Late amendment to Blog 7, due to passenger ‘mutiny’ further discussions took place with South African Port Authorities; Crown Princess will now berth at the Passenger Cruise Terminal and the Cargo Ship at the Cargo Terminal! Sanity prevailed.

Still the Authorities wanted to process EVERY passenger and crew member. So the huge logistical exercise was to process everyone according to their requirements. People disembarking and those on Princess tours would be first off, followed by Independent tours for passengers who identified their meeting times to Guest Services, followed by passengers doing their own thing, and lastly crew. Passengers on Princess Tours pay a premium, and in return get priority disembarkation, and a guarantee that they will get back to ship; whether it waits for you, or whether they relocate you to next port. Recent promotion of Independent tours; some companies will also now offer the same guarantee, not that the ship will wait, but they will also get you to the next port: this could be a very expensive exercise, if it involves covering international flights, hotel bookings and food! At least this provides some confidence in finding a cheaper tour. This was the case with people who booked in this group; Princess offered day tours to Aquila Lodge, but for less money, we received an ‘Overnight’ package as we had an overnight stop in Cape Town.

The intended Safari Tour had 70 passengers booked on it, and the organiser had let the Hotel Manager know our pick up arrangements. He couldn’t guarantee what time we would get off, but said he would ‘try’. He asked us to all meet in a specified location – Michaelangelo Dining Room, so if he found a ‘gap’, we could move off as a group.

We thought we were all ‘set’; but mother nature threw us a curveball… This is winter in Cape Town, and fog is a common feature. I woke up at my usual time of 6:15am to the sounds of the ship’s fog horn – a quick look out of the cabin window and I literally couldn’t see beyond the Balcony. I went down to Deck 5 and at my usual breakfast spot, I looked it the window; the fog was still there, and the sea was ‘oily’ with the ship not moving. The Captain announced that the Port of Cape Town was closed due to low visibility. We would miss our intended berthing time of 7am, and we were to hold position until further advised. The passengers on Princess tours were advised to meet an hour later than written on their tour ticket. We were told to meet as originally planned, and to be prepared to be there for a while, and also to be prepared to move at ‘short notice’.

The fog was lifting by 8:30, and the Pilot navigated us into the dock just after 9am. We waited in Michaelangelos patiently; the Hotel Manager lived up to his word, and saw a gap. We disembarked from Crown Princess alongside passengers on Princess excursions. Inside the Terminal, there were about 500 people in a labyrinthine queue that snaked around; but at least it moved continuously and by 10:45 we were Outside and on the bus!

The timetable for today, was supposed to include the cable car up Table Mountain before driving to the lodge to arrive there in time for lunch. The late start to the excursion meant that we would drive straight to Aquila; 2.5 hours northeast of Cape Town along the N1 road. The road was in better nick than Australian roads, and the ride progressed without incident through tunnels and passes through the mountain ranges surrounding Cape Town, passing through the towns of Paarl and Worcester. We slowed for one set of roadworks; they had had torrential rainfall and flooding the preceding week, and that caused some damage to a junction, with the side road being washed away along with a section of railway line.

We arrived at Aquila Lodge just about 1:30pm; lunch was just about to finish, so it was suggested that we do lunch first, then sort our bags and room keys afterwards. With time constraints, they were ‘light’ on security, passing around with a plastic bag to put our passports in. Will we ever see them again? Lunch was a great; a buffet fit for a King. After lunch we got our room keys and bag, and had time to visit our rooms, freshen up, explore and finally, to meet for our first Game Drive at 4pm. There was a mixture of accommodations to suit differing budgets; I was happy in the most basic room within the main lodge building. More luxurious facilities were to be found in the form of cottages and detached villas, with outdoor terraces and outdoor showers from which to glean your own private uninterrupted ‘wildlife movie’. As I was on my way to the game drive, there was a Giraffe going for a walk for all to see. Just to whet your appetite for what was to come soon.

Our guide/driver was called Tina - a heavily shortened name, avoiding several syllables and tongue ‘clicks’. The resort offers an ‘extra cost’ spa facility for guests, but Tina’s guests were to receive a free ‘African back massage’/Chiropractic experience, courtesy of the old 4x4 vehicle and dirt/sandy tracks through the Bush! In no particular order, we spent the next 2.5 hours stopping to view the stars of the show; Ostrich, Hippopotami, Rhinoceroses, Giraffes, Elk, Buffalo, Elephants, Zebras, Springbok and Lions!

With the sun setting, we returned to the Lodge and got ready for another great buffet Dinner, to share stories of the viewings from perspectives of the different busses/drivers. The sky was still largely cloudy, but there were a few stars present; this was not enough to entice me to the included Stargazing show, so I settled into my room for the night before an early start in the morning.

Following great breakfast options, we all went on an early morning Safari at 8am. It was chilly so we were all offered blankets to keep our legs warm. I dressed in layers and had my beanie on. Before we went on safari, saw the elephants walk near where our lodge rooms were! During this second, slightly shorter game drive, we saw hippos out of the water; they were indeed huge animals and we got an even greater appreciation of their size. There were rhinos amongst the zebras; the zebras are the rhinos eyes, and the rhinos are the zebras ears and strength! We then caught up with the elephants - they decided they were not getting off the road to let the pesky bus with humans past. At one point, one elephant had picked up a large pole (aka ‘toothpick’) and carried it resting on its tusks under the trunk. The last elephant stayed sideways on the road - our driver tried to go past but the elephant stuck out a rear leg so no going past it!! After 20 minutes of Elephant Traffic Jam, our driver was forced to reverse out of the path, and progress via another track.

We then went into the cats enclosure, where we saw 2 females having a drink of water, and the male was guarding food, in the form of 2 carcasses. One female was after a snack, but received a negative response from the male, so she backed off!

Last we had a close up of Cape Buffaloes- amazing horns! We had to be careful here as these animals can attack without warning. Thankfully all they wanted to do was eat and scratch their throats on the rough rocks! The only animal to avoid us were the leopards; they are nocturnal and very camouflaged, so sightings are really not common.

So with that our Safari was over; all that remained was to try and leave promptly at 10am, to give us enough time to get back to Cape Town, to try and go up Table Mountain. It was quite foggy as we headed southwest along the N1, but it was continuing to lift to reveal the sun. Of all the mountains, the only one not to clear, was Table Mountain, which sat with its ‘Table Cloth’ of white/pale grey cloud flowing over the top at some speed, and cascading down the sides. The driver did keep checking whether the Cable Car was operating, but alas, it was closed…. We were to return directly to the Cruise Terminal instead.

The repeat Departure Immigration check was quick, and we were back on board by 1pm. Once we had done this check, we had effectively exited South Africa, so couldn’t go ashore again. That was fine by me, as there wouldn’t have been time to explore anywhere else as we had to be back on board by 3:30pm, 2 hours prior to departure – a local law.In Cape Town 250 passengers got off to go home, or continue their holiday in another way; 450 passengers embarked, meaning that the ship is effectively full now, on route to Dover on the leg. Also there were several crew changes, with 100 getting off and a 100 getting on, so some new faces all around. For some reason we now have a Sommelier on board; during Dinner, she went around tables introducing herself – Rose from Kenya; she is a delight, although I don’t think I will be requiring her services on the cruise. That said, she ‘doubles’ as a barista, when I went for my coffee this morning! I taught her my ‘go to’ coffee order, so we will see how she goes with it in ensuing days… In case you are interested, my order is Salted Caramel Latte to go, skinny milk, extra shot and extra hot!