Excited to be back in Hong Kong after a couple of years and arrived early on New Year’s Day – just in time for a demonstration – which had a large turnout but was mostly peaceful until the end when the two lions – Stephen and Stitt – outside the HSBC Asia HQ were plastered with red paint:( They have now been covered up with hoarding to be be restored – only one of two times they have been covered or moved – it happened when the Japanese invaded HK during the WW2!)
Demonstrators Hong Kong New Year’s Day 2020
HSBC lion plastered with red paint 😦
Still I do understand why these demonstrations are happening and I’m pretty sure they won’t stop so I do hope that the Chinese government come forward with some solutions or this could turn ugly. Certainly tourism has been impacted severely – hotel prices down, malls empty and generally less people about. Even the NYE celebrations were tempered with no fireworks at the end of the decade.
In spite of all that’s going on the famous HK lights at night are hard to beat and still gave me a thrill.
Hong Kong skyline at night
We also visited the Chi Lin Nunnery and Nan Lian Garden in Kowloon for the first time. An oasis of peace in this very busy city tucked in among high rise apartments. It was a lovely spot to meander for a couple of hours. And check out that blue sky!
Chi Lin Nunnery Hong Kong
Nan Lian Gardens Hong Kong
I met up with my cruise buddies Luisa and Chris in Hong Kong as our next stop is two weeks on Seabourn Ovation.
Chris, Luisa and I enjoying the sights of Hong Kong, Peking duck and cocktails at Sevva
First stop on the cruise was Halong Bay in Northern Vietnam – a palace I haven’t been to in twenty years. I understand some parts are now very crowded with tourists but our visit took us to some quiet areas and a local village that is working to create and eco tourism culture. Plastic water bottles are no longer allowed on the Bay – that is a huge step in the right direction. This place is as lovely as I remember it:)
Beautiful Halong Bay
Halong Bay even lovelier in black and white
I skipped the stop at Danang (as I will be back there next month) and had the ship just about to myself which was rather nice.
And then on to Saigon – first visit for about four years and a city I thought I was very familiar with but an evening walk made it clear that the amount of construction that had taken place in the intervening years meant that much had changed and got a lot swankier than I remember!
But the roof top bar at the historic Rex Hotel where the foreign correspondents used to gather to watch the war (they often call it the American War over here) is still going strong and a very pleasant way to enjoy a few cocktails with great views of the city centre.
Night time views from the Rex Hotel rooftop bar in Saigon
During the day we took a two hour drive to the Mekong and then cruised down it for a few hours stopping off along the way. Nice way to spend a hot day but sad to see how much trash is chucked into the Mekong – they urgently need to take the Halong Bay approach to cleaning it up if they want to keep the tourism dollars coming in.
Rolling along the Mekong – I think the second place is a “fixer upper”!
Back in Saigon we had a foodie day visiting the medicine museum first to find out about traditional Vietnamese medicine and then to some of the local street market stalls. Colourful as ever.
It seems I was only just writing my reflections on my 2018 travels and once again as the year is drawing to an end and I am back in Seville for the 3rd time in as many years, it is a good time to reflect on the past 12 months (and to plan for the next 12!)
I counted that I visited 35 different countries during the year and 15* of those were new countries for me bringing my total to 114 countries visited in my life time so far. *The new ones were: Brazil, Uruguay, French Guiana, Trinidad and Tobago, Israel, Palestine, Bulgaria, Romania, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mauritius and the Seychelles.
One of my favourite things about traveling is catching up with old friends where they live, meeting up with old friends in new locations, happening to be in the same place at the same time as someone I know with no prior planning and making new friends – something I have been lucky enough to do especially on cruises. I would like to thank all those friends for making my year even better by being able to spend time with them and to those who also hosted me in their homes (and gave me unfettered use of their washing machines!) on various occasions. A BIG THANK YOU.
