Viking Cruises

viking.com | 29 E X P E R I E N C E S I S S U E 2 3 With Cape Town as our final stop, we were always going to end this extraordinary voyage on a high Clockwise from left page: Seeing so many giraffes was an unexpected treat; the African Trading Port by the marina in Cape Town; seafood was a culinary highlight; guests can visit South Africa's vineyards to taste delicious local wines. cattle, but today it can be cash or other gifts. Song and dancing from women and children in traditional clothing greeted us on arrival, but the most convivial aspect was tasting authentic Xhosa food. Matriarch Nkollie, who had talked us through the woman's role in Xhosa culture, explained to me that the dishes included: umgubo (cabbage or spinach and mielepap, cooked cornmeal porridge), amagwinya (fried dough bread), and delicious isonka samanzi (steamed bread). In the afternoon one of the excursions took guests into East London itself and to the town's museum, which is home to the world's only existing Dodo egg. Early the next morning, we sailed into Gqeberha as the luminescent sun was rising. The day held the exciting promise of seeing "the big five" at Pumba Game Reserve, the five game animals considered to be the most dangerous and difficult to hunt: elephant, black rhinoceros, cape buffalo, lion and leopard. Before leaving our safari guide, Phumlani, stressed that we should keep our voices down, and that if a snake falls in our lap to click our fingers and he will remove it. I glanced around horrified, only to realise I was one of the last to get that this was a joke. Pumba Game Reserve is 6,500 hectares, double the size of Tala so there are more miles to travel. Yet just 15 minutes into the safari we spotted a majestic white lion lazing by a tree. Then we found a pride of lions. The king was tucking into fresh prey while the lioness hungrily waited for her share. The male always eats first, Phumlani told us. We were lucky to see many animals, including kudus, giraffes, impalas, buffalos and a hippo. As we headed back to enjoy a lunchtime braai (South African barbecue), we suddenly spied an elephant family. The mother stayed back in the bushes, but her eight-year-old had more bravado and we delighted in seeing him pluck the grass with his trunk and munch it contentedly. We were always going to end this extraordinary voyage on a high. Savouring my breakfast blueberry smoothie on the World Café terrace opposite Table Mountain is a moment I shall never forget. After taking a trip to Table Mountain for the must-see view of the panoramic city scape, we meandered around the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront and visited the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa – the building's architecture is a work of art in itself. At lunchtime we nibbled on a seafood platter watching the boats pass through the Marina Swing Bridge and paused to take in the live African music filling the air by the fairground- like Cape Wheel. The Cape Town excursions offered a trip to the inland town of Stellenbosch for wine tasting, and another that visited Table Mountain & Signal Hill Sundowners in the late afternoon. I'm glad I headed back to our ship though, as I think my private sundowner moment from the Infinity Pool topped them all.

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