Day 16 : Northward bound...

We’re both woken at 04:00 by a booming electrical storm. Some of the loudest thunder we’ve ever heard, and at times, the lightning strike and thunderclap are all but simultaneous. There’s a brief but heavy downpour to of with it. It lasts for around an hour. The storm has clearly done something to the guesthouse’s power supply, as the A/C unit has shut down. Load-shedding, this is not. I get back to sleep, before waking to a rapidly warming room at 06:30. Vicki is awake just before 08:00, and we’re both miffed, but resigned. We’d planned a lazy morning getting ourselves packed and ready for our trip home. Instead, we’re in a room that rapidly reaches 26C inside, and feels warmer. It’s not pleasant. It also means we can’t charge electric devices for the journey home. Had we known etc etc… At 09:00, I decide enough is enough - and go for a drive. The car is a blissfully cool environs, and I can charge my phone and power bank from the 12V adapter.

I head up the Franschhoek pass, a narrow and winding road that heads South East from Franschhoek village. I’m surrounded by cyclists doing cycling type things as they ascend the steep incline. The views from the top are staggering. The entire Franschhoek valley is laid out before me. It’s also a couple of degrees cooler up here, with a stout breeze. Back at the guesthouse, Vicks is planning to take a cold shower. Then the water stops. Not the hot water. ALL the water. We cannot shower, cannot brush teeth, we cannot flush the toilet. We hold a quick strategy meeting, and decide to see if we can find a hotel near the airport that rents rooms by the hour. We’d always expected to have quite a bit of time at the airport, so spending a couple of hours nearby in the cool, able to shower etc etc feels like a good trade off. We’ve previously stayed at Hotel Verde, right next to Cape Town International, and they helpfully have a reasonably priced 3 hour option.

Somewhat relieved, we get packed up and into the car to head over to Stellenbosch. We stop at Jordan wine estate. We’ve previously eaten here, but not had a tasting of their wines. We spend a delightful hour with Leon, who guides us through the estate’s Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon offerings. Some real pearls in their range. By the time we leave a little after midday, the temperatures pushing into the mid 30s, and we need some shade. We continue down the road to Mulderbosch, where we’re having lunch. Their tasting room is inside, and air-conditioned. We get a slightly funny look when we asked if we can sit in there for both our tasting and for lunch. We have a quick tasting of their wines, and are then joined by Eon for lunch. Good pizza work, and I have a couple of beef brisket sliders that are awesome. Eon has very kindly brought me an outstanding bottle of Cabernet Franc to take home. It’s been great to catch up with him. Next time we’re out, we’ll plan a trip with him down the Garden Route for a week so we can spend some proper time together.

Onwards to our hotel, and the room isn’t quite the icy paradise we were hoping for / expecting. It’s an eco hotel, so they’re very mindful of wasting energy. As a result, the A/C is only turned on when you turn it on - not in anticipation of your arrival. I leave Vicki to shower while I take the car back. This proves to be a little trickier than planned, as I nearly forget to fill the car up before returning it. This initiates a significant detour from the airport, getting pretty lost in a dodgy looking warehouse district, and generally losing my cool with other drivers. Having handed the car back, I end up having to wait 30 minutes for the shuttle back to the hotel. I urgently need a Savanna. My shower at least is hugely refreshing. I get dressed and packed up, and manage to find the England/Italy rugby on the TV. I grab an indecently quick Savanna in the hotel bar, and soon enough we’re jumping on the hotel shuttle back to the airport.

The airport experience is a little weird. Things run smoothly where you don’t expect (getting a bag shrink-wrapped, security control) and slow where you do. There’s a 30 minute queue for passport control. Even the US doesn’t make you do that shit when you’re leaving. We find ourselves an airport bar and tuck into Savanna (me) and Chardonnay (Vicki). We’re both hoping to catch some significant Zzzzzs on the overnight flight, so we’re just greasing the skids. Arriving at our gate, we discover boarding is already well underway. We’re quickly into our seats, and accepting a glass of Prosecco to tide us over. The flight is a little delayed pushing back. Some cargo is missing, and apparently there’s no tow tractor for us. TIA (this is Africa…)

In the air, we’re soon fed and watered. We both want to try and get some decent sleep, so I go to recline my seat. Nothing doing. I spend a somewhat frustrating few minutes trying to figure out if the seat is broken, I’m an idiot, or a bit of both. A succession of cabin crew come and try to fix the seat, but it’s just not happening. The flight is full to bursting, but the cabin crew head off to Business and First to see if there’s another seat available for me. There is not. I’ll get some compensation, probably in the form of some air-miles to use on a future booking. We’re also gifted a decent bottle of Champers, and some First class amenity kits. Vicki selflessly offers up her seat. I recline it to the max, and am quickly dozing, as we power over the heart of Africa…Read more