South Africa 2006 Part One: Cape Town and Hermanus

We flew to Cape Town from Heathrow with South African Airways direct on 19 August 2006. We found the service very good and the crew were friendly and helpful. We had reserved a car at Cape Town with Europcar who are one of the main companies in South Africa. We had booked into the Radisson SAS Hotel a the Waterfront in Cape Town for one night before moving onto Hermanus. The Radisson is a Five Star Luxury Hotel and the rooms were huge and the sun was shining so it was a good start.

We went for lunch at Panini at the Waterfront who serve delicious food, and then relaxed around the Hotel. That evening we went to the City Grill for a meal (which is one of our favourites). It is a steakhouse selling everything from Springbok to Karoo and Calamari and it very reasonable priced. The next day we drove to Hermanus on the scenic route via Bettys Bay and Stony Point. Stony Point has a Penguin Colony which we visited and we saw some whales and a dassie at Bettys Bay. When we arrived at Hermanus, it was quite cold and windy.

We had booked a lovely apartment with a sea view and under floor heating (which came in handy as it was cold!!!). Hermanus is a lovely seaside town that has a whale crier who blows a horn every time whales are spotted in the area. We did not see any whales in Hermanus, it gets so busy that even whales are spotted it is hard to get near the sea because it is so busy. The next day we drove along the coast and the first stop was Stamford where there are lots of nice old buildings.

We then went to De Kelders which is 25 minutes drive from Hermanus and is much quieter than Hermanus and is situated in Walker Bay. We saw lots of Southern Right Whales here and they were close to the shore. It is said this is a preferred area for the whales as it has sheltered bays. De Kelders is also known for its seafood and being a fishing village. We briefly stopped at Gansbaii next which is famous for white shark cage diving. You can also spot Southern Right Whales from here.

After Gansbaii we drove to Bredasdorp to the Kapula Candle Factory. You will have seen Kapula Candles at some point in South Africa before in shops as they are sold everywhere. The candles are hand painted and in various colours and styles. The factory also has pottery and crockery for sale. We spent far too much money and when we left, we were wondering how we were going to get everything home in one piece. We decided to go to Cape Agulhas which is the most Southern Tip of Africa and where the Atlantic and Indian Ocean meet.

On the way to Agulhas, we stopped at Arniston, which is a lovely seaside town home to the warmer Indian Ocean (famous for its wine). The beaches are lovely and you can go fishing, whale watching and visit the De Hoop Nature reserve. It was a bit cold and windy, so we did not hang around. Although Arniston is on my list of places to return to when it is not winter!!!! We arrived at Cape Agulhas at around 1600, and although the sun was shining, it was a little cold. There is not a lot to commemorate it other than a plaque and a candy striped lighthouse.

The Lighthouse is a monument with a museum and a tea room. Cape Agulhas is also known as 'Cape of storms' because of the treacherous coastline and many shipwrecks that have taken place over the years. It is said that when you stand on the shore towards the sea, the Indian is to your left and the Atlantic is to the right. We watched the sunset which was beautiful before heading back towards Hermanus. The drive back to Hermanus was scary as it got dark we must have taken a wrong turning and when we got to Napier, the tarmac ended and we were on a dirt track for miles with no light, other vehicles or shops. There were so many potholes we were terrified of the car breaking down. We did make it back in one piece eventually and treated ourselves to some comfort food at Spur and then home for a hot shower.

We arrived back in Cape Town on 27th August after a very long drive from Knysna. What should have taken about four hours ended up taking over six due to to bad weather. There is only one main road between Cape Town and Knysna which is the N2. As there had been heavy rain the road was closed because of a landslide and we had to take the narrow back roads up and down hills. We had booked a two bedroom apartment at Green Point 5 minutes away from the Waterfront. The Devonshire Apartment is owned by a lovely man called Leon. The apartment is on the seventh floor with spectacular views over Cape Town and has secure parking and reception.

That evening, we just fancied a light tea so went to the Paulaner Brewery at the waterfront where they do Bockwursts t0 die for. It's also one of hubby's favourite places to get a beer, so he was happy. The next day we visited the Two Oceans Aquarium at the Waterfront which has lots of exhibits and feeding and you can even go diving!!! In the afternoon, we went for a walk down Long Street which is one of the oldest streets in Cape Town and has lots of Victorian Buildings, shops, cafes and restaurants and on to Green Market Square Which is the City's best known flea market.

