Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Monday, March 19, 2007
summary
The costs:
$2,200 for airline tickets including $400 for changing the return date.
$2,800 or about $100 per night for lodging
$667 for car rental through CarRentals.com - very cheap
$600 for gas
$500 for food over what we normally spend at home
$500 for admissions
$200 for car rentals and gas to get to and from the Dullas airport
$50 Gifts
$7,517 total or about $250 per day
Every thing was fairly priced. I have 4 small amounts to try to collect:
$60 on the car rental since we turned the car in 4 days early
$14 from South Africa as they charged us a bad conversion rate when we paid the extra $400 to change dates.
$20 from Hertz as they jacked up the daily rate when we changed.
$101 from the Jo-burg condo rental as they still have our deposit.
Now for the Jo burg condo story
$2,200 for airline tickets including $400 for changing the return date.
$2,800 or about $100 per night for lodging
$667 for car rental through CarRentals.com - very cheap
$600 for gas
$500 for food over what we normally spend at home
$500 for admissions
$200 for car rentals and gas to get to and from the Dullas airport
$50 Gifts
$7,517 total or about $250 per day
Every thing was fairly priced. I have 4 small amounts to try to collect:
$60 on the car rental since we turned the car in 4 days early
$14 from South Africa as they charged us a bad conversion rate when we paid the extra $400 to change dates.
$20 from Hertz as they jacked up the daily rate when we changed.
$101 from the Jo-burg condo rental as they still have our deposit.
Now for the Jo burg condo story
Thursday, March 15, 2007
3/7 thru 3/8
Today, Wednesday, we drove to Kimberly and visited the "Big Hole," where diamond mining started in SA in the 1870's. The original diamond pit and mines have been turned into a tourist site where you view a movie, walk through a simulated underground mine and view lots of real diamonds under heavy security. De Beers was started in Kimberly by Cecil Rhodes, the same person who originated the Rhodes Scholarship for deserving students to attend Oxford University in England. A few days before, we visited the Rhodes Memorial in Capetown, a beautiful park dedicated to Cecil Rhodes. He lived in Capetown during part of his life. We had lunch in Kimberly at the "Star of the West," a pub and hotel that dates from the late 1800's that served the miners. We enjoyed "pub grub" and beer.
We then drove to Bloemfontein, the city that is considered to be the capital for Afrikaners. The Anglo-Boer Wars occurred in this area in 1899-1900. We then drove on to Ficksburg, a beautiful drive through fields of wheat and sandstone mountains in the distance. We stayed at the Green Accorn B&B in small studio cottages. We had two cottages for only R380 ($55), including a full English breakfast. Since we arrived in Ficksburg late and we were tired and not very too hungry, we went to the local Wimpy's and had a hamburger. The restaurant closed at 8:00 p.m. It is so amazing that business establishments like restaurants, grocery stores, and department stores close between 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. We are truly spoiled in the USA with our 24 hour shopping options. We ate very little fast food only US-McDonald's and 4or 5 SA firms.
We had decided to try and fly back home early. We had driven 7,000 miles and visited all the provinces in South Africa. Once we headed back to Johannesburg, we were ready to head home as we had already spent a week there. We had tried for a couple of days to change our airline tickets over the phone. They would tell us to call back as they had to check with Washington, DC (where we had flown out of) to make any changes. We finally received confirmation late on Wednesday that we could fly back the next day. So, we got up early in Ficksburg and headed toward Jo-burg. We drove through the Maloti Mountains, another gorgeous mountain route that took us to a beautiful small town called Clarens. We had read in Lonely Planet that Prince Harry and Brad Pitt liked to visit this town. It was full of art galleries, up-scale restaurants and gift shops. We asked the clerk in one of the stores where Brad Pitt had stayed and she directed us to the fancy resort just outside of town. We could see why the rich and famous liked this place as it was so beautiful. We also drove through Golden Gate National Park with big sandstone mountains and steep grassy slopes-spectacular! We drove into Jo-burg on the N3 Toll Road and had lunch at our favorite Portuguese restaurant that we had eaten at when in Jo-burg a month earlier. We almost missed our plane as we had not anticipated the traffic jams around the city. But, Doug with his fantastic sense of direction and navigational skills found some alternate routes and got us to the airport on time. We had driven 7,000 miles and our little Renault Clio was ready to go home too.
