From Cape Town to Oudtshoorn

Last Tuesday, it was time to say goodbye to my apartment in Woodstock - for another 2 nights, I moved back to the guest house where my journey began before finally starting my vacation on Thursday.

After picking up the rental car - thankfully, I got an upgrade to a car category that I would never have planned for myself - we took the Route 62 through the countryside and the accompanying wine region. I don't have any pictures of the route itself, but this landscape is also an absolute highlight.

I made my lunch stop at Diesel & Creme in Berrydale, just like a few years ago. They have the best milkshakes and the decor is unique - the owners have collected various decorations inspired by Route 66 in the USA!

After lunch, we continued to Oudtshoorn. Since I had already visited the Cango Caves and an ostrich farm during my last visit, my only goal was a meerkat safari this time.

This safari is offered by the Buffelsdrift Game Lodge, so I spent the first two nights here. In beautifully equipped tents (my highlight in Africa: the outdoor showers) overlooking a waterhole - including hippos - and grazing antelopes, the first safari experience was right there. Unfortunately, we didn't have much luck on the first morning, as meerkats only come out with the sun and the right temperatures, and the sky was cloudy that morning.

Fortunately, the lodge agreed to make a new attempt on the second morning, and thanks to the sun, we were able to finally see these adorable animals.