Blog Detail
- Cape Town to Cairo
- Tour of Cape Town to Cairo - luxury African tour
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Day 1 - depart the UK - After a very hectic day spent in the office trying to tidy up loose ends, I dashed off to Heathrow terminal 4 to check in and to meet my fellow travellers, 2 of whom had travelled with me on a previous tour of the Silk Route. Check in went smoothly and I finally caught up with my passengers at the gate and on the aircraft. Everyone seemed fine so it was at last time to sit back and relax whilst BA looked after us on our overnight flight.
Day 2 - Arrive Cape Town - We landed on time, and were speedily transferred to the terminal building to go through customs. The officials here were rather puzzled at the lack of a departure flight out of South Africa but were happy once we showed them our itinerary including the Rovos Rail and private aircraft out of SA. We were met and transferred to our hotel, the Cape Grace which is a fabulous hotel right on the waterfront and next to shops, restaurants and bars. With rooms pre-booked for an early check in, arrival was seamless and everyone soon disappeared to relax after the flight. The highlight of the day was our surprise photo opportunity before dinner, I can't give too much away as it will spoil it for future trips but everyone was 'purring with delight' at the end of the night! Oh yes, and South Africa 36 - England 0, let's just say I was keeping quiet the next day!
Day 3 - Cape Town - Yellow shirts donned and fleeces in hand, nevertheless we were relieved to see that the morning was a bright and sunny spring day, and in spite of the nip in the air, we were lucky enough to be able to get to Table Mountain before the clouds came in. Weather in Cape Town can be unpredictable and the mountain frequently has a cloud 'tablecloth' over it meaning often visitors are unable to get to the top. From here it was straight off for a visit to the Blaauklippen Wine Estate for some wine tasting and lunch before popping in to Stellenbosch and then heading home. Dinner tonight was at the fabulous Buitenverwachting Wine Estate which had some wonderful food, but by the end of the evening many were ready to head home for a good nights sleep.
Day 4 - A few minutes walk from the hotel took us to the departure point for the ferry to Robben Island, thank goodness for ginger as the crossing was a little rocky! Once we arrived we had the most amazing guide who took us around the island showing the key sites and giving us a great insight in to South Africa's turbulent history. This is a visit that everyone should do and quite a humbling experience. The afternoon saw a visit to see the penguins at Simonstown and a group photo opportunity at Cape Point. Everyone was free to dine wherever they wanted tonight as it was a 'Dine Around Evening' and the tour escort team joined some of the single travellers of the group for a great meal at a waterfront restaurant.
Day 5 - Rovos Rail - How exciting - travelling in style on board a train like this was such a highlight and an opportunity for gluttony and absolute enjoyment! We started with morning tea at the station with a briefing from Rohan Vos himself before boarding the train and finding our cabins. My cabin number was 1713 Boven which is a deluxe suite with twin beds with private facilities, after a brief orientation chat by my hostess Mary-Ann I quickly realised that being vertically challenged was going to make life interesting if I ever wanted to put lights on in the cabin. Not wanting to let anything deter the experience, I went for a wander and found most of our group already orientated in the bar and observation car at the back of the train! After travelling for most of the day, we arrived early evening at Matjiesfontein where it was time for a bit of a wander, or a trip to the pub for some! before heading back to the train and dinner.
Day 6 - The next morning came a little too soon for many, sleeping on a moving train is not the smoothest of experiences but all part of the adventure and no-one was going to be put off by something like too little sleep when there was a train this luxurious to enjoy! After a sumptuous brunch there was time for the passengers to relax before our arrival at Kimberley and a tour at the diamond mines. Unfortunately the tracks further up the line were being worked on which meant the visit was a little shorter than usual but some credit cards still managed to get some damage! Upon leaving Kimberley there is a lake about 10mins after which is the home to over 23,000 flamingos (I have to take this as gospel here as we didn't count them but you get the general idea that there were a lot!) which was an amazing sight.
Day 7 - Victoria Falls - Our final morning on the train passed all too quickly and soon we were less than an hour away and stopping to change from a diesel to a steam engine for the final part of our journey. This was a great excuse for all to jump off the train and have a go at sitting in the engine and pulling the string to blow the whistle! Lots of fun for all and all credit must go to many of our group who were game enough to clamber up to join in, for the train buffs of the group this was a real highlight and some couldn't stop grinning afterwards! After arriving at Pretoria we were transferred by road to Lanseria airport to join our private Fokker F28 aircraft which will be taking us all the way through to Nairobi. We arrived at Livingstone and those that had prebooked a helicopter flight were taken to enjoy their 15minute flight over the Falls whilst everyone else went to our hotel, the Royal Livingstone and checked in. Dinner that night was on the lawns of the hotel, by candlelight with zebras and giraffes around us - quite incredible!
