South Africa - Somerset West

11.12.24

Arrival in South Africa

We depart from Cologne at noon with Turkish Airways to Istanbul.

Then we continue with the same airline to Cairo. Luggage is there too, and as soon as you arrive in Egypt, you encounter scams again. Visa per person costs $25. The visa is needed to pick up the luggage and check in directly with Ethiopian Airways.

With that, the visa is done, and when we return in January, we will need a new visa again. We are also initially not allowed to check in since we are too early; we try another counter where it works. Everything is very arbitrary here, and everyone is looking for a tip for nothing. The lounge, as we’ve read, is truly terrible. No cold drinks, the little food available is, well, not great, and it's really dirty. We continue to Addis Ababa, just a short flight and a quick nap until we take the flight to Cape Town from Addis.

The lounge in Addis is a class above that in Cairo, which isn’t particularly difficult😊

We continue to Cape Town, where we arrive after a few hours of sleep. All the luggage is there… oh, wonder. At the car rental, we get an upgrade, and we’re off to Somerset West, always on the wrong side of the road (driving on the left isn’t for me after 24 hours of travel).

Somerset West

In Somerset West, we have the same accommodation as six years ago with a sensational view of the sea and the mountains; Joanna says she remembers us... I don’t really believe that.

Still nice here, and we quickly fall into bed to catch up on sleep.

We wake up to a view of the mountains, and Joanna shares her various theories on climate change and COVID while we eat breakfast.

Today we take it easy and spend the day at the beach.

and visit Vergelegen, a beautiful winery.

A rose garden, ancient trees, historic buildings, and the view of the mountains—a dream.

The weather is better than expected, allowing us to watch our first sunset by the pool in the evening.

For tomorrow, we’ve booked a green fee at the beach golf club.

After breakfast on the wonderful terrace

We’re off to the golf course. The weather is fantastic today, with a breeze from the sea that makes the game very pleasant.

We play with a young South African couple, which is a lot of fun. After the 18 holes, we enjoy a drink together and

get some tips for our trip.

We almost miss the sunset because of that. The sky is ablaze this evening.