Cape Town - the most magical City I have ever been to...

I was very nervous about coming to cape town after 8 years, as I had such memories of the city and such admiration that I was really worried that these expectations would not be met again. A lot has certainly changed in CPT but I think that I have changed a lot too. Not least travelling here with Urvi, in a much more relaxed mood ha helped to bring out the best in tis wonderful, beautiful and alluring city.

We have spent a few days here now, and I must say all those great thoughts and images have come flooding back. People here are so relaxed and yet confident, the city is simply stunning and when the sun beams over table mountain there is NO city in the world more magical.

We stayed in the Gardens area of the City, which to be honest is just awesome for the flash packers like us! There are great coffee shops around and the views of the mountain are constant, we were also near by to long street and so never far from a great night out.

I have always said that Cape Town is the one place I would live, without question, the best thing about the last week in CPT is that Urvi feels the same now! We just lived our dream lifestyle there, lattes, dinners, friends, sun, shopping! I admit this was a dream time to mark the end of our trip, but even then I can see ourselves living here and loving every moment of it.

Heres hoping!

Returning to South Africa

Touching down in Johannesburg and taking a car to Blyde River Canyon and then Kruger gives me such a feeling that I am meeting up with an old friend, who I have not been in touch with for a while. South Africa was one of the places that I can say gave me a bit of the travelling bug. I came here for work almost exactly 8 years to the day, and travelled like a backpacker for the first time.

I was taken immediately by the beauty of the country and the warmth of the people. Despite the history and internal turmoil, the people I met then were so warm and welcoming. Nothing has changed, I have again been blown away by the natural beauty and diversity of South Africa, and once again can see why I feel in love with the people.

Ever since returning from South Africa last time I have not stopped talking about it. Especially Cape Town! And so we have decided that this would be the last country of the trip and Cape Town our last stop. I cant quite believe that we are here, at the final step, the final days. I am quite nervous after having raved about SA so much, I just hope that it will live up to the expectations that have been set.

South Africa is in fact the first country (excluding India) that either Urvi or I have been to before. This is a sign of just little we have travelled in the past and I guess something of a testament to how much travelling we have done on this trip! I was really keen to make sure that we don’t just replicate the trip I made all those years ago. Things have changed, we have changed and interests have changed. For example SA has some of the best National Park setups around, and last time I only got to 1 of the parks. This time we plan to go to many. In total we will be here for 5 weeks and I want to get to some new places, stay away from cities and make sure that we leave the trip with no regrets. This is a big ask but I think can be done in SA.

Cape Town should be the perfect place to end our trip, it has lots to do, great hostels and awesome food all set within one of the most beautiful cities in the world. There will surely be bittersweet feelings when we finally zip up our backpacks for the very last time but I cant think of a better place to be than SA for such a moment. The travel bug was seeded here and for me it will be renewed here. Maybe the next years wi just be a pause before another trip...