In the evening we went to the Waterfront and shopped at the Red Shed Craft Workshop which is open until about 9pm. It sells arts and crafts from all over Africa. There are lots of other shops and restaurants at the waterfront also. We had booked a Cultural Tour while we were in Cape Town which includes some of the Townships, District Six Area and Museum and Bo Kaap.

The next morning we set off for Cape Point going via Simons Town and Boulders Beach. Simonstown is a Navy Town with lots of nice shops and restaurant, it is a few minutes drive from the Penguin Colony at Boulders Beach. We have been to Boulders before and it is a great place to visit. It was sunny but very windy and there were not as many penguins as on previous visits, so we did not know if they were nesting. We then drove onto the Cape Of Good Hope and Cape Point. We decided to get the funicular half way up then walked up the steps to lighthouse where you can take in the spectacular views.

On our way back from Cape Point, we saw a family of baboons and an ostrich. We stopped off at Hout Bay and Constantia on the drive back to Cape Town. Constantia is a well known wine valley area where the very wealthy live. That evening we went to Camps Bay which is a ten minute drive from Cape Town. Camps Bay is the place to see and be seen. It is full of trendy bars, cafes and restaurants and has a lovely beach and designer shops. It is always busy there with people posing on the beach and spending daddy's money!! There are all the usual water sports available and also wellness spas.

We wanted to experience Chapmans Peak Drive which is a drive between Noordhoek and Hout Bay and is said to be one of the most spectacular drives in the world, but the road was closed due to bad weather, so we were a bit upset. We went up Table Mountain the next day as it was the first warm clear day we had, although it was cold up there. We are not fit enough to walk (especially after eating out for a week!!) so took the easy way up by Cable Car. In the late afternoon/evening we went to Sea Point to watch the sun set and then on to our favourite City Grill restaurant at the Water front at Cape Town. Tomorrow was our last day and we had booked a walking Tour of the Bo Kaap District which we had never visited before. The Bo Kaap is known as the Cape Malay area and is a suburb of Cape Town with lots of brightly coloured houses and the residents were mostly descendants of slaves imported by the Dutch in the 17th Century.

We had a guide called Shereen who was very helpful and knowledgeable, she took us around the streets and to the museum and into her home where we were given drinks and cakes. In the afternoon we went to the beach at Bloubergstrand which is twenty minutes drive from Cape Town. This is the best place to get the perfect picture postcard view of Table Mountain (but its a secret so don't tell anyone!!!!!) The beach is amazing and was not crowded although the sea was flipping freezing!!!! For our last night we decided to visit the Grand West Casino just twenty minutes drive from Cape Town. The sign at the Casino entrance made me smile 'All firearms must be be left at reception'.

The food was not great to be honest as the waiter brought the main meal before we had even finished our starters and then the steak that I ordered to be well done was pink, and apart from that (oh and losing at Roulette!!) it was a good night. The Grand Casino is on a complex that has shops, restaurants and family entertainment. The next day, we were flying home in the evening, so had our breakfast at the waterfront and spent the day there watching street entertainers before leaving for the airport.

The Devonshire apartment we stayed at in Greenpoint is in a great spot, you can walk to Sea Point and the Waterfront and there is lots of shops close to the apartment such as Woolworths Food (the same as M&S food in the UK). There is also electric gates on the car park at the apartment. We had a fabulous time, although I would not travel at this time of year again as it is their winter. The weather was not great and we normally travel in November when it their summer. The winter is regarded as the best time of year for whale watching and is a cheaper time to travel than in summer.

Coming Soon..... Knysna

Santa Susana (Costa Brava) 2007

We flew to Santa Susana for the weekend in November to see if it was suitable for a possible summer holiday in 2008. We flew with Ryanair from Blackpool to Gerona and had booked Resorthoppa to take us from the airport to the resort. We have used Resorthoppa a few times for transfers and they have always been very good. It cost about £17 return and took about 45 minutes to get to the resort from Gerona.

We booked into the Aqua Onabrava Hotel which I highly recommend. The Hotel is on the main promenade, and has an indoor and outdoor pool, gym and spa. All rooms have a balcony and air conditioning and the Hotel has entertainment. We had booked on a bed and breakfast basis for three nights. There is also a snack bar in the Hotel selling Burgers, Hot Dogs and Pizzas etc.

The weather was quite warm. You could walk around in a T shirt, but it was not quite sunbathing weather or warm enough to use the Outdoor pool...

Santa Susana is not a huge resort and there is a train line across the road from the Hotel with regular services to Lloret de Mar, Barcelona and the resorts in between. The beach is a five minute walk under the train tracks. There was not a lot open when we went in November, but we just wanted to see what it what like. There are a few shops and restaurants in the resort and in the season (which is from Easter until October) there are stalls along the promenade at night selling arts and crafts.

