This is our guide Sam. That’s his jeep we rode around in all day.
Just so you know, this post details our third day on Queen, but we barely got on before dinner on day one, so I am counting yesterday as Day 1 and today as Day 2.
Day two is all about Chobe National Park in Botswana, where we would spend the day in the back of a jeep (on decent seats) being bounced all over the place while seeing some amazing animals, then stopping for a nice picnic lunch before heading back to the Zambezi Queen for dinner.
Our day started like any other day leaving the Queen to go someplace. Even though we could see the park in Botswana from the Zambezi Queen, we had to go up river, get out of the boats, walk up the half mile to the border crossing, check out of Namibia, then get back in the boats, head back down river, pass the Queen to the Botswana border crossing where we waited in line again to check in to Botswana. From there, we were picked up by our guides. Kathleen had decided to stay aboard today, so I was on my own with just my camera. And five of us got really lucky and got Sam as our driver. That’s him in the photo—a truly great guy.
He picked us up at the border crossing, and we headed about three miles down the highway to the entrance to Chobe National Park. We stopped to use the facilities (which were easily the most disgusting of the trip—go before you leave the Queen or there is a fairly clean restroom behind the border station coming into Botswana. Just ask for directions.) and then it was on into the park.
Chobe is renowned for having the highest concentration of elephants in Africa, and we quickly discovered this when we found ourselves in the middle of a herd, with one of the elephants coming right up to our jeep. That got a bit scary, but he backed off and went around us. I think that was as close as I got to a wild animal on the entire trip (so far). Maybe six feet away. He did not have a happy look on his face. But I think you should judge for yourself. So here’s the first batch of pictures (all the way up to lunch) from the park. Enjoy. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping. And PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
This is the big guy who came right up to our jeep.
I did not zoom my camera.
He just kept coming.
And then another one started coming towards us.
She didn’t look very happy either.
But she finally moved on.
We sat in the middle of that herd for quite a few minutes,..
Where I got lots of great closeups.
Of all parts of an elephant.
And then this guy showed up. YIKES!
These banded mongooses (yes, I checked and that is the plural of mongoose).
Did you know that hippos have pink skin? And the gray is a sunburn—Yikes!
Giraffes
Lots of them.
Bunches
And friendly.
This guy was released after years working as the Toys R Us mascot.
Chobe chickens
Baboons
Salad bar for the impalas
And now we have LIONS!
We came around the corner and there was an entire pride under a tree. No male that we could see.
And more elephants.
Since we were on land this time, we got to see the other side of the elephant.
A black faced impala
According to Google, this is a lilac crested roller
This one as well.
This is a southern, red-billed hornbill. You might remember him from his role as Zazu in The Lion King.
Another lilac-breasted roller
Punba! The only warthogs we saw all day. Akuna Matata!
Cape Buffalo skeleton
Out in the bush. This pic just says Africa to me.
Lunchtime
AmaWaterways has been great with arrangements on this entire trip. The biggest reason for this is the amazing Delia. For today, she had completely organized a picnic lunch in the middle of a national park where thousands of wild animals surrounded us. And there was even a restroom…with about the same level of disgusting as the one at the entrance to the park, but not quite as bad. I finished my lunch while others were still eating, and my yearbook mode kicked in, so I started taking candid photos of my fellow travelers. I have some fans of my people shots (hi Kay), so here they are if you are interested. Otherwis,e scroll on down for more animals.
Our picnic site
And some people photos
My new friend AJ taking a bite of banana while one of my favorite people on the trip, Lorraine, looks on.
I think she wanted that banana ?
One of the “two Marinas” with us on our trip. Marina 2 (above) was traveling with her Mom, (Marina 1) from Puerto Rico. Marina 1 is a retired teacher, Marina 2 an art teacher. She very much reminded us of our niece Cassie.
James from Langley, BC
The two Marinas
Sometimes I just can’t remember their names. This gentleman was traveling in a group of four from Indiana
This is his wife.
James watches Nancy from California/Tennessee finish her lunch.
Another person whose name escapes me right now.
You know how some people are just FUN? This is Betty from Tampa and she is a hoot!
After lunch, more jeep riding
Once lunch was over, it was back in the jeep with Sam and off to see more animals. I will let you follow along with the photos.
