- 2023 World Cruise – The Adventure Begins (Post #1)
- The Adventure Begins! – Fort Lauderdale (Post #3)
- At Sea – en route to Falmouth, Jamaica (Post #4)
- Falmouth, Jamaica (Post #5)
- The Tuxedo Junction at Sea (Post #6)
- Puerto Limón (Post#7)
- Zuiderdam and Volendam – side by side – Panama Canal Transit (Post #8)
- Two Faces of Panama (Post #9)
- Library Grand Opening – At Sea (Post #10)
- The Graveyard of Good Intentions (Post #11)
- Something Old and Something New (Post #12)
- The Captain’s Dinner and Zuiderdam Ball (Post #13)
- Mike West “The Ship Guy”- At Sea (Post #14)
- Sunday Brunch – At Sea (Post #15)
- Taming the Towel Animals – At Sea (Post #16)
- The Final Day of our 8th Consecutive Sea Days (Post #17)
- GLAMPING IN NUKU HIVA (Post # 18)
- Sailing the South Pacific (Post #19)
- Island Joy presents Ukuleles in Concert (Post #20)
- Flowers, Pearls and Roulottes in Papeete (Post #21, 21 Jan 2023)
- Moorea Photo Safari (Post #22)
- Snorkeling in the Rain in Raiatea (Post #23)
- Late Sleepers in Uturoa, Raiatea (Post #24)
- Sea Day Brunch and Coloring for Adults (Post #25)
- Horse Racing on the High Seas – Derby Night (Post #26)
- Fashion Show on the High Seas (Post #27)
- 2025 Grand World Voyage – Sneak Peak (Post #28)
- Blow Holes on Tonga (Post #29)
- When is a world cruise a world cruise? (Post #30)
- At Sea – Dr. Karen Woodman, Linguist, Guest Lecturer (Post #31)
- Auckland Yarn Crawl (Post #32)
- Tauranga and a Visit to Hobbiton (Post #33)
- Gisborne Wine Tour (Post #34)
- Windy Wellington (Post #35)
- Let them eat cake on the Tasman Sea (Post #36)
- Sailing the Tasman Sea (Post #37)
- Two Days in Sydney (Post #38)
- Port Arthur, Tasmania (Post #39)
- Hobart, Tasmania (Post #40)
- Valentine’s Day at Sea (Post #41)
- Adelaide, Fringe Festival (Post #42)
- Adelaide – Kangaroos and Germany in South Australia (Post #43)
- Remarkable Rocks on Kangaroo Island (Post #44)
- Fremantle Fat Tuesday and Yarn (Post #45)
- Perth – Swan Valley Wine Tour (Post #46)
- 2020 Grand World Cruise Reflection and Reunion Party (Post #47)
- Slot Pull at Sea (Post #48)
- A valid claim of Bingo (Post #49)
- Indian Ocean Highlights (Post #50)
- Song Writing at Sea with Trevor Knight (Post #51)
- Port Louis, Mauritius (Post #52)
- La Possession, Reunion (Post #53)
- Formal Night Surprise (Post #54)
- Maputo – Hump Port – (Post #55)
- Our Overland Safari Begins!
- Safari Day #1 – Durban, South Africa (Post #56)
- Safari Day #2, Thanda Safari Lodge (Post #57)
- Safari Day #3, Thanda Safari Lodge (Post #58)
- Safari Day #4, Thanda Safari Lodge – Cape Town (Post #59)
- Cape Town – Table Mountain (Post #60)
- Cooking in Cape Town (Post #61)
- Lüderitz, Namibia (Post #62)
- Walvis Bay, Namibia (Post #63)
- At Sea – Enroute to Angola (Post #64)
- Luanda, Angola (Post #65)
- Crossing the Equator at the Prime Meridian (Post #66)
- Abidjan, Ivory Coast – Côte d’Ivoire, (Post #68)
- Banjul, The Gambia (Post #69)
- SNOW DAY IN DAKAR, SENEGAL (Post #70)
- Aprils Fools’ Day at Sea (Post #71)
- Santa Cruz, Tenerife (Post #72)
- Arrecife, Lanzarote, Canarias (Post #73)
- Riding a Camel in Agadir, Morocco (Post #74)
- Casablanca to Marrakech, Morocco (Post #75)
- Tangier, Morocco (Post #76) 7 April 2023
- Malaga, Spain (Post #77) 8 April 2023
- Lisbon, Portugal (Post #79) – 10 April 2023
- A Coruna Spain (Post #80) 12 April 2023
- Holland America Line 150th Anniversary Party in Amsterdam
- Bergen, Norway: Snow, Rain and Sun (26 April 2023)
- Praia da Vitória, Azores (5 May 2023)
Today is our final day at Thanda and we head to Cape Town to meet the Zuiderdam
Our flight was at 2 pm from Durban, 3 hours away, so we decided to get on the road by 8:30 to give us plenty of buffer time.  We had to be at the lodge around 8 am so they could take us to the main gate where our transfer van would meet us.
