It’s time for the wine country of Franschhoek. But first, it’s a bit of mayhem again getting off the ship as we are not at a proper passenger terminal. From the top deck of the ship we can see all of the baggage lined up row by row on the pier. Luckily, it’s bright skies …
We arrive in Cape Town in the early morning. The view off the ship is of Table Mountain, the famous landmark flat-topped mountain overlooking the city of Cape Town. Cape Town is the legislative capital of South Africa (Pretoria is the administrative capital and Bloemfontein is the judicial capital) and is the second d largest …
Richards Bay is our first stop in the eastern sea boat of South Africa. What greets us as we dock is a sea of coal mounds and coal dust. Richards Bay does not have a cruise port, so the ship must make use of the same port as tankers and coal shipping freighters. It is …
Réunion is an island in Indian Ocean that is a department of France and as such uses the Euro as its currency. It is famous for tropical forests, sugarcane plantations and its volcanic activity. You will find so much biodiversity. Mountains, lush tropical flora, forests, grasslands and beautiful beaches. Interesting fact: Réunion accounts for 16% …
We arrive in Port Louis, Mauritius’ capital. Off the southeastern coast of Africa and east of Madagascar, Mauritius has been under control of various empires from the Portuguese, Dutch, French and finally British. Today, the population is mainly made up of Indians practicing Hinduism with a smaller minority of Creoles (Black Africans) with few Chinese …
Our cruise had three stops planned for Madagascar, best known for lemurs. One in Antsiranana (formerly known as Diego-Suarez) at the top of the big island and two in Nosy Be, since we were on a back to back cruise. Unfortunately, due to the weather conditions, the captain cancelled the Antsiranana call where we had …
After visiting nearby Zanzibar, we arrive in the big city of Dar es Salaam, the largest city and financial centre in Tanzania. A group of Tanzanians dressed in traditional garments perform a song and dance for us before we hop on our bus for our tour. You notice immediately the tall buildings of the city …
The hot and muggy weather still follows us as we arrive in Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous archipelago which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. The ship has to tender in as there is no port large enough to accommodate it. We meet our guide Charles, who brings us to historic Stone Town, …
We arrive in Mombasa, Kenya in the early morning around 5:30 am. There is no need for an alarm clock as we can hear loud African drums and singing outside our stateroom. A large singing troupe dressed in right colourful African wear greet our arrival. Opting for a private tour of the city, we meet …
We arrived in Port Victoria on the island of Mahé in the Seychelles in the early morning pass the wind turbines and there is a distinctive smell of fish in the air. As we make our way out of the ship, we see why—a fish processing plant is across the bow of our ship. Later …