This is a greater kudu. If the Impalas are the size of our deer then greater kudus are the size of an elk with really cool antlers.
And more giraffes
Lots more. We were really close.
And more elephants.
So many elephants
And as many elephants as there were, there were ALWAYS more impalas.
Cute elephants too.
Not so close this time.
Another greater kudu
Looking back at the park.
This greater kudu really captured my attention.
He just kept posing for me.
That was about it for animals. Just some final notes to let you know where we are now and what’s coming in posts.
Today is Monday, July 14. It is our full day in Johannesburg. The photos on this page were taken on Wednesday the 9th. In the interim we had one more day on the Zambezi Queen and then we transitioned to Victoria Falls for two nights. I have a lot more videos, but uploading them takes a while and uses up a lot of bandwidth.
Stop the presses! We are just back from our visit to the Soweto Township. What a kick in the teeth. In the USA, I always feel guilty for being a white male, now I feel bad for being a white, male, financially successful, American. More about that in a few days. Suffice it to say, today’s trip was beyond eye-opening.
Of course, no post from Africa should be without either a sunrise or a sunset. Enjoy!
I was a child among the lions. Now I want to be one of those lions. —Charles Oliveira
We spent four incredible days and five wonderful nights on the Zambezi Queen. It was so far beyond what I expected that I can’t even begin to tell you. Our first day offered three possible game cruises. When I say “game cruises,” it means we got into a smaller boat that held 7-10 people plus the driver and set out to explore the river and its tributaries close up. Unlike the rest of the time, when the Zambezi Queen herself would float up and down the Chobe River. You will be amazed at what we could see just looking out the window of our stateroom.
Early Morning Bird Watching…and MORE!
The first game cruise offered on the first day was a 6:30 AM bird watching cruise with my (now) good buddy, Gibson, at the helm. About six of the 28-person group showed up, and off we went. I am not much of a bird watcher. But this turned into so much more. Not everyone was willing to get up and go that early, but I had resolved to take every single small boat trip they would offer me in the four days we were there. And was I ever glad we did. I am going to shut up now and let you see the photos from this early-morning bird watching expedition. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping. And PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
Every single sunrise we saw in Africa was this color.
It was truly amazing.
Suns up. Time to find more birds and wildlife to shoot.
This is an African Fish Eagle (distant relative of the American Bald Eagle) being dive bombed by a pied kingfisher to keep her away from her nest.
It was almost funny. The eagle finally flew away.
Google says this is a Black Stork
This one too.
Another Pied Kingfisher
A yellow-billed stork
More of the same.
Our first hippo
They are about as big as a car.
Heron, I am pretty sure.
And another yellow-billed stork.
Living side by side with one of the most dangerous animals.
Even helping to get the bugs off the hippo.
Truly Amazing!
Northern Lapwings
They nest in the ground to protect their eggs and young.
They are beautiful when they fly
And when you see them all spread out above their nests like this.
A Black Skimmer
Still skimming
And here too.
He is skimming all over the place.
And my camera was following him.
Everywhere he went.
Cape Buffalo–the most dangerous animal out on the Chobe.
The guides hate them because they can be very erratic.
This is a group of photographers traveling with a company called Pangolin. Check out those lenses. There’s probably $100K of glass on that little boat.
Another African Fish Eagle posing for us.
Baboons!
We have baboons. These guys were eating the remains of something dead.
Two Egyptian geese.
So many baboons, so little time.
These are called Helmeted Guinea Fowl by Google but Chobe Chickens by everyone who lives there. You can eat them, even though the look like armadillos.
The Egyptian Goose that got away.
The African Sea Eagle he got away from.
An African Darter in the midst of some geese and cormorants.
Elephants…in a line
On their way someplace.
Who knows where.
Time for breakfast on the Zambezi Queen.
10:00 AM Game Cruise
After breakfast, pretty much everyone piled into one of the three small tour boats and took off up or down the Chobe River alongside Chobe National Park in Botswana and the shores of Namibia. We were not allowed to get too close to the park itself, but we could stop the boats just off the park for photos. And I took a BUNCH! And here we go again.
These are Impalas
But the locals call them McDonalds
Because they are speedy but at the bottom of the food chain.
I want to say we saw more than 20K, in our four days there.
I later learned that if you look at their butts as they are running away from you, you can see the Golden Aches in brown fur.
