Here goes a long review of TUSK. Note, that I did not go into much detail of the game drives here because I posted several lengthy accounts on LCT during the trip itself.

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Saturday, 9/23-24: We flew South African Air (SAA) from Dulles to Johannesburg (JNB) (with a fueling stop in Dakar). The trip was uneventful, though we were late in leaving, which meant that we barely made our connection in JNB for our 2 hour flight to Cape Town (CPT). Business Class seats on SAA were great, but the service didn’t compare with that on Qantas last year to SYD.

We landed in CPT a little after 4:00 PM, and the prearranged transfer to the Radisson Waterfront (a large BMW with driver) was waiting for us.

The Radisson is a fine hotel with a great location. We were in a “business class” room off the lobby with a patio looking over the Bay--about 100 feet from the water. Noise was not a problem, and we enjoyed sitting on the patio. Some may prefer a room with a balcony instead. According to Ngaire, our “business class” room was slightly larger than some of the others, but all the rooms are spacious. Service at the hotel could have been better. We often had to repeat requests, whether they be for additional pillows or for other odds and end. Sunday evening we took the free shuttle (which runs once an hour) from the Radisson to the Victoria and Alfred (V&A) Waterfront—about 5 minutes away—and had dinner at Den Anker, a well-known seafood restaurant. The food was good, not spectacular.

Monday, 9/25: We went back to the V&A Waterfront. There are numerous shops there, and others have written about the Red Shed Crafts building, which had many things to choose from. The V&A Waterfront reminded us of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. We had a simple lunch at an outdoor restaurant. Monday night we had dinner at Savoy Cabbage, which I had read about in the NYT and elsewhere. It was a short taxi ride away—less than $10. Dinner was one of the best we had in South Africa, though not a large seafood selection. Most of the TUSKers didn’t show up until Monday. The first couple of days the weather was very changeable. Clouds and sun with temperatures in the 70s for the most part.

Tuesday, 9/26: We were off with the group to Hermanus for Birkenhead House, whale watching, and the great white sharks. Birkenhead House (BH) was pretty spectacular. However, unlike what the pictures on the Web seemed to show, it is not really secluded—at least not from the front. It’s almost in a residential neighborhood, albeit a pretty fancy one. However, once inside, it is like another world. Flowers and pools everywhere and in the back, a spectacular view of the water from the cliffs on which it is perched. As soon as we arrived, most of us went to the back of BH and looked out at the bay and saw right whale mothers and babies directly in front of us. At BH, we were in Room No. 1, which faced the water, and we could watch the whales frolicking from our windows. The weather had become bright and sunny, which only added to the enjoyment. After we settled in the room we had a nice lunch, and then went to two vineyards for wine tastings. Very nice. Dinner back at BH was also very good. For most meals, you had a choice of two starters and two main courses.

Wednesday, 9/27. We woke early, had a light breakfast, and transferred to a boat to see the great white sharks. The tour guide said it was the best weather day in weeks—calm seas and warm. Using tuna heads as bait at the end of a rope, it took only a couple of minutes before a shark showed up close to our boat. We saw several different great whites up close. Often the crew tried to pull the tuna into the boat so the shark wouldn’t get to it immediately, but on occasion the sharks were too fast. This made for some interesting pictures that I will post (you’ve probably seen at least one that Ken posted). After the sharks, the boat stopped by an island that had hundreds of fur seals. The smell was pretty bad, but the seals were really cute. (I will be posting some pictures of the seals playing.) We returned to Birkenhead House for a beautiful outdoor lunch (one choice was an excellent Caesar salad with chicken, tomatoes, and bacon). I had also scheduled a massage (with Vanessa), which was excellent. This was followed by an excellent dinner that included rack of lamb (for you know who) preceded by excellent huge and tender calamari that were tempura style and followed by a delicious type of bread pudding. After dinner, we had to pack for our return trip to Cape Town. I think all of us wanted to stay at Birkenhead House rather than go back.

