Stories From Our Suitcase

Once in Port Elizabeth, we drove straight to our hostel "King's Lodge Backbackers".  We got settled in and then went in search of groceries for dinner.  At our hostel, we met a group of Danish students who were studying in Cape Town.  They were pretty funny!  Since we had an early start the next day, we headed to bed early. Friday, September 9th:  We left the hostel by 6:20am to head north toward Johannesburg.  Our flight to London was on Saturday at 8:00pm, so we had about a day and a half to get there.  We decided to do one last "vacation" thing before our two days of driving, so we stopped at Addo Elephant Park for some final animal sightings.  We didn't see as many animals as we were used to, but we saw some elephants, giraffe, antelope, etc.  Unfortunately, we didn't see any predators.  The park was so green and the foliage was so thick that it made it very difficult to spot animals, unless they were right by the road.  We l...

Tuesday, September 6th:  Today was another early start at 6:30am.  We were awoken by the hostel's obnoxious phone ringing non-stop.  After breakfast, we headed east towards George and Port Elizabeth along the N2, which gives access to southern coastal towns.  We made a stop at Moussel Bay and ate lunch.  We looked like a bunch of hillbillies making grilled ham & cheese sandwiches with our one burner contraption while sitting on a bench by the ocean.  Oh well! It was delicious and a nice way to spend lunch!  We continued driving until we stumbled upon a trail that went past a cave and along the water by a lighthouse.  We saw several dolphins swimming and surfing in the waves.  It was pretty entertaining! Afterward, we headed to Victoria Bay and walked along the water.  It led us past a bunch of cute bed & breakfasts.  There were a few people surfing and body boarding in the waves.  We continued driving towards Wil...

Sunday, September 4th:   We started our Sunday by going to Watoto Church, which was across the street from our hotel.  It was a very welcoming church that felt very much like an American contemporary mega-church.  We enjoyed the worship and preaching!  Afterward, we drove through the wine route to Stellenboch.  Since it was Sunday, there weren't very many shops or restaurants open.  We managed to make it to the visitor center before they closed, and we got a map and list of wineries in the area that did tastings on Sundays.  We walked around town and strolled through a botanical garden.  Before leaving Stellenboch, we mapped out which wineries had Sunday tastings and headed out. The drive was gorgeous and we ended up stopping at Eikendal Wineries.  They had a special tasting that paired different Lindt chocolate flavors with their red and white wines.  The pairings were their Classique (red) with the 80% Cocoa Chocolate, the Cabernet...

Saturday, September 3rd:  We got to sleep in until 8am!!! After getting up most days around sunrise, I was so thankful to have a day to sleep in.  In a bed! We ate breakfast at our hotel and headed to Table Mountain.  It was a clear day, so we were able to see the top of the mountain on our drive over.  You can hike up and down or take the cable car.  Since I am not too keen on 3 hour strenuous hikes, we took the cable car both ways.  The cable car is pretty cool, because the floor spins as you go up and down.  That way everyone gets a good view.  Also, they don't waste any time getting you up there.  There is a certain point when it goes straight up, and that is pretty freaky. Once at the top, we explored the mountain and battled the wind and cold.  It was so beautiful to see different views of Cape Town.  We were up there for a few hours walking around, taking pictures and enjoying the different views of Cape Town. Aft...