Cape Town

27 MAY 2023

Today I boarded the Intercape Bus in Windhoek to begin the last leg of my journey to Cape Town, South Africa. This would be the first time that I'd travelled across a border on a inter-country transport link.

I was excited to be making my way to the end destination and apprehensive about what Cape Town would be like in comparison to the rest of my trip.

The journey was very smooth, with regular stops at petrol stations along the way for refreshments. In Namibia, the land was dry and desert like for the full duration to the border. We got to the check points at night - at 2:30am I was stamped out of Namibia and into South Africa. It was cold and damp.

My first sight of South African soil in the sunrise was of mountains with the road winding through passes cut through the ranges. It was dry and rocky. The bus did a de-tour via Garies to drop off a tourist, who I later got to know as Ross, from the UK. We then came through the Vanrhyns Pass and down to the Olifants River valley below. It was spectacular; filled with wineries, cattle farms and open grassland - very fertile.

Cape Town came far too quickly. We could see Table Mountain towering over the city and the sun was shining. The bus pulled into the station depot and I prepared to disembark. I'd received many different reports about safety in Cape Town and was quite worried about walking through the town. Needless to say, it was safe and friendly and I walked easily to my hotel based in Long Street in the centre of the city. I immediately felt at ease; Cape Town is modern, diverse and edgy. Just how I like it....

My first stop when exploring - a coffee shop in the Methodist Church. What a blast from the past!