They loved everything they were shown and we were very proud South Africans as the weather was perfect, they experienced no crime in the 2 weeks they were here, everywhere we went the roads were clean with verges mown and the few restaurants we ate in didn’t let us down.
We could have just stayed in Utopia which they thought was heaven as they sat on the stoep with Gin & Tonic in hand watching the animals on the property across the river! To them this was “Africa” with bells on! But we went 10 steps further and took them to Pilanesberg where we virtually saw everything but lion, leopard and cheetah. They were in ecstasy over the troop of baboons we saw, never mind the vast herds of buck, zebra and elephants, and as for giraffe – positively orgasmic!
They were so interested in Kimberley, its Big Hole and history, that we were sorry we hadn’t organized a 2 night stay with a tour guide – something we did 6 years ago for OAP's Scots family. They loved Karoo National Park even though we only saw a few Red Hartebeest and a couple of enormous tortoises – to them it was the wilds of Africa, despite the Easter Weekend crowds that were there.
Orgasmic doesn’t even begin to describe their reactions to the Cape Mountains as we went up and over DuToits Kloof Pass and down into the winelands below Paarl. Our arrival in Cape Town (which had experienced a couple of weeks of rain and howling gales) was perfect with sunny weather and a light breeze. We had one day of scattered showers (would you believe it was the day we went to Kirstenbosch! ) But being Belgian they actually told us that that would be considered good weather for them back home!!! We drove up the coast to Hermanus in the hope of seeing a stray whale or two that had decided to stay behind in the Cape just to entertain tourists, calling in at Harold Porter Nature Reserve for lunch on the way home. She had Bobotie and then spent the rest of the week trying to recreate the experience – no luck! HP does the best bobotie in the world! They loved the drive from Cape Town to Hout Bay over Chapman’s Peak, they did the Open Top Bus twice, Table Mountain and the V&A. We drove them around to places we had had known from years ago (we are shattered at the amount of houses that have been built where once no-one wanted to live! And we are shattered at the amount of slums which are euphemistically called “informal settlements” which have popped up in once beauty spots such as Hout Bay, Scarborough, Kommetjie, etc. Who are these people and where do they all find work?).
Our last big drive was to Stellenbosch where they did a guided walk of the town while I pottered in the toy and miniature museum and R went off to suss out the wine farms. We all met back at the tourist bureau at lunchtime and then went off to Lanzerac (once in the heart of the country and now has suburbia built right up to its gates) for a wine tasting. 5 glasses were placed in front of each of us and a little cheese board on which 5 spoon things each held a chocolate. Then the young man in charge gave a chat about each wine in turn and the chocolate that went with it. At the end we were told we could have lunch in the main restaurant but we were happy with what we’d had and just walked around the hotel admiring the architecture and gardens. A wine-tasting with a difference!
Our last day, yesterday, was SO glorious that we decided to drive out to Simonstown via Kommetjie and Scarborough for a fish and chips lunch at Salty’s. As Jan has been connected with the sea for the last 50 years or so he just loves anywhere there are boats, so he was fascinated with Simonstown. Then we dropped them at the airport, breathed a sigh of relief and drove home to the flat in Tamboerskloof where we promptly moved our stuff out of the small bedroom and into the big one with the view of Table Mountain!!
