Introduction
In my last five posts, T2330 – Falls/Safari Overland Tour – part 1, T2330 – Falls/Safari Overland Tour – part 2, T2330 – Falls/Safari Overland Tour – part 3, T2330 – Falls/Safari Overland Tour – part 4, and T2330 – Falls/Safari Overland Tour – part 5, I covered the epic and wonderful 6 night/7 day Overland Tour that we took to Johannesburg, Victoria Falls and the Chobe National Park.
After a full day travelling, including two flights, we arrived back in Cape Town late in the evening. We re-joined our ship at the end of what was the first of her four days in port.
This post will cover our remaining three days in Cape Town, and how/why we missed the remaining ports in Africa.
Cape Town – day 2
When we had arrived back at the ship the previous night, we were both very tired and jaded. At that time we were disappointed to make out that we were not in the berth by the terminal building that we had used before, instead we looked to be in a commercial area that had a distinct smell of fish in the air.
When we pulled back the curtains the following morning all was forgiven – we had a lovely view looking cross to Table Mountain, which we didn’t have from our former berth. Initially the mountain itself, and nearby Signal Hill were still a bit misty, but the buildings nearer our ship were already in bright sunshine, but it wasn’t long before the mountain was in the sunshine too.
Despite being so tired the night before, our alarm clock was set very early, as we were booked on an early ship’s tour that morning. We were booked on a tour where we would be accompanied by someone famous off the television!
I know, and I am flattered, that my blog is read by people from all around the world. Those of you who live in the UK will almost certainly know of Michaela Strachan, the wildlife presenter. Although she actually lives in Cape Town, she returns to the UK to co-present a series of popular wildlife shows in the UK known collectively as the Watches – Springwatch, Autumnwatch and Winterwatch, which follows wildlife in the UK during the various seasons.
While our ship was in Cape Town, Fred. Olsen had arranged for Michaela to accompany a shore tour each day. The tour guide states that Michaela has personally selected a variety of shore tours to show you the very best of her beloved hometown herself.
The tour on the second day – the one we were booked on – was an eight hour tour called Cape of Good Hope with The Fynbos Guy. The tour description said we would take the very scenic route along Chapman’s Peak Drive to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve. Here we would take the funicular railway to the tip of Cape Point to admire the views. Next we would travel through the reserve with The Fynbos Guy, an expert guide, in search of wildlife such as the rare bontebok, eland, and Cape Mountain zebra. After lunch at a local restaurant we would have more scenic driving on our way back to Cape Town and our ship.
We had pretty much done the same route on a ship’s tour when we were in Cape Town before, on the 2019 Grand Voyage – you can read about that visit in my post D19GV – Cape Town 2 – Penguins – so we knew just how lovely it was, and we were delighted to be able to do it again in what we thought was the company of two wildlife experts.
As it turned out, Dominic Chadbon, aka The Fynbos Guy, stood at the front of the coach and was the main guide throughout the tour, while Michaela sat amongst us and added comments and information from time to time.
As we drove out of Cape Town, through the suburbs of Green Point and Sea Point, both Michaela and Dominic talked about life in Cape Town, and specifically the shortages of both water and electricity there. We did not realise that electricity power cuts, euphemistically called power shedding, were a daily way of life there, and our guides told us how disruptive it was to family life when the cuts came during the early evening for example.
Before long we passed the village of Hout Bay, and then the toll gate marking the start of Chapman’s Peak Drive. This dramatic and very scenic drive hugs the near-vertical western flank of Chapman’s Mountain, which falls sharply for hundreds of metres into the Atlantic Ocean. In places the road is cut right into the side of the mountain, and at times has to be closed in adverse weather.
We soon stopped at a viewpoint, which gave stunning views back across the bay towards Hout Bay.
At the end of the drive there was a dramatic view of the vast white sand expanse of Noordhoek Bay. We were told that despite the lovely sands it was dangerous to swim there due to the currents, but that horses train there running along the beach.
As our tour progressed towards the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve it became more and more obvious why Dominic was known as The Fynbos Guy – that was his total obsession – well maybe that and also fire. Fynbos is the name given to the natural shrub and heath vegetation found in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. It has a very high biodiversity, and features around half the species in South Africa, although it only covers around 6% of the land area.
