Cape Town to Singapore

[Chairsin]

Frantic (Julie) couldn’t agree with you more. I treat such comments as background noise best ignored.

 

So for everything that is taken away I firmly believe something even better comes along to take it’s place. And so yesterday no while Mossel Bay we had a very rare treat before we pulled up anchor and departed. Looked down from the port side of the ship and there was a handful of smallish hammerhead sharks swimming at the surface. They stayed for almost an hour. What a treat.

 

Last night love was in the air as well celebrated.Valentines Day. At the entrance to the MDR there was a huge elaborately decorated heart shaped cake and each lady received s long stem rose. Afterwards, in spite of cool air and fog having moved in 8n the afternoon there was a bit of dancing on the deck.

 

This morning we are about to dock in Port Elizabeth. Skies are overcast and it is on the cool side but the forecast suggests it will clear and warm up. We hope so as we have an private tour arranged to go visit the elephants and friends at Addo and obviously are hoping for optimal viewing conditions.

 

 

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[florisdekort]

Last night’s dinner at The Restaurant was perfect... excellent service and delicious dishes: a Thomas Keller carrot salad, blackened cod and hazelnut soufflé. Yum!

We’re off the ship the next 36 hours to go spend a night in a Game Reserve and spot the “big 5”... Adventure awaits!

 

 

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[Chairsin]

Floris - have a wonderful adventure. Hope we have a chance to meet up on your return so you can fill me in on your adventures game spotting.

 

 

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[Roxburgh]

Despite the disappointment of missing Mossel Bay, we still had a nice day at sea. The added round of trivia was considerably harder than the previous one and our our team only managed 130 points. In fact, I don't think any of the teams got over 200.

 

There was a good crowd in the Observation Bar pre-dinner with some lively conversation and a few Seabourn regulars who we had met on other cruises. We chose to dine at the Patio Grill which was excellent with Slavek directing operations with his usual efficiency. That was followed with Valentine's Day dancing on Deck 8 with the ship's foghorn adding a melodic note to the songs. They brought around shots of some chocolatey alcoholic concoction. Very tasty and I had four which, in the cold light of the next morning, was perhaps a mistake.

 

As Chairsin said above, we saw young Hammerhead sharks alongside in Mossel Bay. I took this photo from Deck 5 on the starboard side:

 

[galeforce9]

Lovely photo!

 

 

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[TRIPACIAN]

Chairsin keep up the good work, we are on the same cruise in 2019, and we are following your thread with great interest to say the least.

[Roxburgh]

Fantastic day today. Wiener schnitzel for lunch followed by an amazing tour to the Addo National Park. We saw elephants, lions, zebra, kudu, hartebeast, warthogs, cape buffalo, dung beatles (apparently famous) and fighting tortoises to name but a few. Photos to follow when I have had time to work through them.

 

Back at the ship in time for a nice Glenmorangie and then dinner at the TK Grill which was outstanding. Lobster Thermidor washed down by a delicious bottle of Chenin Blanc that we had brought aboard from the Cape area vineyards.

 

The show was comedian Steve Stevens. We had seen him before and he did not disappoint. I am dropping heavy hints that they need to do a Liars Club with him.

[jozi]

 

The show was comedian Steve Stevens. We had seen him before and he did not disappoint. I am dropping heavy hints that they need to do a Liars Club with him.

 

Likely to happen! One of the fun things about Sophie is that she is all about getting (or supporting) the guest performers to do something more than just their regular show. Extra duets, added lounge performances. On the fall South Pacific trip the lovely blonde guest chanteuse and the guest French chef were always part of the ukelele band, she had a great voice and he was happy to join the other men in the Tahitian pig dance. And the guest comedienne was part of Liar's Club. So yes, likely to happen!

[Kevnzworld]

Today is the second day in Port Elizabeth. Yesterday we took the Township tour. For those that are considering this itinerary in the future, I highly recommend visiting the townships via the organized ship tour. One of the highlights was a primary school we visited in an area of poverty. The work the teachers and administrators are doing borders on heroic. The tour gave us a better perspective of South Africa, and we enjoyed it. It should be noted that the tour company works closely with the townships and 50% of the tour proceeds fund various charitable projects.

[Chairsin]

The weather started off cool and overcast but by the afternoon cleared considerably. All in all a very comfortable day to visit Addo. We were picked up at 11 for our private tour so we could head to the park and get the animals wArmed up for the Seabourn tour that afternoon. And while we saw a wide variety of animals certainly it was our many encounters with the elephants that made the day. However if you ask my DH It was our the great unsung hero the dung beetle. In a prior trip to Africa he was sorely disappointed not to see these creatures and has been obsessed with them since. So yesterday as we came across them over and over again he was on cloud nine. There is something about watching one of these guys rolling a ball of dung much bigger than themselves across the ground. No doubt that pic will get blown up and placed in a walk in his study. No doubt Roxbugh will post many great pics but until then here is one of my pachyderm pics.

 

 

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[stamfordian]

...dung beatles (apparently famous)..

 

I think you may be referring to a rather insipid Moldavian tribute band who attempted to perform cover versions of the classic Liverpudlian quartet without much success in Western European pop charts.

 

They took their name from the southern African dung beetle, known for attempting Sisyphean tasks with a large ball of excrement.

[Roxburgh]

I think you may be referring to a rather insipid Moldavian tribute band who attempted to perform cover versions of the classic Liverpudlian quartet without much success in Western European pop charts.

