Holiday in South Africa

Just click on the thumbnail to get the photo full size. Close window when finished, Home Page is still open.

We had a fine time in SA. Despite all the negative publicity, we never felt unsafe or threatened once. The food was usually excellent and the wine was good too! It was so cheap, we paid cash most of the time, only paying for hotels on the cards.

We flew into Cape Town and went up Table Mountain, down to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope, passing penguins on the way. We went sea based whale watching and saw over 7 whales, including a calf, in different groups. We couldn't go to Robben Island because of a 'technical fault' on the ferry.

After CT we went to Franschhoek, the gourmet capital of SA and in the centre of the winelands. We went wine tasting and had a wonderful meal at Le Bon Vivant. Then we travelled to Swellendam via Arniston and Cape Agulhas (where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet). We saw baboons in the Franschhoek Pass. From Swellendam we drove to Oudtshoorn, the ostrich capital of the world for two nights. There we saw the Cango Caves, Cango Ostrich Farm and Cango Wildlife Ranch.

We left Oudtshoorn for Knysna and after a slight altercation with a rock in Avontuur, we drove through the Prince Alfred Pass, a very hairy experience, where we (well I), saw a monkey, to Knysna for a couple of nights. We went to the Heads for lunch. Then we travelled to George Airport, to drop the car off and fly to Jo'burg.

Planes flying right over the hotel, ensured an early start for our trip to the Kruger. The weather was wet and quite cold in the park. Our two guides, Edwin and Edward, were very good, and after 24 years I finally completed my 'Big Five'. Angie managed it in 2 days! We went on a night drive, which was cold and disappointing, though we did sustain a puncture on the truck. After completing our final morning drive, we flew back to Jo'burg from Mpumalanga Airport, which had a huge Christmas tree in the entrance, a somewhat surreal sight. We spent the night in a different hotel before flying out to Livingstone in Zambia to see the Victoria Falls.

There was a crocodile in the water outside the chalet when we arrived. We saw lots of animals, including loads of giraffes, on our game drive. This time we didn't get a puncture, just stuck in the mud! We also had a great elephant back safari, we only saw a couple of kudu and some impala, but it was great fun, especially wading through the Zambezi on an elephant. Next we visited the Falls, which were spectacular but had very low volumes of water, before embarking on a cruise on the river. The next morning we had a helicopter flight over the Falls before flying back to Jo'burg for the final time.

This time we stayed in Jo'burg for couple of nights and at a different hotel yet again. We went on a tour of Soweto, which wasn't as bad as we were expecting and we had our final meal at the MonteCasino complex. On our last day we went to Gold Reef City, to go 500 metres down an old mine, before flying home. When we arrived back, it was cold and wet, and we had to wait 40 minutes to disembark, as another plane was on our stand. All in all a very good holiday.

Lots of these photo's are actually Angie's, but I'm not saying which!

Best viewed at 1024x768 pixels

Table Mountain from V&A 56 kb	Angie at the V&A 93 kb	Cape Town from Table Mountain 49 kb	Cable Car 56 kb	Table Mountain 68 kb	Cape Town from Table Mountain 55 kb

Robben Island 13 kb	Lions Head 62 kb	Me 90 kb	Angie 66 kb	Cable Car 107 kb	Peacock 89 kb

Meerkat 56 kb	Tortoises 82 kb	Coffin 71 kb	Warning Sign 90 kb	Penguins 101 kb	Me 93 kb

Penguins 68 kb	Angie and Me 47 kb	Near Cape Point 24 kb	Angie 37 kb	Me 62 kb	Cape Point 80 kb

Me 81 kb	Cape Point 83 kb	Funicular railway 79 kb	Whale 41 kb	Whale 42 kb	Whales 45 kb

Whale 41 kb	Whale 33 kb	Parliament 96 kb	Table Mountain 76 kb	Franschhoek 50 kb	Huguenot Memorial 49 kb

King Proteas 106 kb	Boschendal Winery 52 kb	Grapevines 62 kb	Me 64 kb	Angie 91 kb	Chandelier 46 kb

Franschhoek 76 kb	Franschhoek 49 kb	Kassiesbaai 36 kb	Cape Agulhas 61 kb	Me 71 kb	Angie 67 kb

Cape Agulhas 52 kb	Lighthouse lens 38 kb	Me 62 kb	Figurehead 49 kb	Church 43 kb	Tradouw Pass 55 kb

Our chalet 45 kb	Chalet view 34 kb	Inside 48 kb	Me 86 kb	Cango Caves 47 kb	Cango Caves 42 kb

Cango Caves 57 kb	Ostrich hatching 47 kb	Angie 69 kb	Me 37 kb	Me 74 kb	Angie 84 kb

Me 71 kb	Baby cheetahs 39 kb	Villas 30 kb	Ostriches 44 kb	Prince Alfred's Pass 87 kb	Prince Alfred's Pass 79 kb

Log Inn 67 kb	Angie 68 kb	Knysna Heads 34 kb	Knysna 31 kb	Elephant 80 kb	Elephant 59 kb

Impala 55 kb	Impala 62 kb	Rondavel kitchen 64 kb	Leopard 64 kb	Leopard 33 kb	Dwarf mongoose 45 kb

Rhino's 62 kb	Rondavel ceiling 63 kb	Kruger sunset 54 kb	Wet start 39 kb	Baboons 57 kb	Rondavel 57 kb

Vervet monkeys 59 kb	Kruger Park 66 kb	Cape buffalo 64 kb	Cape buffalo 89 kb	Lion tracks 86 kb	Lion 64 kb

Lion 65 kb	Elephants 70 kb	Breakfast 55 kb	Angie & crew 65 kb	Zambezi 81 kb	Marabou storks 70 kb

Stuck in mud 65 kb	Zebras 113 kb	Giraffes 54 kb	Zambezi 109 kb	Crocodile 66 kb	Zambezi 41 kb

Zambezi 84 kb	Angie & Me 75 kb	Angie & Me 40 kb	Dung beetle 67 kb	Angie 53 kb	Me 88 kb

Angie & Me 63 kb	Elephants 61 kb	Victoria Falls 61 kb	Angie & Me 64 kb	Zambezi Bridge 57 kb	Victoria Falls 62 kb

Victoria Falls 83 kb	Our chalet 82 kb	Hippo 31 kb	Angie 33 kb	Sunset 29 kb	Victoria Falls 31 kb

Victoria Falls 50 kb	Victoria Falls 39 kb	Victoria Falls 42 kb	Victoria Falls 50 kb	Victoria Falls 89 kb	Zambezi Bridge 79 kb

Victoria Falls 80 kb	Johannesburg 52 kb	Johannesburg 78 kb	Inside museum 33 kb	Carrying loo rolls 52 kb	Soweto 27 kb

Soweto 48 kb	Soweto 78 kb	Mandela statue 46 kb	Pouring gold 37 kb	Gold bar 32 kb	Angie 49 kb

Miner 52 kb	Dancers 52 kb	Peahen & chicks 76 kb	Cape of Good Hope 20 secs	Whales 17 secs	Magic Straw 15 secs

Wake up call 15 secs	Elephant & Rhinos 32 secs	Flat tyre 30 secs	Lion 15 secs	Victoria Falls 26 secs

Page created 8^th December 2006