A happy new year to all our readers.
We are back in France enjoying blue skies after Christmas in London.
The first thing for Pat to do now is to finalise the plans for our trip to South Africa in 6 weeks's time.
Here is the timetable:
Saturday 16 February:
Train Béziers -> London. Stay with Helen, Nick and Ernie and catching up with James.
Thursday 21 February:
Fly Heathrow to Johannesburg and on to Durban.
Friday 22 - Thursday 28 February:
Stay with John’s second cousin Georgina and her husband Michael de Klerk in Pietermaritzburg. We look forward to seeing their area including Drakensberg, the 1000 hills, and Durban beaches.
Thursday 28 February - Saturday 2 March:
Fly Durban to Johannesburg and stay there for for two nights. See Johannesburg on Friday.
Saturday 2 - Monday 4 March:
Take the Gautrain from Johannesburg to Pretoria and stay there for two nights. Take a guided tour of Soweto on Sunday.
Monday 4 - Tuesday 5 March:
Board the luxurious Blue Train from Pretoria to Cape Town. The train usually stops at the Kimberley diamond mine and we hope to see that. www.bluetrain.co.za
Tuesday 5 - Tuesday 12 March:
Arrive in Cape Town and move into an apartment close to the V&A waterfront for a week. We will hire a car while we see the sights of Cape Town including Table Mountain (weather permitting), Robben Island, etc etc. We also hope to catch up with Georgina and Michael’s son, Mike who has an organic chocolate shop in Cape Town.
Tuesday 12 March:
Fly Cape Town to Port Elizabeth and stay overnight in PE.
Wednesday 13 - Friday 15 March:
Picked up from Port Elizabeth to go to the Shamwari Game Park www.shamwari.com. We will stay in Long Lee Manor lodge where a typical 2 night stay is described as
13h00 Recommended arrival time
15h00 Afternoon tea
16h00 Afternoon game drive
20h00 Pre dinner drinks
20h30 Dinner
05h30 Wake up call
05h45 Early morning refreshments
06h00 Morning game drive
09h00 Continental breakfast buffet and hot breakfast
12h00 Lunch
15h00 Afternoon tea
16h00 Afternoon game drive
20h00 Pre dinner drinks
20h30 Dinner
05h30 Wake up call
05h45 Early morning refreshments
06h00 Morning game drive
09h00 Continental breakfast buffet and hot breakfast
11h00 Requested check-out time
Hard work!
Friday 15 - Thursday 21 March:
Return to Port Elizabeth to collect a car and then work our way along Route 62 and the Garden Route to Franschhloek in the Stellenbosch wine area.
It is possible to do this journey in a day, but we will be taking it easy and seeing the sights. We are basing the trip on our drive down Queensland from O’Reilly’s Rainforest retreat, south of Brisbane to Sydney in 2011.
We have plenty on the list including Cape Francis, Plettenberg Bay, Kynsna, Oudtshorn and Hermanus.
Thursday 21 - Saturday 23 March:
Stay at La Petite Ferme, Franschhloek in the Stellenbosch enjoying the views and trying the wines. www.lapetiteferme.co.za
Saturday 23 March:
Drive the short distance from Franschhloek to Cape Town, then take the evening flight back to London.
Sunday 24 - Wednesday 27 March:
Stay in London for a few nights, seeing the family.
Wednesday 27 March:
EuroStar from London to Paris and then the TGV back to Béziers.