CURRENTS

Good morning from Cape Town, South Africa. We arrived right on time this morning, ready to disembark at 10am. Being at the back of the ship does have its advantages, although being woken up by the stern thrusters firing up just outside the port was perhaps not the luxury wake-up call we had imagined. Still, it gave us the perfect opportunity to watch our arrival with the stunning backdrop of Table Mountain sitting proudly behind the city, complete with a light layer of cloud draped over the top.

As we were heading up Table Mountain later in the afternoon, we were hoping those clouds would kindly clear off by 1:30pm.

First things first, breakfast in the room while we tried to decide what to wear. I was convinced shorts and a T-shirt would be perfectly adequate. Lorna, leaning slightly more towards survival instincts, suggested a light sweater and leggings. In the end she compromised with shorts, a T-shirt and a loose sweater to carry just in case. The real test would be stepping off the ship and seeing what the temperature was actually like.

We got off at around 10am and made the pleasant ten-minute walk to the Waterfront area. It was easy, well signposted and felt very safe. We had a really good wander around before finding the shopping mall which, to be honest, was excellent. Built into the old dock buildings, it managed to feel both modern and full of character, packed with all the big brands and pretty much anything you could possibly need.

After a bit of shopping, we walked back to the ship, dropped off our latest purchases and got changed ready for our Cape Town and Table Mountain tour.

We were meeting Rick and Diane again today, although somehow we still managed to be the last people at the meeting point despite arriving slightly early. Quite an achievement really. Eventually we boarded the bus and set off on another adventure.

The first part of the tour took us around the city while our guide explained the history of Cape Town. The city is incredibly cosmopolitan, very clean and surprisingly modern. We stopped for a few photo opportunities before beginning the climb up towards Table Mountain. Thankfully the earlier cloud cover, known locally as the “Table Cloth”, had completely disappeared and conditions were looking absolutely perfect.

Our guide Winston had all the tickets ready and got us straight into the cable car station without any fuss. He mentioned queues can sometimes last for hours, but we walked straight through. There were around 30 of us in the group and each cable car holds 66 passengers, so we all squeezed in alongside plenty of other tourists. The clever part is that the floor inside rotates as you travel, so wherever you stand you still get a full 360-degree view on the way up.

We were expecting a big temperature drop at the top, but it was glorious. We were incredibly lucky with the weather as visibility stretched for miles in every direction.

We had an hour up there, which gave us enough time to take an excessive number of photos and somehow also squeeze in a power beer at the café before meeting back up with the group.

After taking the cable car back down, we boarded the bus again for the final part of the tour, a coastal drive. The scenery was fantastic and the bars and restaurants lining the coast looked incredibly trendy and swish. We definitely had thoughts about coming back later. After one final photo stop by the beach, we headed back to the ship.

All in all, it was a really great tour with great company.

We still weren’t sure what to do later and mentioned to Rick and Diane that we might head back to the Waterfront. They decided they had done enough walking for one day and headed to The Terrace instead, while Lorna and I freshened up and made the walk back to the Waterfront in search of somewhere for dinner.

As we wandered around, a Chinese restaurant caught our eye and, more importantly, our ears. I suddenly heard my name being shouted from inside. It was Lane and Jackie, freshly back from their overland excursion. They invited us to join them, so we sat down and had a lovely catch-up over dinner.

When we asked for the bill, only one arrived. Lane immediately offered to pay. We politely declined, but he insisted, so a huge thank you to Lane and Jackie for a fantastic meal and great company. We definitely owe you one.

After dinner we took a slow walk back to the ship, getting onboard at around 10pm. We didn’t really fancy doing much else apart from briefly popping into the performers’ show in the Vista Lounge, although that didn’t last very long.

On the way out we bumped into Evan and his wife in casual clothes as sadly they were leaving the ship tomorrow. We thanked him for all the great company throughout the cruise and wished them a safe journey home before heading back to our room for an early night.

We’re staying overnight here in Cape Town, so at the moment we have absolutely no idea what tomorrow holds. Stay tuned to find out.