
Inside the 3 storey Robben Island museum
Nice little quay side that kinda reminds me of boat quay in Singapore, though nicer
We walked around a bit. There was a tourist center which we visited for advise on climbing the table mountain and was told that the cable car going up the top of table mountain was closed for maintenance. However, we could still try to climb but require a taxi at least to the bottom of the Platteklip Gorge route climb. The time required was 4hrs and at that time, it was a already late so we had to forgo the idea. At this time, we were already considering to change some of our itinerary to spend more time in Cape Town and postponed the garden route to another time.
Saw 2 garnets fighting for fish a the harbour
While walking around the harbour, we finally got to witness the flat top of the table mountain as some of the clouds start to move away from the top. There we finally got the shots that we wanted, with help of some other tourists who were also busy taking photos themselves.
Uncovered table mountain.
There was a place where there is a collection of food such as crepes and ice-cream and we thought we would have our dinner. Just close by was also a collection of handicraft shops that we bought a couple of towels with customised designs and keychains made from buffalo skin where names could be etched together with the wildlife design that was on the buffalo skin. The gifts for family and friends back home were all settled there and then. Took some photos before sunset, where there was also a rainbow seen from Nobel square before dinner and back to the hotel for some renewed planning.
Golden hour shot of the harbour.
Rainbow after the rain.
While back at the hotel, the first thing we did was to cancel the booking for the 3 days garden route driver, informing him of our change in plan. Then we looked up vehicle rental and booked online for a vehicle. These 2 days in Cape Town gave us much confidence in the security of the city and also its drivability and we had no doubt that the car was the way to go explore Cape Town. Then, we also made a booking for an accommodation over at Hermanus which wasn’t in the plan previously since we wanted to stay further away in Kysna instead. We had to forgo the costs of the accommodation at Kysna since it was to late to cancel it already. Finally, we hoped again that the weather becomes better.
After a comfortable but slightly noisy windy night, we awoke to welcome the freshness of the morning and of experiencing of a new location, Cape Town! Breakfast wasn’t included and it was just next door at the Awestruck Bistro that we found lovely breakfast.
Omelette with toast
Egg Benedict
Before leaving the hotel, we received a call from the guide who was supposed to meet us at our hotel at about 830am, dispersing the confusion that we had the previous night due to the delay in our flight. Our hotel was pretty close to the tourist information store, and there was a good amount of information in the form of brochures and a helpful personnel to advise. We had booked most of the stuff back in Singapore and thus was not willing to change unnecessarily. A skydiving trip was really enticing but we were told that it was unlikely since the bad weather was going to stay till after we left. Bad luck! Went back to the hotel to meet the guide, who obviously wasn’t really impressed with our lack of communication and he requiring to wait for us 2hrs in the airport but still, we agreed on some form of compensation and we were good to go.
As we embarked on our journey to first stop on the Peninsula Tour, we were greeted with scenic landscapes of the lovely Cape Town. The weather was fine and we were hopeful for an enjoyable tour since bad weather would really dull the photos.
Some clouds, mountains and the ocean. Shot from the vehicle
The wind was blowing all the sand from the shore onto the buildings
After some 20mins of driving, we arrived at a jetty that we would be taking a small ferry out to seal colony. We were informed that it was going to be choppy and thus brought along all the warm clothing that we had for the trip, at least we should be protected from the winds.
Company of the ferry to the seal colony
Waited for a while as the ferry was still out from its earlier trip. There was a visit from one of the seals at the harbour and it seemed like it was used to visiting as it went pretty close to the deck and a local kid was feeding it.
Visiting seal
View of the harbour
We boarded the ferry and went to the front section where there were seats. Leaving the harbour was fine as the waters were still not that bad. Once out, the waves started crashing onto the stern and often water splashed inwards. At one point, the assistants had to make everyone move and take shelter at the back. It was really choppy and luckily we did not have a late heavy breakfast or we would have had Merlions on the ferry. Soon we arrived at location where we can see an island made of rocks and seals, some 50m away.
