16-days 18 Sep - 3 Oct 2003 Group 2 Capetown & Garden Route
Group Table Mountain viewpoint / Trek down Table Mountain
Day 1: The group comprised of 12 ladies and 1 man and they gathered at KLIA for the flight at 2200hrs. I stayed on in Cape Town after having led a group of 15 ladies and 1 man, two weeks earlier.
Day 2 Stellenbosch: The group came out 2 hours late because of flight delays. Despite the jetlags, we went to Die Bergkelder for wine tasting and cellar visit. A short stop at Simonsberg Cheese factory was followed by a sumptous lunch. Then, it was off to the Village Museum, which is a collection of 18th century restored houses. This was followed by a walkabout at the Braak or Town Square.
Day 3 Swellenham: After loading up on provisions we were off to Swellenham with a stopover at a nearby strawberry farm. We later visited the Drosty Museum complex, which has some of the best preserved Dutch buildings in the country. Then, its off to Bontebok National Park on to find out we were booked for the next day. Our alternate accomodation was the Swellenham Caravan Park chalets, which were more comfortable.
Day 4 Montagu: In the morning we went back to the Bontepok National Park for a game drive and saw the usual numbers of Bontepok and mountain Zebras. We were also greeted by fields of spring flowers carpeting the veld (African grasslands). Later we proceeded to Montagu Springs. While some soaked in the hot mineral pools, others took short walks or simply took it easy.
Day 5 Little Karoo road to Oudtshoorn: We left later than usual because of the comfortable accomodation we had and went on the 240 kms road to Oudtshoorn. This road goes along the Little Karoo (mountain) with colourful fields of peaches, apricots and prunes. We managed a short stopover in Calitzdorp, which is the port wine capital of South Africa. The wine was so good and cheap that almost all of us bought a couple of bottles.
Day 6 Full day Oudtshoorn: We started our full day of this Ostrich capital of the world with a visit to Safari Ostrich Farm, followed by a quick look athe the Wildlife Cheetah Farm before our adventure caving session at the Cango Caves. The group adjorned in town for shopping.
Watching whale Hermanus / Condo Montagu Springs
Day 7 Garden Route: Some 180kms is George, where we caught the world famous Outeniqua Cho-Tjoe, a steam train running along a spectacular line to Knysna, a very pretty seaside tourist town. We lunched at The Knysna Oyster Company, which claims to have the best oysters in South Africa. We moved on to Wilderness to stay at the National Park log cottages.
Day 8 Mossel Bay: Some of us went on the Pied Kingfisher Trail that passes through the reeds of the wetlands, offering many differing types of flowers and vegetation. After lunch, we hopped over to Mossel Bay for a cruise on the Ramonza, a sailing schooner, followed by a visit to the Diaz Museum. This is on every tour program covering the Garden route and houses a caravel (wooden ship), which replicates the ship of Bartholomeu Diaz.
Day 9 Cape Agulhas: Our first stop on this long day was an aleo ferox factory, a lady's favourite for it's facial and skincare products. Later we went on to Bredasdorp for lunch and a visit to the well-known hand-crafted Kapula Candles. The products made here are sold all over South Africa with 80% exported. We made our way to the southern-most part of Africa at Cape Agulhas, where the Indian and Atlantic Ocean meet. Hermanus was about 2 hours away.
Day 10 Hermanus: This place is world famous for being the best off-shore whale watching site. September is the peak of the whale watching season and we saw many whales in Walker Bay. We arrived in the midst of the Whale Festival with a vibrant flea market, live shows and lots of visitors.
Day 11 Hermanus to Capetown: We went on the coastal drive to Somerset Mall, reputed to be the best shopping mall near Cape Town. It was a Saturday and shops closed at 2pm. As the weather was good, I opted to visit Bo-Kaap, the Malay area of Cape Town and the cable-car up Table Mountain. Some opted to walk the 2 1/2 hours down, which was a pleasant scenic walk for me. Recommended. We dined at Hout Bay's "Fish on Rocks", a well-known takeaway with great calamari rings and fish & chips.
Day 12 West Coast National Park: On the way we stopped at Blouberstrand for a scenic view of the Table Mountains. Then, its 120km one-way the Park, famous for its wildflowers spectacle. It was good but could have been much better. The visit to Postberg section of the Park offered great game viewing and we were rewarded by herds of elands, bonteboks and mountain zebras.
Day 13 Cape Peninsular: This full day trip involved a drive to the Cape of Good Hope. Along the way we visit Groot Constantia, the oldest and grandest winery in South Africa, Muizenberg colourful bath houses, the penguins of The Boulders and Mineral world. We all took pictures at the most south-westerly part of Africa, where the two oceans do NOT meet. We finished the day at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens.
Day 14 Capetown: We covered the Two Oceans Aquarium, Craft Market, St George's Mall, Jewish Holocaust Museum, District 6 as well as the Victoria & Albert Waterfront in one long day.
Day 15 Go Home: Went to the airport for our 1015 am flight home.
Day 16 Fri KL: Arrive in Kuala Lumpur 0540 am.
Strawberries in season
Email: yongleemin@pd.jaring.my or yongleekeng@yahoo.com
Phone: Lee Min: 016-220 9033 or 603-4023 8210
Phone: Lee Keng: 012-315 8353 or 603-6137 9937
Address: No 2 Lrg Air Bersih Satu, Air Panas, 53200 Kuala Lumpur
