CAPE TOWN AND THE GARDEN ROUTE

We flew from Johannesburg to Cape Town ,one of the worlds most scenic cities, built on the slopes of Table Mountain. We drove down to Cape Point where the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans meet.

When we got out of the car, Alice was putting her sweater on because it was windy and a baboon sneaked into the car looking for food. Alice almost died of fright. The monkeys and baboons in this area are a huge problem.

We visited Kirstenbosch Gardens and walked up through the gardens to the backside of Table Mountain. The scenery was unbeliveable.

We then drove up the Garden Route to Port Elizabeth. The scenery was spectacular. We spent time in a small town called George where the restaurants were fantastic. We saw a little bar called the Baton Rouge Jazz & Blues club. We had to go in and investigate. The bartender did not even know where Baton Rouge was.

On the way back to Cape Town we stayed in the small town of Somerset West. We visited two wine farms -Lourdensburg and Vergeleging in Stellenbosch. Vergelegen is steeped in history dating back to the 1700's. We saw Camphor trees that were planted in 1706 and the trunk diameter was at least 10 feet. There is also the oldest oak tree in Africa at this winery.

We did a little wine tasting and it was fantastic. Unfortunately, no space in the luggage to bring any home but we did buy some chocolate.

We spent our final four days in Cape Town in Camps Bay and we were treated to the most beatuiful veiw of the sea and rocks from every window in our little apartment.

We are now back in Johannesburg in a nice fancy hotel and the best thing about it is that it is free. I was able to use some points for this stay.

We start out journey home on the 21st July. We fly to Dubai then Istanbul where we will have two nights before flyng Turkish Airways to Chicago then on to New Orleans late on July 24th.