Fur seal in the seal colony
An island of seals in front of an overcast backdrop
The trip out was not entirely interesting as we had previous experience of similar trips elsewhere. And it would have been definitely better if not for the choppy sea. The ferry left the dark clouds behind as we went back on land and continue towards Chapman’s peak.
Chapman’s peak presented to us a panoramic viewpoint of Hout’s bay, and coupled with that short period of good weather that was on offer, we took it all in, in awe.
Lovely Hout’s bay from Chapman’s peak
After spending time enjoying the scenery, we moved along the scenic mountain side drive towards the boulders penguins. Along the way, we passed by nice little towns like Simon Town. It was an English town from days of past and evident in the Victorian architecture in the some buildings design.
Victorian architecture
Moving along the main road and then into a side road to the home of the Boulders’ penguins some 15 mins later. The guide dropped us, provided us a time of return and instructions to get to the penguins entrance, walked some 200m, paid the entrance fees and went in to one of the most beautiful places there was! A sanctuary for both penguins and penguins lovers!
This place provided a natural habitat of the birds to live, close to the ocean where they feed. There were elevated wooden pathways slightly above the ground for humans to walk on by, yet so close to observe these birds in the habitat. And these birds have the most awesome of views for their living space, envy!
Adult and youth
Fell asleep while walking?
Penguins on the boulder
Back from a morning swim
Going up a gentle slope for home
Awesome view of the beach from their habitat
Whatcha staring at? Shot while standing directly above it
Another view of the beach
Penguin with a human made artificial nest
Good day to sleep in
As usual, we took longer than planned and went to meet up at the Seaforth Restaurant, walking distance from Boulder’s entrance and had our lunch there. Typically crowded since it was the nearest restaurant, with a nice sea view while you dine. Food was ok, tad bit slow due to crowds but no drama.
Proceeded to the Cape of Good Hope. It was about an hour’s drive from the penguins. After some driving, we reached the famous sign that indicated the Cape of Good Hope location. Of course, I got the touristy photo of it. There were some tourists, but we arrived early and so only one tour bus was around. Queued and got a good shot of the sign.
Touristy
On the way towards the sign, we saw some wild ostriches. And shot a picture of a ostrich feeding beside the ocean, one of the few chances to see something like that.
An ostrich by the ocean
After the sign photo taking, we moved on to more awesome panoramic landscapes by going to the old lighthouse atop a mountain. Took the funicular up to a station and continued to climb some steps until we reached the lighthouse location. Breathtaking, in terms of the exercise and the views. But thoroughly enjoyed it. Again, time was given to meet up and we took too long, snapping photos of the landscape and the lighthouse and also spent some time shopping at the souvenir shop.
View from the lighthouse
Lighthouse with a bunch of other tourist
Lighthouse from station level
Picturesque walk down to the carpark
It was a 2hrs drive back to Cape town. Though it was still early, we were keeping to the time of the guide, since he was paid for that day tour only. This was something I did not really appreciate but I understood it anyway. Through this trip, I knew I could do probably do a self drive, and Cape Town really gave a different feel in terms of safety as compared to Joburg. Cape Town was really doable in terms of getting around in a car. I would have more flexibility in spending time if I had chose to drive.
Cape Town had a St James Station too
At about half past 5pm, we were back at the hotel. Informed about the time for meetup the next day and the guide left. Didn’t have the opportunity to look around and so we did that. The hotel had the oldest vine in its garden and we had a look at it. There was a rooftop jacuzzi but the weather was freezing cold to be enjoying it there. Retired to our room for a short rest.
Garden of Cape Heritage Hotel
From our room, we can barely see the Table mountain. So I went out onto the streets to see if I could capture a better view. At that time, I wasn’t really comfortable with the security of the streets, so I moved quickly and all the time with my camera hidden underneath my windbreaker. After moving several streets away from the hotel and trying to get a clear shot of Table mountain, I gave up and took a shot. There were just too many buildings along the way and there was the cloud table cloth that shroud the mountain.