Perfect symmetry with two wire-tailed swallows
The biggest, gruffest Cape Buffalo of the day.
Looking over his herd.
Lots of birds
And more hippos
Still more.
And an Impala in full running mode.
And full drinking mode. They are very skittish when near the water as crocodiles may pull them in.
So many of them.
Speak of BIG crocodiles.
They are on every bank.
Along with hippos
By the score
More wire-tailed swallows.
They are very photogenic.
And BIG crocodiles.
Really big crocks.
Afternoon Game Cruise
The 10:00 game cruise took about three hours, so we were back on board at 1:00, had lunch and rested or just watched the river go by. Because it was the dry season, a whole bunch of animals had come down to the river. But that didn’t stop me from joining Gibson on the 3:00 PM game cruise. Kathleen decided to stay on board and watch out the window of our stateroom (she saw hippos, elephants and Cape Buffalo). I just got closer to them than she did. Here’s my pics from the afternoon game cruise. By now you know the drill.
As soon as we left the Queen we saw this guy.
Rolling around in the mud…
…on the island between Namibia and Botswana.
He looked like he was having such a good time.
I just had to keep shooting.
It was worth it.
Along comes a big one.
And an elephant parade.
These two greeted each other like long, lost lovers,
See how close they are to the boat we are in.
The just kept moving on.
While we had stopped to watch those elephants, the Zambezi Queen had caught up to us so Kathleen could see these same guys outside our stateroom window..
We moved on and found some other elephants, this time with babies.
Who were adorable
We had been by this spot on the river three times that day. The first time no elephants…
Just baboons.
The second time no elephants, just Impalas.
The third time, Elephant Bay (what this area is called) was full of elephants.
This guy was so cute.
He covered himself with dust to get bugs off of his back.
Moms were very protective
No other animals were around.
Just this big bunch of elephants.
An adult giving himself a dust bath.
It’s cool to photograph.
Or a family portrant
Or these two kids…
Who were having the time of their lives.
Time to see some birds.
This is a malachite kingfisher and is maybe the most beautiful bird I have ever seen.
A water-thick knee. At least that’s what Google says.
And our first giraffe.
Did you know this was how they drank?
I didn’t.
It’s an interesting way.
Two trees on the veldt.
This is what our safari boats looked like. There were three of them on the Zambezi Queen.
Another hungry and huge croc.
A very big elephant headed our way.
And I still have not seen and African sunrise or sunset I haven’t been thrilled with.
See what I mean.
Those three shot are all within about 5 minutes. When the sun comes or or goes down, it happens fast.
God bless Africa, Guard her people, Guide her leaders, And give her peace. —Trevor Huddleston
The next morning, we woke up in the Cape Grace hotel, grabbed a very early breakfast and headed to the airport for our flight to Victoria Falls airport in Zimbabwe. The flights went pretty well, except that Kathleen and I couldn’t sit together. Our wonderful tour organizer, Delia, had seen how tall I was and got me an exit row. That was fine, but when the gate agents saw Kathleen roll up in a wheelchair, they moved her back in the plane instead and didn’t move me as well.
Our flight in an Embraer 190 (one of our favorite planes) was a good one. It takes about 2.5 hours to get from Cape Town to Victoria Falls Airport. We had to go through passport control to check out of South Africa. Then, when we arrived in Zimbabwe (where the Victoria Falls airport is), we had to clear customs there. We then boarded a bus and drove for about 90 minutes to the Botswana border, where we had to check out of Zimbabwe and then drive a short distance to check into Botswana (by a short distance, I mean about 100 feet). Then we drove another 45 minutes and arrived at the dock where we would catch the smaller boat that would take us to the Zambezi Queen. But first, we had to pass the Queen (on the river) and go to the Namibian border. We had to then get off the small boats and walk inland about half a mile in order to check into Namibia (because legally, the Zambezi Queen is in Namibia). After walking about a mile in the very hot sun, we got back on the boat and went back to the Zambezi Queen. Whew! From the time we landed in Zimbabwe, this whole process took us about 3 hours. Just crazy.
And the really crazy thing is that we had to do it all over again anytime we left the ship. I have now done that hike from the shoreline to the Namibian border station at least six times. Might be eight. Luckily, they did not make Kathleen do the walk. I could sign in for both of us. It is also expensive, and there are a LOT of forms to fill out. We had done our Namibian e-visas before we left, so that helped a little. Thank goodness we had Delia to tell us what to do to satisfy all the legal requirements.