Much of the land area is currently covered by Eucalyptus trees, and invasive plant introduced by man from Australia. Eucalyptus trees grow fast, and consume huge quantities of water – significantly contributing to the shortages of water in South Africa.
Dominic was very much in favour of clearing the Eucalyptus trees by burning, which would then allow the return of his beloved fynbos. I can understand this sentiment, as I know how difficult it is to clear Eucalytus trees, but it would need to be done carefully and in a controlled manner.
However Dominic had a rather unique presentation manner – how much that came from his personality, and how much from frustration over the years at not seeing any change – but he came across as fanatical and zealous about burning – for example cheering loudly and saying how wonderful it was when we passed a section of ground that had been burnt to nothing.
When we entered the Nature Reserve we saw a sign stating that the funicular railway was closed that day, so we just drove to the car park at Cape Point, and stayed there for a few minutes to enjoy the views from there.
In contrast to Dominic’s aloof and abrasive manner, Michaela could not have been more delightful. We got to chat to her at Cape Point, and we both noticed that she made a point of spending time with everyone on the tour, even moving from table to table at lunch. It was so good to find that she was just the same lovely person in real life as she comes across as on television.
We then drove on to the Cape of Good Hope for another photo-stop. Dominic offered to take people to investigate what life was under the seaweed, but I am not sure how many takers he had for that. Having been there before, and photographed the famous sign, we were content to look at and photograph the seals and seabirds, and also the waves breaking over the rocks.
We then drove back out of the Nature Reserve, and continued around the coast to Millers Point. Passing some baboons on the roadside, we stopped at the Black Marlin Restaurant for our lunch, which was very good.
Leaving the restaurant we continued our drive around the coast, and before long reached Simon’s Town. The road passes close to Boulders Beach, renowned for the colony of African penguins that live there – we had seen them on our previous visit to Cape Town. Michaela knows a lot about the penguins, in fact she was to give a talk all about them, and the rescue centre she volunteers at, that evening on the ship. As we were the best part of an hour ahead of schedule due to the funicular railway being closed, she asked us if we would like to go and see the penguins. Unfortunately Dominic overruled her (he clearly wasn’t interested – penguins are not fynbos!), and just told the driver to continue on to Cape Town. It was such a shame, it would have been wonderful to see the penguins again, especially with an expert guide – and only reduced further our opinion of Dominic.
Talking of which, he totally lost the passengers on the way back when news came in that there were fires on Table Mountain itself. The cable car had been closed, and people were stranded at the top of the mountain. He had previously told us that a fire was long overdue on the mountain, and that it would be very dangerous as it would spread so quickly, and quite probably down into the outskirts of the city. Instead of being concerned, he started cheering loudly, and also said that he hoped the tourist hotels would burn too. I don’t know how much this was said and done for effect, or as what he thought was a joke, but it went down like a lead balloon with the passengers on the tour.
Our route back took us past Kalk Bay, and as we drove along Boyes Drive we had lovely views down to Muizenberg and False Bay.
As we reached Cape Town, all but one of us were relieved to see that the fires on Table Mountain seemed quite small.
We seemed to take a very long-winded way back to our ship, and despite that we got back a good three quarters of an hour early, still disappointed and frustrated about the penguins. Having said that, the stunning scenery, and spending time with lovely Michaela far outweighed missing the penguins and problems with our other guide, and should it ever be repeated we would still very much recommend it.
Back on the ship, we watched helicopters dropping water on the Table Mountain fires, and we were so pleased to read later that everything was under control and they were just damping down.
We attended the talk given by Michaela about her work with the penguins that evening, which was fascinating. We were so impressed how she was ready and willing to get stuck into all aspects of the penguin care, however difficult or dirty.
Cape Town – day 3
On the third morning that the ship was in Cape Town, we were booked on another ship’s tour – a four hour tour called Chapman’s Peak & Scenic Drive.
We booked both this tour, and the previous day’s tour when the tours were first released months ago, and neither of us could quite remember why we booked too such similar tours, as this second tour repeated quite a bit of the same route.
However as it turned out, this second tour stopped in places that we just drove past the day before, so it did give us a different experience after all.
Before setting off along the Atlantic coast, this time our coach drove around the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, our planned destination on our last day in port.
We then followed the same route along the coast past Green Point and Sea Point, but when we reached Maidens Cove we stopped for what was a rather overlong photo-stop, as there really wasn’t that much to see there.