The plane headed home was not full and we booked seats at the back of the plane. We were able to lay down and actually sleep part of the way. It was a welcome contrast to the full flight we had experienced on the way over. South African Airways is a wonderful airline and the staff and services are excellent. Would highly recommend them. We stopped for gas in Dakar, Senegal on the way home. The total time spent on the plane was 19 hours, 18 of which we were in the air.
We loved South Africa, but would recommend flying to London and spending a week or so and then continuing on from there. It is an 8 hour flight to London and a 10 hour flight from London to Jo-burg or Capetown. Would love to visit South Africa in 50 years to see the progress I know they will make, but I am afraid we won't be able to make that trip! Unless, we can live to 110!
We then drove to Bloemfontein, the city that is considered to be the capital for Afrikaners. The Anglo-Boer Wars occurred in this area in 1899-1900. We then drove on to Ficksburg, a beautiful drive through fields of wheat and sandstone mountains in the distance. We stayed at the Green Accorn B&B in small studio cottages. We had two cottages for only R380 ($55), including a full English breakfast. Since we arrived in Ficksburg late and we were tired and not very too hungry, we went to the local Wimpy's and had a hamburger. The restaurant closed at 8:00 p.m. It is so amazing that business establishments like restaurants, grocery stores, and department stores close between 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. We are truly spoiled in the USA with our 24 hour shopping options. We ate very little fast food only US-McDonald's and 4or 5 SA firms.
We had decided to try and fly back home early. We had driven 7,000 miles and visited all the provinces in South Africa. Once we headed back to Johannesburg, we were ready to head home as we had already spent a week there. We had tried for a couple of days to change our airline tickets over the phone. They would tell us to call back as they had to check with Washington, DC (where we had flown out of) to make any changes. We finally received confirmation late on Wednesday that we could fly back the next day. So, we got up early in Ficksburg and headed toward Jo-burg. We drove through the Maloti Mountains, another gorgeous mountain route that took us to a beautiful small town called Clarens. We had read in Lonely Planet that Prince Harry and Brad Pitt liked to visit this town. It was full of art galleries, up-scale restaurants and gift shops. We asked the clerk in one of the stores where Brad Pitt had stayed and she directed us to the fancy resort just outside of town. We could see why the rich and famous liked this place as it was so beautiful. We also drove through Golden Gate National Park with big sandstone mountains and steep grassy slopes-spectacular! We drove into Jo-burg on the N3 Toll Road and had lunch at our favorite Portuguese restaurant that we had eaten at when in Jo-burg a month earlier. We almost missed our plane as we had not anticipated the traffic jams around the city. But, Doug with his fantastic sense of direction and navigational skills found some alternate routes and got us to the airport on time. We had driven 7,000 miles and our little Renault Clio was ready to go home too.
The plane headed home was not full and we booked seats at the back of the plane. We were able to lay down and actually sleep part of the way. It was a welcome contrast to the full flight we had experienced on the way over. South African Airways is a wonderful airline and the staff and services are excellent. Would highly recommend them. We stopped for gas in Dakar, Senegal on the way home. The total time spent on the plane was 19 hours, 18 of which we were in the air.
We loved South Africa, but would recommend flying to London and spending a week or so and then continuing on from there. It is an 8 hour flight to London and a 10 hour flight from London to Jo-burg or Capetown. Would love to visit South Africa in 50 years to see the progress I know they will make, but I am afraid we won't be able to make that trip! Unless, we can live to 110!
3/5 thru 3/6
Today, we visited the Kirstenbosch Gardens in Capetown. Such a beautiful place with thousands of plants, trees and shrubs from all over SA. We took a guided tour on a "golf cart" and it was so informative. I took many beautiful pictures of this very beautiful place. We then drove on to Veldrift, on the way to Springbok in the Kalahari Region. We are now in the Northern Cape, on the Atlantic Ocean. We had lunch at Sunset Seafood in Veldrift. We had mussels, a seafood potjie (seafood cooked in a black iron pot) and hake thermidor (fish) with a cheese sauce. It was so good and the entire meal was only $24. We drove through mountainous, rocky, desolate, but beautiful scenery and arrived at Springbok (120 km from the Namibia border-the place in which Angelina and Brad Pitt had their baby) around 7:00 p.m. We found a nice two bedroom chalet at Kleinplasie Gastehuis for only R460 ($70) for the night. We ate dinner at the Tauren Steak House. We had two steaks and beer-Doug's was a 1 1/2 lb (750 gram) T-Bone for only $12. Total bill was only $30. We also used the computer at the restaurant office to check our emails. Out in the middle of nowhere, there are only so many Internet resources! It was amazing how it felt like any small town in the USA, but instead we were in the middle of nowhere in South Africa! The landscape in this area looks very much like the Australian outback. The population of Springbok is 10,400. The name of the town is also the name of a deer-like animal called the springbok. In the springtime, this area has thousands of flowers in bloom in the desert and people come from all over SA to see the spectacle.