Thursday, 9/28: It was a beautiful morning, and Birkenhead House set up breakfast on the outdoor terrace at the back (I’ll post a picture). You could drink your coffee while continuing to see the whales in the bay. Unfortunately, these Right Whales don't go very much above the surface so it is not easy to capture very good photos of tails. The beautiful clear day continued, and we took the longer, but more scenic Garden Route back to Cape Town. We eventually returned to the Radisson, and most of us checked back into rooms, had a quick lunch, and headed straight for Table Mountain. We didn’t have too much time here, because we had arranged a group transfer to and from the mountain. We took the Cableway—quite a ride, since the “cars” rotate 360 degrees so that everyone gets the full view while going up to the summit—and walked around taking pictures. The views were magnificent from over 3500 feet above the Bay. When we returned to the Radisson, I had a severe stomach problem—I’ll always remember to pack Imodium or something similar. We stayed at the hotel for dinner, and I ate very little, and Gail had the buffet, which was okay. A very nice gentleman, who turned out to be a “natural pharmacist,” overheard me trying to order something like a chicken breast and rice, and he had all sorts of suggestions, if I didn’t feel better. Fortunately, I did the next day.

Friday, 9/29: We departed about 9:30 AM for our Cape Winelands tour. Again, the weather was beautiful. We went to two nice vineyards in the Stellenbosch area, having lunch at the second one (Seidelberg Winery). Most of us had filet for lunch, which in my opinion would have been better if it had been removed from the heat sooner.. Strangely enough, there is a glass blowing studio at the winery, and items are beautiful and I think a tremendous bargain compared with prices in the U.S. (we also had the benefit of a very favorable exchange rate). I really like glass, and bought a huge bowl (and I mean gigantic) that is costing a small fortune to ship (I took a picture, but it doesn’t do it justice). Ngaire also bought a fairly large piece, which she packed in a suitcase. On our way back to Cape Town, we stopped at a cheetah refuge, but we all agreed that it was a waste of time. We had a group dinner at Baia, a seafood restaurant at the V&A Waterfront, and I guess Gail and I were less enamored with the place than most of the other TUSKers. Several went back on other evenings.

Saturday, 9/30: We had a free day. It also turned out to be the day with the worst weather—somewhat cool and some showers in the afternoon. In the morning, Gail and I went back to the V&A Waterfront for some souvenir shopping. In the afternoon, we joined Ngaire and Ken and another couple for a trip to the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens. It hadn’t started raining yet, but it was overcast. Nevertheless, the Gardens were still beautiful, and there were spectacular sculptures throughout the Gardens (Ken and I took numerous pictures). We shared a taxi back to the Radisson with Ken and Ngaire—the other couple stayed longer—and Gail and I made dinner plans. We ate at One Waterfront in the Cape Grace, and it was superb—probably our best meal in South Africa. Our journey to the restaurant, however, was a bit disconcerting. We got slightly lost at the V&A Waterfront because of all the construction around there, and when we asked for directions, we were told the wrong information—I think Ngaire told us the right information—but somehow we weren’t able to see where to go. Anyway, the two of us found ourselves alone on a dark road with the Cape Grace in sight, but water between us. A young guy approached us asking for money and when we tried to get rid of him he said it was “better to ask than to steal.” We just kept walking, and he left us.

Sunday, 10/1: Again, we departed around 9:30 AM for our Cape Point Tour, and again it was a beautiful day, despite forecasts of rain. During the tour, we stopped and saw the Emperor Penguins. We had lunch at the Black Marlin Restaurant, which was quite good. It was a bit cool, so we chose to eat inside rather than outside facing the water. It turned out to be a good choice, because a large, rogue baboon swooped down onto one of the table we would have occupied and stole some bread. (I have quite a picture of him sitting looking back at us enjoying the bread.) Of course the waiters went after him. But not long afterwards, we heard noises on the roof, and he (or another) returned for seconds. Dinner for us that night was back at the V&A Waterfront, this time at the City Grill Steak House, which had very good filets. For those of you who haven’t been to South Africa, food and wine are really quite reasonable there compared to most other places we’ve been to, especially controlling for quality. After dinner, it was time to pack up again for our trip to the Game Camps.

Monday, 10/2: Ngaire was able to arrange for us to receive room service breakfasts at about 5:15 AM with mixed success. While it sure beat the “light boxed breakfast” we were originally expecting, the scrambled eggs had to be the worst that any of us had ever experienced. There were certainly enough other items for us to survive until lunch. We transferred back to the airport for out flight to JNB. We were handled as a group, and I don’t think any of us had luggage problems, even though I know we were overweight. After arriving in JNB, we transferred to the Federal Air terminal, where most of us stored some of our luggage and waited for the departure of our small planes to Kings Camp. There were beverages and rolls to munch on. Our group with too large for one plane, so we were split. Some of us took a small plane directly to Kings Camp, while others took a larger plane to an airport near Kings Camp, and then transferred to a smaller plane for the 10 minute flight to the Camp. Both groups arrived at about the same time because the larger plane was also much faster. It was very hot—about 100 degrees F. or more—but it was a dry heat and didn’t feel as bad as a hot day in DC.

