Western Cape (South Africa) & Fish River Canyon (Namibia)
I’ve been traveling with Intrepid Travel on an overland trip that will take me through Southern Africa!
Daily life
Overland trip = traveling by land (in our case by bus/truck - see below!)
We have a truck that fits 22 passengers, but luckily there are only 9 of us, which means that we have a spacious vehicle as we make our way throughout Southern Africa
The truck includes lockers for our bags, two tables (playing cards, journaling), filtered water (important to stay hydrated!) and storage compartments at the bottom of the truck that stores our tents, cooking equipment, groceries, chairs, and much more
We have a trip leader/tour guide (Victor), a truck driver (Ben), and a cook (Nicko)! Our three guides are from Kenya and have been working with Intrepid for quite a number of years. In fact, Nicko was the cook for a trip that another fellow passenger took with Intrepid in Eastern Africa back in 2019!
Each night we camp in local camping facilities and Nicko whips up our meals. It’s quite incredible what he feeds us - he has a whole set up of setting up the stove (with his own gas) and table for chopping vegetables. After every meal we wash the dishes and “flap” to dry the dishes (this consists of holding a dish in each hand and flapping like a bird to dry them off)
Wine Tasting in the Western Cape
This was our first stop on the tour - nothing better than wine and a good view (photos and descriptions below!).
Because we were still in South Africa, we still experienced load shedding (see my Cape Town post for more info) so dinner was cooked by Nicko and eaten in the dark with our headlamps.
Drive from the Western Cape, crossing the Namibian border, and into Fish River Canyon
When stopping by a gas station, I saw that the map of Namibia shows a restricted area where there is no entry which seemed odd. It turns out this area is where all the mining happens (diamonds, uranium, and more, aka $$$), so the government doesn’t want anyone to enter this area. Mining is the #1 industry in Namibia, with construction at #2 and tourism as #3.
After crossing into Namibia, we had our first game sighting! We saw mountain zebras and a lone giraffe while driving. It’s incredible to think that these type of animals are just normal occurrences.
Did you know…a group of zebras is called a dazzle of zebras! I was dazzled by the dazzle of zebras, which included a baby zebra galloping alongside its parents.
Sunset at Fish River Canyon (Namibia)
We had an afternoon walk along the Fish River Canyon. It gets so hot at the bottom of the canyon that there is no hiking allowed except in wintertime (beginning in May). The river was dried up when I went, but there were still some puddles you could see.
We watched the sunset at had a “sundown” aka drinks and snacks (local BYOB version of happy hour!).
The next morning I went for a run and departed the campsite. There was only one road, so I just ran straight until the truck and rest of the passengers caught up with me! It was quite a fun experience to run alone on the deserted highway (dirt/gravel path, not a busy highway like in the US - don’t worry Mom & Dad!) and watch the sunrise. The few 4x4s and trucks that drove by gave me a friendly wave and shout.
Colorful Cape Town
BoKapp neighborhood
Famous for their colorful houses, although it’s unclear what’s the rationale behind the transformation from white to colored paint. However, now it’s required for building owners to keep the exterior paint as a bright color because that’s what brings in the tourists (me!). I took a tour of this neighborhood through the local Cape Town free walking tours
This is a Cape Malay neighborhood. Originally designated for anyone who was a practicing Muslim and of color - whether that meant you were from India, Indonesia, Malaysian, or elsewhere, and “Cape Malay” became the catch all term for those people (yes, a bit problematic)
Had lunch at Faeeza’s, which is opened by a woman out of her home in Bo-Kaap! Delicious chicken curry with roti, with definite Malaysian influences - yum!
Sunset hike at Lion’s Head
Did the hike with someone I met during the Bo-Kaap walking tour - it’s always great when you make random connections that turn into fond memories. Moderate hike with some scramble, ladders and staples. The view was amazing - I had a 360 view with Table Mountain, different neighborhoods, and a view into the Atlantic ocean.
Sunset was gorgeous! Definitely needed my handy headlamp coming down as it was pitch black, but the views were incredible (as you can tell below). The colors were so vibrant and breathtaking
Robben Island
Prison where many political prisoners were imprisoned, including Nelson Mandela and Robert Sobukwe
Both of my tour guides were former inmates who were imprisoned while students protesting the apartheid. It was very moving to attend the tour and visit the prison.
My first guide was imprisoned for six years for being a student activist (declared terrorist by the government), and arrived at Robben Island in 1978 at the age of 20. Part of his sentence was hard labor in the limestone quarry
Second tour guide was imprisoned when 18 for protesting. He talked about smuggling documents for reading and politics as they were banned by the government. They conducted a hunger strike for 29 days to demand better conditions (demand for beds and the ability to talk politics) since their requests to the government went unaddressed
Learned about Robert Sobukwe, a political prisoner who is unfortunately not as well known as Mandela because the government tried to suppress his legacy. He created the Pan African Congress after breaking away from the African National Congress. The government gave him harsh punishments, including years of solitary confinement, and limited his contact with the outside world so he couldn’t influence South African politics. He died in prison and never renounced his belief that the apartheid was wrong (the government promised to release him if he reversed his stance).