We left Springbok on Tuesday morning and headed toward the Namibian border to Port Nolloth on the Atlantic Ocean. At this small coastal town, they dive to the ocean floor for diamonds. Lonely Planet mentioned to be careful of buying phony diamonds offered to you in this town and that government agents were stationed here to arrest you if you did try to buy a diamond. Only DeBeers of Africa can buy raw diamonds and the prices are fixed. I think Doug took me to the one place on earth where they didn't have any souvenirs! We drove across the Kalarhari region (a barren desert) to Grobershopp. We had lunch at a nice restaurant along the way-Vergelegen Guest House. By the way, our credit union cash card is now working. We found out it was the bank machine, not our card, that didn't work. So, we have been able to get all the money we need in Rands from ATM machines across South Africa. We drove hard today and late into the night. We found a small B&B outside Grobershoop called Grape Vine Guest House. Two rooms for only R400 ($55) and very nice. We weren't too hungry and nothing was open in the small town except a small grocery store. The guest house offered us steaks so we bought some rolls to make sandwiches and potato chips. The staff at the guest house prepared more for us than we wanted-salad, sauces, etc. They were very hospitable. We sat on the patio, under the stars til 9:00 p.m., chatting with the lady who owns the B&B and another guest. We learned the opinions of both of these Afrikaners regarding SA politics, but we soon moved on to other topics and enjoyed a good meal in the countryside under the stars.
We left Springbok on Tuesday morning and headed toward the Namibian border to Port Nolloth on the Atlantic Ocean. At this small coastal town, they dive to the ocean floor for diamonds. Lonely Planet mentioned to be careful of buying phony diamonds offered to you in this town and that government agents were stationed here to arrest you if you did try to buy a diamond. Only DeBeers of Africa can buy raw diamonds and the prices are fixed. I think Doug took me to the one place on earth where they didn't have any souvenirs! We drove across the Kalarhari region (a barren desert) to Grobershopp. We had lunch at a nice restaurant along the way-Vergelegen Guest House. By the way, our credit union cash card is now working. We found out it was the bank machine, not our card, that didn't work. So, we have been able to get all the money we need in Rands from ATM machines across South Africa. We drove hard today and late into the night. We found a small B&B outside Grobershoop called Grape Vine Guest House. Two rooms for only R400 ($55) and very nice. We weren't too hungry and nothing was open in the small town except a small grocery store. The guest house offered us steaks so we bought some rolls to make sandwiches and potato chips. The staff at the guest house prepared more for us than we wanted-salad, sauces, etc. They were very hospitable. We sat on the patio, under the stars til 9:00 p.m., chatting with the lady who owns the B&B and another guest. We learned the opinions of both of these Afrikaners regarding SA politics, but we soon moved on to other topics and enjoyed a good meal in the countryside under the stars.
3/3 thru 3/4
It rained today. We have had very little rain on this trip. The weather has been sunny for the most part. We had to scrap the arts festival that was being held downtown and instead, went to the Two Oceans Aquarium. It had some of the best fish exhibits we have ever seen. They chose to put just a few types of fish in each aquarium. This made the viewing better and easier. We had lunch at a pizza chain called St. Elmo's-wood fired, thin crust pizza that is excellent-only $9.50 for a large pizza. Traffic lights in SA are called "robots." When asking for directions, someone will tell you to turn left at the first "robot." We went to a classical music concert at the Baxter Theatre.