Rather than a post with 100 images I have picked a some faves and added the blog links for easy access to the full posts from that country if anyone is interested in finding out more or thinking of visiting.
I started off the year with Beth in Las Vegas – as you do! Then back to my beloved Vietnam for some chill time a few days in Singapore and then back to one of my second homes – the wonderful Melbourne.
The people I was lucky enough to work with at ANZ – a very special team.
Quarter 2, 2019 – Buenos Aires and Iguazu Falls in Argentina; then cruising up the coast of Brazil and into the Amazon; Uruguay; French Guiana; St Lucia; Trinidad and Tobago; Canary Islands Spain; Morocco; Lisbon and Porto in Portugal; Israel; Palestine; Bulgaria; Romania; North Macedonia,
Quarter 3, 2019 – continuing my journey west from the Balkans I visited Slovenia, Hungary, Berlin, Germany and then to Denmark to embark on another cruise covering the East coast of the UK, Sweden, Norway and North Germany. A couple of weeks in Belgium and a quick hop to Rotterdam, Netherlands before starting my two months in London.
Gotta love this country – pretty, nice people and inexpensive!
I was pleased to be back in Budapest for the first time in many years. Great history old and more recent and re-inventing itself all the time. It is kind of like Berlin in its way.
Had only been here fore a long weekend before so two weeks was an amazing opportunity to see as much as possible – which I did of course. Another place where the recently of history still hangs heavy but counter art culture is thriving and it is also a reasonably cheap part of Germany. Loved it.
Alnwick Castle, NorthumberlandThi military Tattoo in EdinburghAt John O’Groats – the top end of the UKSampling whiskey – as one must in this part of the worldMy home for two blissful weeksThe Shetlands in the sunshine – a rare sightMore of the Shetlands – Lerwick – so beautiful
Cruising the Kiel Canal, Germany
Two weeks in Antwerp, Belgium was a real treat – what a lovely little country this turned out to be. Very underestimated and, mostly, not full of tourists.
Perry Green, Henry Moore’s former house and studio – with SylvieWith Christine – one of many fab meals to celebrate some of my friends’ big birthdaysWho knew Liverpool was genuinely FAB. One of my big finds of the year!Anthony Gormley at Crosby BeachFirst ever visit to Blenheim Palace – with LornaThe City of London gets more and more interesting as old and new architecture somehow seem to work.
And at the start of November it was time for another big birthday celebration trip – this time for Trudy. Touring Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa and Mauritius (and I went on to the Seychelles) was amazing and we liked it so much we are back in SA in early 2021!
Victoria Falls – dry at the end of the dry season. Rain was due any day but actually the situation has worsened since then – big problem that Zimbabwe doesn’t need at the momentElephants loving their mud bathOn the luxe train Rovos Rail – and Alan is wearing a jacket and tie!Hermanus South Africa – another place we are returning to in 2021The wine regions around Franschhoek – and yes we will no doubt be back here tooA sunset like this every night in MauritiusWe experienced a once in a lifetime chance to walk with lions. Was I scared – well…..just keep telling myself they were big pussycats! An unexpected highlight of 2019.
Back in Europe for a cool spell in lovely Heidelburg, Germany
And then I needed warmth again – so off to Tenerife and La Gomera to stay with Florence and Michael
The extraordinary Auditorio in Tenerife- look familiar?
And for the Yuletide season I ran away to Seville – again!
Plaza España, Seville December 23
Seasons good wishes to all
And where next?
Well I can say I will be departing 2019 and starting 2020 on a plane!Nothing new there then….
BOOKS – my two absolute favourites are starred
Given I travel a lot and because I have always loved books, I get to read and listen to Audible books a lot more than I had time to before. My favourites this year are:
All the Bernie Gunther novels – a Berlin detective series written by a Brit (Philip Kerr) and set in the 30s and 40s – it was one of the reasons I had to spend time in Berlin this year and I even called my travel buddy after him – Bernie the Berliner Bear
The Testaments – Margaret Attwood – I remember reading the original, then much later watching the TV series and unusually bought this the day it was released. Attwood writes about a dystopian world where the women’s role is scarily not as far away from today’s world as it ought to be. Let’s hope it stands as a lesson and the movement for gender equality thrives.
