My travel report
Impressions from the Cape – Part 1
Summary and Conclusion
By Ralph Kratzer
After about 30 hours travelling in an open safari jeep, two coaches, three planes, four airports and a taxi, we arrived back from our trip to South Africa, exhausted but happy, and had again the soil of Northern Cyprus under our feet.
As I’m different from other people (at least according to my partner Sarah) I start my travel report with the summary, and the summary I start with the conclusion from the trip.
The conclusion is summarized in a few words: WE MUST SEE IT AGAIN!
In the spring of next year I will celebrate a milestone birthday. Actually, on this occasion I wanted to travel on the world famous Route 66 in the United States together with Sarah. As a decades-long enthusiastic motorcyclist I thought I should have this on my bucket list. But as so often in life, things come differently to the way they are planned.
We both were so impressed and excited about our trip from Cape Town (Western Cape) to Port Elizabeth (Eastern Cape), that we spontaneously decided to spend the next winter in South Africa. Why? Firstly, there is the weather. When north of the Equator winter prevails, south of it is summer. Now some may say, this guy lives in Cyprus, it can not yet be too bad with the winter there. Compared to central and northern Europe that’s of course true, but winter in Cyprus can sometimes be quite nasty with abundant rainfall, storms and cool temperatures. And above all, one is spoiled by the hot long summer on the island and the well temperate but short spring and autumn.
But what’s so special about South Africa?
The weather we talked about. The climate at the Cape is moderate all year round. The average temperatures range between 20 and 30 degrees Celsius. Cape Town is situated on the Atlantic coast, so it sometimes can be cooler, on the other hand Durban on the Indian Ocean even in winter rarely records temperatures below 20° Celsius. Naturally there is also rain, especially in the winter months of June to August. Therefore, the Cape provinces are blessed with lush vegetation and ideal for agriculture in general, and wine growing in particular.
But the climate of course is not the only thing that matters. Where should I start?
Country, people, culture, food, beverages, flora and fauna?…….