On Sunday, we went to Greenpoint flea market-lots of trinkets. Went to St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in our neighborhood. It was a poor congregation with few attendees and a visiting divinity student who was writing his dissertation on the Dutch Reformed Church's support of apartheid. He preached on the big theme of South Africa, which is reconciliation. In the sermon, he mentioned a South Afrikaners song that has become popular with the right wingers. The song is called "De La Ray." At that point, the two other white men in the congregation stood up and left. After church, one of the white men explained that he was tired of being put down because of his Afrikaner heritage. In our opinion, the use of "Del La Ray" is just like "Dixie" in the South-USA has been taken over by white forces with which we would not like to be associated. The Afrikaans hate losing their song and flag and we in the South hate losing our song and heritage to the racist factions.
We had a long lunch (4 hours) at the Cape Courtland Restaurant at Hout Bay. It was in an old Dutch building with a beautiful courtyard, where we ate outdoors. It was a "braai," where food is cooked over coals under a large hut-like structure. We would probably call it a "barbecue." There were 4 courses-shrimp and mussels and bread, grilled swordfish, tuna, sardines and salad, lamb, chicken, sausage, butternut squash with raisins, maize cooked like grits and called pap, and dessert, which was a sugar infused donut stick with vanilla pudding dip. We also had a bottle of red SA wine from a nearby winery called Spiers. We enjoyed talking with two Canadian couples during our long lunch. In the evening we went to a modern dance called "Slaves" at the amphitheatre at the Spiers winery near Stellenbosch. The dance was very expressive and physical and the African music was enthralling. Of course, Doug prefers classical dance (ballet) and music, but this program was not like anything we would see in NY or the USA.
On Sunday, we went to Greenpoint flea market-lots of trinkets. Went to St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in our neighborhood. It was a poor congregation with few attendees and a visiting divinity student who was writing his dissertation on the Dutch Reformed Church's support of apartheid. He preached on the big theme of South Africa, which is reconciliation. In the sermon, he mentioned a South Afrikaners song that has become popular with the right wingers. The song is called "De La Ray." At that point, the two other white men in the congregation stood up and left. After church, one of the white men explained that he was tired of being put down because of his Afrikaner heritage. In our opinion, the use of "Del La Ray" is just like "Dixie" in the South-USA has been taken over by white forces with which we would not like to be associated. The Afrikaans hate losing their song and flag and we in the South hate losing our song and heritage to the racist factions.
We had a long lunch (4 hours) at the Cape Courtland Restaurant at Hout Bay. It was in an old Dutch building with a beautiful courtyard, where we ate outdoors. It was a "braai," where food is cooked over coals under a large hut-like structure. We would probably call it a "barbecue." There were 4 courses-shrimp and mussels and bread, grilled swordfish, tuna, sardines and salad, lamb, chicken, sausage, butternut squash with raisins, maize cooked like grits and called pap, and dessert, which was a sugar infused donut stick with vanilla pudding dip. We also had a bottle of red SA wine from a nearby winery called Spiers. We enjoyed talking with two Canadian couples during our long lunch. In the evening we went to a modern dance called "Slaves" at the amphitheatre at the Spiers winery near Stellenbosch. The dance was very expressive and physical and the African music was enthralling. Of course, Doug prefers classical dance (ballet) and music, but this program was not like anything we would see in NY or the USA.
3/1 thru 3/2
We visited Robben Island today where Nelson Mandela spent 22 years in prision for political protests against apartheid or as a terrorist depending on the viewpoint. We took a ferry to the island from the Capetown waterfront. The tour to the island is very moving and informative. We saw the inside of Mandela's prison cell and the limestone pits where he was forced to work each day. The tour guide at the prison was a former inmate and told us about life in the prison from his first-hand experience serving time with Nelson Mandela. There is beautiful vegetation on the island and also South African penguins and many other exotic birds. We had lunch at Den Anker (The Anchor) at the V&A waterfront in Capetown after the Robeen Island tour. It is a Belgium restaurant and we had the best pot of steamed mussels and a fish stew soup served the "French way." A bit pricey-R281 ($40)-but very good and worth it. A parking attendant called Doug "Santa Claus" today. Doug wanted to think it might have been because the attendant liked his tip, but it might have been because Doug is big and fat like Santa Claus! Most South Africans are not as hefty as us Americans! We went to a carnival in Maynardville, a suburb of Capetown. It was so much fun and we sampled food from several countries-apple strudel from Bulgaria, potato pancakes from Poland, pizza from Italy, mutton curry from India, rutengausch from Sweden, and sauteed mushrooms from South Africa.
