Our "overland" trip with Nomad Tours or Which Way Adventures (depending on how your look for them) begins on Wednesday the 1st and continues for 20 days before leaving us in Victoria Falls. We then plan to either rent a car or assess the public transit options back to Cape Town.
Tour Itinerary
A map and different details
Even more details on OverlandAfrica.com
Yesterday, we took a guided trip around the Western Cape with the Baz Bus people. It was really fun and relaxing to be spoon-fed some of the amazing sites for a day. It was also pretty great to get out of the city. We visited the native African Penguins, rode bikes down through the national park toward the tip of the point, hiked along the SW edge of this continent from Cape Point to the (official) Cape of Good Hope, and enjoyed a picnic lunch.
We have been staying at youth hostels and private rooms, walking, carrying our own snacks if not cooking (proud to say we did cook the last three nights), sharing meals, and avoiding apparently high-priced tourist traps.
While yesterday was a visit into the mid-level tourist scene here in South Africa, today we are seeing how the other half lives. Monica found a delicious wine estate for us to stay at in Paarl (about 100 kilometers from Cape Town). WELL, WE ARE HERE. IT IS DIVINE AND THE INTERNET IS FREE. I don't even know why I would say that except that I left my husband lounging at the pool to make my report.
Living scruffy but taking a break for posh means that we ate breakfast at our hostel before boarding the commuter rail line to Paarl. I packed us PB&J sandwiches and we will sneakily eat them at the pool to save room for our most deluxe dinner. Our rooms are not ready yet (we aimed to be here around 10:30 am to enjoy maximum grandeness) but we are welcome to lounge by the pool and enjoy other services. We're taking lots of pictures and enjoying the views of mountains, distant mist, vinyards, etc. The buildings here are all original cape dutch style with either restored or brand new (to look old) thatched rooves.