IgoUgo

Cape Town Journals

African Safari

A January 2001 trip to Cape Town by BeAdventureous!

Crossing Photo - Cape Town, South Africa More Photos
Quote: Ten days in Africa? The Dark Continent? Lions and leopards and jackels, oh my! From Cape Town onto Sun City and then Kenya, Africa is a BIG place. Wide open spaces, so this is what creation felt like on day 5!
  • Cheer!
  • Flag
  • Print

African Safari Best of IgoUgo

Overview

Crossing Photo - Cape Town, South Africa
Quote:
The cable cars up Table Mtn., turning 360 degrees so you can get a real panoramic view, seeing penquins on the beach, staying in the #13 rated hotel in the world and eating at #1 (Table Bay Hotel and Cape Grace Hotel respectively-per Conde Nast 2000), exploring Sun City, ballooning over the Maasai Mara and seeing the animals from the sky as the sun rises, the Mt. Kenya Safari Club and being on the equator, tents with hardwood floors and canopied beds, commodes and rainforest showerheads, safari!! Seeing lions with their cubs, feasting on their kill of warthogs, monkeys swinging from trees as you stroll underneath, and giraffes nibbling treetops in the wild as far as you can see!Quick Tips: Su...Read More

The Governors Camp Best of IgoUgo

Hotel

Quote:
Now this is camping! Tents with guards in camouflage hidden in the bush while you enjoyed huge bonfires while chefs in whites cook gournmet meals, including zebra, ostrich and other delicacies. Tents with hardwood floors, bathrooms, and beds covered in mosquito netting.

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on February 20, 2001

The Governors Camp

Cape Town, South Africa
254-2 331871

Mt Kenya Safari Club Best of IgoUgo

Hotel

Quote:
Incredible place, I would not miss it. Where Wm. Holden and Stephanie Powers and the movie crowd hung out. Located on the equator, the Irish general manager is a fun-loving, entertaining host. Impeccable grounds with huge birds that roam the groung freely, great art shop with local carvings and paintings and sculptings and such. An animal orphanage on property. The rooms we stayed in had a roaring fireplace, full bar, charmingly rustic with views of the golf course.

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on February 20, 2001

Mt Kenya Safari Club
PO Box 25 Nanyuki
Cape Town, South Africa

Kichwa Tembo Camp Best of IgoUgo

Hotel

Quote:
This was the MOST INCREDIBLE PLACE. Where we stayed there were nine tents surrounding a open air lodge for our private use with staff. As I signed the guest register, I noted Star Jones from the View has visited... The lodge was decorated in rustic oversized couches with vases of porcupine quills and rich bound leather books. I fell in love with the staff; they are WONDERFUL. Anticipating your every need they genuinely seem to want you to have memories that exceed every expectation!! Our very private tent had baths and rock showers with rainforest showerheads that made you feel like you were bathing in a waterfall. The canopied mahogany beds faced the view of the Maasai Mara with wild animal roaming ...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on February 20, 2001

Kichwa Tembo Camp
The Conservation Corporation
Cape Town, South Africa

The Table Bay At The Waterfront Best of IgoUgo

Hotel | "Table Bay Hotel"

Quote:
From the moment we entered the room and a fax machine begin to print "Welcome M/M" (our Names) letter...I knew this would be an incredible experience. From South Africa red wine in a welcome basket to a amenitity package in full size silver bottles, and a killer view of the Atlantic Ocean with Table Mountain rising above it, I could see why it was rated #13 in the world by Conde Nast.

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on February 20, 2001

The Table Bay At The Waterfront
QUAY 6
Cape Town, South Africa
27-21-406-5000

Carnivore Restaurant Best of IgoUgo

Restaurant

Quote:
Big spits where HUGE SLABS of diversity of meats are roasted greet you at the door. Waiters come around and carve different ones for you to try from ostrich to Zebra. Fun drinks.

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on February 20, 2001

Carnivore Restaurant
Nairobi
Cape Town, South Africa

Roaring Forties Best of IgoUgo

Restaurant | "Roaring Forties Floating Restaurant"

Quote:
This is a boat that laid phone cable in its earlier life, but now is a charming place to dine with a terrific view. The food was great. The white wine was the best we had in Africa, noted it was from a private estate and numbered.

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on February 20, 2001

Roaring Forties
Cable Restorer, Cole Point Road
Cape Town, South Africa 7975
+27 21 786 4808

Samburu Serena Lodge Best of IgoUgo

Restaurant

Quote:
Buffet. Pasta was wonderful, cheeses were incredible, fruits were excellent. Great gift shop, check it out. Serenaded by singing Samburans who danced for us. Very rustic and lodge-like.

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on February 20, 2001

Samburu Serena Lodge
Samburu Intrepids National Reserve box 74888
Cape Town, South Africa
254(2)710782

Boulders Beach (Penguin Colony) Best of IgoUgo

Attraction | "Boulders Beach"

Quote:
Hang on the main swimming beach, or stand in the clear calm water, and before you know it, there they are, African penquins! Previously know as jackass penquins, they are curious, inquistive little tuxecedo creatures. A beach has been fenced for them to breed in, accessible to you by a series of boardwalks that lead right to observe them. Talk about a kodak moment... but be warned....they bite!! Ouch..

To get to Boulders Beach, you must hike down past local homes brimming with lush tropical landscape, to the water front. Happy trails. Amid boulders, you will see native families enjoying the sun. Join them...

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on July 6, 2001

Boulders Beach (Penguin Colony)
4 Boulders Place Simon's Town
Cape Town, South Africa
+27 (21) 786 1758

Victoria and Alfred Waterfront - Alfred Mall Best of IgoUgo

Attraction | "Victoria Wharf"

Quote:
Two stories with glass walls in front and lined with date palms, is an invitation to SHOP! Filled with red umbrellaed tables for fast foods, and stores crammed to overflowing with African finds, this is a spot to spend an afternoon.