Becoming* – Michelle Obama – I recommend the Audible version as she reads it. Authentic autobiography by one half of a couple who seem to do the right thing whenever they can – too bad that is not recognised in the way it should be.
Everything I never told you – Celeste Ng – an excellent look at a mixed race (Asian/Caucasian) family and the things that are never spoken about. I like it so much I have waited a year to read her next book – will do that in January so that I can eke it out. Hope she write more.
Mythos – written and read by Stephen Fry (so Audible is a must) it is his take on Greek mythology as only he could do it. Accurate but funny and fascinating.
Me – Elton John. Nothing Elton John does can be anything other than fab in my books and I loved this canter through his legendary life as well as reliving things that were going on in the UK at the same time.
Last Tattoist of Auschwitz – Heather Morris – based on a true story of love and hate. This book and its sequel have become quite controversial given it is supposed to be based on a true story but either way – it is a darned good read.
The Dutch House – Ann Patchett – great writer and the story of a House and the lives of the people who live in it at various times.
The Clockmaker’s Daughter *- Kate Morton – very similar theme to the Dutch House but it also transcends time back and forth.
TV SHOWS – my two absolute favourites are starred
Although I enjoy movies my travels mean that unless I am in an English speaking country it is hard to get to see that many movies on the big screen in English. Luckily I think we live in an age where many of the best writers work on TV and cable channel now, so here are my picks for 2019. I also love that Netflix produce a lot of shows in languages other than English – so yes it requires a bit more effort to read the subtitles but that’s worth it and you almost feel fluent in any language you listen to by the end of it!
Money Heist – Spanish Ocean’s 11 type series but far more subversive. I love every bit of it of the first three seasons.
Bonus Familie – Swedish but for a change this is not “noir” at all but a light hearted look at a modern family where the divorced couple and their new spouses share child care from former relationships and have their own kids too. It’s frightfully Swedish and everything tries their best to behave properly – nice and light.
Cuckoo – a Brit comedy that I thought was silly at first but somehow keep enjoying anyway!
Succession *- Wow! And I thought I knew about succession planning!! This is the best series of the year. Keep watching – the tension builds with each episode.
The Crown – maybe the things going on in the 60s and 70s are not as exciting as the first series but we are now in an era where I remember the events occurring outside the royal family so I enjoyed the social history aspect of Season 3.
The Handmaid’s Tale – great script, acting and nail biter. Can only cope with one episode a day but boy it’s good.
Derry Girls* – adore this Northern Irish comedy set during the troubles of the 70s and 80s in Londonderry about a bunch of potty mouthed school girls – always funny and at times poignant – it is another period of history I remember well.
Killing Eve – Phoebe Waller’s writing credentials are excellent and the bizarre cat and mouse game of the two protagonists are mesmerising as are Jodie comer’s character’s clothes.
Patrick Melrose – I hated all the characters but nevertheless thought Cumberbatch was brilliant as was Hugo Weaving.
Fauda – this time an Israeli series about a former Israeli Defense force fighter who comes back into his old job. It is set in Jerusalem and Palestine and has a cliffhanger at the end of each episode. It started in 2015 but I have only just discovered it so have 3 seasons to enjoy.
Having visited four of the Canary Islands earlier this year on my cruise – and enjoying them much more than I expected – I wasn’t planning to go back to soon; but my old friends Michael and Florence (one of my first former bosses and someone who was a role model as a senior woman in business early in my career) have an apartment in Tenerife where they head for a few months a year to escape the UK Winter – and who can blame them. They kindly invited me over for week.