Table mountain shrouded by clouds
At night, we requested the hotel to get us a cab to V&A waterfront. Wanted to go for dinner and V&A seemed like the place to go. This is a previous dockyard converted into a shopping arcade. It seemed like the biggest shopping area in Cape Town but was nothing impressive if you come from a shopping city like Singapore where even mega malls were sometimes boring. Searched around for a restaurant that sold seafood as we were looking for a butterfish that someone recommended in the Safari that we should try in Cape Town, but to no avail. Settled for seafood platter instead. It was so-so.
Shopping arcade that offered a wide range of products
Seafood platter
It was a drizzling night and it was cold. We did not venture outside for fear of our lives (so we thought) and nothing much in the mall either. Took a cab after the dinner and back to the hotel we went. Slept in hope for better weather, but the shuttling window panes reminded us otherwise.
Today we fly back to South Africa, Cape Town via Joburg. It was a long way down and the whole day was expected to be spent on flying. Our transfer picked us up at the lobby after our check out and our vehicle pass through the bridge over to Zambia. Gone through the customs and travel into Livingstone town which we missed on the first day while heading to Botswana. Small town with repainted old style building, pretty but nothing much. It was at most a 30 mins drive to the airport.
Old style building
Konica building
Soon we were back at the small airport; with a line already waiting for check in. While waiting, went over to one of the little shops selling stamps and got myself a souvenir, with some Zambia currency. There were 2 flights during that morning but only one gate. We found ourselves a seat and waited till when it was time to board. It was then the earlier flight started to board. We had a bad feeling that our flight was going to be delayed and so subsequently missing the connecting flight. We flew off 1 hour late.
Small and crowded waiting area at LVI airport
Upon reaching Joburg, there was a long queue at the immigrations. As we exit the arrival, we rushed towards the BA counter to ask for a another flight and a free pair of tix for Cape Town, as it was their flight that was late and we missed the connecting because of that. It was another hour before the flight but as we boarded the plane, there was a technical issue that held the plane back for another hour. I wanted to call the airport transfer at Cape Town to postpone to a later time but as I searched my reservations emails, there were no mobile number stated and the internet chose to fail on me too. By the time we arrived at Cape Town, we were 3hrs later than planned and I also received an email from the guide that mentioned that he had waited for 2hrs but we did not turn up. Still I didn’t have his mobile so I returned the email and took a cab straight to our hotel. The biting cold was back after avoiding it for the 5 days while we were in Botswana and Zimbabwe.
Reached the Cape Heritage hotel without drama. Welcomed the nice and warm atmosphere within the hotel, with really friendly staff to help us check in. We absolutely loved the deco, modernity within history. The room we had was really beautiful with a nice tub and huge toilet! A great place to rest albeit the many unfortunate events that took place earlier. Had to worry whether the guide was still gonna come pick us for the guided tour the next day but was tired from all the hassle. Went to bed after the bath.
Beautifully decorated room that is for chilling and internet
Nice fireplace that warmed up the hotel
Huge bed with the modern amenities
Tub with double sink
Rainshower
Night was cold and the wind kept shaking the window panes. As we slept, we hoped for better weather the next day but knew that the forecast was showing otherwise.
Morning started with a nice Al Fresco breakfast, choice from the menu for cooked food and bread & cereal from the self help buffet table. Overhead, we heard flights of angels and microflights going about their rounds. There was a morning tour of the falls that was included in the package. In the afternoon, it was free and easy. We were thinking of visiting the devil’s pool in the Vic falls and thus thought that we should check with the tour guide if their company could arrange for such trips. The bus picked us up about 15 mins later than the agreed time. We initially got worried and ask our recept for assistance and he called on behalf and assured us that the vehicle was on the way. Eventually we chilled and surfed the free wifi for info till the bus picked up us and a few other passengers thereafter before reaching the gate to the national park. It was really close to our lodge but because of the detour, it took awhile.
