Cape Town, South Africa

April 8-9, 2024 - We were expecting 2 days in Cape Town when we got the initial revised itinerary, but when the details of docking/departure times and excursions came out, we realized we would be leaving Cape Town at noon on the 9th. The morning of our arrival was windy and rainy, and we soon learned that the port was closed so our arrival would be delayed. As we circled outside the port for several hours we were afraid we would have to skip the port as in addition to the port being closed we were hearing news stories of cars & campers being blown over on some of the roads in Cape Town (no serious injuries thank God). Just before noon, it was announced that we would make an attempt to enter the port, and thankfully the skill of our captain, the advise of the local pilot onboard and with assistant from a tugboat (that actually tugged us not just guided us from the side), we were able to get through the very narrow port and get docked! After going through a relatively painless immigration process onboard, we were off on our included tour — “highlights of Cape Town””. The weather was not ideal, and we could not see from the ground or climb via cable cars the iconic table mountain. We did at one point see part of the mountain, with its cloud cover “tablecloth”, but even that was for only short times. Still we were glad we got to see some of Cape Town - its downtown area and the famed beaches and coastal homes. We saw statues dedicated of Nelson Mandela, and heard much from our guides about his impact on the area, but we did not get to see Robben Island, where he spent much of his time in prison, as it was too foggy and rainy to see. We did get to see St. Gregory’s Church where Mandela sought asylum with many of his followers while an anti -apartheid activist, fighting for justice and then later on we visited his Presidential Home/Office.

At the end of our tour, we opted to walk around the harbour area on our own. We walked through the shops in the Victoria and Albert area, where many ships were docked and where the iconic ferris wheel is on the boardwalk/pier. After shopping we stopped for lunch/dinner at 5 PM, and had a fabulous (and very inexpensive) meal of fish and chips. We walked back to our ship with plans to go back out the following morning for a bit more walking around, only to learn that immigration officials told Viking that all guests & crew would need to go through face-to-face departure immigration onshore between 8-10 AM, and that we were not allowed to go ashore otherwise. This was very disappointing to those like us planning to so some exploring in the morning, but once again we just had to be grateful that we got to spend anytime in Cape Town; not only for us but for the crew.

I mention the crew as several crew members had plans to see their family in Cape Town, and to bring their family onboard this ship —- as was done in other countries we visiting. As we were waiting to get docked on the 8th, we watched and hoped along with Olivia and Sam, two of the female officers aboard, who had plans to meet their family. And, while we were grateful that we were able to successfully make our port of call in Cape Town for our own benefit, we were even more happy that the crew who were so excited to see their family, did not miss that opportunity.

We were treated to a destination performance by the University Cape Town Choir, which was wonderful with singing and dancing and it ended with singing an Irish Blessing wishing us well on our Journey!!

Walvis Bay, Namibia

Port Elizabeth, South Africa