The island was also used to house all the “undesirables”, including people with leprosy, who were segregated even among death by type of graveyard and headstone (whites had clean and organized headstones and graveyard v Blacks and Coloureds had jagged headstones and unorganized, haphazard graveyards).
Robben Island has been a political prison for a while, all the way back to the 1400/1500s I think when it housed the local Khoi and San tribal kings.
Table mountain
An incredible hike that got my heart pumping and adrenaline running. I hiked India Venster, which is the most challenging route up Table Mountain because of the scrambles (thanks, Jimmy for the rec!)
Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens
I took the Skeleton Gorge route down Table Mountain (total hike ~5 hours) so that I could end up at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. I am SO glad I went. The diversity of flora was astounding, and it was so different from what I’ve seen back home.
I learned that Cape Town is one of the most diverse areas in the world in terms of having the most endemic (native) plants per square kilometer. I took a lot of photos of flowers and plants. They made me so happy and at peace. Mother Nature is truly incredible
Walking around here and just enjoying the “qi” (Dad - you would’ve loved this place) was so peaceful. I could’ve spent the whole day wandering or picnicking in the gardens
Day tour of Cape of Good Hope
Included stops along the coastline with beautiful scenic drives
Also happened to be the day of the Two Oceans Ultra Marathon! It was exciting to watch runners go by. The two oceans represented are the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean (west side of South Africa is the Atlantic, east side is Indian), and this race is supposedly one of the most scenic in the world)
Stopped by Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope, the most southwestern point of the African continent)
First animal sighting! Saw some ostriches running along the side of the road on the way to Cape of Good Hope
Sunrise hike at Lion’s Head
An incredible sunrise that almost didn’t happen because of load shedding! South Africa has periods of electricity blackouts across the country in order to ensure there isn’t a nationwide blackout. This has been going on for around 9 months so far. The morning of my sunrise hike there was several hours of load shedding, so I couldn’t open the electronic gate to my hostel!
Oranjezicht City Farm Market
My favorite place in Cape Town! This is a local farmer’s market that happens during the weekends and was absolutely lovely! There were so many vendors selling fresh produce, flowers, baked goods, and more.
There were also so many food stalls that made choosing a bit overwhelming! It was so lovely to experience a small slice of local life and be a part of the bustle of the city.
Postcards from Cape Town
My favorite moments from Cape Town - it’s crazy to think it’s already been a week here.
In case you didn’t know, you can click on the photo to enlarge the image.
30 hours later…From New York to Cape Town!
No that’s not a typo. 30 hours later, I have arrived! It was surprisingly a very smooth journey for which I’m very grateful.
A Jersey send-off
As I mentioned in my last post, I spent some time home with my family for several days to feel pampered while doing last minute prep for my trip. While there was a lot of anxious packing, there were also so many lovely moments.
I live on a plane
The 30 hours consisted of:
JFK > LHR (Virgin Atlantic) - Short 6 hour day time flight that ended up being only 5:15. Easy peasy! Was an early start (8 am flight + early subway in), but caught up on pop culture from last year. I love airplane food but unfortunately this one was very mediocre. Was very grateful for booking this flight back when I still had Delta status because it meant I got a free checked bag.
LHR > JNB (Virgin Atlantic) - An 11 hour red-eye flight turned into 10:15 hours. Guess the winds were behind my planes! I didn’t realize when booking just how far away London and Johannesburg are (I know, dumb American who only learned one side of the map). Thumbs up for airplane food and for an empty economy class - I got to sleep across an entire row.
JNB > CPT (Airlink) - Because I’d booked this flight using Capital One Venture X’s travel voucher (Mom would be so proud) and had searched for the cheapest flight, I thought this would be a budget airline. False! There was free checked baggage AND a sandwich for a two hour flight. Amazing.
CPT > Hostel - Ordered an Uber thanks to Airport Wifi (bless the Internet) as I’m not planning on getting a SIM card for South Africa. Great travel hack - You’re still able to use Uber as long as you have internet during the ordering process. Sometimes the WiFi doesn’t extend to the pick-up zones so I’ll just wait until the Uber is a couple of minutes away before leaving the WiFi safety net.
At long last - Cape Town!
Not sharing the hostel name just quite yet for security reasons (this site is public) but I’ll share later on if it’s one I’d recommend or avoid for the future.
I arrived in the evening and was pleasantly surprised to hear that I got upgraded from a 6 bedroom dorm to a private room with an ensuite bathroom. I think it’ll be nice to have my own private space for a week before I head off to the next stop, which is a 49 day tour of Southern Africa (more to come on that later).
I originally chose this hostel because it’s supposed to have a great community, so hopefully I’ll get a balanced mix of quiet May time and social time. The hostel has free yoga mats so I got to sneak in a quick yoga session to unwind before preparing for bed.
I’ve got a couple of things in mind that I want to do here, but I think what’ll be more important is just getting accustomed to the fact that this is now my life!