Alfresco breakfast
Saw a warthog in a hotel carpark
Entrance to Vic Falls
The tour consisted of some intro, history of the discovery of the falls by Dr. Livingstone and other misc stuff. It was a really easy walk along the full length of 1.7km with very easy path (and rainy spots too). Our time of visit was at a period where the falls was picking up since it was breaking from winter to spring. It was a good time to see the falls since the misting wasn’t too much, but then you would not be able to feel the full force of the falls. It really depends on what you want. For this walking tour, our entrance fees were all taken care of. The only thing that was required was basically registration of ourselves for the visit.
Leopard tortoise carcass at an exhibit near the entrance.
The smoke that thunders, native name translated was really appropriate. The various vantage point along the 1.7km provided the experience as you proceeded towards the fall. The initial devils cataract viewpoint already shown the massive amount of water gushing earthwards, roaring as the water made contact with the ground 100m below.
Gushing water in the distance
Discovery by Dr Livingstone
As long as the sun shines, the rainbow shows
Devils cataract
This waterfall was wowing us over as we moved from view point to view point. There was a stretch of pathway on the way to the main falls that had “rain” coming down from the sky but actually from the falls. We brought our poncho and wore them quickly. Some of the other visitors didn’t and just went ahead. One such couple actually said they enjoyed it! I tried to take photos of the middle section but was not able to, having so many droplets formed on the lens, even though the camera was splash resistant. Within minutes we were already near the end of the falls.
Awesome sight.
From the tour I finally understood that the difference between seeing the Vic Falls from the Zimbabwe side vs the Zambia side. The main path for viewing was accessible from Zimbabwe and the remaining short section from Zambia. Therefore, it would be best to visit Zimbabwe for the various viewpoints of the falls. However, Zambia side actually offered something more exciting, the dip in Devil’s pool and Angel’s pool! So if you want to do both, you gotta really plan.
The end of the falls at Zimbabwe side
After the end of the falls, we arrived a viewing location where we can see a bridge that links Zimbabwe and Zambia. This was actually on a no man’s land and the bridge has various activities such as bungee, zipline and bridge swing, hosted by a Zambia based company. We decided that we should do a zipline across the ridge since we were too scared for the bungee or bridge swing.
Bridge linking the 2 countries.
At the end of the tour, we talked to the guide on our intentions to stay so that we can walk at leisure the places where we want to spend more time. Also inquired about the dipping at Devils’ pool. He thought that the pool might be closed and that the one opened was probably Angel’s pool. This all depended on the strength of the waters leading to the falls since a boat ride was required to bring interested people to Livingstone island. He advised us to check back with the main office in town for a clearer picture. We went around for a bit more before we walked back to town for about 15mins. There was a dedicated space opposite the entrance of Vic Falls that was for the curios stalls. There I asked for my 100 trillion dollars note, which I negotiated for USD3. Seemed like the quantity of these notes were running low, not everyone had them and these notes were no longer printed.
Vic Falls town
We went to the various tour agencies in town to check out the prices for the Vic Falls dip and the zipline. After comparison, we booked our dip in one of the tour agent that was the cheapest and the zipline at Shearwaters. It was kind of funny when the other agencies mentioned that there weren’t anymore slots left for the Vic Falls dip but heck, we paid and so it should be ok. The other problem was the agent said she was unable to get to the Zambian agent and we arranged to have the pick up at our hotel at 3pm since we were going ziplining first. Shearwaters provided a transport for us to the bridge which was a short distance away from the Vic Falls entrance.
We had to bring our passports but inform the customs that we were going to the bridge and not crossing to Zambia. They would then provide us a stamped paper to give to the gate guard when we returned. The walk to the center of the bridge took about 10mins as it wasn’t really that close. Then it was another 5mins across the half of the bridge and up the slope to reach the registration area.