Now the good stuff. Once we got on the small boat to head for the Namibian border, we realized that we were definitely in Africa. Our driver, a wonderful man named Gibson, would stop if it looked like there was something to see. Usually, there was A LOT to see. So, here are some pics. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping. And PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
The Chobe River was jammed with boats.
We saw nice game lodges…
…as we were going towards Namibia.
And some interesting excursion boats.
This guy got his own boat. Something I would experience later in the week.
Look! Elephants!
Up close elephants.
There are more elephants in Chobe National Park than in most of the rest of Africa.
I would say they are very friendly but I am just not sure.
This kid has lens that costs more than my camera and lens combined.
This was a swallow’s nest inside the small boat we were on.
We can see the Zambezi Queen
She sure looked good.
And then we went past her to go the Namibian Border…but we finally made it back.
I took this from the lounge on the top deck of the Zambezi Queen. African sunsets (and sunrises) are amazing.
I wish I could have taken a photo of the border crossings (especially the one we had to walk to in Namibia), but there are huge signs everywhere prohibiting photography. But I was able to get a Google Maps overhead shot of the shore-to-office route we had to take. It was pretty much soft sand all the way.
They all had something interesting about them. The Zimbabwe border had baboons everywhere, and to enter Botswana, you had to walk across mats soaked in insecticide to keep their cattle herds safe. We also had to turn over any other shoes we had with it to two people from AMA, and they had to dip them in the disinfectant and then get them back to us. And Namibia was just nuts. You walked all that way through domesticated animals (I had a nice talk with a dog while waiting for some fellow travelers to walk back with me) plus roosters that would not shut up.
I think that about covers our transition day. It was probably the only thing I didn’t love about our time on the Zambezi Queen. That and all the other times we had to do the border crossings. Everything else was just about perfect. More about that later.
Reminds me of my safari in Africa. Somebody forgot the corkscrew and for several days we had to live on nothing but food and water. —W. C. Fields
Here’s the Cape Town group. We would meet up with eight others when we boarded the Zambezi Queen in Namibia. You can see Kathleen and I on the right. And yes, I can pretty much tell you who everyone is. Well, everyone I like ?.
As I write this, I am sitting in our stateroom on the Zambezi Queen riverboat. Today has been exhausting. We have been in four countries, and I can see a fifth one outside our window. But more about that later. Today is about yesterday, or actually four days ago. Does that make sense? (Editor’s note: It has now been four days since I wrote this, and the internet has been so slow that I have not been able to finish it. I have so much more to show you, so please stand by.)
On Sunday, the plan was to tour the South African Winelands, and if the clouds finally cleared, we would take the cable car to the top of Table Mountain. Visiting the Winelands is, of course, all about the wine. So, today, Delia passed the baton to Gen, who is a true wine expert, having worked in both the travel and wine industries for several years.
Gen entertained and educated us as we drove from Cape Town to Stellenbosch. I wish I could remember all I heard, but I know I had a great time listening. She (as well as Delia) were very open about life in South Africa and about their own lives. We truly appreciated their frankness about a country they clearly loved, but not a racist system that is still in effect here.
We arrived in Stellenbosch and got out to both do a little shopping and to walk around the downtown. As you can see, I took a few photos as well. Then it was back in the “luxury motor coach” to head to our first winery, Longridge. We tasted six wines (at 10:00 am) from a Chenin Blanc (this is South Africa’s premier white) to a Pinotage (South Africa’s premier red) as well as a sweet dessert wine. All were excellent, although we have grown to love Pinotage.
We spent about 90 minutes at that winery before heading to another one, Lievland. There, we not only tasted their wines but also enjoyed a full lunch in their amazing restaurant. We stayed for at least two hours, having a great feast and another opportunity for all of us to learn a little more about each other.
So, here are my photos of our wine tours. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping. And PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
A really fun sculpture in Stellenbosch
Loved this tiny sculpture on the front of a building
An entire store dedicated to one of our favorite drinks.
The entrance to Stellenbosch University
And a very dramatic church just as it started raining and I had to run for the “luxury motor coach”
Our amazing guide Gen. I have never known anyone that knew so much about wine. Even my buddies Steve and Bill.
