20250129 Seabourn Sojourn Grand Africa Cruise Day 65/96 - Cape Town, South Africa

Grand Africa Cruise Trip Day 65/96 - Cape Town, South Africa - a lazy day, recovering

Ahh...sleeping in. Something we haven't been able to do for a week. Then, at 7:30, a phone call. The suite phone rang twice and then stopped. Dang it - we were awake. Or well, we'll try again tomorrow.

I found this guy in the bathroom this morning - I was so tired last night that I missed it

We pulled back the curtains this morning and saw the same view we had about a month ago

We ate a leisurely breakfast and caught up with friends before heading for a lazy walk along the waterfront.

Table Mountain had a partial tablecloth all day long

So, no horns, no owls?

A mural in a building we cut through to get to the waterfront

One of the local tours

Table Mountain looked lovely

Fun sculptures

Inside a shopping venue

We found a great local jewelry and art shop and bolstered the local economy acquiring some nice memory pieces.

Arlona picked up these cool elephant and giraffe earrings

I got this ring and bracelet pair - the black is made from elephant hair

Arriving at the waterfront

The Peace and Democracy statue is a bronze sculpture by Noria Mabasa in Nobel Square

We were thirsty so we stopped for a drink. Arlona had a Coke Zero.

This was the best-looking beer I had ever seen

We strolled through the V&A Waterfront Mall - quite an impressive shopping venue

We succumbed to the temptation from a gelato shop and enjoyed a gelato cone before continuing on our walk.

Seals relaxing on the pier

We returned to the ship, went through South African exit immigration, and obtained our sixth South African stamp on our passports from this trip. We have:

1. Cape Town entry
2. Durban exit
3. Durban entry
4. Johannesburg exit
5. Johannesburg entry
6. Cape Town exit

We're sure glad we have the extra pages in our passports.

Once back on the ship, we went to the Pool Grill for a snack. It was noticeably more crowded and seats were hard to come by. We're really feeling the impact of additional guests coming aboard. We should have around 400 guests on the ship now and it feels crowded. We're not looking forward to when we get completely full in The Canary Islands. We shared some fries, had a drink, and headed back to the cabin.

Cruise Director Nick made an announcement into the rooms at 3:50 reminding guests that everyone on the ship had to go through face-to-face immigration before 4:00. The last-minute stragglers moseyed off the ship to complete this required step so we could sail.

We went to the Observation Bar a little before 5:30, fully expecting to sail, but something delayed our departure for more than an hour. We did sail, but not before a dense fog rolled in. As I type this at 9:00, we are still sounding our fog horn.

We enjoyed dinner with friends in The Restaurant and retired to our room. We will be in bed by 9:30 tonight as we're still exhausted. Tomorrow is a sea day and we're ready for it.

20250128 Seabourn Sojourn Grand Africa Cruise Day 64/96 - Chobe Game Lodge, Botswana to Cape Town South Africa

Grand Africa Cruise Trip Day 64/96 - Day #4 at Chobe - Boating, Packing, Flying

It was almost like sleeping in. Today, we started at 6:00 versus 5:30 the last three days. Woo! This morning, rather than a game drive, it was a sunrise boat ride, our last activity at Chobe Game Lodge before a long day of travel to Cape Town, South Africa to rejoin Seabourn Sojourn.

A lovely sky to start our last day at Chobe

Lebo pulled the boat away from the pier and we started our day right at 6:00.

An African darter, or anhinga, working on breakfast

It is hard to eat when it is stuck on your beak

An unimpressed baboon watched the fun

Giant kingfisher

We saw lots of hippos again today

And lots of impalas

And lots of hippos and impalas

A fish eagle hollered a nice farewell to us

Another fish eagle appeared to have an itchy beak

Better

African harrier-hawk - another new sighting for us

Egyptian geese

A white-crowned lapwing

Another fish eagle, posed nicely against the sky

And it was kind enough to share its perch with an African harrier-hawk and two other small birds

It's good to be the alpha bird

The African harrier-hawk relocated

Flying with a buddy

Egyptian goose

The grey go-away-bird or grey lourie

Our only croc sighting in two days

The Goliath heron - it was much bigger than the great blue herons we have at home and is the largest of all the herons

More hippos

A Hamerkop picking up twigs to build or repair a nest

This was another new sighting for us

And just like that, the two hours flew by and we returned to the lodge. We had breakfast and returned to the room to pack for our long travel day to Cape Town and Seabourn Sojourn.

We departed the Chobe Game Lodge at 11:15 and drove the 12.3 kilometers to Kasane International Airport for our first flight to Johannesburg.

Leaving the lodge

The road out

Warthogs came to bid us farewell

Departing the Chobe National Park

Arriving at the airport for our flight from Kasane, Botswana to Johannesburg, South Africa

There we are  - 4Z307 Airlink to Johannesburg

We really take water for granted in the U.S.

After getting an exit stamp in our passports, we had a tarmac boarding

Leaving Botswana

Arriving in Johannesburg, South Africa

We cleared immigration into South Africa, rechecked our bags, went through security screening again, and boarded our second Airlink flight of the day to Cape Town.

When flying in South African skies, you drink South African beer

Sunset over Table Mountain

Touching down

The process at the airport was best described as a disaster. The ten of us have been traveling today for nine hours. We're tired. We're ornery. We just want to get to the ship. Our essentially useless guide for the week, Thabo, had no idea where our bus was, how to get in touch with anyone who could help, or any answers whatsoever. We tried contacting the ship, but Seabourn's systems weren't working and the phone number that should ring on Sojourn was ringing on Pursuit, another ship entirely.

Arlona took the time to browse the shops, spotting a leopard, since we got shut out seeing one in the wild.

I'll allow it

After more than a half-hour of having no idea what was happening, our driver found us, they loaded us in a van and got us to the ship.

Destination Services was waiting for us. They took our luggage and got it to our rooms.

A welcome back from our cabin stewards and Destination Services

We tossed out things in the room and headed to the Observation Bar to have a welcome-back cocktail. We stayed for about 90 minutes to wind down from the travel day.

The summary of our week-long overland tour is as follows.

The organization, both from Seabourn and their subcontractors, in a word, sucked. The itinerary that Seabourn provided had little relation to reality. The guide that was with us for the week was barely above useless. The end of the trip was just short of a disaster. All of that notwithstanding, the lodges were outstanding and the game drives and tours were fantastic. The excursion, as a whole, was amazing. It's a shame that the organization and finish tarnished the luster of an otherwise amazing trip.

As far as sightings go, we failed to see the African Big 5. We saw elephants, rhinos, African buffalos, and lions. We didn't see a leopard but we did see a leopard tortoise and a cheetah. I still think it was a win.

We remain in Cape Town tonight and tomorrow, sailing tomorrow evening. We'll see what we feel like tomorrow and that will define what we do. It's good to be back on the ship after an amazing trip.