Arriving in Tenerife by air – rather than via ship – gives a bird’s eye view of Mount Teide which dominates the island and was the place I spent my day on my last visit. There was a tiny smattering of snow on the top but that was all gone within 24 hours!
Mount Teide from the plane
I had to blink twice to make sure I hadn’t stumbled into Sydney Harbour by mistake when we visited the exterior of this extraordinary but nevertheless familiar looking building. It is the Audtorio de Tenerife in Santa Cruz and the local symphony orchestra is housed here. It’s very popular with locals and tourists alike and even Bill Clinton has visited. No Surpise that Santa Cruz is often referred to as “the Sydney of the Atlantic”.
Auditorio de Tenerife
In the village of Candelaria is a well known Basilica – created long ago when a wood carved Madonna and child was washed up on the shore in the 1300s. The local Guanches and then the catholics took ownership of it. No-one could trace where it came from but it was seen as a sign so the Catholics subsequently built a basilica. In the 1800s a tsunami hit the basilica which is right by the sea and the carving was washed away and never seen since. Spooky or what?
Next to the church are 9 magnificent statues of the Guanches (the indigenous race on the islands before the Spanish came in) which represent the kings from that dynasty. They look really good in that setting and each one has different things in their hands to denote their area of expertise.
Statues of Los Guanches
It’s not Spain if you don’t head off to a flamenco show. I’ve seen a few but this was very good because it was non traditional – very cool costumes and choreography. After the first three photos I got told not to take any more. Oh well.
A bit of flamenco
Michael and Florence organised for us to take the ferry from Los Christianos to La Gomera (one of the lesser known of the 7 (now 8 they have a new one now) Canary Islands so I was pleased to visit one I hadn’t seen before.
La Gomera is very pretty and far less developed than many of the other islands – a great place for hiking (and no of course I was not hiking!) but others do apparently. Christopher Columbus also landed here enroute to his discoveries – a man I admire for his tenacity in exploring uncharted parts of the world (and in far less comfort than I do!)
Around and about the island of La Gomera
An overview of La Gomera with its colourful houses and the local church
Street scenes from San Sebastián the capital of La Gomera
We also stayed in a parador – the historical hotels owned by the Spanish Government which are always really well designed and in exceptional spots.
Views and grounds of the parador in La Gomera
The white building perched top left is the parador
We ended our trip with another good meal at the parador – preceded by a drink at the bar!
Florence, Michael and me!
Back in Tenerife we stopped by Los Gigantes – the name of the town and the enormous cliffs at its edge that just fall into the ocean. Majestic.
Los Gigantes – the town and the cliffs
And so after a week of sunshine and warmth – just four hours flight from cold and rainy London it was time to leave again. And here are my last views as I flew off (I do so love flying and seeing the world from above)
I braved the rather chilly climate of Germany in December. I have really enjoyed seeing more of Germany over the past two years and it’s a great opportunity to practice the language too. I like the variety of the places you can visit, the culture and love of art, the food (I grew up eating a lot of it) and the fact that everything and everywhere you stay is spotlessly clean and everything works!
First a visit to Frankfurt which I have to say is not the most exciting city to visit in Germany. It is very much a trade fair and convention town and lacks much in the way of personality.
However this was all made a lot better by two things – firstly, the Staedel Museum which unexpectedly had a fabulous exhibit of Van Gogh with a focus on how his works were bought up early in Germany (before he became a desirable artist) and also how he influenced subsequent German artist. I loved it.
Van Gogh portraits
One is a famous fake and one is the even more famous real thing – any guesses?
“Floating” (no shadows so distorted perspective) Books first by Van Gogh and then by Scharl
I also liked the Staedel as it has a Vermeer I haven’t seen before – the Geographer who is apparently staring out of the window imagining the places he is mapping out.
Vermeer’s The Geographer
Tischbein’s portrait of Goethe – there are very few of him so this is popular but not as popular as wondering why he has two left feet – it remains a mystery to this day?