Tuesday and Wednesday, 10/3and 10/4: The rooms at Kings Camp are very nice. They are large and comfortable with a big seating area. The décor is very Victorian and takes you back in time. The bathroom was also lovely with a large soaking tub and both an indoor and an outdoor shower. (I took pictures of the rooms at both Camps.) The food was also very good. On the second night, we had a BOMA (apparently the world originally comes from British Officers Mess Area), which was an outdoor dinner. It was okay, but we preferred the indoor dining. Sometimes, the smoke gets a bit much from the central camp fire. As for the game drives, I think we had one of the best rangers (Colbert, who had been at King’s Camp for 10 of its 11 years). Our tracker, Sam, was very quiet. We saw lions, Cape buffalo, elephants, giraffes, rhinos, hippos, zebras, impalas, leopards, warthogs, and dozens of birds. Upon returning from the afternoon game drives, we discovered a drawn bath with candles all over the room. There were a lot of similar touches that made the 2-night stay very enjoyable. During the first night, there was quite a thunder and lightning storm, but other than disturbing our sleep, it didn’t cause any problems for our morning game drive the next day. Some rooms, however, lost power. We were so satisfied with our experience at Kings Camp, we didn’t know what to expect from Leopard Hills, since it was “billed” as even better.

Thursday to Saturday, 10/5-10/7: We took the short plane trip to Leopard Hills, which is only about 100 km south from King’s Camp “as the crow flies.” Despite the short distance, it was noticeably greener at Leopard Hills. We were in Room 8, which is apart from the other rooms, quite high up, and not far from the dining area. The room also had a nice seating area, and the bathroom had a free-standing soaking tub, and both indoor and outdoor showers. (At both Camps, lighting could have been a bit better—especially in the bathrooms. Also, despite the large sizes of the rooms, there wasn’t a lot of drawer space.) The view from the deck of our room was spectacular. (Essentially the same view was offered from the deck at the back of the dining room where tables were set up for breakfast and lunch. Umbrellas provided shade, though when it was windy, it was difficult to keep them from moving around.) A large watering hole was in the distance, and we saw warthogs, wildebeests, impala, baboons, a herd of elephants, and more during our 3-day stay. The only drawback to the room was that because of its location, there was some mechanical reason why they couldn’t get the temperature of the plunge pool warm enough to enjoy. (The birds thought the temperature was just fine and bathed in it every day.) Nevertheless, we wouldn’t have traded the room for any other. I won’t go into the details of our game drives because I posted most of the highlights on LCT already. The three rangers that were assigned to the TUSK group were all superb. Duncan, who is also the operations manager, led our group—I think because Ngaire was along—and he was terrific. He seldom goes on drives anymore as he needs to keeps things running smoothly at the Camp. He also had a terrific tracker, Raymond. Marius and Hannes, the two other rangers, were younger and very enthusiastic. Marius, especially, was into photography, and other TUSKers reported that he often helped with setting up their photos, including positioning the jeep in just the right place for proper lighting. What was so great about the rangers was their interest in stalking the animals—if you will—man against beast. We didn’t just drive around, hoping to spot something. The rangers and trackers actively and logically tracked them down from all the information available from their own observations and those of others from nearby Camps. During the stay, Ngaire asked most of us how we would compare the two Camps. Leopard Hills is clearly more physically appealing, given its architecture and the feeling of being “in the bush.” For us, the most important element was the game drives, and I don’t think you could top our experiences at Leopard Hills. That being said, if we had the rangers of Leopard Hills at King’s Camp, we would have chosen King’s Camp over Leopard Hills, especially considering that Leopard Hills was almost twice as expensive. Food at both Camps was excellent, and as I mentioned there were very nice touches at King’s Camp that may have outdone the nice touches at Leopard Hills. With regard to the food at Leopard Hills, we had two BOMA’s, which for most of us was one too many. Interestingly enough, one of the choices at both was a Mongolian stir fry—and I’m not a big fan of them—but it turned out to be very good. On the last night, local villagers who had formed a large chorus provided entertainment, and it was excellent. Another culinary highlight was a bush breakfast. On the second day, on our way back to Leopard Hills after our morning game drive, we turned off the main dirt road, and discovered a beautiful setting down by a river bank with a complete breakfast ready and waiting. The weather was gorgeous, and it was a real treat—probably our favorite breakfast of the whole trip.