Day 8 - Chobe - The morning tour took us on a walking tour in to the national park that is Victoria Falls. Unfortunately the Falls weren't as impressive as they are in the rainy season but even so, there was still a heck of a lot of water going over the edge and going a long way down. Crossing over the bridge to get to the island for the views was definitely worth the views though! Then it was time for me to shoot off for a last opportunity to see the Falls from the air by helicopter before heading back to the hotel for lunch and flying the short 30mins to Chobe. Having personally travelled by road between Chobe and Vic Falls before, I was very glad that we were travelling by air on this portion, the road is not to be recommended and the queues to cross the river border crossing can be horrendous! Tonight we are staying at the Mowana Safari Lodge just 10 minutes away from the airport and Chobe National Park (that should make the game drive tomorrow morning a little easier at least!). Our sunset game viewing cruise was our first real chance to see wild animals and a wonderful scene unfolded as a herd of bachelor elephants crossed the river in front of our boat and then were confounded by a crocodile on the banks guarding her eggs!
Day 9 - The next morning was the first of a few very early morning wake up calls but to ensure good game viewing the saying the 'early bird catches the worm' is only too accurate! After coffee and pastries we all set off at 5.30am for our first visit to Chobe today. Within 15mins we were all awed by the sight of a pride of eight lions devouring their freshly caught breakfast and without doubt I definitely got way too trigger happy with my camera! Thank goodness for digital cameras as shortly after we found another smaller pride enjoying breakfast too! Back to the lodge for breakfast and then it was time for the 2nd game drive of the day. There were 3 game drives today and each one had its own highlight, not least was the one where the leopard got away before anyone had time to get the photographic proof!
Day 10 - Zanzibar - today was a pretty full day of travelling as our flight went via Lilongwe for a short refuelling stop before continuing on to Zanzibar. Upon arrival the mosquitoes descended on me, next time I will remember that insect repellent is needed as soon as I arrive and not once I have time to unpack! Once we had organised the check in to the hotel and made sure that everyone was happy we found our rooms, unpacked and found the rest of our group already chilling out at the pool and watching the sunset whilst the dhows went by - nice!
Day 11 - A morning walking tour around Stone Town gave everyone a true African experience whilst sightseeing and taking in various markets (sights and smells!). The afternoon tour was out to a local Spice Farm for an opportunity to see just why Zanzibar is known as the Spice Island. This evening's dinner was a fabulous BBQ by the pool, looking out to the sea and enjoying some incredible food and wine in a great location. The seafood was plentiful and beautifully cooked and many people went for seconds and thirds, a big thank you to the chefs tonight for a memorable evening!
Day 12 - Masai Mara - Jeff and I were given joint responsibility of the bags this morning so after a quick (early) breakfast it was down to reception to check off bags and make sure our numbers were right before departing to the airport. Once we were sure that everything was done it was off to the airport to do a group baggage check in before everyone else arrived at the airport for the flight. Everything went smoothly and when the rest of the group arrived it was straight through security and on to the plane. Africa bureaucracy set in unfortunately and we were ordered back off the plane to get each passport stamped, we knew it was all going too well! Once the officials were happy once more it was back on the plane and we set off for Nairobi. En route we saw Kilimanjaro peeping through the clouds as we flew across Tanzania and in to Kenya. From Nairobi we said goodbye to our air crew and joined our next private aircraft, Dash 7, for our short flight to the airstrip at Keekorok in the Masai Mara. Time to check everyone in and get the luggage on its way to the rooms before going out on our afternoon game drive. Torches were provided in the room for getting to and from the lodge as the game park has no fences and there is nothing to stop the hippos from coming and having a party on the lawns in front of our rooms (3am in fact was party time for hippos!).
Day 13 - 6.30am and we are off ready and raring to see more animals! Some passengers had booked a hot air balloon ride and were lucky enough to see cheetahs making a kill whilst they were in the air. Breakfast was very welcome once we returned back to the lodge; it must be the fresh air that makes me so hungry - makes a change from the London pollution! Time for a visit to a Masai village before lunch and then another evening game drive which saw some of the drivers told off by the rangers for going off road to see the aforementioned cheetahs sleeping after their meal! Due to the delay whilst some intense negotiations were made between the drivers and rangers it meant a quick dash back, change and down to the Sundowners Elephant Deck to meet guests as they came down for a pre dinner drink and Masai Dancers performance before dinner. Bags out before bed so that we could get ready for the luggage transfer run to Lake Nakuru!