For those that were not used to chaos would not like that place. It was really messy, people crowding at the table to get registered, no queue or anything like that. For Singaporeans like us, we were kinda lost and didn’t know what was going on. I asked the person at the table and he just told us to wait while registering one bungee jumper and another few persons. And it was then we knew we could just have bought the tickets on the spot, without having to go back to town to do so and wasted that traveling time. Then it was 12 noon. Even before I could move, he announced to all the disappointed waiting customers, to come back after lunch, 1pm-ish. We asked if we could wait at the registration and he said no, just wait around. Luckily, there was a cafe operated by the same company cooking lunches and selling beer. We ordered a meal and sat at a table in the open, out in the sun under a picnic umbrella for lunch. It got worse. Soon a group of baboons came up from the open, jumped onto the seat, reached for our fries and became aggressive with teeth showing! I instinctively grabbed my camera (after hearing how some tourist fell to his death trying to save his camera from baboons back in the safari time) and my beer bottle to try to scare it away but it wasn’t scared! I had no choice but to remove the plate and we moved back into the sheltered area. We had to throw away everything since the baboon touched the fries and most probably our chicken chop. With that minimum lunch, we waited close to the table as the time approached 1pm. In the meantime, I was trying to call back to the tour agent to see if there was any confirmation and if they could pick us up at the customs instead but it didn’t get through, all 3 numbers and handphone.
1pm and the registeration wasn’t open. One American was standing there lining up, I guessed that he was used to the same system that I was familiar with. I stood behind him and soon, a line started to form. Despite this, the table guy told us to sit around first, reason being the stations master and assistants were not back for their lunch yet! It would take probably another half an hour for them to get back, eat their lunch and go back to their stations. What?? More waiting? That sucked. We stubbornly stood there until the table guy suggested that we should remember and agree our queue position and go back to sit around. Well, we thought it was workable and did just that.
View from the bridge. Ziplining across would be fun!
2pm. Got registered. About the solution that was suggested, it worked fine for the first 4 people. Others behind started to argue that they were 5th and what not. Chaos again. Unfortunately, the bridge is dominated by absolute monopoly and I do not see that any improvement would come about from this. I think the only tip I would give if you are interested in bungee jumping into the valley from the bridge is to go really early, beat the crowd, have lots of patience and not too much planned out for the day.
Where we stood near our launch site
Even after registration, we had to wait for the station master to prepare us, donning the harness and stuff like that. We had to wait for the camera guy too. For this, we could not bring loose items like bags and had to leave it with the guy at the table, in a black box next to him. Talk about security. Not much of a choice anyhow. Walked along a footpath until we reached the launch site. Took many pictures, even one that the station master took for us. The camera guy also shot some but did not object to our photo taking. Loaded up, camera ready, one, two and off we went. Videographed the whole 10secs journey. Was really a thrilling experience. But too damn short to wait 3 hrs for it. But I guess this experience was much longer than the bungee people.
By the time we walked the whole bridge back to the preparation place for the return of the harnesses, the reclaiming of our belongings and the rejecting of the professional photos, it was almost 3pm. We were rushing back to the customs where the Shearwaters driver was still waiting for us! Really thankful for his service, tipped him after we reached the hotel. The recept then informed that a lady was looking for us and had told us that the trip was cancelled as it was over booked. That was disappointing. There weren’t even timeslots for another week! I should have booked in advance. You should too if you are thinking of dipping in the infinity pool of the Vic Falls.
On the way back to Zimbabwe customs from the bridge
So the afternoon was void of activities due to this change. Went back to the hotel to rest instead. The view from the room was entertaining too as we see wild animals pass in front of us.
Warthog seen from our room
I wanna be a trillionaire so fking bad
Didn’t want to go out for dinner and so had ours at the restaurant in the lodge. It was one of the best as according to tripadvisor and so we had to try. Took Alfresco again and though it was a little dark, the food was pretty tasty and we enjoyed the romantic night out. An interesting thing happened, a hippo and a buffalo actually visited the lodge, the same grassy area in front of our room. I tried to take photos of it but it was really dark. Even when we returned to our room, I could see its silhouette amongst the trees.