In Capetown, several communities and beaches dot the mountainside, all with fantastic views of Table Mountain, a big mountain that dominates the landscape. The coastal road, Victoria Road to Hout Bay, offers one of the most spectacular ocean drives in the world. Today, we drove up to the cable car that takes you to the top of Table Mountain. But, we did not think we would enjoy the extremely steep and high ride so we bought a postcard of the cable car instead! We drove along the coast to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Park with it's spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean come together near Capetown. This is the southern most point in South Africa. We saw baboons alongside the road and in the foliage nearby. We stopped for lunch at Bertha's in Simonstown. We enjoyed Cape Malay curried seafood with rice-so delicious-R208 ($32) for lunch. The prices in the Capetown area are about 20-25% higher than what we've experienced thus far. But, the beauty of this area is worth the price!
We went to an outdoor concert in a small amphitheatre in Stellenbosch, which is wine country about 30 km from Capetown. We saw a popular South Afrikaan singer named Nianell. She sang rock, country, jazz, and classics. She was kind of "new age" and offered "self help thoughts" between songs. The audience was clearly South Afrikaners and she switched back and forth between Afrikaans (Dutch) and English as she spoke to the audience and sang her songs. We had a hamburger before the concert at a neat little diner in Stellenbosch called the Blue Owl.
In Capetown, several communities and beaches dot the mountainside, all with fantastic views of Table Mountain, a big mountain that dominates the landscape. The coastal road, Victoria Road to Hout Bay, offers one of the most spectacular ocean drives in the world. Today, we drove up to the cable car that takes you to the top of Table Mountain. But, we did not think we would enjoy the extremely steep and high ride so we bought a postcard of the cable car instead! We drove along the coast to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Park with it's spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean come together near Capetown. This is the southern most point in South Africa. We saw baboons alongside the road and in the foliage nearby. We stopped for lunch at Bertha's in Simonstown. We enjoyed Cape Malay curried seafood with rice-so delicious-R208 ($32) for lunch. The prices in the Capetown area are about 20-25% higher than what we've experienced thus far. But, the beauty of this area is worth the price!
We went to an outdoor concert in a small amphitheatre in Stellenbosch, which is wine country about 30 km from Capetown. We saw a popular South Afrikaan singer named Nianell. She sang rock, country, jazz, and classics. She was kind of "new age" and offered "self help thoughts" between songs. The audience was clearly South Afrikaners and she switched back and forth between Afrikaans (Dutch) and English as she spoke to the audience and sang her songs. We had a hamburger before the concert at a neat little diner in Stellenbosch called the Blue Owl.
2/28 thru 3/1
On Wednesday 2/28, we drove to Capetown, via the coast route. It is very beautiful with big mountains with steep, rocky sides coming down to the ocean-somewhat like the PCH1 highway in northern California at Big Sur. Found a nice 3-bedroom flat at Sea Point in Capetown-up a very steep street. Many of the streets in Capetown are steeper than those in San Francisco! Doug did such a good job driving on the left side of the road, shifting gears (our car was not automatic) and trying not stall the car on those steep streets. Our apartment in Capetown cost R700 per night ($100) and we rented it for 5 nights. Capetown does not have any cheap lodging, but we thought we got a good deal for the place. We went swimming at a beautiful swim complex located right on the ocean-3 pools, a freshwater, seawater and dive pool. Had lunch at NY Bagels-R120. We went to see the play "Truth in Translation" at the Baxter Theatre, a wonderful theatre complex that houses movies, theatre and music. The play was about the hearings held in London the mid-90's to give people a chance to confess and be forgiven for killing so many blacks and whites during the struggle to end apartheid. We have been fortunate to see three good plays while in South Africa that have given us an historical understanding of the country, primarily from the viewpoint of the blacks and coloureds (mixed race/Asian) people. We had dinner at "Barrister" after the play. It was recommended in our "Eat Out" magazine and was very good. Meal cost R280 and service was just okay. The average tip in SA for a waitron (name for waiters/waitresses) is 10%, however we have been giving 15% when satisfied and 10-12% when not as satisfied.
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