The other plus was that I decided to stay about 20 minutes outside of Frankfurt in a place called Kronberg in a grand hotel that was formerly the home of Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter (also Victoria) who built it after her German husband Wilhelm died. It was a lovely spot to be located and very different from Frankfurt.
Living in a grand royal house is good!
My second location was the charming town of Heidelberg – about an hour’s drive from Frankfurt. This town is often called the most beautiful in Germany and I can see why. It has everything you want from an old medieval town and is especially cute during this time of the year. As it is primarily a university town (oldest university in Germany) it is also lively with a strong international student body having a good old time as the semester was ending.
Heidelberg has an eclectic style castle (which was really a fortress) in the hills looking down on the town. It was started and added to at various time between the 1200s and the 1600s – thereafter it was captured in a battle and was no longer used and is therefore lacking things like roofs and windows but it is still very cool and beautifully lit at night. The wiggly path below leads up to another well known place – the Philosopher’s Walk. By the time I had staggered up the slope to follow the walk apparently completed by many famous writers (Mark Twain is said to have finished the Huck Finn book here) and philosophers I was thinking more about my pounding heart than things of great meaning. Then I read that these slopes used to terraces for growing grapes for making local wine so now I understand why everyone felt so philosophical! It is a wonderful walk though and gives a lovely perspective of the town.
Heidelberg Castle and the road up to Philosopher’s Walk plus this year’s Heidelberg Gluhwein mug
The castle up close and personal and views down to the river
The castle hosts the Pharmacy Museum – which i thought was great – love those bottles and jars – beautiful enough to cure you of anything without even sampling the contents!
A wooden cable car takes you to the top of the mountain you see behind the castle – it’s a long way up and I was wearing everything I had with me- nippy up there
Oh yes, and that Xmas thing was in full swing too – markets all along the Main Street of the old town with the flood lit castle in the background. Very authentic.
I’ve mentioned before that I am not a wild fan of beach destinations and now I have remembered why – when it pours with rain as it did in my three days here – bar a couple of hours there is very little else to do except watch TV box sets – am loving Succession and read and plan more travels in 2020 – so that’s what I did. However, given I was in Mauritius I knew I would never be closer again (2.5 hour flight) so decided it made sense to stop by and add it to my places visited list
A quick visit to Victoria, the smallest capital in the world – was indeed quick – it was very wet and very small. A market and a Hindu temple and ten minutes to walk around. Too wet to visit the botanical gardens
Market and inside the Hindu temple in the smallest capital in the World – Victoria
For the two hours that the sun came out I grabbed a taxi driver and asked him to drive me around the island – pretty I guess. I understand that the rules of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and other UAE locations have brought up a lot of land and are building holiday homes and hotels there. It made me laugh that although they own their massive holiday homes they all choose to stay at the Four Seasons when they visit!
Beaches but also too much over building for rich visitors – the locals are not keen on this sale of the land
Beaches of Beau Vallon where I was staying
In a way I quite enjoyed the drama of the stormy weather – and at least it remains at least 26 degrees here however wet it is:)
Storms are gathering and the light in the building is looking back at my abode.
Off to colder climes for a bit on my next stop ………
Great relaxing end to our visit to South Africa was a six day chill in Mauritius – another new country for me.
Our hotel – Sands Suites was situated on Flec en Flac (love saying that!) beach. Even when it rains it clears up very quickly so an easy place to just sit and watch the ocean.
Sands Suites Flic en Flac
We also took a walk through the forest along the coast to Tamarin Bay – very pretty.
Tamarin Bay
A huge highlight for us was Walking with the Lions at Casela Park (thanks for the recommendation Lorna) and sanctuary. Luckily these animals are well fed (!) and you get an hour walking and interacting with them. Very cool – once I stopped being scared!! We spent our hour with two white lionesses. Magic.
