Part 6: African Adventure 2022

October 7, 2022 by karenlordrutter

 Robben Island, Ellerman House and Mount Nelson High Tea in Cape Town, South Africa.

Today held a big disappointment for us.  We secured our Robben Island tickets before ever leaving home because we wanted to see the place where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned and better understand his plight. We made our way to the dock this morning to board the ferry to the island and were heartbroken when they told us that the boat couldn’t go out due to high winds.  They stated that we could hang around for the 11:00 ferry but that it probably wouldn’t go out either. Ever the optimists, we hung around to see if it would go.  Lady luck was not on our side that day, but we did get even more educated as we watched the films, read the displays and spoke with people in the exhibits about the Mandela story. One small comment made us feel a little better about missing the tour.  Someone told us that if we had been to Alcatraz (which we have) that we had the picture.  He also said that since the tour guides were former prisoners and wardens that sometimes the tours could be absolute torture as they droned on and on. LOL! Even so, we still would have preferred to see Robben Island for ourselves.

We had two other activities planned for the day that we were excited about so we headed off to our first activity. It is a place listed in the book, 1,000 Places to See Before You Die. Sitting high on a hill in Bantry Bay is Ellerman House along one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world. Ellerman House is the former home of a British shipping magnate and is now known as South Africa’s finest boutique hotel. The staff pamper 14 guests in beautiful rooms with floor to ceiling windows and surround guests with some of South Africa’s finest paintings. We were afforded a private tour. The guide escorted us to the wine cellar which is designed in the shape of a corkscrew. It was fabulous! The art in the art gallery is changed on a regular basis to exhibit the best of South African art. The house and art were magnificent!

Upon leaving Ellerman House, David chose to lead us to the Observatory neighborhood. He had read about a place there called Tapi Tapi where handcrafted authentic African ice cream is made. The names of the ice cream are in the picture below. They were all quite unique. I tried the Masawu, Caramel and Lemon combo and David tried the Matemba, Toffee and Chili. Both were excellent. The owner is South African and is building his business as he tries unique and never created ice cream flavors. He expanded into the lunch market recently and David enjoyed one of his specialties: Chikichori, which is spicy matembo, PB and Munyenma Sauce and Cheese. It LOOKED like grilled cheese but tasted very different. David loved it and spent some time talking to the owner about his entrepreneurial ventures.  His creations are representative of all areas of Africa as seen in the menu below. We walked around the little community of Observatory seeing the art gallery, the pub, the pizza place, and the used book store. I enjoyed my conversation with the bookstore owner as she suggested several books that I should read to learn more about South Africa.

We made our way to the next stop that was also listed in 1,000 Places to See Before You Die: High Tea at the Lord Nelson Hotel. We were very fortunate to meet a young British man, Stehan, who was the “gentleman in charge” for the afternoon.  He took us on a tour and was quite proud of the hotel and their services.  Mount Nelson opened its doors in 1899 and has been the hub around which the city’s social life traditionally revolves. This is the place to have High Tea in South Africa and is quite an exquisite display.  I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves as one reads the menu, the selection of teas and the beautiful service. There were three pages of tea choices! We were surrounded by 6 acres of gardens including 6 foot hibiscus trees and lavish rose beds. The pink stucco grand dame hotel was definitely worth a visit and high tea was lavish and scrumptious!  A MUST when visiting South Africa.

This was our last night in South Africa and we were certainly sad to leave as we walked around a bit and then returned to our hotel to do laundry tasks, repack and prepare for our flight to Victoria Falls. Thank goodness for that complimentary upgrade with the washer and dryer! Victoria Falls is one of the seven natural wonders of the world and it is described as breathtaking. We were ready to see it!

Karen