If you look closely through this hole, you can see Table Mountain. Or not. It was covered in clouds at this point.
Our hostess at the first winery.
Pinotage
One of the things we loved at the first winery we went to was that they were training the servers to also…
…become carpenters. The ceiling in the previous room was all wine barrel staves as is this chair…
…and this table.
Another shot of Gen doing what she does best. Talking about wine.
The menu for lunch
After lunch, we were back on our “luxury motor coach” for the return trip to Cape Town. Throughout the day, we could see Table Mountain in the distance. The only major thing we hadn’t done since arriving was to take the cable car to the top. We kept watching it, but we were often disappointed because it was covered in clouds. Delia and Gen told us it wasn’t worth going up if the whole mountain was shrouded in fog, since the main attraction is taking photos of the city from above.
All day long, our hopes sank as it looked like the weather wouldn’t clear up. It hadn’t cleared since we arrived in the city. Delia said they would take us to the lower cable car station, as the view there was pretty good. But, surprisingly, as we drove through the city, the clouds disappeared, and we were able to go up! I’m sure you can see what an incredible experience this was from my photos, so I’ll let you look at them. They do have captions but you have to click on them and run the slide show to see them. Some are just views from the top.
The view from the bottom.
The cable car coming down to pick up us up.
They are round and they rotate so everyone gets to see everything.
Including some amazing views.
Of the city…
Our hotel in the middle of this shot…
Their stadium (big rugby match here the night before)
The rest of the mountain.
Lots of hyrax
They kept posing, I kept shooting.
Adorable but we hear they bite.
But come on. You have to take this photo.
More of the city…
And another incredible view.
Me being artsy at the top of Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa.
And the view from the side.
Come back tomorrow… or maybe later today. Our transition to the Zambezi Queen in Namibia was a journey I wouldn’t want to take again. Nothing bad, just too many border crossings.
Wine is constant proof that God loves us and loves to see us happy. —Benjamin Franklin
I am thrilled to be able to tell you that our second flight (15 hours from Newark to Cape Town) was wonderful in comparison to our early morning flight from Seattle to Newark. As my brother Steve pointed out in the comments of my previous post, some airlines are subpar domestically but superb internationally. United seems to be one of those. Here are some iPhone pics of and from the plane. Don’t forget: if you click the first shot, you can scroll through it using your arrow keys or by swiping. Since I took these photos with my phone, feel free to view them on your phone.
Our 787 Dreamliner waiting at the gate in Newark.
Inside the cabin. The view forward from our seats.
Maybe the best Business Class seat I have ever flown in.
The entertainment system on this place worked great. Note the storage area just below the screen. Perfect for iPhones, Kindles, glasses.
Small cubby with bottled water, good headphones and a nice place to store the amenity kit.
Dinner, course one…served in a very classy fashion.
Sorry, I ate most of the pasta before I thought to take a photo. I would fly them again just to get this dish. One of the best tomato sauces ever.
Once we were aboard our 787 Dreamliner and seated in what turned out to be maybe the best business class seat we have flown in, we were welcomed by their purser, who was wonderful, as was her entire crew. They handled everyone beautifully and were very competent. One of the things I really wanted to make sure and snag was a mattress pad for both our seats. We had heard (and it proved true) that there were not enough mattress pads for every business class seat. When I asked our purser (also named Kathleen) if I could get two of them, she said, “They are right up there (in a compartment over the seat across from me), how good a thief are you?” So I got the two I wanted, and they eventually turned our lay-flat seats into two very comfortable beds.
Seeing we had been up since 2:30 am Pacific time, we really considered skipping dinner on the plane, especially with the quality of the food we had encountered on our SEA-EWR flight that morning. However, we knew we wouldn’t get another meal for a while, and by the time they could serve it (turbulence had kept them seated for about 90 minutes after takeoff), we were hungry. We had put in a preorder for the pasta dish. My dinner started with a small salad and smoked duck. Kathleen just had the salad. They were fine, but the pasta dish was so good, it passed the Steve Test. I would go someplace for the sauce on that pasta a whole bunch of times.
Editor’s note: For those unfamiliar with the Steve Test…
I call this the Steve Test because my brother Steve came up with it. I think it’s brilliant. If you eat at a restaurant while traveling and it’s near you once you get home, would you go there again? If it were in your hometown, would you eat there regularly?