Watching the girls do their thing
Walking with lions involves being led by them as you hang on to their tail. And like household cats they love a good petting
As we walked around the park we encountered more lions on the safari drive.
Lions having fun
And very excitingly we also got up close and personal with the white and golden tigers. They are BIG. Apparently they tried to do visitor interactions with them way back when it they tended to attack for the fun of it – so as that was not very good for business they stopped it.
Tyger Tyger burning bright
The ocean does t just look good during the day- it also produces a lot of sunsets like these.
Sunset from Sands Suites Flic en Flac
And finally I had to say bye to Trudy and Alan – as they headed off back to the UK while I am off to another beachy spot.
A two hour drive took us to the charming town of Hermanus – especially famous for its whales – and we did see some from the hotel deck. But the real “Wow factor” for me here was the stunning hotel we were in – The Birkenhead House – designed by the same people as the Silo Hotel mentioned in my previous post. This is what I call classy luxuries bliss – and it was complimented by amazing food – all meals included – and while this is not something I would usually do – once you get here you are glad you did as you don’t want to leave the place for even a minute.
Public areas in the Birkenhead Hotel
Contemporary and comfortable design is key at the Birkenhead House
My bedroom and plunge pool at the Birkenhead House
Then after a breakfast that looked like this ……
Luxe brekkie at the Birkenhead House Hotel
it was wonderful to take a 90 minute cliff walk into Hermanus to walk some of it off and enjoy the views along the way……
Cliff walk into Hermanus
Only to return to this ……
Home made scones with a view at the Birkenhead House Hotel
Just as well I only stayed for two nights….
Another two hour drive took us to the town of Swellendam. A very pretty small town and nice to stop at a less touristy place for a night. The scenery en-route was stunning and the local Drodsky Museum was nicely done.
Classic views on the road to Swellendam
Dutch cape houses including our bed and breakfast at Hotel Roosje van der Kopp
Finally, we finished our time in South Africa with a visit to the lovely Franschoek – a much busier place than when Trudy and I last visited decades ago but still absolutely charming.
We loved the Hugenot memorial and museum – really interesting info on how they came to settle in the western Cape and who knew Roger Federer was descended from them and had visited his relatives there?!
The Hugenot Memorial in Franschoek
The Hugenot Museum – with boy in pink hot pants ?!?
As for the food – goodness it was good. The first night we went to Reuben’s which we loved (and the chef is a local) and I enjoyed two kinds of steak tartare.
Eating at Reuben’s
and the the second, to officially recognise Trudy’s birthday year, was the fantastical La Petite Colombe – the pictures are only half as good as the food and the experience. A must visit if you are in the area.
A zen feel to the food at La Petite Colombe
The surprises keep on coming at La Petite Colombe
Yummmmm
We also enjoyed our stay at Plumwood Inn – very convenient for the Main Street yet tucked away too.
And of course you can’t visit this area without doing at least one wine tasting day which we enjoyed in Stellenbosch for the whole of our last day – forgetting we had to be up at 5am for our flight to …….?(watch this space)
Scenery around Stellenbosch and the vineyards are looking good
Trudy, Alan and I enjoying a day at some local wineries in Stellenbosch
Have already booked a longer stay in SA for early 2021!
Now it is time to explore Cape Town and the Western cape of South Africa. I already know I will return here for longer so this short visit was a nice taster and reminder of a wonderful city – last time I was here was around 1993 – things have certainly movie on since then.
Our apartment was a five minute walk from the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront area – this is the place where everything happens in Cape Town so it is great to be close by. By day it is a fun place to visit to eat, shop, listen to live music and generally watch the world go by. By night it is very prettily lit and buzzing – also very safe and well patrolled by security guards.
Day time at the Victoria and Alfred waterfront with Table Mountain in the background
Night lights at the V and A waterfront.
On the next sunny morning we headed off to the impressive Kirstenbosch Botanical gardens – massively large area to wander about and enjoy flora and sculpture – would definitely recommend.
Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens surrounded by mountains
I wanted to take a look at the Silo Hotel (formerly an actual silo) which many people had recommended to me. I went for lunch and loved the interior design of the place – I didn’t know at the time that I would be staying in another hotel by the same owners when I reached Hermanus – more of that shortly.
Exterior and interior of public areas at the Silo Hotel
On a much more sober note we toured the District 6 area and the township of Langa. It is always difficult to decide whether it is a good idea to be a tourist in these kinds of places – not because they are scary but because you don’t want people to feel they are being stared at. This tour was better because once we reached the township we got off the bus and a local resident took us around and explained how the townships began and how they were slowly (way too slowly) being modernised into more acceptable public housing and less corrugated iron – but they are still overcrowded and the wait for some for the better style of housing has been more than 20 years.
How people are living in the townships near Capetown
The District 6 Museum was well put together explaining the history of the area where people were segregated into different “varieties” of colour – black, Malay, coloured and of course had most of their rights curtailed as a result and they were housed in different areas so many families were pulled apart if they were interracial at that time. The definitions of each group are awful to read as you consider that humans took the time to classify other humans like this. If it was not clear what group you belonged they did a pencil test – this involved putting a pencil in your hair – if it stayed put you were black if it fell out you were coloured. How strange and distressing we humans are at times.
Traditional African recipes embroidered on cloths
District 6 Museum of life in the townships and the resettlement of the coloured people during apartheid
I always love a long (and luxurious of course!) train journey so taking Rovos Rail – first from Victoria Falls to Pretoria and then a day later on to Capetown- is the one to do in Africa for a longer trip.
Rovos Tail was started by a train enthusiast Rohan Vos who originally bought a couple of carriages to beautify and use with his family but now it is available to everyone and includes beds, a bar/lounge an observation car and a dining carriage.
It takes a while to get use to the jerking and brake sounds on a train when you are trying to sleep but the movement seems to do the trick and there’s lots of time for afternoon catch up snoozes. The food – four course dinners but sensibly sized portions – was consistently superb and they offered a great choice of South African wines.
Exterior views of our train with observation car at the back on a brief leg stretching night stop.
Plush interiors and dressing for dinner is required- makes it very orient express like!
Out first stop was the Hwange national park in Zimbabwe when we went out for a 3.5 hour early morning game drive. We were lucky to spot a pair of cheetahs in the distance plus zebra, antelope and a dozy pride of lions who looked liked they had been well fed recently – always good to know when you are a tourist! Certainly seeing the African wildlife again has made me want to do another proper safari when I can.
Zebras, cheetahs and antelope
A lazy pride of lions
After three nights on the train we arrived at Pretoria for an overnight stop at a hotel. This is not the most interesting place on earth but I’m glad I had an afternoon and morning there. On arrival we visited the Union Building where one of the SA parliaments is housed (the other is in Capetown). The building bottom left is an old synagogue now in disuse so no access allowed but it was also used for the infamous treason trials of many political prisoners including Mandela and Sisulu.
Old buildings in and around Church Square in Pretoria
A wonderful sight is the giant sized Mandela sculpture looking over the city. We saw some little 4 year olds come up to see it and they ran up to it shouting “we love you Mandela” completely unprompted – they were genuinely excited. He is so beloved here – and for good reason. We need a few more like him around the world.
The giant Mandela sculpture. I barely reached his calf muscles!
On our second day in Pretoria we headed to the Vortrekker monument high above the city – which is a memorial and museum to the primarily Dutch settlers who trekked to this part of the world and started a new life here. Unfortunately for them, the Zulus and other tribes were already here and wanted to defend their land, so there was a lot of bloodshed on both sides and this is not skimmed over in the museum although it is only really focussed on the Dutch side of the history. I loved the giant stone frieze which was made up of about 50 panels depicting the stories of what happened including the important role the pioneering women played in starting a new life. Well worth a visit.
