In April mum and dad took me on holiday to South Africa with them. I didn’t even have to hide away this time – they just put me into the backpack. I guess they have just got used to me going with them now.
We went on a plane to Istanbul airport. I understand from mum and dad that we were supposed to have a few hours wait for another plane – however it turned out that there was a 5-hour delay before the second plane turned up. So, we spent the night in Istanbul airport. It was most peculiar because the airport was busy all through the night – it just never got quiet.
Finally, we got on the second plane. After a 10-hour flight I found that we were in South Africa – in Cape Town. I wondered whether I might find other bears in Africa, but apparently, they do not have bears there.
When we came out of the airport, I wondered what was going to happen. Quite by coincidence, there was a gentleman who was waiting for some people with exactly the same name as mum and dad. Well, what could they do but introduce themselves to him. Since nobody else with their names had turned up yet, the gentleman took us to the car park. There, he put us into a car which took us on a journey into Cape Town. I wasn’t certain where we were going to end up. Truthfully, I don’t think dad knew either. Were we being kidnapped? Well, as it turns out – no we weren’t being kidnapped. We ended up at a hotel called “Garden Court Victoria Junction” and they offered to allow us to stay there, which I thought was very kind of them
By this time we had been travelling for about 26 hours. So, we went to bed.
More info: Hotel in Green Point, Cape Town | Garden Court Victoria Junction
Day 1 – Table Mountain
The following day mum and dad woke me up early and we went down to breakfast. After that we went back to our room, but then they put me in the backpack! Oh – we are going out.
Back downstairs and we were waiting in the reception area. There were a number of other people also waiting around. It seems as though everyone was waiting for a gentleman called Shukri. When he arrived it turns out that he organises trips for people. He also just happened to have a coach outside, and invited everyone to go on a trip with him. So everyone went out and sat on the coach. Mum and dad sat right at the front of the coach, so we got a good view of everything.
The bus took us to somewhere called “Table Mountain”. Once there we got off the bus. I thought that was the end of the journey, but then we were herded up some steps and into a queue – and then suddenly we were on another form of transport. This was called a ‘cable car’. Nobody told me we were going to be hanging from a wire and approaching a sheer cliff face with no apparent means of escape – only to suddenly pop over the top of the cliff at the last minute. It is very lucky teddy bears are brave animals. The cable car rotated as it was going up, so we switched from looking at the cliff to looking out over a drop…
More info:
Our African Wonder | Table Mountain
The Dassie – Table Mountain’s Most Common Mammal – Hike Table Mountain
After having a look around the flat top of the mountain (at which point I realise why it was named after a table) we went back down the same way we came up.
Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point
We had another ride in the coach. It stopped a couple of times for dad to get out and take a photo. Then at one stop everyone got off. We were having another trip in yet another mode of transport. This looked like a train carriage going up a hill, but it did not have a train engine attached. Mum told me it was called a Funicular and that it was pulled up by a cable. I almost refused to go on it, but she promised me that this one was attached to the earth and wasn’t going to go high in the air like the first one. So, I agreed to go.
Well, after a while I was regretting that choice. I had noticed that there was only one track. I had assumed that the car went up, turned around and came back down. Imagine my horror when I looked out of the window at the front to see another car coming down towards us. On a single track. At the last minute the other car swung out onto a second track that seemed to appear out of nowhere, and they just missed each other. As soon as it was past our car it swung back onto the single track. It was amazingly lucky that there just happened to be a spare piece of track at that point.
We were at Cape Point – another high area with stunning views. There was a light house at the top which we walked up to. Well, I say we walked – obviously I got a lift in dad’s backpack.
More info: Home – Cape Point
Following the trip to Cape Point we all piled back into the coach. Where were we going? Well, it turns out that the next stop was for lunch. This was at a place called ‘Bertha’s Restaurant’. Mum and dad enjoyed the lunch. I wasn’t overly happy because they didn’t cater for bears.
More info: Berthas Seafood Restaurant in Simons Town Cape Town
After lunch… you guessed it, we were back in the coach. When it stopped, we got out for a walk. I will never believe what I saw next. In the sand beside the walkway there were… penguins. Penguins! What were they doing there? Had they got lost? Everybody knows that penguins live in the Antarctic where it is cold and icy. But no, it seems that there are some that live in the hotter climes of South Africa. I wonder if they go on holiday to Antarctica.
