A bit of luxury

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25/06/10

A new leg of the journey has begun. We have left Joburg and are now in the Cederberg Mountains 3 hours north of Cape Town. This is the swanky part of our trip.

The last night in Joburg was a bit of a treat. Having turned down Brazil Ivory Coast tickets due to not finding accommodation ($70 to pitch a tent is just taking the piss and we're not paying it), we've been fighting a loosing battle to try and find somewhere for under $100 to stay near the airport for an early morning flight. We drove through the area a few days ago to see if we could find anything cheaper than the poor selection than those on the net. One of the places we stopped at was Tunstall Farm. Here we were greeted through a heavy security gate by a gruff little cigarette clutching lady who peered at me and asked what I wanted. I figured it was a bit of a lost cause but explained our need of a cheap place with early morning airport drop. She screwed up her face at me then declared it to be 'no problem' offered us a reasonable rate and then invited us in for a beer, curtly saying 'your British, I’m British'. Her and her husband had lived out here for 30 years and still had their British accents. They were from Cheshire like us and really happy to have us in for a chat before we continued north. When we went back the night before the flight they gave us a tiny self catering cottage that we sat outside and watched the sun going down with the braai going ready for a BBQ. We also had a fire place at the bottom of the bed. It was the warmest and coziest night we've had in this country so far. It was also really nice to go and spend some time with the retired owners and listen to some of their many stories of the people and country.

We left Joburg from Lanseria airport. I’m not sure if this airport is one of the many places that big bucks were spent on in preparation for the football, but it has easily gone into my 'best airport in the world' slot. I didn't see any shops or restaurants, instead all the space is taken up by a huge lounge full of sofas, arm chairs, coffee tables, free tea and coffee counter, free WiFi and free newspapers. It's the perfect place to kill a few hours before getting on a plane. It was like getting into the comfy corner in Starbucks. Sadly we only had 15 minutes to kill.

The flight from Joburg to Cape Town was smooth. Just what I needed after two bumpy ones that had reignited all flying fears. It was a bit daunting however, to be told 30 minutes before landing, that the weather in Cape Town was 'horrible', and they were going to have to rely on autopilot to land the plane. Nothing could have prepared us for our arrival. A thick white blanket of cloud covered about half of the Western Cape. The mountains, even the small hills, stuck out clear of the cloud. We descended into the white. I had it in my head that we'd clear the cloud and have about 50 metres before we hit the runway. Judging by the shock of most of the passengers when we hit the runway in thick cloud, having descended about 20 metres, I don't think anyone was prepared. Visibility was between 300 metres. The pilots took no credit for the landing, stating it was all the auto pilot. Reassurance for even the most jittery of flyers.

At the airport we were met with a rep from Renta VW who handed us the keys to our car for the next month. It is a Golf Mark 1, that of the original batch that stopped being made in the Uk about 20 years ago. I hope it'll stand up to the riggers of long distance driving. We were left with the parting warning to listen out for funny noises and to stop immediately and call for back up if anything sounded weird. Fill me with confidence why don't you.

I’m not sure how many times I’ve said this since the Africa tour began, but today I saw some of the most spectacular scenery I’ve ever seen. The area between Cape Town and the Cederberg has to have some of the most beautiful mountain panoramas in the world, especially from the Paarl area onwards. The road runs right up to the foot of the mountains and winds round them, all the while being surrounded by green fields, stud farms, vineyards and citrus plantations. If I could move somewhere tomorrow, I’d go there. The big city life of Cape Town is easily drivable, the air is clean, the temperature is warm, and it's all lush and green. Civilized and easy living with the wilds of the mountains on your door step.

The 300 km journey took 4 hours, the last half of the journey taking about 3 hours with mountain passes and dirt roads. By the time we got to the resort the steering wheel of the cars was squeaking louder with every turn. Not sure if this is considered a funny noise or not.