Keep this test in mind as we proceed, because I use it to rate almost any restaurant we eat at while traveling. And this is probably the first time I’ve used it on a plane. I might also go back for their dessert specialty. In Polaris Business Class, they offer a special dessert: Tillamook Vanilla Ice Cream sundaes. They bring around a cart with a variety of toppings, letting you create your own however you want. I just told them to give me the works. They did, and it was a wonderful surprise to finish up a surprisingly excellent meal.
Then it was time for bed, and I actually had a bed that would fit me and was comfortable. Kathleen was already asleep when I put my mattress pad on and turned off my Kindle. I slept for about six hours and then dozed on and off for about two more. The best sleep I’ve ever had on a plane. We also had breakfast before we landed, but it wasn’t as good as dinner; however, it was still quite tasty.
United must have done a great job because Kathleen told me this morning that I could book them again for international flights. That says a lot because there are some airlines on our Never Again list (like Virgin Atlantic).
One more note about the seats. If you ever fly Polaris (Business) Class on UA and you are flying with a partner on a 787, you want the middle seats in any odd-number row. As you can see from my photo of my seat, Kathleen was right next to me. The row in front of us had seats that faced out, so you really couldn’t see the person next to you. That said, I would never want our seats next to someone I didn’t know. If I were alone, I would get a window seat in a minute. Our seats were 7D and 7F. See the chart at right. All seats had direct access to the aisles without stepping over anyone like some Delta planes we have been on.
One of the things we’ve been doing on our last couple of international flights is that I’ve been ordering a wheelchair for Kathleen. She can still walk, just not long distances. In fact, she can still walk long distances, but it kills her hips and knees so badly that she sometimes has to sit the next day to recover. Since all the airlines will provide free wheelchairs from the counter to the plane and back again, I order them in advance. This has been a real benefit for me as well, as we get met at the plane, she gets in, and we are off. I don’t have to figure out where to go. The person pushing her knows exactly where we need to be and by when.
When we landed in Cape Town, the plane had to park remotely, and everyone got off using stairs… except the people who required wheelchair assistance. A truck pulled up next to the plane, and an enclosed platform on the back of the truck rose to the opposite side door from where everyone else was disembarking. We then got onto the platform. They lowered us and drove us to where the buses with everyone else were going, just outside passport control.
Now comes the best part of using the wheelchair service. There was a line that looked like it was going to take about 45 minutes because it snaked about six to eight times across a very large room. But our wheelchair pusher (a wonderful and very friendly young lady) took us right to the front of the line, and we were out of there and into the airport within about five minutes. We were then taken to the luggage carousels and found our luggage.
I want to mention that I believe United has the best airline app I have used. Not only did it provide me with all the necessary information about the trip, both before and during, but it also allowed us to track our luggage in real-time, so we knew it was with us. That’s impressive.
As an exact opposite to the way we started the trip with Welcome Pickups, our driver had already texted me where to meet him in the Arrivals hall. Sure enough, as we were walking through, he was holding a screen with my name on it. He introduced himself, grabbed our luggage and led us out to his car. Our wonderful young lady with the wheelchair got Kathleen all the way to the car before sending us off with a big smile.
Another thing that we have learned in our now 20 hours in Cape Town—everyone we have met has been incredibly happy and incredibly helpful. I want to say that every one of them has been downright joyful. I can’t remember a place we’ve been where we’ve been treated so well and with so much common courtesy and happy smiles since we visited New Zealand about 15 years ago. In fact, they are even happier and friendlier than New Zealanders, and that’s saying a lot.
Our Welcome Pickups driver, Tom, was a great example. He gave us quite the tour on the way in from the airport. He is truly proud of his city, and it shows. He got us right to our hotel and then helped us in, making sure we were all taken care of. Exactly what we have experienced with Welcome Pickups, except for yesterday morning (see previous post).
