Days 1 - 5 - Cape Town

Day 1 - Arriving and Not Getting Mugged Pretty good flight from London - we landed on the runway in Cape Town like a feather. Pretty spectacular views from the plane on the way into Cape Town (or would have been if the person had moved from the window). Naomi survived the flight pretty well despite not being able to check whether the wings were attached at all times.

Cape Town nice and sunny on arrival - a bit cold though. Stayed at the Cape Town Backpackers in  one of the honeymoon suites in the Guest House. No complaints there. Nice views of Table Mountain from the room.

Naomi is starting to question her choice of 2 jumpers and 19 strappy tops!

went for a wander around Cape Town (we were told that this was pretty safe during the day).  Had a 'friendly' offer of assistance at a cashpoint which was a bit unsettling. I kept a VERY firm grip on the card. We had a pancake around the Waterfront area , which we felt was a bit of a false environment created and preserved for the tourists (a bit Disney). Went out on a Catamaran 'cruise'. Cruise? Yeh right! The minute we came out of the harbour the waves were huge. There would have been some great photo opportunities had we been able to stand up straight! Was quite amusing watching the boisterous, cocky Europeans  who began on the front of the Cat  gradually return to the inside looking green.

Went to the Two Oceans Aquarium which was good fun. Quick summary - Ragged tooth sharks - bad, Rockhopper penguins - good.

Walked back to our hostel from the Waterfront area - streets are really deserted on a weekend and it was a bit spooky as the only people about were  guys hanging  around on corners - taxis from now on!

Day 2 - Chillin'

Quite a relaxing day. Slept off the flight tiredness and took a Rikki (little van thing) out to Sea Point to book our tour up to Durban. Nice walk along the promenade (still not very warm - but sunny) and along to Green Point to the flea market. Had a debate between ourselves as to whether a decorated ostrich egg would survive either 6 months of travelling or a long-haul flight back to the UK. Needless to say we didn't buy one! Green Point has a stadium which will apparently be knocked down and rebuilt prior to the 2010 World Cup. Can't see Multiplex bidding for that one!

Met some cool people in the hostel (mainly Canadian's and Brits but a few Americans, Dutch and Germans too).  Apparently the highest peak in Holland is about 200 metres above sea level!, which explains why they win about as many skiing medals as we do.

Day 3 - Cape Winelands Tour

Went on a great tour run by Cape Wineland Tours (not sure how they came up with that one). Richard was our excellent guide. Started with the South African equivalent of Champagne at about 10am which was a challenge. Learned a lot about how wine is made and got to sample quite a few different varieties, all of which, in our expert opinion tasted like... um.. wine!

Went to the three main areas of wine production, Stellenbosch, Paarl and the other one. Also got to taste some chocolate, cheese and strawberries, salami, wine-flavoured yoghurt (yum) which were all more up our street than the wine if we're honest.

Got back in time to take the cable car up Table Mountain in the sunshine. Fantastic views from the top, but at 6pm it was absolutely freezing.  Very windy too! Naomi is starting to question her choice of 2 jumpers and 19 strappy tops!

Day 4 - Cape Point Tour - Naomi's 25th birthday  Up early again for a tour of Cape Point run by Daytrippers. Alexi, our guide was superb. Genuinely hot in the morning. Interesting bunch of people on the tour, a Brazlian girl, American girl and some crazy older Germans who were very entertaining.

Stopped at various places including Hout Bay, Boulders (where various species of penguins hang out (I'm sure Naomi has penguinnapped one of them and hidden it in our room).  Went for a cycle ride towards Cape Point where we saw some ostriches and had some lunch. Continued the journey after lunch up a pretty steep hill which was quite challenging after lunch on a full stomach and with a heavy cold. It wouldn't have been too bad except that the German guy overtook me at the bottom of the hill so of course I couldn't allow that. Nearly killed myself getting to the top but it ended in a convincing victory for me so was undoubtedly worthwhile.

Saw some whales from the clifftop, then walked along to the Cape of Good Hope and saw some baboons and Dassies (little furry rodent type things that are related to the elephant - second cousins I think).

Had a great meal in the evening at Kennedy's a fancy restaurant/jazz cafe courtesy of Mr Bower (thanks Jonathan - photos to follow once camera battery revives).

Day 5 - Today - Travelblogging!

Not much planned for today apart from setting this up and maybe a trip to the botanical gardens. Off up towards Durban tomorrow on a 9 day Drifters Coastal Explorer Tour. The next update will be shorter we promise!