The resort next to Santa Susana is Malgrat de Mar, and is about ten to 15 minute walk away. This is a larger busier resort than Santa Susana and has a few more shops and restaurants. We also noticed that there are quite a few camp sites in the area. As most of the shops and restaurants were closed in Malgrat and Santa Susana, we decided to get the train to Calella which is an even busier resort two stops away and has lots of shops and restaurants open all year round. The train took about ten minutes and cost EUR2.90 return. The tourist shops and restaurants in Calella were closed but 5 minutes walk from the promenade is the main shopping area with lots of narrow streets each filled with shops, bars and restaurants.

The area was quite busy and there is every kind of shop selling clothes and shoes to cheap tourist tat, but it was nice to wander round and see different shops. We also found a nice restaurants to eat in. We had a walk along the promenade and there were a few bars open on the beach. The trains run quite late back to Santa Susana so we had a few drinks in Calella before returning to our hotel. On the Sunday we had a walk along the beach from Santa Susana to Malgrat then found a cafe selling delicious ice cream on our return.

The food in the Onabrava was very good with lots of choice. I would definitely recommend Santa Susana, even though not much was open (we knew this would be the case but wanted to see what it was like!) we got an idea of what kind of resort it is. It is a quieter resort than its neighbours and I would say suited more to families and couples, but then you can have the best of both worlds as Malgrat is within walking distance and Calella ten minutes away. You can also get the train to Barcelona if you fancy a day away from the beach.

Calella (Costa Maresme) 2008

We flew with Ryanair from Blackpool to Gerona and booked ResortHoppa to our Hotel. Ryanair are really rubbish and the customer service skills are severly lacking, but they are convenient for flying from Blackpool and that is the only reason we use them. I would rather pay more for an alternative carrier if I could as long as it was from my local airport, but they seem to have the monopoly at Blackpool. The baggage allowance is 15k (and the cost for booking a bag has just gone up - to pay for the penny flights I guess!!!!!) which is fine but Gerona is not really a commuter route and most people are going on holiday have more than 15k (you are also not allowed to combine baggage!!!! As we were only going for a week, we tried to travel light but we were 9k over (between 3 of us!!!!), but the check in person took pity and only charged us for 2 kilos - well done her.


Th excess baggage fee has also just gone up to £12 or EUR15 per kilo, so it would have cost us a fortune had we had to pay the correct fee. The cabin crew also are not very friendly and we could not understand a word they said (I asked other people on the flight and they couldn't understand them either!!!), so God help us if they were announcing anything of any importance!!!!!. We had used Resorthoppa before and found them to be very good, it cost us £17 per person return to Santa Susanna which is about a 45 minute drive away, and you can book online. We had another mix up when we arrived at our Hotel, as we thought we had booked into the Maritim at Santa Susanna, when we got there we were told we had actually booked into the Martim at Calella two resorts along!!! (bloody travel agents!!!!!!).....





We jumped in a taxi to Calella disappointed and wondering how the mistake was made, but we had nothing from the Hotel except an email saying we had booked a sea view room (it had no address on it!!!), we got to the Hotel and decided to make the most of it. The Maritim we had booked into was nice enough and part of GHT Hotels. We had booked a Double Sea View room and was actually allocated a twin sea view room (which hubby was not happy about - we have twin beds to come later when we are about 70 and booking Shearings Coach Holidays!!!!!) They did change us to a double eventually, the room was clean and had a nice size balcony. My poor sister had a single room at the back with a Juliet Balcony (you could stand on it but would not have been able to shut the door!!!) which is fine except they do advertise every room as a balcony!!!! Apparently there is only 1 x single room per floor and they are in the same position!!!!!



We had booked half board, so went for tea after we had checked in, which was OK but typical Spanish Package Holiday food (i.e unidentifiable meat and fish - if it needs a label should you eat it?) We had a wander around the resort after tea and found we were in the centre of everything so that was good as there were loads of shops, bars and restaurants all within a few minutes walk of our Hotel, there was also the Train tracks across the road which has a regular service to Barcelona, Santa Susanna and other resorts along the coast. I must be getting old as the first night was the worst night's sleep ever. It was about 0430 in the morning when we got to sleep as there was a German Bar next to our Hotel and Germany had just beaten Poland in their first game of Euro 2008 (you would think they had won the Cup they were that noisy!!!!) To be fair it wasn't really their fault as I am sure any other fans would have been just as noisy, it was down to rubbish double glazing in our room. There was no difference when the doors were open or shut!!!!(We were also only given one pillow each!!!!)