The exterior and interior of the Vortrekker Monument in Pretoria
Some of the stone reliefs in the museum area below the monument
Back on the train again for a two night journey – first stop was Kimberley – the world famous source of much of the world’s diamonds and where De Beers first started chaired by Cecil Rhodes (who seems to be loved or hated depending on your disposition about imperialist!) who originally made his money in the diamond mines. Some of the mines were still open but the one that we went round is now a museum town replicating the mining heyday and includes the famous Big Hole – it is the largest man made hole in the world. We had a great guide who had worked in the mines and was passionate about diamonds – and after all who can blame him; if they were good enough for Elizabeth Taylor, they are certainly good enough for me!
Kimberley and the BIG HOLE
The final stop on the train was a cute town in the middle of nowhere called Matjesfontein. Originally a “nothing place” the concept of making it a small town where visitors would stop to see how people lived back in the day came from a Scotsman – and he was right – people do come – although it certainly wasn’t crowded at all – other than the 40 or so of us on the train.
Buildings in the town of Matjefontein – and wait, is that Harry Potter serving at the local bank?
An excellent museum (Marie Cawdon Museum) actually on the station platform had all sorts of interesting collectibles from Victorian times – cameras, kitchen equipment and my favourite – the apothecary – it was a huge place (remember we are in the middle of nowhere) – I loved it as much as I loved stretching my legs.
Geeky train signalling levers and signal Comms plus the old apothecary
And so our train journey of rattling sleep, fantastic food, varying scenery, windswept observation carriage moments and lots of delays (trains here give British Rail a run for their money) ended in Capetown 6 days after we left Victoria Falls and traversed a large chunk of Zimbabwe and top to bottom of South Africa.
The end of the line…..
And now on to spending time in Capetown and surrounding areas – apparently there is a lot of wine to be tasted around here – as if I didn’t know:)
Joined my friends Trudy and Alan – to celebrate her big birthday year – for a trip around Southern Africa which started in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe where we stayed at the splendidly colonial Victoria Falls Hotel.
Exterior views of the Victoria Falls Hotel shared with some local warthogs
Interiors of the Victoria Falls Hotel where they make a darn good gin and tonic.
On day one we walked one kilometre to the entrance of the Falls. Visit at this time of year means the falls are at their lowest levels so some falls are not yet visible but equally it means you can see the falls that are visible without a massive spray getting in the way.
En route from the hotel to the Falls
The wet part of the Falls
The dry part of the Falls – all this will be under heavy water in four or five months
The Vic Falls Park borders onto Zambia and this is where we met a young baboon who clearly wanted to show us all his/her best sides for instagram worthy shots – so here they are before this one becomes famous!
This youngster loved posing for the camera
In the evening we booked a sunset Zambezi river cruise – cocktails and dinner were very enjoyable indeed.
On our second day we had an early start for a day in Chobe National Park in Botswana and after innumerable border patrols were were in another country.
We started with another cruise which at this time of year is a great time to see animals as they are in plentiful supply near the waters before the rains come and they can go further inland for their food.
We saw African buffalo, elephants, hippos, impala and crocs.
African buffalo – not sure who’s watching whom?
African crocs – not too scary compared to those big buggers in Aus
I never appreciated that when hippos are in the water they are generally walking rather than swimming – they are bad swimmers! But they are less log-like when you see them on land – and they like to spend the day on land at this time of year.
And then so many elephants ….
This area is amazing for elephant watching at this time of year
Highlight was stumbling across a group of elephants having a wild mid bath – so lucky to see this
In the afternoon we went off for a game drive – saw lions in the distance but no leopards:(. However lots of impala – so pretty. Sadly we also saw three elephant carcasses – many are dying of starvation due to lack of water which means lack of food.
Impala in the beautiful Savannah’s of Chobe
And finally we endeavoured to enjoy enjoying ourselves in various parts of Zimbabwe!
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