More info: Visit Boulders Beach Penguins, Cape Town | South Africa Tourism (GL)
After the penguins the coach took us back to the hotel, where mum and dad were allowed to stay for another night.
Day 2 – Wine Tasting
The following day we were back on the coach again. After a long drive we found ourselves at the Rickety Bridge wine estate in Franschhoek. And yes, you did have to cross a rickety bridge to get to it. Mum and dad wouldn’t let me get off the coach because they said I wasn’t old enough to drink. I wasn’t happy. I was even less happy when I found out that they had eaten lunch after the wine tasting. Dad was keen to tell me about the rolled pork belly he had eaten! He said it was delicious.
More info: Rickety Bridge Estate – Franschhoek
Back in the coach and I was determined they weren’t going to leave me behind again. Next time the coach stopped I snuck into mum’s handbag. When I next peeked out all the people from the coach were at a big table, with two glasses in front of each of them. A lady kept on putting wine into the glasses. I was surprised that mum was getting it because I didn’t think she liked wine, until I noticed that her and another lady were getting different wine – they referred to it as ‘fizzy’. Maybe it was just lemonade?
After everybody had sampled the wine, they were led off to the ‘cellar’. I don’t know why it was called a cellar – it wasn’t underground, like I think a cellar should be. It was full of barrels, and I believe I heard that the barrels were full of wine. Maybe they were going to hold a party? Only when I asked mum did she tell me that the barrels were used to store the wine when they were making it. Apparently, they are used to ‘ferment’ it and to ‘age’ it. That means nothing to me, but everybody who had tasted the wines seemed to agree that they were jolly nice.
Then it was back on the coach to head back to the hotel.
More info: Home | Neethlingshof Estate
Days 3 and 4 – Aquila Private Game Reserve
The following morning was an early start. Apparently, the hotel wanted their room back so they were kicking mum and dad out. In fact – when we went downstairs with our cases I found out it wasn’t just mum and dad, but everybody who was on the coach with them. It didn’t seem to come as a surprise to mum and dad – they just accepted that they had to move out. The same gentleman, Shukri, seemed to know where they could go and luckily the coach was still outside the hotel. I don’t know if the driver (named Bongi) had slept there overnight. Eventually all the cases were loaded on the coach, we got on and off we went.
After a couple of hours, we turned through a pair of big gates and I found that we were at the Aquila Game Reserve. Shukri told us we were going to stay there for two nights. It turns out we had a little hut to stay in. It was a main bedroom area, with an outdoor patio which faced the game reserve.
We went on four trips through the reserve whilst we were there – two in the evening and two in the morning. Each drive lasted about an hour and a half. The evening drives included a stop at a ‘half-way house’ where we got a drink and some sweet treats. On our second evening trip there, we were invaded by baboons that were trying to steal the food (and were somewhat successful). I must admit that I was scared – I did not want to be abducted by them.
We saw quite a number of animals during the trips out. The animals are free to roam across the reserve, so the guides do have to use their knowledge to locate them. We saw four of the ‘Big 5’ – African lion, rhino, elephant and buffalo. There was no sign of a leopard. Our guide told us that is because they are largely nocturnal animals, but I think that it might have changed its spots so we thought it was a lion instead.
After the two days, Shukri and the coach came back. We all got on the coach, and after a two hour drive we were taken to the docks at Cape Town, where there was a ship waiting to take us home.
More info: AQUILA PRIVATE GAME RESERVE | Big 5 Safari | Cape Town
The Queen Anne
Well, the ship was the Cunard badged Queen Anne. Cunard is the ‘posh’ sister brand to P&O which we had previously been on. We were to travel from South Africa to Southampton. It turns out that it was the last leg of the inaugural world cruise – the Queen Anne had just launched in 2024. I was very pleased to see that we had a Stuart looking after us in our cabin. I was even more pleased when the captain made an announcement, and he told us he was Captain Speaking – we have had him on a number of cruises now.
Mum and dad really liked the Queen Anne. They said it was more like cruising when they first started, with an evening turn-down service with a chocolate on the bed and fixed dining with top quality food and top-quality service.
More info: Queen Anne Luxury Cruise Ship – Holidays with Cunard
Walvis Bay – Namibia
After two days the ship stopped at Walvis Bay in Namibia. Mum and dad had booked a trip off the ship. I think that it didn’t turn out to be exactly what they expected. The description was of a jeep tour through the desert. I think they had visions of travelling over the dunes. It wasn’t like that at all – the ‘jeep’ was actually a Toyota Land Cruiser, and all travelling was on road! The driver took us to see ‘secrets’ of the desert, which largely seemed to be unexpected plant life. In particular we were shown the “Welwitschia mirabilis”, an ancient plant that can reportedly live for more than a thousand years.