Saturday, 10/7: After the last fantastic morning game drive (see LCT post), we had breakfast and packed for our early afternoon flight back to JNB. The arrangements went fairly smoothly. Again, it was extremely hot, and again we had to change planes on our way back. (We were never uncomfortably hot during our game drives at either Camp. In fact, the mornings and late evenings often called for putting the blankets that were provided in the jeeps on our laps.) When we arrived at JNB, we retrieved our stored luggage, and those not flying directly back to the States were transferred to the Westcliff Hotel. During the drive to the hotel, most of us were disconcerted by the walls and electrical wires present on almost all the properties—even very modest ones—for security. We found it psychologically disturbing. Though security was apparent in Cape Town, it was nothing like this. We arrived at the hotel, and it was beautiful. We had taken advantage of an Internet special, and paid a little more than $250 a night (compared to the $400 we paid for an extra night at the Radisson Waterfront). The room (201), which was among a group of rooms that had been recommended in Frommer's, was one of the highest on the property with spectacular views of the city. It was also huge—I think a junior suite—one of the nicest hotel rooms we’ve ever had. Service was also excellent. The room was so high that you either took a shuttle or a golf cart to and from reception. After relaxing, we met Ngaire and Ken and another TUSK couple and took the hotel shuttle to a nearby restaurant, Moyo. It is well-known, and as one person commented, it reminded them of New York’s Tavern on the Green. It was clearly a place to go to celebrate something. It was too noisy inside, so we ate outside, as it was quite a nice evening. The food was okay, and I guess many dishes had African influences. It was also very reasonable, but I doubt I would go back. The restaurant setting is on a lake, and the grounds looked very nice, so during daylight it is probably very attractive. There was also live music, which wasn’t a big plus.

Sunday, 10/8: We had an early room service call because we needed to leave for the DeWildt Cheetah and Wild Dog Research Center at 7:00 AM, just when the restaurant began serving breakfast. The food was delivered late, so were very rushed, but the food was very good. (I think had we eaten at the restaurant, the breakfast would have been included because the next day we were not charged for it.) Food prices at the Westcliff were higher than at most other places we had been, but not as high as comparable U.S. hotels. We met Ngaire and Ken and headed for DeWildt. It is quite a distance from the city. Ngaire has posted information on it, and I would just add that one should be prepared for an in-depth learning experience. It is not like being on a game drive. Nevertheless, we were glad we went. After DeWildt, Ngaire and Ken then dropped us off at the hotel, and they went off to some site inspections. We had a delightful lunch poolside. The Westcliff has a magnificent infinity pool set high up overlooking the city. We were fairly tired having been up early and still recovering from the experience at the Camps. While you might not think sitting for 6-7 hours each day would tire you out, getting up early and going to bed relatively late, is fatiguing. So, we just hung around the hotel and made reservations for dinner at the hotel’s restaurant, which was quite nice.

Monday, 10/9: There were no sights that we were that interested in pursuing, and we didn’t feel comfortable walking around off the hotel grounds, so we just hung around in the morning. Gail sat outside by a small pool (or large plunge pool) that several rooms in our area shared. I finished packing and took a nap. We had made arrangements to keep our room until 1:00 PM (without charge), and decided we might as well head to the airport early, because we had heard that shopping was great, and we still wanted to get a few things. We took the airport transfer from the hotel, which was not cheap (450 rands), but we were told that a taxi could be almost that much, and the hotel provided a chauffeur-driven Mercedes. When we arrived at the airport, we took care of the VAT refund, which was “a piece of cake,” and checked in. Then we went to the SAA business class lounge which was relatively quiet at the time, but became very crowded during the afternoon. While they had some minimal food, we decided to get a bit more for lunch at an airport restaurant. Then we went shopping. Gail finally bought a 2-3 foot wooden giraffe that was reasonably priced at Out of Africa. (She had seen one on the Cape Point Tour, but I had dissuaded her at the time, not wanting to deal with it for the whole trip.) I bought some Amarula-filled Belgian chocolates for my office, which we were told were relatively new, and they were very good. Our flight back was uneventful, though about a half hour late in arriving back at Dulles. The food was somewhat better on the return trip, but the service was still not up to par.

What a great trip. We certainly see why many of the ROARers signed up to go back on ROAR2. But, we’ve got lots of other places we want to see before going back to Africa.


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Eugene