October 4, 2007
The Roar of a Lion, the Trumpet of an Elephant, and the Southern Sky at
night
Wow, fantastic, incredible, orgasmic, and stupendous are just a few of the
superlatives that describe our unforgettable trip to South Africa. The Three Tomatoes’ head tomato just returned yesterday
after 30 hours of traveling, so we’re a bit jet lagged as we write this, but still high on adrenalin. As those of you who are
regular readers know, this was our dream trip and it did not disappoint. If anything, it surpassed all expectations as many of you who
have been to South Africa and on safari well know. Now we understand why once is not enough. This is definitely a “been
there, must go back soon” kind of place. Here are just a few of the highlights of our incredible trip.
The Wine Country and Whales
We flew into Cape Town and started our journey with a two nights stay at the
fabulous Grande Roche Hotel, South Africa’s only
Relais Gourmand, in the historic town of Paarl, in the lush heart of the Cape Winelands. The beautiful views of Paarl Mountain and the
wine valley are every bit on par with Napa or Tuscany, and the wines are divine. Our traveling companions (a terrific tomato and her also
terrific husband) happen to have a friend who lives in nearby Franschhoek, who led us on a personal guided tour of the region. This included an
unexpected stop at the studio of Larry Norton, who
happens to be one of the world’s most celebrated wild life painters. What a treat to not only meet the artist in person but to view some
of his amazing works including a few in progress. The evening ended after a fabulous dinner of wart hog (delicious, trust us) and several
bottles of great wine from the region.
The following day we were picked up by our wonderful and very knowledgeable
guide, Norbert, and headed to Hermanus through the most beautiful country side that seems to change every 20 miles or so. At times you could be
in the Rockies, other times, the Shenandoah Valley, or the Pacific Coast Highway, except in this case it’s the waves of the Atlantic Ocean
crashing onto beautiful rocky beaches. This coastal road leads to the whales that from July to November swim close to shore with their
calves. What a spectacular sight! That evening we returned to the Grande Roche for an incredible meal in their beautiful candlelit
dining room and tasted wonderful wines served in a sparkling array of crystal wine glasses while savoring a dinner that included our first taste of
impala (yum) which we compared favorably to our first taste of wart hog the previous night. Hey, we believe in the when in Rome etc, etc.
But for those of you who may be less adventurous, most of the menus include fabulous fish like King Klip and Cob, both deep ocean fish as well as
other standard fare like chicken, beef and lobster.
Table Mountain, The Cape of Good Hope and the
Penguins
We then moved on to Cape Town for our stay at the Cape Grace Hotel with its old world charm and views of the
harbor and Table Top Mountain. This became our base for our next round of touring which included of course the cable car to the top of
Table Top Mountain (not for those with fear of heights) and then off again the next day to the Cape of Good Hope and a ride up the hillcrest on the
Funicular (don’t you just love that word) with its spectacular panorama views including the meeting point of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans --
positively breathtaking. And to top off an already incredible day, we then stopped to visit the colony of penguins (AKA a parcel of
penguins as we learned) who about 15 years ago, for reasons unknown, moved onto these beautiful beaches. They are definitely living the resort
life versus their Emperor kin who are toughing it out in Antarctica. These South African penguins are smart dudes indeed. Of
course along the way, we saw amazing flora and fauna, including wild calylillies and wild geraniums (just two of the 5500 varieties of plants),
ostrich and baboons along the roadside, and sightings of the Blue Crane (the national bird) and the Cape Sugar Bird.
The people and the country
Before we get to the truly orgasmic part of the trip, we want to say that the South
African people, white, black, and coloreds as they were referred to, are beautiful, charming, friendly, and the service in the hotels and restaurants
rivals the top hotels and restaurants in any major city of the world. And while this is a very complex country, with great wealth and
great poverty, it is striving to move quickly from its apartheid past. And in the wee bit of time we were there, through the few people we
met, it seems that while there may be dissention on how best to move forward, there seems to be no dissention on unification as beautifully symbolized
by their flag, designed in 1999 whose multi-colored Y symbolizes the merging nationalities. Oh, and we must clear up this
misconception. You don’t need any special shots, or even malaria pills in the bush (unless perhaps during malaria season.) A
little Off was all we needed, and then only when we were in the bush. Which brings us to the “high”
highlight of the trip (and honestly they were all highlights.)
A Dazzle of Zebras, a Journey of Giraffes, and a Pride of Lions
Add to those, a parade of elephants and a sounder of wart hogs, and you have arrived
in the bush! We flew from Cape Town to Johannesburg where we then boarded a single engine 12 seater plane piloted by a bush pilot who
looked about sixteen to take us into Thornybush, a private preserve
just outside of Kruger National Park. This tomato focused on trying not to hyperventilate while gazing out at the amazing landscape below.
An hour and 15 minutes later, we approached a small dirt landing strip and just as we were about to land, our pilot aborted because there were wart
hogs on the runway. (They had probably heard about the incident with their relatives a couple of nights before.) We circled back
and landed safely, and were then whisked off in a land rover by our terrific guide for our stay, Ryan, and his side kick Terrace the tracker, through
the bush to the entrance of the Royal Malewane, where our
thatched roof cottage suites -- sheer luxury in a divine colonial setting -- awaited us. (Hey, we didn’t like sleeping in tents when we
were Girl Scouts -- give us king size beds with 1,000 thread-count Egyptian bedding any day.) Our very first sighting (not counting the
wart hogs) was a giraffe who was gracefully nibbling on tree leaves just outside our cottage suite. We were speechless! But that was just
the beginning.
Over the course of six drives into the bush, we saw not only the “Big
Five” (leopards, rinos, elephants, lions, and buffalo), but also cheetahs and their cubs, more giraffes, hippos, all manner of
antelopes, jackals, and Zazu (the Lion King bird) to name but a few, all up close and personal. At times we were no more than four
feet from an elephant or a lion. One of the many moments we will never forget was sitting in our land rover, when Mr. Lion King, lifted his
regal head and roared, and was then answered back by roars from his sons. Then there was the elephant fight at the water hole outside our
lodge; and the day Mr. Lion King stole a freshly killed impala from the beautiful Mommy Cheetah and her cubs. And in between drives we
treated ourselves to massages at the spa, glorious dinners in the open lodge areas where Wendy (the lovely wife of guide Ryan) and the entire staff
(of which there are approximately 4 staff for each guest) treated us like royalty. Now we know why people like Elton John and Bono come
back to the Royal Malewane every year. We’re already
planning our next trip.
Well, we’ve plum run out of superlatives, and jet lag is catching up with
us. So, here we are back to reality.
‘til next week,
The Three Tomatoes
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