The driver took us for a drive through an area that he called the “moon landscape”. It did not need any imagination to understand why it was called that. Indeed, it brings into question whether the moon landings were real, or whether it was just filmed on location in Namibia.
We stopped for lunch at Goanikontes Oasis where there was food and drink laid on. This was an unexpected bit of greenery in the desert, but was obviously a popular stop for both tourists and locals. There was even a little museum giving the history of the oasis.
Then it was back to the ship via a call at Swakopmund for a photo by the sea.
Despite not being exactly what they expected I think mum and dad did enjoy their trip. Mum was keen to observe that Namibia seems to use literal names. Obviously Namibia is named after the Namib desert, but the word Namib itself is of Khoi origin and means “vast place”. Similarly, the largest sand dune is called… Dune 7. Swakopmund is named after the mouth of the Swakop river. Even the oasis gets in on the act – Goanikontes is a Nama word meaning “The place where you can take your coat off.”
More info:
Namibia’s Moon Landscape: A Geological Marvel You Must See – Namibia Today
Goanikontes Oasis | Stunning Accomdation & Campsite in Namibia
Swakopmund – Colourful activity centre of Namibia
Dakar – Senegal
A week later and it was another port day – this time calling into Dakar in Senegal. Again, mum and dad had booked us on a coach trip – this time it was an all day tour. First was a drive-by in front of a cathedral – Our Lady of Victories Cathedral (otherwise known as Cathedrale du Souvenir Africain de Dakar). In fact, the guide got the driver to stop for a 5-minute photo opportunity. When we got off the coach, there were lots of locals trying to sell us goods such as bracelets, paintings and wooden sculptures.
Next, we went to a sand-painting demonstration. Following the demonstration, there was an opportunity to buy one of the sand paintings, or alternatively a collection of bracelets, paintings and wooden sculptures.
Then we were off to visit a big statue – the African Renaissance Monument. The bus dropped us off a few minutes walk away, and we had to walk through a market, where we had the opportunity to buy a selection of bracelets, paintings and wooden sculptures. Mum and dad walked up the 198 steps to the base of the statue. I didn’t go with them – I don’t like heights. When they came down, they got back on the bus which curiously was now parked at the base of the steps.
Next, we were taken to a market, which mum and dad walked through. Apparently, they had the opportunity to buy a selection of bracelets, paintings and wooden sculptures.
Following on from the market was the main event of the day – a trip to Lake Retba – also known as the Pink Lake. It is pink due to algae in it, with a high salt content. We had been warned that it was no longer pink due to flooding that had happened in 2022 – in fact, some colour had returned and there was indeed a slight pink tinge. We got off the coach at a hotel, and we got on board a jeep. Unlike the transport in Walvis Bay, this was genuinely a jeep-like vehicle, probably about 50 years old. Before we set off, the driver filled the radiator up with water. When he was driving, he kept on looking at the rear wheel – I thought he was expecting it to fall off and overtake us. And the gears… well, it didn’t seem to have any clutch at all.
They took us to the lake where, as well as seeing the water and being told about the salt extraction, we had an opportunity to buy some bracelets, paintings and wooden sculptures. Following that we stopped for lunch at a tent on the beach. The food was rather good, and the guides had laid on some local music and dancing. And there was also an opportunity to buy some bracelets, paintings and wooden sculptures.
After this it was back on the coach and back to the ship.
More info:
Our Lady of Victories Cathedral, Dakar – Wikipedia
African Renaissance Monument – Wikipedia
Santa Cruz – Tenerife
Mum and dad have been to Santa Cruz on a number of occasions, so they didn’t go on a trip. Instead, they just decided to go to a “Museum of Illusion” about 10 minutes walk away from the port. They thoroughly enjoyed it, but I didn’t get to see the illusions – I was tired, and it was hot, so I had fallen asleep in the bag. They thought it was best to let me snooze.
Afterwards we had a nice walk back to the ship, and I managed to find some flowers to smell.
More info:
What you can see in one day in Santa Cruz de Tenerife | spain.info
Museum / Museum of Illusions Tenerife
Home
Another couple of days at sea and we were back in Southampton. Adam came and picked us up, and we were home in time for lunch.
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