FINAL GAME DRIVE
We could have started a little earlier, but we decided to start at 5:30 and only do a two-hour drive without any breaks.    There was a light sprinkle when we started so we put on the ponchos, but it never rained any harder and ended after 30 minutes.
What’s always interesting about game drives is how different animals will appear at different times at the same locations.  Yesterday we saw Lions along the main road to the lodge. Today – no lions anywhere, but we saw plenty of wildebeest.   As you drive around the anticipation that something amazing may be around the next turn is intense.
Once the rain stopped we spotted a solo male giraffe.
I have seen many rainbows over the years, but what we saw next was the most intense and long-lasting rainbow I have ever observed.  We sat there awestruck, busily taking pictures, knowing that rainbows can be quite fleeting.  Once we had our fill of pictures we simply enjoyed the view and then we noticed that our guide was taking a selfie with the rainbow in the background.  We remarked that when your guide stops to take a picture of something – you know it’s pretty special.
We saw a few Guineafowl and some other birds but not much else this morning except the giraffe and the wildebeest.    We were back at the lodge around 7:30.
CHECKING OUT
Last night we had everything packed up so we made a quick trip back to our suites to freshen up.   Peace and Sichivolo stopped by our suite to pick up our bags, one carry-on each, and we headed back to the lodge where we would get driven to the main gate to meet our transfer van.  Thanda prepared a “breakfast bag” for each of us to take on our long drive to Durban.
TRANSFER TO DURBAN
Mtoko, from On Safari Africa was waiting for us when we arrived at the Thanda entrance and moved everything from the Land Rovers to the Van and we were on our way.
Our 3-hour drive to Durban passed quickly as we rested and recalled the amazing adventure we experienced over the last three days.
As we passed by Richards Bay, we saw a 3-mile line of coal trucks heading to the port where they would load their coal onto waiting ships.
FLIGHT TO CAPE TOWN
We arrived at the Durban airport around noon which was plenty of time for our FlySafair flight which was scheduled to leave at 2 pm.   Since we were flying domestically we didn’t have the same restrictions on liquids you find on International flights.   But before we realized the difference we had already tossed our bottles of water expecting that they wouldn’t be allowed.
The Durban airport is very modern, not very big, but they had a nice selection of shops and restaurants in the departure terminal waiting area.  The airport is small enough that you only go to your gate when you are about ready to board.
FlySafair uses Boeing 737-800 and they were in excellent condition.  Our flight took off on time and arrived in Cape Town a few minutes early.
Our driver from CitiShuttles was waiting for us outside baggage claim and we were soon on our way to the Radisson Red Hotel very close to the cruise terminal, arriving in about twenty minutes.
RESTING IN THE RADISSON RED
The hotel has a nice rooftop restaurant – very casual with nice views of Table Mountain.   We met Susan here for dinner and enjoyed a nice sunset.
The Zuiderdam will arrive in Cape Town tomorrow morning and we will return to the ship around noon.
WE LOVED CAPE TOWN AND TABLE MOUNTAIN. ONE OF OUR BEST MEMORIES.
Fabulous pictures and write up of a great trip!
I am enjoying your post and especially the safari pictures.
Thank you so much for taking the time. Stay safe and enjoy the rest of your cruise.