We then continued along the coast to the village of Hout Bay, and once again instead of passing on by, we stopped so we could see this quaint fishing village. There were seals there, stalls to look around, and also a lovely beach to admire. It was a lovely stop, and we were glad we had the chance to look around and see it up close.
We then drove on to the famous Chapman’s Peak Drive, stopping at the same viewpoint as the previous day. Incidentily if you do a tour that includes the Chapman’s Peak Drive, try if you can to sit on the right hand side of the coach as you face the front, the views are much better from that side.
At the end of the Drive, instead of continuing along the coast to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, on this shorter tour we turned back towards Cape Town, driving along Boyes Drive with its lovely views down to Muizenberg and False Bay. This time we stopped for a while beside the road, and I was able to take much better photographs of the panoramic view below.
The tour concluded with a much more direct route back to our ship than the day before.
This was a much slower paced and shorter tour than the one we had done the previous day, and we would both recommend it – especially for the less mobile as you would only need to get off the coach just once at Hout Bay.
Our original plans were that we would use the Hop On, Hop Off bus to go up Table Mountain that afternoon. However we both felt very tired and drained after being constantly on the go for the week of the Overland Tour and then for a day and a half in Cape Town. The weather was also clouding up, so we both agreed it would be prudent to rest up on the ship for the remainder of the day, and postpone Table Mountain until the next day.
Cape Town – day 4
When we received the Daily Times for the ship’s fourth and final day in Cape Town, our plans to both go up Table Mountain and visit the Victoria and Albert Waterfront were scuppered.
As it was our last day in South Africa, everyone – passengers and crew – had to attend a face-to-face clearance meeting with immigration officals. When we first arrived in South Africa, at Richards Bay, these meetings were held on board ship in the Neptune Lounge. However this time, despite the best efforts of the ship,the immigration officials insisted the interviews would be held in the Cruise Terminal, which was a 15 minute coach ride away.
Although the ship was not due to sail until 9pm, this lengthy process would be held between 3pm and 5pm, meaning we would only effectively have a half day more in port, rather than a full day, as we would not be allowed to leave the ship after we had the interview.
We really felt for the crew too, the lengthy procedure took a lot of them away from their invaluable rest time, and others should have been busy preparing for a Deck Party with a Grand Buffet and BBQ being held that evening.
Looking from our balcony we could see the clouds come and go from the top of Table Mountain, which made the decision easy just to go to the Waterfront – especially as there was shopping that we wanted to do there also.
We took the shuttlebus to the Waterfront, which we found had grown in size since our last visit in 2019. While most of our time and attention was on the shopping, I did take a few snaps, and we did enjoy a drink in a cafe.
We had been standing in line for some time waiting for a shuttle-bus to take us back to the ship for a late lunch, when finally one arrived – but with a puncture! We then had a longer wait until another bus arrived, but at least we were entertained watching the wheel being changed on the first one.
As we set sail that evening, watching the lights of the city, we were both quite sad – Cape Town is a place we both love – and we doubt it is a place we will return to.
Missed Ports
Although I have called this section missed ports, as for various reasons we did not go ashore in any of the next five African ports, it could also have been called Mist Ports, as mist – or should that be smog – was a constant feature.
We had been to the two Namibian ports, Luderitz and Walvis Bay before, on our 2019 Grand Voyage – and you can read about those visit in my post D19GV – Compare and Contrast. We were both still absolutely shattered after the combination of the Overland Tour and Cape Town, plus I had literally hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of photographs to process and lots of blog posts to write, so we cancelled our tour and elected to stay on board in both ports.
Then came the news that our call to Cotonou in Benin was cancelled due to safety concerns. Our calls into Togo, Ghana, and Senegal were all brought forward one day, and an extra day added in Tenerife.
The safety concerns in Benin prompted us to read the UK Foreign Office Travel Advice website for Togo, Ghana, and Senegal, and we were not happy with what we read about each of them. Also Senegal is very much in the news with disturbances following the cancelled elections there.
In Lome, Togo, we had not booked a tour anyway, as we had no interest in VooDoo ceremonies or Fetish Markets. We stayed on the ship, but were impressed to see the local performers on the quayside, especially watching the men on the very tall stilts dance and balance just on one leg. Incidently we were told that the crew were not allowed off in Togo as it was deemed unsafe for them to do so, we can’t help wonder why it was safe for passengers but not for crew??