 

They took their name from the southern African dung beetle, known for attempting Sisyphean tasks with a large ball of excrement.

 

[Roxburgh]

A few photos from the Addo Park yesterday:

 

 

[Roxburgh]

 

 

[StLouisCruisers]

Awesome pics, everyone! Thank you.

[Kevnzworld]

Last night was the Chinese market dinner in the Colonnade for Chinese New Year. The food was great, and the restaurant was full by 7:30. I really enjoyed the Peking style duck.

The special dinner buffets in the Colonnade may be my favorite meals on the ship.

 

Today is a sea day, the weather is overcast and ship maintenance is working on the pool deck. To make matters worse, the WiFi is unusable. Oh well......tomorrow is Durban.

[florisdekort]

Today is a sea day, the weather is overcast and ship maintenance is working on the pool deck. To make matters worse, the WiFi is unusable. Oh well......tomorrow is Durban.

 

 

The WiFi is a joke...

 

The pool was closed both the day before yesterday and yesterday. Today it’s open but now they’re working on the pool deck with equipment that makes noise. It’s the fourth time (!) since Miami they’re trying to rectify the same issues with the decking which comes loose in hot weather, apparently courtesy of sloppy work during the recent dry dock. First world problems, but not very “luxury”.

 

Dinner at the restaurant was excellent last night but the “new style” wine service isn’t a success yet. My Sauvignon Blanc showed up as Cabernet Sauvignon last evening [emoji16]

[BrisbaneGran]

We are doing this cruise next year, in the opposite direction. I would be very grateful if anyone can give me some idea of what overnights are offered, and approx. costs? We will never get to Africa again, so this will be only chance of visiting any Game Parks. The excursions for next years cruise are not available yet, so just some ideas of what we can hope for would be very appreciated.

[Laylam]

We are doing this cruise next year, in the opposite direction. I would be very grateful if anyone can give me some idea of what overnights are offered, and approx. costs? We will never get to Africa again, so this will be only chance of visiting any Game Parks. The excursions for next years cruise are not available yet, so just some ideas of what we can hope for would be very appreciated.

We will be on that cruise as well and plan on visiting Addo Elephant Park from Port Elizabeth http://addopark.com/

We are staying on for the 12 day Cape Town to Cape Town as it has an overnight in Port Elizabeth, thus allowing more time for a visit.

[Chairsin]

Overnight safari option out of Port Elizabeth was to Shamwari Game Reserve or Pumba Game Reserve and cost 1999 USD. Many people I spoke with yesterday did this privately. Out of Durban the overnight option is to Phinda Game Reserve for 2499 USD.

 

 

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[BrisbaneGran]

We will be on that cruise as well and plan on visiting Addo Elephant Park from Port Elizabeth http://addopark.com/

We are staying on for the 12 day Cape Town to Cape Town as it has an overnight in Port Elizabeth, thus allowing more time for a visit.

 

we are doing the 12 days extra as well. So far no excursions are showing on the Seabourn website though.

[Roxburgh]

Busy sea day yesterday. Trivia at 12.00, followed by a quick lunch ay the Patio. Then a 'conversation' at 2.30pm on the slave trade followed by South African wine tasting at 3.15pm. The second Steve Stevens show was at 6.30pm and was just as funny as the first. Then a late Keller dinner at the Colonnade; Clam Bake which was very good. Finished the evening in the Observation Bar for a somewhat raucous 'name that tune'. There were three teams two of which tied for the win. Unsurprisingly, I was on the 'bar team'. All in all, a very good Seabourn day.

 

The internet remains slow. That can be frustrating at times but I remind myself that it doesn't actually matter in the grand scheme of things.

 

We arrived in Durban this morning to a beautiful sunny day. This is a big and busy port and there is lots to see from the decks of Sojourn. There are dire warnings in the Herald of pickpockets, muggers, etc.. We are told to assume they might be armed. And to think I left my Glock at home :o

 

Anyway, we are off to the Tala Game Reserve later. Hopefully we will get to see the elusive Rhino this time.

[PaulaJK]

Absolutely fabulous photos. I could almost hear the lion's roar! Paula

[wripro]

We are doing this cruise next year, in the opposite direction. I would be very grateful if anyone can give me some idea of what overnights are offered, and approx. costs? We will never get to Africa again, so this will be only chance of visiting any Game Parks. The excursions for next years cruise are not available yet, so just some ideas of what we can hope for would be very appreciated.

 

If this will be your only time in South Africa PLEASE do yourselves a huge favor and add a few days pre or post cruise to do a proper safari to at least two camps where you can get the actual experience of the bush in the early morning as well as late afternoon and evening. Day trips offered by cruise lines just cannot do justice to the thrill of a lifetime you will get from a more extensive visit. And work with a TA experienced in the area to make your safari everything it should be. You will not regret the time or money spent on this.

[Roxburgh]

If this will be your only time in South Africa PLEASE do yourselves a huge favor and add a few days pre or post cruise to do a proper safari to at least two camps where you can get the actual experience of the bush in the early morning as well as late afternoon and evening. Day trips offered by cruise lines just cannot do justice to the thrill of a lifetime you will get from a more extensive visit. And work with a TA experienced in the area to make your safari everything it should be. You will not regret the time or money spent on this.

 

I agree with this. Although we enjoyed our visit to Addo and to Tala this afternoon, there is no comparison to the time we spent in the Serengeti on a previous, non-cruise, trip.