Countdown to South Africa

Less than one month to go. Oh, what a feeling!!

Still, lots of loose end- international driving licenses, hotel voucher printouts, gps programmes, packing!!
Been teaching Noel the frequents Q+A of travelling. " Noel, where are you going?", " Africa!". "Noel, where are you from?", "KL!". He also knows giraffe, elephant, lion, cheetah, tigers, rhino and birds. He has a Barney trolley bag for his toys for the trip.

We have always made a photobook after our travels with Noel. This is a month long trip so a photobook doesn't seem able to cut it. It's Africa. It's a safari. It's a World Cup event. This is huge!! Only a travelogue would do it justice. This is especially for Noel's reference when he goes off with his buddies in the future

Here is our itinerary, after endless blogs readings, forum questions and looking at photos of accomodations. Of course, the main concern is safety for Noel. Having had two admissions under his belt under the age of two, we had a lot of restrictions. Carpets, pets, long car rides, noise, smokers to name a few. Mommy is also 4 months pregnant so more limitations, but there no travel without adventure. So, here we go:

Day 1: Arrive at Cape Town Airport@ 6pm. Pick up game tickets! Pick up car. Drive to Greenpoint accomodation.
Day 2: Check out weather. Table Mountain is on top of the list because everyone says it's weather dependent. Otherwise, Q+A waterfront, Aquarium.
Day 3: Sleep in day. Maybe Kirstenbosch Garden. Heard only super things about it.
Day 4: Township Experience. While this may not be on everybody's list, it is a must for us. Coming from a colonised nation, we are keen to see why these people are still held back and how we could help.Lessons to be learnt.
Day 5: Drive around Atlantic Seaboard. Small hikes. ( We are staying at Hout Bay at the end of the trip so more sightseeing later)
Day 6: Winelands tour. Arif never seen a vineyard before. Nor had a drop of alcohol. Goody-goody two shoes
Day 7: Museums etc. Maybe Daddy might want to go shark diving?! at Gaansbai.
Day 8: Match Day!!!

Time to head out for more South Africa! The Garden Route-
Day9: Check out of Greenpoint. Drive to Mossel Bay (2 hours). Overnight in Mossel Bay. Short, relaxing trip.
Day 10:Drive to Addo (4 hours). Heard beautiful scenery along the way. Can't wait!
Day 11: Addo- Safari day
Day 12: Addo- more safari.
Day 13: Bye-bye safari. Drive to Knysna ( 4 hours) Overnight Knysna. Again, heard only how beautiful this town is.
Day 14: Sightseeing around Knysna.
Day 15: Drive to Oudtshoorn ( 2 hours)- the ostrich's mecca! Cannot imagine how Noel would react to an ostrich. A lot of people seem terrified of them Overnight Oudtshoorn. We can't stay longer as we have another match to catch soon!
Day 16: Drive to Montagu ( 2 hours). Decided we can't afford long car rides so try to break the journey as much as time allows. Overnight Montagu

Packed days! Time to wind down.
Day 17: Drive to Hout Bay ( 4 hours). Our final pit stop before we fly home but still 5 days away)
Day 18: Match Day. Will have to drive to Greenpoint for the game so some logistics to worry about here.
Day 19: Cape of Good Hope, Cape Point- finally.
Day 20: Simon's Town, Boulders Beach etc. Apparently an awesome drive!
Day 21: Already the last full day in South Africa. Everyone wrote the only bad thing about SA is you simply must come back. We'll let you know.
Day 22: Fly out at 6pm. Must work out time to airport etc.

For those who are interested, I'll follow up on all the costs we ll have along the way. Hopefully tomorrow I could write about the sources I've used in making the reservations ( cars, tickets, accomodations)
and comment, price wise how the World Cup has affected our budget ( I mean, exploded it to the skies!)