South Africa part 5

Where to stay and what to buy

Our journey started from Cape Town and we stayed in a hotel of 3* in the district of Gardens, just under neath of Table Mountain. It was a nice hotel with extremely kind personal. Breakfast was regular and we had plenty of fresh fruit each morning. Coffee, tea, water and apple juice are available 24h for the hotel guests. Near to our hotel are plenty of restaurants, and locals to chill out. I found a beautician and thai massage close to our hotel.

Long Street Cape Town

At Oudshoorn we had a lovely residence, again in a 3* hotel, with swimming pool so clean that even frogs swam in it. We tried to kiss them but by the morning they were all gone. The owner told us that he sold all his properties 20 years ago and started this hotel business. On our arrival day we were nearly the only ones, but by the weekend it was fully booked. 

The place offers a bbq area, swimming pool and small cabins for 3 to 4 to sleep.

(Two beds are upstairs with no light.) 

Our hotel at Oudtshoorn

At Knysna we had a major surprise; it was nearly unpossible to fit us 5 in one place and the only one we could find was a house to rent for those three days. What a pity. I would have loved to tay there much longer. We stayed in this marvelous place called Thesen Island, where to get in, in order of security reasons, our driver needed to registrate his fingerprint, that was used as a key to the gate. And thos one here; this was the view from our terrace:

The first two nights were so bright due to the wind of erlier days, that I could even catch a shooting star, by laying one of those beach beds the landlord had left us to be used. 

I felt in love to this place. I feel I wanna go back and perhaps rent some of these houses for a longer period of time. This island offers nice boutiques, and beautifully elegant dining. 

We had a lovely neighbours too; three german ladies that kindly borrowed some coffee at the first morning to be able to wake up. Our land lord had left some coffee, but we are Serbian, Finnish and Croatian. We bath in coffee: We need a lots of coffee. 

Our last overnight place was at Franschhoek, known for it's wineries. We rented again one house with three bedrooms and it looked like this: 

Our landlady was a really nice person who had left to us some of their own wine to taste, among some olive oil (to be payed apart). As a dog lover it was to our pleasure to notice they had 5 dogs. 

And again I felt I want to come back some day soon. In this very same house. 

Generally speaking, South Africans are really nice and it attacts to those that work there although they might come from other countries. 

If you plan your older days and do not want to spend winters with dark and snow or icy rain, South Africa can be a valid option. There are several houses to buy or rent and depending of the location and the estate, houses with garden, swimming pool, view and other extras these houses are still less expencive than in most EU countries. The choise of a real estate to custom your needs is various. 

I am seriously thinking of invesing to South Africa, as soon as I am finished with my parental obligations. 

If house is a bit too much to buy, then try other options. 

If you love Italians shoes, hand bags, and design, South Africa is not the right place to plan such purchases. South Africa is certainly wellknown about diamants and stones called tanzanite. It is a bright blue stone and beautiful with diamonds. 

For a modest souvenir, there is plenty to choose in order of local jewerly and bigotterie. 

pinterest.com

At Cape Town the Green Market Square holds a local African market, where visitors can buy painted and printed art, fabrics or small statues. It is normal to bargain. 

For the bigger statues, I suggest Franschhoek 

You may also like to buy some wild food cans, available in some small shops, and in the airport, or perhaps wine you have tasted. Wineries are more than willing to  deliver it to your home, unless the suitcase can handle the weight of these bottles. I am an expert traveller, and I can proof to you that in a small hard covered trolley I can fix up to 8 bottles of wine. But it must be able to carry up to 20 kg of weight. Each bottle holds 750 ml of liquid and the botel with the liquid weights 1,5-2 kg and I use some laundry to soften the area around the bottles. Nowadays, and to my own comfort I let the delivery company to handle it to me, or I contact the import company. Witch is actually really hilarious, since they allow you to taste them all over. We felt in love to this Sauvignon Blanc and thought that it might be available in every liquor store, but it wasn't. It is produced near Mossalbaai and we couldn't find the winery to go and purchase some of it. 

I never found any pearl in my oysters, but I noticed that ostrich leather is available every where: Also the fake ones. And so are the pearls; fake and real ones. 

At Outdshoorn we found beautiful lama wool covers for reasonable price. 

The local lamb's skin oil is available as skin care items. It didn't smell. 

One of the first thing I bought was a hat. The sun is really strong and there is no way to put sun tan lotion, nor sun protection to the sculp. 

My souvenirs cost about €300 all together and some of the daily extras I payed in cash, that makes my pocket money to €500 for two weeks. 

Hair dresser for wash and blow dry my hair and nails done with a nail studio cost like in Italy; €12 to €15

We also used laundry services and for few € all our clothes came back clean in just 24 h. 

Hotels may charge more for their laundry service. 

In smaller towns shops close at 5pm while supermarkets stay open until 8pm, and restaurants close 9pm mostly. 

We had some trouble by changing currency. Some of the exchange offices are closed on weekends and they do really a lot of paper work. Be prepared to wait a half an hour before you change €100 to Rands (ZAR) 

You can also withdrawal money out of cash dispenser, remembering to switch it to international withdrawal. I forgot to do so and I had to use the exchange offices instead. 

In one of those I met a flirting guy who promised o pay a visit to my hotel. 

But I guess he was married, because he never showed up. 

Wanna join to my next south African tour in January 2018? 

Read my earlier posts and mail a request. 

For group hotel reservations only contact www.kairos-travel.eu

All photos above (behalf one) are from the author. Please ask a permission to copy and paste them elsewhere.