Our Last Week in Africa

After saying goodbye to all of our new friends from the Nomad Adventure Tour, we ventured out on our own in Cape Town. We rented a car and checked into a wonderful B&B in Seaside. The owners were super sweet and welcoming to us. The property was beautiful and right across from the beach. We would recommend Villa Costa Rose for a stay in Cape Town.  We chose to stay one night there for the specific reason of returning to one of our very favorite restaurants, Hussar Grill. We went there three times on our last trip to South Africa and could not wait to return. It’s a fabulous place for aged steaks,  delicious sides and excellent service at a price you cannot get in the States. It lived up to everything we remembered.

The morning after our amazing dinner we drove to another part of Cape Town to pick up two of our friends that we met on our African Tour.  We spent the day with Davey and Antoinette. We drove south from about an hour stopping several times along the way to take pictures and enjoy the view.  We saw tons of sea lions sun bathing on rocks along the coast and stopped in Hout Bay to take in the beautiful landscape. We reached Boulder Beach after about an hour and half.  I absolutely LOVE penguins and Boulder Beach is a great place to see hundreds of African Penguins in one place. I enjoy watching them waddle along the beach, swim in the water and groom each other.

I had to say goodbye to the penguins. We continued our drive south to reach Cape Point (Southern  Tip of Africa). Along the way we had to make an unplanned stop in the road due to a family of ostriches. The chicks were so cute!

A short time later we reached Cape Point and made the hike up to the top of the cliffs. The wind speed was incredible so we only spent a short time enjoying the lookout point.

Our time with our friends was coming to an end but before we took them to the airport, we had to take them to Hussar Grill. We love it so much we wanted to share it with them. The meal ended with the very best part, a Godiva chocolate martini. Yum!

The next several days were spent at a chalet in a vineyard in Stellenbosch. We visited 10 wineries over 4 days. The very best was a six course food and wine pairing at Leopard’s Leap. Our two hour lunch was presented by the vineyards executive chef and the sommelier.  My favorite dish was a parmesan cheese custard with a toasted parmesan cheese crust and fresh grated parmesan on top. It was paired with a crisp Chenin Blanc white wine. The food was amazing, the wines were a perfect pairing and the experience was one we would not forget.

The experience of going to the Stellenbosch wine region is as beautiful as visiting Tuscany or Napa Valley. The mountains surrounding the area provide a breathtaking backdrop for the wine estates. The tasting of five to eight wines range from $4 – $8 depending on the winery. The vineyards also offer a variety of pairings including food, cheese, chocolate and even cupcakes.

We were sad for our month long adventure in South Africa to end but we were excited to return to a place we enjoyed so much last year… Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. While we only had a few days to enjoy this beautiful area, we made the most of it. On our one full day in Zimbabwe, we took a 6 hour canoe trip down the upper Zambezi River. It was a exciting float trip as we passed several groups of hippos and rode four sets of category 2 rapids. We also had a chance to swim in the Zambezi. The toughest part of the day was the 108 degree temperature.

At the end of the trip, we were dropped off at the entrance to Victoria Falls. We wanted to see the falls and paid the $30 per person entrance ticket (Ouch!).  We walked the trails and took in the amazing views of the falls.

Our next stop is Italy! We took five flights to get from Victoria Falls to Palermo, Sicily. After two full days of travel including a 6 hour layover in Amsterdam, we made it to Palermo. We will share some of our highlights as soon as we can.