Big Blue Backpackers Cape Town

Well, it's day 6 and we made our way to Cape Town. Jamie drove us from the Sani Lodge to the Durban airport where caught a flight to Cape Town. We arrived mid-afternoon and spent the remainder of the day at the VA Waterfront. We are staying at Big Blue Backpackers in Green Point, which is within walking distance of the Waterfront. The Waterfront is a very touristy place; built up with restaurants and shops and plenty of tourists even in the off season. We ran a few errands and explored the ar...

Today was probably one of the most amazing days of the trip, although it didn't start out that way. It was a Sunday so Cape Town was pretty quiet. The weather wasn't very nice - off and on rain - so we spent the morning walking around to see a bit of the City. We went by City Hall and then to the Castle. We toured the castle, which was pretty interesting, but mostly closed off - again because it was Sunday. The military museum was open so we spent some time there. I learned about the settleme...

Day 13 and my last day:(. I fly to Johannesburg this afternoon and then back to NYC. Yesterday we went to Franschoek to check it out. It was another nasty, rainy day but we got out of the car and explored the little town a bit. It was another cute town - reminded me again of the Hamptons. The drive was nice as we passed wineries it seemed every few hundred feet. There were a lot of people around. It was Friday and clearly a payday as people lined up outside the town's bank. After a little whi...

Hello Everyone, We are finally here in Capetown. It has only taken us 6 weeks to get from Johannesburg to Capetown. It can be driven in less than 2 days if you take the direct route between the two, lol! We did a lot of detours along the way. Just when you think you have seen the most spectacular views and scenery possible, this country pulls out another punch! We have only listed one thing so far on our trip as a must do in your lifetime, the Serengeti. Capetown and the surrounding area will...

Arrive in Cape Town at 09.35hrs local time. You need to source transport into town and find somewhere to stay. Catch one of the many shuttle bus from Cape Town Airport to Cape Town city centre. There are many accommodation options in Cape Town. The most suitable would be one of the many backpacker hostels. Note that it is worth shopping around as there is quite a bit of variation in price between the most popular backpacker hostels and the less advertised ones. There are plenty of things to d...

You should climb Table Mountain, a great way to acclimatise and get some amazing views of Cape Town.

What a day! After another early start and cereal for breakfast, we got on an open back taxi to the base station of Table Mountain. From here we walked to the top. It was very hard work especially after another later night! Our mascot, Ralph came with us this time. After speeding my way to the top, we had lots of photos of the landscape which was spectacular then we had dinner. We looked...

Visit the British Consulate to drop off your Embassy Pack. You also need to prepare for your acclimatisation trek and buy supplies. Make sure everyone in the team has their Intercape ticket number, if you don't, contact the in-country agent Duncan.

After a funny evening with a late night we were tired as we had to get up early this morning! We were all starving but we had to go out and buy breakfast first! After a light breakfast we needed to buy provisions for the next few days, take ...

Every two weeks a special TB doctor, Dr. Ann Cooper, visits the clinic to see patients that have more complicated cases of TB. Goodwood is one of six clinics she contracts her time out to, though her actual full-time job is reviewing grant proposals for sick, disabled children. Today Dr. Cooper was at Goodwood and I was lucky enough to sit in with her as she saw and counselled patients. The first pateint we saw was enough to make me almost want to walk out because it was so heart-breaking. It...

Arriving in sunny South Africa feels like getting into heaven. The sky is bright blue as in Tibet, but the weather is gorgeously warm without being too hot. I really enjoyed travelling through China, especially Tibet and Nepal, but by the time I reached the Annapurnas I was so over the cold. It's one thing when I have all my gear, but on my travel light philosophy, the cold was starting to wear down even this intrepid traveller. Considering that just last week I had to wear every stitch of cl...

Since I won another day trip down the Cape peninsula, this entry is really just to enter the photos. Make sure to check out the videos too, they're pretty cute...But I've gotta say going here 3 times was fantastic. I never tired of this route, and due to weather and the animals that showed up each time was different. The biking was fantastic, and whether I saw baboons, zebras, penguins, rock dassies or ostrich the views were fantastic and the van full of fun folks. I hated to leave Africa, bu...