Just before the holidays, I was fortunate enough to take a 3-week South African Cruise. My goal was to get some good photos of some animals in their natural environment to eventually paint from. Not only did I get the photos, I learned a lot about the history of the area and enjoyed the ambiance, food, and friendly travelers that the beautiful Regent Seven Seas Splendor’s ship offers. 

I took advantage of the 3-day pre-cruise land program. It was a great way to start the adventure. We stayed at the Beautiful Westin hotel in downtown Cape Town. The city is a beautiful, modern, bustling, cosmopolitan city. There are first-rate restaurants, shopping and fun excursions offered to learn more about the area.

Our package included a tour to the scenic Cape Winelands, where we did some informal wine tasting and enjoyed traditional South African “Braai BARBQ” with lots of courses.

We also did a beautiful drive to Hout Bay Harbor, where we embarked on a 45-minute cruise to Duiker Island Seal Colony. There we saw thousands of Cape Fur Seals lazily basking on the beaches and in the water. From there, we went to Simon’s Town to visit the African Penguin Colony at Boulder Beach. It was really fun to watch them all!!!

That night, we joined our group again for an African-themed dinner at the “Gold” Restaurant. It included a fourteen-dish “Taste Safari” and interactive drumming!! We all had our “own” drum!!

Crazy fun!!!

The ship, my favorite, was as wonderful as I remembered!! The decor from individual suites, three specialty restaurants, food, public areas, cocktail lounges, entertainment, and on-board speakers (for days at sea)—all were the best!!!   

This cruise had two speakers. Both gave a 45-minute lecture with a slide show on days at sea. The Gentleman was a professor from South Africa, and he spoke on the history of the area. I was really naive about this and found it fascinating!! So many European countries were involved in its development. English is the main language… but you do realize the people came and settled there from all over. 

The other speaker, a woman, was very entertaining!! Her talks were on various well-known people and their “Quirky” Habits... to name a couple, Cassius Clay and Winston Churchill. She had a lot of funny tales to tell!! 

The cruise went up the east side of Africa in the Indian Ocean as far as Richards Bay and up the Pacific side to Namibia with stops and excursions to Private Game Reserves and Zulu cultural villages. Lots of photo opportunities!!! 

Also driving along the coast on our way to some of the sites, I was surprised to see such beautiful coastal towns with homes that rival our own Calif. Coast!!! 

Additional highlights for me were seeing beautiful flamingos and their reflections in the water!! (photo from Lisa Miller, Sherwood resident on the cruise, also). Also, a hilarious excursion to an Ostrich Farm with up-close interaction (feeding them) and learning about the market for their feathers, meat, and skin. They are smiling creatures!!! 

All in all, this travel adventure was exciting, educational, fun, and social… Met some really nice people along the way!!! 

I will conclude by saying… If your MAIN interest is to see the animals in their natural habitat and can only go once in your lifetime… I would recommend the Tented Camp Safaris in Kenya and Tanzania… Years ago, my husband and I had the opportunity to actually go twice on Safari in those areas… It really becomes a twenty-four-hour experience with the sounds at night and setting out before dawn in the morning. You definitely see more herds of animals and, sometimes, the action between them…. 

My goal this time was to get photos to paint from, and I did!! 

Joyce Rumack

  Resident — Sherwood Country Club