A tale of two hotels
Some of you may have heard this story before, but others may not, so I will recount it here. We are doing most of this trip with AMAWaterways. They have us booked for the next three nights at a beautiful, luxury hotel—The Cape Grace. It is the Grand Dame of hotels in Cape Town. Since we had decided to fly the night before our AMA adventure started, we would need to book and pay for our own room for one night. Not really wanting to change hotels, I called the Cape Grace and asked if they could book us in for one additional night, and possibly keep the same room during our three-night stay that was part of our AMA tour. The very nice person I contacted said, “Yes, we would be happy to have you here. The cost for the room is $1275 US dollars.” I told her that no, we were only going to pay for the one night, and that the other three nights were part of our AMA tour. She said, “Yes, sir, that is just for one night.” After lifting my jaw off the floor, we decided to find somewhere else to sleep on our first night and then transfer to the Cape Grace.
Initially, we decided to book a room at a hotel near the Cape Town airport, as this would allow us to grab something to eat, rest, and then move to the Cape Grace in the morning. But then we met Dave and Janine (our new friends from Trilogy who live in Cape Town half the year), who told us that the area near the airport was not the nicest and that we really should consider staying somewhere near the waterfront, where the Cape Grace is. So thankfully we listened to them and I got us a reservation at the Radisson Red which is so close to the Cape Grace that I can look out our Cape Grace hotel room window (where I am typing this) I can see the Radisson. And it’s not far away. Since it was pouring rain this morning and we had luggage, we decided to take an Uber from there to here. I took the Uber XL to accommodate all our luggage, and the total amount (with tip) was less than $5 USD.
The Radisson Redis the exact opposite of the Cape Grace in terms of style and vibe. The Radisson checked us in with lots of loud and happy music playing, an offer of a complimentary gin and tonic, and some of the biggest smiles I have ever seen. The room was perfect, even though it was supposed to be a King-Size Bed and had two twin beds. We think that worked out better because we just wanted to crawl under the covers and sleep. Kathleen was out by 8:15, and I arrived at 8:30.
Speaking of the beds, they were very comfortable. The shower had an abundance of hot water and excellent water pressure. The breakfast in their restaurant was excellent. I even found two dishes I want to try making myself, and they were around $160 per night rather than $1,275. In fact, now that we have checked into the Cape Grace, I can see that the Red might be more my kind of hotel.
In the morning, after breakfast, I embarked on a quest to find Kathleen a hair-curling brush that she had found online and was supposed to be in stock at a drugstore less than 800 meters away from the hotel. I went there and sure enough, they had it. I got it, came right back, and tried to plug it in, but it didn’t fit any of the plugs in the room. It had an EU plug, and South Africa has its own three-prong plug. So back I went and returned it. They said that their other store nearby should have the one I needed, so I hiked a little further out to a very nice shopping area and found that they had it, but it still had a European plug. The manager said to grab an adapter and give it a try. He said that was what most people here did. We have tried hair dryers with our adapters before, with poor results. Hair dryers/stylers/etc. Draw so much power that they quickly heat up and then burn up adapters. However, the manager suggested that I give them a try, and if I have a problem, I should bring it back to them. I went back, tried it, and it worked.
We checked out of the Radisson at 11:30 and took that very short and cheap Uber ride to the Cape Grace, where we were checked in a very different way. Where the Radisson was all about happy-happy/joy-joy, the Cape Grace was all about being classy and sitting down to check in and whispering. The Radisson was more interested in getting us a drink, and the Cape Grace was more interested in taking care of us in an elegant way. I can take either one, but deep down, I have to say it was more fun checking into the Radisson Red.
Our room at the Cape Grace is GORGEOUS! I have lived in smaller apartments. Here are some pics that will show you what I am talking about.
The entry
The hallway 2
The Bathroom 3
The bathroom 2
The Bathroom
The hallway leading to the bathrooms
The Bedroom
The view outside where the storm rages.
Lastly–the weather is ghastly
So we are making the best of the beautiful Cape Town weather. Check out a few seconds of video I shot showing you the wonderful afternoon weather.
See what I mean. But as they say, tomorrow is another day. Let’s hope for a meteorological breakthrough.
The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. —Saint Augustine
One more note about the seats. If you ever fly Polaris (Business) Class on UA and you are flying with a partner on a 787, you want the middle seats in any odd-number row. As you can see from my photo of my seat, Kathleen was right next to me. The row in front of us had seats that faced out, so you really couldn’t see the person next to you. That said, I would never want our seats next to someone I didn’t know. If I were alone, I would get a window seat in a minute. Our seats were 7D and 7F. See the chart at right. All seats had direct access to the aisles without stepping over anyone like some Delta planes we have been on.
