The Homestead Guesthouse Cape Town

... hamlets with beautiful beaches and the beautiful people being seen. The bus took us to the newish waterfront area with touristy shops and cafes and past the big FIFA Cup soccer stadium being built. We got off the bus and walked past Bishop desmond Tutu church and back to the shops where we bought our dinner of roast chicken and salads to prepare in the lodge kitchen and our muesli brekky for the next few days. The wind howled all night and the doors and windows rattled.

... Rudolf Badenhorst, dressed like an Afrikaner heading out on safari with a khaki outfit and Aussie-like hat. I liked him right away. He seemed personable, experienced, and reliable, and I was sure that he would relieve a lot of pressure and work that otherwise would be on my shoulders.

We drove into the city past the townships with their decrepit shacks of tin roofs and dirt roads, and I marveled at the huge disparities of Cape Town. It ...

... coupled with Portland. I can't express how amazing it was. To see the entire city and then the end of the continent and the vast expanse of sea past that, it was amazing. The mountain itself is an amazing ecosystem as it attracts wat** that evaporates up the from the ocean and sustains many species of plants and animals. Lat** that nite I met up with one of the med students who was rotating thru the clinic in Swaziland and we went out on the town. This was great. It ...

... last day in Cape Town Sarah and I went hiking up Lions Head Mountain, it is right next to Table Mountain. Not as tall as Tabel Mountain but a good steep hike. Even had to climb up some chains. Beautiful views of all of CT from the top. After we got down, we drove to another beach area. Passed by Hout Bay ( I remembered getting lost there with myparents) and went to Kalk Bay where we had an amazing lunch at Olympia Bakery (another of Alexi's recommendations ...

... on head painting, wooden animal carving and bead necklaces. Everything we had seen on our journey through Africa available all under one roof, an African R Us. The next morning started calm and cloudless, so we packed a big bottle of water, a steak pie and a banana and set off to climb table mountain. The walk up is about two hours and well worth the effort, to see the view behind slowly expand into a giant panoramic ...

... freebies thrown my way, whether I wanted it or not! I caved and had to buy a heavy jar of gherkin "butter" and I can't wait for my first burger laced with this stuff! I then spotted GINORMOUS muffins....Where was Joana anyway?! Then I stumbled upon a coffee stall where the lady looked like a pretty version of Sarah Jessica Parker and the name printed on the side of the coffee boxes rang a distinct bell from a tip Stephen had given me the night before right after I ...

... at once. After we've bought the supplies we'll let you know what has been bought and where it's going to. Both of the clinics also have NGO status so I think that makes donations tax-deductible so if you prefer you are also very welcome to go to their websites and donate directly to them. So, we may be out of reach for a few months, but do keep those emails coming - we promise we will get around to replying to everyone! We will ...

... really where the proper travelling begins. The overlanding tour has been brilliant but at times we felt like we were cheating a bit as all arrangements and destinations are chosen for you so you don't have to think for yourself all that much. On arrival on the saturday we made plans with some of the people we had befriended to hire a couple of cars for monday to make our way to the wine areas and then along the coast to Hermanus and Cape Ahghulas, which is the southern most ...

... Africa list, I have a hard time believing any will be able to top Pondoland. Our home base here was Port St. John's and I think Mary's parents found the backpackers online in case anyone is interested. The name of the place we stayed was called Jungle Monkey. It is here that we just chose a rural road to turn down, parked the car and asked some locals if we would be bothering anyone if we walked around. We were assured that we would be welcome ...

... he shuffled up to the front to sing, but I swear every last person applauded and cheered when he took the microphone and started to sing "Here's a little song I wrote", the opening words to Bob Marley's "Be Happy". But even better, after this first line, he burst into his high-pitched laugh of delight. He was just as tickled as we were that he was up there singing for us. Matt pointed out the fact that Desmond Tutu, the man who ...