Local musical drums, masks, jewelry, spears and such, are some treasures to bring back home. There are china shops filled with beautiful dishes embossed with palm trees, African animal wildlife, or patterned after animal skins. Hard Rock Cafe is anchored here. Assessible by escalator from the Table Bay Hotel, it is most convenient.

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on July 6, 2001

Victoria and Alfred Waterfront - Alfred Mall
Dock Road
Cape Town, South Africa 8001
+27 21 408 7500

Governor's Balloon Safari Best of IgoUgo

Attraction | "The Governor's Balloon Safari"

Quote:
You have to get up awfully early to see the sun rise, but what an incredible experience! Just before dawn, flames light the darkness and the warmth feels pretty good. It is chilly, so dress accordingly. The balloon pilots are delightful-- ours was from Australia, and one was from Texas and had piloted balloons over Tuscany and Province in the French countryside. Floating above the animals with the early morning light reflecting over the plains, gives you an idea of what birds who soar among the clouds must feel. Toasting your return with a champagne breakfast is a treat. Avoid the meats to insure you won't get an upset tummy. Indulge in everything else. We did not see as many animals as I would have a...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on February 20, 2001

Governor's Balloon Safari
Over the Mara river and plains
Cape Town, South Africa

Maasai Mara Reserve Best of IgoUgo

Attraction | "Maasai Mara"

Quote:
Up close and personal. I'm not sure I can ever go to a zoo again. Seeing animals roam free in thier natural habitat is incredible. We saw the Big Five, cape buffalo, lion, hippo, elephant, rhino... These are considered the most dangerous to man. Seeing a lion with her cub carrying her kill of warthog, a cheetah stretched out on the limb of a tree, elephants with long ivory tusks glaring at you, giraffes munching indifferently on limbs, hippos yawning in riverbeds, impalas sprinting away, monkeys swinging overhead on trees, God did good. Very good. As He said Himself...

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on February 20, 2001

Maasai Mara Reserve
Maasai Mara
Cape Town, South Africa

The Maasai Mara people Best of IgoUgo

Story/Tip

Quote:
You feel as if you just walked into National Geographic pages. The women are still circumcised as soon as they begin to ministrate, the boys are circumcised at 16 or 17 and if they cry out or flinch in any way they can never become warriors and remain at the lower social rung of the ladder. Men can have as many wives as they can afford. Cattle are valued above all and they are herdsman. They do not kill their cattle, but "bleed" them and mix the blood with the cows milk and drink it which is their basic diet except for a goat on feast occasions. They believe God gave them the rights to all cattle, so it is ok for them to steal anyone who has cattle, for they rightfully belong to the Maasai. They ...Read More

The Cape of Good Hope, Capetown Best of IgoUgo

Story/Tip

Quote:
Situated at the junction of two of the earth's most contrasting water masses, the cold Benguela current on the west Coast and the warm Agulhas current on the east Coast, the Cape of Good Hope is where the Indian Ocean joins the Atlantic Ocean at Cape Agulhas. There were hiking trails, tidal pools, picnic sites, even a Global Atmosphere Watch station, one of the world's 20! See stunning views from the lighthouse, explore old shipwrecks in diving sites, or use the internet facility for e-mailing postcards or that journal entry to Igougo! In 1580, Sir Francies Drake described it as "The most stately & fairest Cape we saw in the whole circumference of the earth". He DOES have a point! Maybe you wi...Read More

Touring the wine country in Capetown, Groot Constantia. Best of IgoUgo

Story/Tip

Quote:
As you move around the eastern face of Table Mountain, you enter a world of vineyards and oak trees. Here lies Groot Constantia, South Africa's oldest country estate. Orginally built in the early 1700's by the then governor of the Cape, Simon van der Stel, today it is a state-owned winery. Magnificient trees touch the ground in welcome. We did a wine tasting, everyone sat at long tables and tried various white wines. We were given sheets on which to rate them. A great place to bring back some African souveniers that won't land in a garage sale, I can promise you that! Admittedly, they have a long way to catch up to France or Napa, but it was a pleasant experience. The grounds are simply breath-taking,...Read More

Atop Table Mountain in Cape Town. Best of IgoUgo

Story/Tip

Quote:
More people have died on Table Mountain than on Everest. We went up by cableway. Rotating 360 degrees enroute straight up, you got your chance to see every gorgeous angle. Magnificient views suspended from the heavens were to be absorbed into your soul. Only 1000 meters above the sea at its highest point, its rugged cliffs are filled with 2285 species of plantlife. Multitudes of wildflowers spring up everywhere. You can see Robben Island, where Nelson Mandala was imprisoned. You can see the city of Capetown, Clifton beach, Lions Head, it's all scenic and very photogenic. One of the ubiquitous residents of the mountain, which we saw, are dassies. Also known as rock hyrax, they look like little chipmunk...Read More

About the Writer

BeAdventureous!

BeAdventureous!
Little Rock,, Arkansas

Popular Cape Town Hotels

Derwent House Boutique Hotel
User Rating: 5 out of 5
An African Villa
User Rating: 5 out of 5
2Inn1 Kensington
User Rating: 5 out of 5
79 on Orange
User Rating: 5 out of 5
Cape Heritage Hotel
User Rating: 5 out of 5

Table Mountain
User Rating: 4 out of 5
Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden
User Rating: 4 out of 5
Wine Desk Waterfront
User Rating: 4 out of 5
Cape Convoy Tours
User Rating: 4 out of 5
Table Mountain Aerial Cableway
User Rating: 4 out of 5