Day 14 - 5am wake up call, I'm getting really good at falling out of bed, into my yellow shirt and being ready to go in less then 15mins! Time for a quick coffee and then my 4 drivers arrived to load up the minivans for our road trip to Lake Nakuru. We were aiming to leave at 6am but were ready early so got underway as soon as we could, the journey was going to be up to 7 hours and apparently the road had deteriorated badly recently and it was going to be BUMPY! By 7.30am we had arrived in Narok and stopped for breakfast in a local cafe, I drew some stares as I walked in as I was probably the only blond in town. Once we were all fed and watered it was time to carry on and experience some of the worst roads I have ever seen! We took a short cut around Lake Elmentaita which even my experienced driver baulked at but he was equal to the challenge and we even beat the other drivers to the lodge. On arrival it was check everyone's rooms were ok and get the bags on their way to the rooms before going back to the airport to meet the passengers who were taking the flight to Nakuru. A game drive followed by sundowners at Baboon Cliff where we were joined by the other group who had driven over later that morning.
Day 15 - Our final early morning game drive and my real highlight which was seeing a leopard chilling out on a branch next to the track. Finally I have photographic proof and my family will believe that I have really seen a leopard! Back to the lodge for lunch before our flight to Nairobi and scheduled flight via Dar es Salaam to Cairo. We said farewell to our two passengers who were not continuing on to Cairo. It was a long day for everyone who travelled to Cairo today and we only arrived at the hotel at 11pm. Our ground handlers smoothed the way for our arrival which helped but everyone was very glad to get to their rooms. Time for the escort team to have a quick meeting in preparation for the next day's touring before falling in to bed ourselves!
Day 16 - Chance for everyone to relax and have sleep in after the late night last night. Breakfast was available until we left on our morning tour to the Pyramids and Sphinx. One thing that I hadn't expected which sounds a little odd is just how close the Pyramids really are to the city, it was very bizarre driving through the suburbs and getting glimpses of them between buildings! There were two birthdays today within the group so we all sang happy birthday as the birthday cakes were brought out and met later for wine and cake on the banks of the Nile at the hotel. Our Farewell Dinner cruise was tonight as the group was splitting to go to Luxor or take the Nile Cruise Extension. The entertainment started slowly but once the horse and whirling dervish came on stage everyone started to join in and a raucous time was had by all!
Day 17 - My group is taking the early flight to Luxor for an overnight stay so at 4.15am we left for the airport; chance for a few extra zzz's before landing and going to the Valley of the Kings to see three of the tombs here. Luckily I was extra organised and when the lights went out underground I had my torch and mobile phone handy - I never did get to be a girl guide, just think what I could have done if I had! From here it was on to Queen Hatshepsut's Funerary Temple and then back to the hotel for lunch via the Colossi of Memnon and a chance for souvenirs at an alabaster factory. The rest of the afternoon was at leisure so everyone had time to catch up on missed sleep, enjoy the pool, go shopping or relax as they wished. Dinner this evening was buffet style before going by horse-drawn carriage to the Sound & Light show at Karnak Temple.
Day 18 - We arrived at the Temple of Luxor early to avoid the crowds and there were only 2 people around other than our group, bliss compared to much later that morning. It is incredible to think that people were walking on the same stones as we were stood on 3,800 years ago...that blew me away and being English I'm used to our history but we just can't compete. We carried on to the Temple of Karnak that we were at last night and our guide got us in to the excavation site that was off limits to tourists so that we could see them working on discovering new parts of the temple that had not even been documented about yet. Our guide was incredible; she was a doctor of Egyptology and had so much information to tell that we were all left wanting to know more. Unfortunately time was against us so it was back to the hotel for lunch, via a Papyrus factory for the shoppers before heading off to the airport and our flight back to Cairo. Time to relax for the rest of the afternoon.
Day 19 - I can't believe this is our last full day of the tour and that it has all come to an end so quickly. This morning we went to the Egyptian Museum and spent two hours here - to be honest it is like the Hermitage in St Petersburg and you could spend days in there without ever seeing it all. Afterwards we drove out to the Citadel of Mohamed Ali to visit the Mosque which is the most incredible building. An in depth and very frank discussion was had given by our guide about Islam, Ramadan and the difference between our cultures. Personally I found this very interesting and because Ramadan was on at the time we were there, it was particularly relevant. After lunch the afternoon was free and the Tour Doctor and I decided to venture out on our own to go shopping. Crossing 8 lanes of traffic became a bit of a doddle after a couple of go's and we found a great shop thanks to a friendly university lecturer who decided to take pity on us and help! Our last meal was meant to be a dine around but the whole group got on so well we all decided to eat together after the Sound & Light Show to make the most of our last night.
Day 20 - An early start to go to the airport for our flight to London on BA. Yes I was tired but I had great memories of a wonderful trip, my leopard photo and hopefully some new friends from our trip from the bottom of Africa all the way to the top. No time to stop as once back on UK soil it was home to drop off my bags and then back to the office to catch up on emails and to tale a few stories from the trip.