Surprise hippo visit
Returning to South Africa the next day for our final leg of the tour.
Another early start to the day, this time with much more crowd. The bus load of tourists were here, on top of the usual crowd. During move out, we were told to wait till our vehicle arrived, along with a few other guests. We waited and soon all the crowd cleared out except for the passengers that were to board the same safari vehicle as we. Again we were informed to wait, the vehicle that was supposed to pick us had broke down and they were sending another one. We had a sinking feeling that this was not going to be a smooth day for us, and we had to decide to abandon the tour if it came too late as we had to cross over to Vic Falls today and we might be late for that too. After waiting like for an hour since the guests left, the vehicle finally arrived. The female guide didn’t seemed sure of what was going on, took ages to get the warm drinks, drove really slowly to the Chobe park and took a lot of time with the registeration. Luckily, another familiar guide arrived soon and picked up from there. Soon we were moving but already day had broken.
Hippos were up and about today. Quite far from us though
Saw a group of Saber antelopes moving away when we passed them.
Vultures. A closer shot.
The interesting part of the drive was when we drove into the path of a massive group of buffalos that came from the river. We were surrounded as they moved across the pathway into the land beyond.
Buffalo eating the shrubs
Buffaloes crossing
Buffalo calf
Baby elephant amongst the adults
No cats. After the break, we ventured more. The guide knows that we weren’t interested in the other animals and really tried his best to bring us to the lions’ territories. No luck though there were footprints. We heard news that previous days some of the safari passengers actually saw a lioness with her cub feeding on a buffalo in the park. We were unlucky and the lions were possibly full for these couple of days.
We saw a group of zebras, first time in the Chobe NP.
Zebras in Chobe
Huge Malibu stork
On the return, we saw a Jackal in the plains, first time for us. But safari experience did not turned out as what we hoped for. We saw and experienced the grandeur of existence in the wild but missed the infrequent predator presence that would really showcase the art of survival of these animals. We should revisit another safari in the future, Kenya perhaps?
Jackal, last rare sighting before going back
As expected, we were late when we returned because the guide actually extended our stay at the park for the delay in the morning. So it was all a rush again. We wanted to put some items back into the luggage but the helpers had already brought out all our stuff and left them at the lobby. One helper assisted to bring back one of the luggage and we rushed to keep whatever we need to keep in the room, used the toilet and a final check before moving to a waiting safari vehicle that would ferry us to the Botswana and Zimbabwe check point. It was a 30mins drive and almost the same route back to the ferry terminal, only to turn at the cross junction. All the crossings was really just close to each other, so it was no wonder this trip with Chobe and Victoria Falls was so popular.
When we reached the crossing, we saw a long line of tourists waiting to get their passports chopped. After unloading the luggage, we searched for the Wild Horizons rep who easily recognized us (easy since it was not too difficult to identify Singaporeans from the other Caucasians). There we also recognised a Japanese family who shared the morning safari game drive with us. They were also going over to Vic Falls. Had a conversation with them and found that the husband was working in Joburg and they were there on a holiday before heading back to Tokyo with the kids. Awesome!
And the great thing that I pride myself as a Singaporean traveller is my red book of a passport. This document allows me to go many places without a need for a visa, and with that, less hassle at the customs and of course a short cut to the front of the queue. The rep took our passports, went to the customs, stamped the passports and we were on our way to the mini van, where the rest of the passengers were waiting. Another 1hr ride, the van reached Vic Falls area, delivered the 2 groups of passengers to their respective hotels and finally to ours, Ilala lodge, which was closest to the Vic Falls. Check in and went to the activities counter to book our heli ride to check out the falls.