On our first full day, we decided to spend the day at the beach as it was lovely and warm plus the Hotel was just across the road. We hired sun loungers and a parasol at EUR4 per item which I thought was quite reasonable. My sister has a learning disability and is also very fair and burns in the sun in the UK so we had to make sure she was covered up well. The beach was nice and never got too crowded, although it was stony and hurt your feet a little when walking on it. There are lots of beach bars and stalls selling light refreshments and drinks. There are peddle boats that you can hire as well. My hubby went for a swim but did not stay in the sea long as he said it was freezing!!!!!!



We stayed on the beach until about 2.30 ish and decided to go for a Siesta to catch up on some sleep!!!! We decided to go to Santa Susanna that evening to see what we were missing!!! We got the train which took about 10 minutes and cost EUR2.60 return. Santa Susanna is much quieter resort than Calella, we had been to a really nice restaurant on our last visit in November and were hoping to have a meal there. Unfortunately for us there was a sign on the door saying closed for personal reasons, so we had to find another place to eat. There are lots of restaurants around, but like in Calella the food on offer it what they think British tourist's want - pizzas, hot dogs, English breakfasts etc... We did eventually pick a restaurant, but in true MaccyD's style the food looked nothing like the pictures on the menu - why have pictures of the food then?





We decided to watch the Holland v Italy game in a pub, as there were hundreds of Dutch supporters all dressed up and we thought it would be a good atmosphere. I was surprised as even 20 minutes after kick off there were dutch fans walking the streets (that would never happen for an England game!!!!!) There are lots of stalls on the promenade selling arts and crafts, but everything seemed to shut down about 2300. The streets became deserted and the only entertainment seemed to be in the Hotels. We also missed the last train back, so had to get a cab which cost us EUR20. This was when we decided we were glad to be in Calella where at least there was still things going on (although as least we would get a quiet night sleep here!!!!) We went back to Santa Susanna by train on Tuesday for the weekly market and the heavens opened. The main road is closed off for the market which was interesting!!!!! It is full of stalls selling copy perfumes, wannabe Louis Vuitton and Gucci bags and cheap copy football shirts and clothes. The only stalls we liked were the fruit and veg selling huge spring onions (you don't get them that big in Asda!!!!!), apples and every other fruit and veg you can imagine. We bought some apples, grapes and cherries.








We spent a couple of days sitting by the pool which was good as it never seemed to get too busy, this may have been because there was a roof terrace on the 7th floor which was a sun trap, but as there was no shade or parasols, we decided not to risk getting burnt. We went to Marineland which is two parks in one, being a small mini version of Seaworld but also had a water Park with slides etc. There is a free bus from various resorts to the park and it costs EUR22 entrance fee (worth every penny and a great day out!!!!) Marineland is in Palafolls nr Malgrat and takes about forty minutes from Calella (depneding on how many pick ups there are). There is a Dolphin and Seal Show and a Parrot and Exotic Bird show. You can also see Dolphins, Seals, Pink Flamingoes and other exotic birds. There is also a Dolphin Encounter which is an extra EUR50 and involves getting your picture taken with a Dolphin and educational facts. The Water Park has lots of slides for adults and kids and is quite big. The only drawback is the food is very expensive EUR6.90 for a Hotdog which is a rip off (and not very nice - how do you make a mess of a hot dog anyway?), but this is the case with all parks unfortunately. I would definitely recommend this as as great day out and it is worth the entrance fee.





There is the main Water Park at Lloret De Mar which we did not get to. We visited Malgrat de Mar one day and then walked to Santa Susanna and got the train back to Calella. There is enough to do and Calella is a good base (although quite noisy), you can get the train to Barcelona and Lloret de Mar and the other resorts along the coast, and it is very reasonable. I know I am getting old when I want a quiet nights sleep (about ten years ago the first thing I would do is find the nearest night club!!!!!) I did enjoy this holiday, and without sounding like a snob (cause I am not!!!!), it is not really my idea of a holiday (bucket and spade holidays are not my thing!!!), the restaurants are full of english food and english pubs. The Hotel would not lend us an iron as they send ironing and laundry out for a fee - so we bought a cheap one and considered setting up a rival service in reception!! This holiday was ideal for my sister and that was the reason we booked it but it was a break and 15 years ago it probably would have been my ideal holiday!!!!!