In Takorado, Ghana, we had also not booked a tour – nothing had interested us. We were originally told that we would not need to pay for a visa for Ghana if we elected to stay on the ship, but the authorities changed their mind, and we had to pay regardless. As we sailed in, rather than shadowing our progress as usual, a tugboat entertained us by performing pirouettes and playing music to us. When we docked we could see a lovely looking market down on the quayside, so we did leave the ship for the first time in around 8 days – albeit just to explore the market on the quayside. Regular readers will probably not be surprised that we added to our collection of African souvenirs!
We are due to arrive in Dakar, Senegal in a couple of days time. We remain surprised and concerned that as I write this post, this visit is still due to go ahead. This afternoon we will be cancelling our tour there, and once again we will remain on the ship – we just do not think the risks are worth it.
When the cruise ininerary was first released, we were so impressed with the number of ports that the ship would be visiting that were new to us – some of which to be honest we had never even heard of. However, I now think the series of ports in Benin, Togo, Ghana and Senegal were just a step too far – they simply are not safe for tourists to visit at this time. Also from photos we have seen posted on social media of those who have been brave enough to go ashore, there seems so little to see anyway. I can’t help feeling that a better route would have been to have travelled from island to island sailing north in the Atlanic Ocean – St Helena, Ascension, Cape Verde – in a similar manner to what we did sailing south in the Indian Ocean.
Postscript
One of the big differences between ‘normal’ cruises, and the World and Grand Voyage ‘long’ cruises is the much greater number of sea days. At times, when crossing the world’s big oceans, there can be quite a run of sea days in a row.
When we did our long cruises pre-covid, the Cruise Director (now called an Entertainment Manager) and his or her team would recognise this, and lay on a whole afternoon of special entertainment from time to time. As well as the Crossing the Line ceremonies when crossing the Equator, this might be also be a crew Tug of War Competition, a crew Swimming Competition, a crew Sponsored Run, or competitions that passengers completed in like Build a Boat or Survive an Egg Drop. Towards the end of the cruise there would also be a very extensive Street Fayre, and passengers would be asked to put their odd bits of leftover foreign currency in a line down one of the staircases, which in conjunction with the Sponsored Run would raise thousands of pounds for charity.
Sadly, since Covid, the newly appointed Entertainment Managers and their deputies appear to us to treat these events as a nuisance to be got over with as quickly as possible, just so that they can tick the box that it has been done.
I wrote about one instance of this earlier in the cruise which was the Build a Boat competition. In years past, notice and information was given out about the competition weeks in advance – and teams (both passenger and crew) would be busy scavenging recyclables from around the ship to make into the most detailed and lovely model ships, each capable of carrying several cans of drink. Then on the day, we had a full afternoon of entertainment, with the models first displayed, then tested to see if they floated in the swimming pool when laden with the cans, and then their sea-worthiness checked by one of the entertainment team jumping in the pool close to the model. It was all good fun, and we were always so impressed at the detailing in the ships made. On this cruise, passengers were only given a couple of days notice, and with no blame to them in the circumstances, only very basic ships were made. Then the event itself was tucked away in an odd half-hour at lunchtime.
The latest instance was on the sea day before we arrived in Togo. We actually crossed the Equator that morning, so we would have expected to have a full Crossing the Line ceremony, lasting a couple of hours, that afternoon. Instead we had a mash up of the Street Fayre and Swimming Relay put together, and as an aside, a fish was made available should anyone want to kiss that to mark crossing the line. The Entertainment Manager was heard to say that as most of the passengers had seen the Crossing the Line ceremony earlier in the cruise he did not need to run it again – this was so disrespectful to the 130 or so passengers who had boarded the ship in Cape Town, and who therefore could not have seen the earlier one.
I went up to view the Charity Fayre when it started, and I was shocked at just how few stalls there were – usually the stalls fill all the area around the swimming pool, this time there were just a few in one corner, and so many of the popular old favourites, like the human fruit machine, which always raise a lot on money, were absent.
Still, they did manage to tick off three boxes in one go, and without having to put on too much effort.
I am sorry to have such a rant, but it is something I feel strongly about. Passengers are missing out on the entertainment that helps make long cruising so special, but most of all charities are missing out on the money that could and should have been raised in the process.
An Englishman Onboard 