Nice colonial deco at the main waiting hall
Desktop available for surfing the internet
Room was reasonably comfortable with a full view of the outside
Bathtub available though the tiles make the toilet look old
Separate rain shower
There wasn’t much time and soon the Shearwater group rep was at the lobby to pick us up for our flight. Travelling some 15mins to the helipad, we waited for our turn and looked around the shop of sourvenirs. The helicopter could pick up 6 passengers at a time. We were lucky to secure a slot because these trips were really always fully booked. The best seat was obviously the front one beside the pilot and you had to be shameless to really get that seat. The back had 5 seats and if you took the middle one, which I did, you might not get the best pix. I had to move into a position cleared of the body parts of the passenger beside the window to have a good shot of the falls.
Before boarding the heli, the crew would take photos and video the whole experience on the helipad location. Therefore, if you had the intention to purchase anything, you gotta remember to look good. It was kinda costly to purchase those photos and video, which in my opinion was nothing much as it did not feature video shots on the flight itself but a video of the falls taken (god knows how )long ago. Not much a value to me. This was of course shown to us after the flight and no one from our group bought it. We were pretty sure those images on our cameras were worth much more.
Shearwater helicopter
Different package, different route, different price of course!
We took the cheaper option Flight of Angels, at a price of about 180SGD per pax for a 15mins flypass experience, tilting at both sides for equal amount of time.
Zambezi river while flying towards the Falls
After the gorge comes the falls
Just fired away! You had only 15mins, what would you expect? Vic Falls is magnificent from the skies and an experience worth the money. I supposed the microflight would be interesting too, just that it was only offered at the Zambian side.
Rainbow shot
After the sales pitch in the form of the video presentation, we left the area, boarding the vehicle that brought us back to the lodge. Hungry since we hadn’t had lunch, we went into Vic Falls town to look for food.
Railway track that runs through this town
Had some tapas for lunch instead.
There were baboons everywhere. Have to be careful as they could be aggressive in front of food.
After lunch, we walked around town to see what’s available. It was a really small town, not really interesting. There were many tour agencies selling different activities packages and a few cafes and eateries. There were also people that goes around selling trillions of Zim currencies. I bought some but did not checked myself, there was just too many zeroes. I googled when I was back in the hotel and then I knew the biggest one was 100 trillion dollars. The rest of the 8-10 notes costs me 5USD.
Saw a warthog just outside our room. Very amazed to stay so close to animals.
The pickup from the hotel came about half an hour before the cruise and luckily we were informed by the recept that that’s the norm for waiting. The bus we boarded proceeded to go to a few places to picked up the other passengers for the cruise. About 30mins and we arrived at location. Saw a group of native africans dancing and singing, as a performance for the people on the ferry. That was also to promote their CD that consisted of their music. The wait to move off was really long as tour buses and mini vans arrived bit by bit and passengers slowly boarded the ferry. Went to the front of the ferry (away from the drinks bar) to get the best view.
Saw naughty baboons going into the car.
Dancing and singing hard to get some sales going
Cruising as the sun goes down
As we cruise towards the falls, we see hippos near the tiny islands.
Another yawning hippo
Mist in the distance, where the falls was. Our ferry was not heading that direction.
The ferry was an easy ride along the Zambezi, with introduction to the falls, the surrounding and the wildlife around. Drinks were unlimited which included the various types of beer that you could try from around the region. There were some snacks too.
Sunset on the Zambezi
The sun here is gentle on the eyes too
When we arrived back at the jetty, the dancers are still there, seemingly giving the passengers a second chance at purchasing their CD. But tough luck, the passengers left for the waiting buses. I supposed if there is another day to dance and sing, there is hope.
The return trip was boring as there weren’t anything to see. We passed by a couple of hotels where passengers alighted and we were the last ones to alight. Back at the hotel, there was a restaurant but we weren’t exactly liking it. Was a little uncertain about walking into town since it was not really brightly lit but we went anyway. It was actually not that bad. Made it to a restaurant called Mama Africa and it was crowded! We didn’t have any reservations and thus waited for about 20mins for a seat. Ordered crocodile steak and had to wait another 30mins at least due to the crowd. While waiting, a another native group of dancing singers came to promote their CD. Difference was there were people from the crowd that joined them for the dance. Some entertainment. Food was ok and as expected, tasted like rubbery chicken but definitely worth a try for some native cuisine.
