Welcome to Cape Town, South Africa!

Saying goodbye to Kruger National Park was tough. Saying bye to Singita Lebombo was even tougher. We spent two action packed nights at Singita and that was all it took for us to fall in love with this place. We all agreed that one more night at Singita would have been perfect but who are we to complain? Hell, two more months would have been cool too!

Once again, it was time for us to move on to our next destination. Next stop: Cape Town!

Boarding our flight to Jo'Burg

From Singita, we hopped on a private plane to Johannesburg. Call me spoiled but I could really get used to flying private. Since I travel quite often I’m pretty accustomed to dealing with the typical airport nuisences. In saying that, there is nothing like not having to deal with the whole airport security ordeal.

When you fly private, there is no real security in place other than the odd swipe of a wand across your body before stepping out on the runway. The only security that really matters on a private flight is the trust you have in your fellow passengers. Assuming most of your fellow passengers are your family and friends.

Seated right behind the pilot on our flight from Singita to Jo'Burg

After tearing through a storm that was lingering over Johannesburg, our pilot guided us to a safe landing. It wasn’t the smoothest descent in the world but it was pretty good considering the rain and the high winds that were brewing in front of us.

Once we arrived in Jo’Burg we checked in and boarded our South African Airways flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town. The two hour flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town felt like 20 minutes. At last, we had arrived in Cape Town, South Africa!

Welcome to Cape Town

If there was one city that I was most excited to visit on this trip it was Cape Town. To be honest, heading to Cape Town made leaving Kruger National Park a little easier for me.

View of Cape Town from the Bo-kaap neighborhood

Bo-Kaap

After landing we were met by Shaheed from Escape to the Cape, an up and coming tour company in Cape Town. Straight from the airport we headed to a neighborhood located on the slopes of Signal Hill called Bo-Kaap.

We were treated to a traditional Malay dinner made by Mrs. Latiefa Larney, a muslim woman who hosts small dinner parties and information sessions for tourists who want to learn more about the about the Bo-Kaap community and the Malay culture. Turns out I wasn’t too hungry considering I had just scarfed down a SOYJOY on the flight to Cape Town.

Samosas, Falafel, Meatballs, Tea and Dessert

Radisson Blu Hotel

Later on that night we checked into the Radission Blu Hotel on the waterfront, our home for the next few days.

Radisson Blu

Upon check in we were shown to our rooms. My room was on the ground level and was one of the more modern rooms in the hotel. I only know this because I went to visit Nate and his room had an older looking decor to it.

My Room at the Radisson Blu

The Bad:

While there were a few things about the Radisson Blu that were excellent, some of the smaller details of the hotel were not so great.

For example, the closet door in my room was warped and broken to the point that I couldn’t close/open the wardrobe fully. The other issue I had was that the safe had been ripped out of the wall so I had to have maintenance install a safe in my room on the first evening.

You would think for a five star hotel, that they would have these things covered ahead of check-in, no?

The Good:

I really enjoyed the fact that the Radisson Blu was situated directly on Cape Town’s waterfront. Each morning I woke up and made my way out to the outdoor patio to enjoy an oversized buffet style breakfast. The warm sun shined down on the patio and the ocean breeze was never too cool.

Radisson Blu

The pool at the Radisson Blu wasn’t too shabby either! I, unfortunately, did not get a chance to take a dip in this beautiful pool, although Nate sure did!

Nate chillin' in the infinity pool at the Radisson Blu

In the next update, I’ll tell you all about what we got up to on our first full day in Cape Town. Stay tuned for some incredible coastal photos as we spend the day cruising along the Cape Peninsula!