The Cube

Index page for Kenya, Victoria Falls and Cape Town in 3 weeks

Day 1-3: Spending 3 days in Maasai Mara 

Day 4: Travelling to Lake Bogoria and attempt #1 to see flamingos

Day 5: Attempt #2 to see flamingos at Lake Bogoria and then safari at Lake Nakuru National Park

Day 6: Travelling to Amboseli National Park

Day 7: Amboseli National Park safari

Day 8: Travelling back to Nairobi

Day 9-11: 2 days in Lamu

Day 12: Flight to Victoria Falls and a sunset river cruise

Day 13: Crossing over to Livingstone by foot to visit the Zambia side of Victoria Falls

Day 14: Zimbabwe side of Victoria Falls 

Day 15: Afternoon flight out to Cape Town via Johannesburg

Day 16: Short walk to Bo-Kaap and aeriel cableway to the Table Mountain

Day 17: Chasing seals at Victoria & Alfred Waterfront Cape Town

Day 18: Cape Peninsula road trip

Day 19: Afternoon flight out via Johannesburg

The Cape Peninsula (Afrikaans: Kaapse Skiereiland) of South Africa is a mountainous peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean at the south-western extremity of the African continent. At the southern end of the peninsula are Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. On the northern end is Table Mountain, overlooking Table Bay and the City Bowl of Cape Town, South Africa. Millions years ago, the Peninsula was an island but it is now joined to the mainland by a sandy area known as Cape Flats. The Cape Peninsula is bounded to the north by Table Bay, to the west by the open Atlantic Ocean, and to the east by False Bay in the south and the Cape Flats in the north.

We knew we wanted to visit the Cape Peninsula but it didn't go as far as how we do it. In fact, our Cape Town itinerary was so free and easy that we only started looking up options to do this the night before. Well, lax came with a price because it was our last full day in Cape Town and weather was very undesirable. So we went ahead anyway. As mentioned previously, we didn't have international driving license with us, after considering the logistic of commuting with uber and cost with tour grup, we decided to book a private tour. We found some on viator, picked one and booked the evening before. 

The tour starts from Bo-Kaap which we have visited so we asked for it to be skipped so we headed straight to Bantry Bay via Sea Point.

We had about 3.5 days in Cape Town, coupled stories we scared ourselves over safety in South Africa and indecisiveness, we didn't organise international driving license and so, didn't rent a car to get around. Our accommodation was in the city center but within walking distance to Bo-Kaap. One of the important thing to know about South Africa is that, unfortunately, it is a tipping country. 

We had an early lunch at Biesmiellah as we wanted to try Cape Malay food since we were in the neighbourhood. We ordered 2 curries, crayfish and vegetable. The curries were served with rice or roti so we picked one of each. 

Crayfish curry R189, vegetable curry R110

 

One of the most recognisable landmark in Cape Town is this flat-topped mountain overlooking Cape Town and Table Bay - Table Mountain. The tabular shape results from nearly horizontal layers of sandstone exposed by vigorous wind and water erosion. It is known as the Tablecloth when it is covered by cloud. 

We decided to visit while having lunch at Bo-Kaap as the day was clear and no clouds over Table Mountain. We got an Uber to there and the driver dropped us near the ticketing place. As we didn't plan ahead to visit, we didn't get the aerial cableway tickets beforehand. There was a long queue to the aerial cableway but you get views like these while queuing. 

 

The cableway is the one that can fit many people but rotates. We were lucky to get a window view both ways. 

There are informative signs at the top and views all around were amazing. 

When we were about to leave, some clouds started to cover parts of the mountain. 

There was also a queue to go down but moved faster than going up. We got another uber on reaching the bottom with destination of the nearest Woolworths to the accommodation. We got some groceries and food from supermarket for dinner and walked back. 

The Victoria & Alfred Waterfront is one of Cape Town’s oldest historic attractions. This place is huge and we unintentionally spend the whole day here even though we didn't buy anything except lunch. We just wandered around, looking for seals and caught bridges opened up for boats. 

This was my first trip to Africa and the main reason was safari, of course. We wanted to catch the Great Migration but spoiler alert - we missed it even though we were 'in season'. That was also the reason why we made our first stop Maasai Mara National Reserve and went clockwise from there. Most people planned their trip counter clockwise. I think the reason why most people left Maasai Mara the last because well, save the best for last. It was evident to us that the rest of the national parks paled compared to Maasai Mara. 

The trip was prior to Air Asia's new route from KL to Nairobi so the best flights (timing versus cost) for us involved 2 transits, in Singapore and Mumbai. I travelled with my sister this round and we met up in Changi Airport at our first transit despite my first flight was delayed for an hour resulting in me running across Changi Airport but made it on flight. After another transit in Mumbai, we landed in Nairobi with my luggage left in Changi due to the delay. 

We took a flight out of Kenya to Victoria Falls and spent a few days there on both side of the falls before our last leg in Cape Town before heading home. 

I travelled on Malaysian passport and it was visa free for Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. On the beginning of trip planning, Malaysian passport holders were also exempted from visa to travel to Kenya. That said, Kenya recently implemented ETA for all travellers with some exceptions which you can check the official website. ETA to Kenya needs to be applied prior to the travel. 

Kenya is considered endemic for yellow fever so you may be required to show proof of vaccination when entering non endemic yellow fever countries. We were asked to show our proof of vaccination on arrival in Australia. I took this vaccination prior to my trip to Peru in 2018. The other preventative medicine we took was the malaria tablets. 

After reading about self-driving in Kenya, we decided to err on the caution side and organised for a driver/guide. Unfortunately he was very bad so will not recommend. We were on our own in Lamu and the brief tme in Nairobi. We walked everywhere in Victoria Falls, even across the border to Zambia. We organised for a transport to and fro airport. Mode of transport in Cape Town was walking, uber rides and a last minute private tour because we were not organised enough.