Wednesday August 14, 2019
This morning we had our last breakfast at the Kingdom Hotel, finished packing up, and caught our ride (arranged with Shockwave) back to the Victoria Falls airport. We were there when the agents opened check-in 3 hours ahead of our flight time, and it did not take too long to be processed.
That left us with a lot of time to wait at the airport, but it is a large, modern building, with lots of amenities – many gift shops, and a few places to eat (though after a buffet breakfast, we weren’t in need of any food). Soon it was time to board our South African Airways flight to Cape Town.
The trip itself was uneventful, and we arrived a few minutes ahead of schedule. Getting through the Cape Town airport was a breeze – I don’t think we’ve ever retrieved our luggage and cleared customs so quickly. We had hired Howie from Howie’s Transport to whisk us around the city, and he was waiting for us on arrival. So after a quick stop at an ATM (and a few sightseeing stops inside the airport proper – there is a recreation of Nelson Mandela’s prison cell there, as well as a fun version of Bo-Kaap), we were on our way to the Radisson Red, located at the waterfront.
This is a ‘cheap and cheerful’ hotel that we couldn’t have been happier with. We were met with welcome gin and tonics, and then sent to our room on the 8th floor that had a stunning floor-to-ceiling picture window, with a clear view of Table Mountain. The breakfast spread was to die for. Highly recommended property.
After settling into our room, we decided to go out and explore the waterfront, and spent a few hours strolling around.
We posed for pictures in front of Table Mountain, checked out the Nelson Mandela Gateway to Robben Island museum, watched street performers, shopped at local markets, and had a delicious dinner at the Victoria and Alfred Food Market.
The Market is home to a number of street food vendors and has tons of local and international choices to pick from.
We enjoyed it so much that we would wind up coming back a few times during our stay.
We were out wandering past dark (sunset is probably in the 6-7 pm timeframe at this time of year), and never had any issues with feeling unsafe.
It was a great introduction to Cape Town. More adventures to come.
Cook Family Travels 