Went back after dinner for internet and TV and a great sleep on the King size bed.
Morning game drive was just like the one we had in Kruger. The stark difference was that in Mowana, there are a lot of people! Everyone was up before day break and was gathering near the big Baobab tree in the middle compound of the lodge where cold coffee and tea and small pastries were served. Many safari vehicles rolled in at the entrance and guests loaded up the vehicles. We boarded the vehicle and we were on our way for cats spotting!
Sunrise over Chobe
Caught a glimpse of cute and funny pair of honey badgers. One was even rolling and walking backwards.
Honey badger rolling on the ground
Sniffing around
A pair of honey badger
Kori Bustard, biggest flying bird
Malibu Stork on a tree
Buffalo on the plains
Passed by a buffalo which looked surprised.
As we moved to the locations where prides normally roamed, we also saw many vultures on the tree. It was possible they were waiting for food that a predator was still feeding on, which meant that maybe a cat was nearby? We were hoping. The vultures could be just waiting for the sun to warm up that’s all.
Vultures waiting for the sun
After driving around for some time, and had seen the same type of wildlife, we reached the rest stop for some warm drinks. Still an hour left, we might still catch a cat. Chances were low though, since cats would go into hiding from the afternoon sun and did their hunting in the early mornings or late evenings.
Rest stop for breaks
An hour left and we were soon on our way back. There weren’t game drives anymore and so we thought, since there was still some time in the morning the next day, we were going to book an extra game drive the next day.
A family of Chacma baboon as we were leaving the park
Huge male baboon
Hippos enjoying the coolness before the sun comes up
Herd of elephants in the distance
Still no sightings. Went back to the hotel for breakfast and booked the game drive for the next day, which came up to be about 100SGD per person. Took the chance to roam around in the lodge. There was a bar with a clear view of the river, a small souvenir shop where we managed to exchange some USD with Botswana currency for my collection. There was also a swimming pool with a bar and some putting greens near the entrance. Nothing that really interested us. We went back to our rooms for internet and rest.
View deck
Swimming pool and bar
Tswana chicken for lunch, African cuisine
Ordered dine in lunch since when we were not in favour of the buffet offered since we were still full from the buffet breakfast in the morning. Also, we were concerned that if we had our lunch too close to the sunset cruise, we might get seasick. Not the tastiest of chicken though.
When it was time, we boarded the ferry which was just within walking distance from our rooms, since there was a jetty by the lodge. This sunset cruise was something like the game drive but on river. We got to go closer to those in the river than we could on the safari jeep.
Boarded a ferry
Hippos in the water
Another cruise moving along the streams
Saw a bunch of young baboons monkeying around
Elephants on the central plains across the river
View of the river and wetlands from the ferry
Many crocodiles laid on the wetlands, where other animals also roamed. Coexistence of predator and prey?
A spy amongst the buffalos?
We weren’t expecting to see cats on this trip but it was a refreshing trip, different experience from the drive. Also amazing to know that the river is shared by Namibia and Botswana, and so on the opposite bank was Namibia already. And of course, sunset cruise won’t be complete without the sunset!
Cruising along the gentle waters watching the sun set.
Hippo about to enter the water
The familiar yolk is gentle on the eyes
Sun beams cut across the sky
Mirror image of Heaven on Earth
By the time we returned to the jetty, the sun had set completely. Dinner was served in the same location, also buffet style.Again we were joined by the same lady from the previous day for dinner. There were more people as a bus load of Japanese tourists just arrived that afternoon. The in-house singer was more enthusiastic than before, even singing some Japanese songs. Nice atmosphere for the group as they even joined the singing at some point. We retired early in preparation for a long day ahead.
