Perfect for seasoned travellers

This South African Extravaganza is ideally suited for seasoned travellers seeking unique and enriching experiences. If you crave adventure, cultural immersion, and breathtaking landscapes, this journey is tailored for you. Discover the magic of Mauritius and South Africa with KeithVivTravels.

Thursday 15th January

Its 6.30am and all a little strange. Why? Well, normally we would be up at sparrow f*rt and ready for the off, but today our flights to Istanbul are not till 5pm so we have a leisurely morning for those last minute 'have I packed the right clothes, how many times do I need to check my travel documents?' You know the drill.

Ok, so far so good, although checking in on line with Turkish Airlines last night wasn't the most user friendly experience. Standard 24 hours before flight was expected but having to track down your E- Ticket reference number and scan your passport was  tedious and time consuming. Well done ROL's Concierge Team - they had emailed the E Ticket umpteen digit number some months ago and apart from manually inputting passport info after the scanning failed three times, our check in was complete.

Being a traveller of a certain age ( ok an old grumpy sod), I find this use of mobile phone wallet for your boarding passes a bit strange. Travelling alone, I get it, but when you are checking in for me and the Mrs, having all our boarding passes on my phone doesn't always work well at scanners. Passing my phone back to Viv after I've gone through is not how it's supposed to work. How do I get her passes onto her phone without having to email them to her. Good old paper copies that's what I say and what's more, the chances are, the person at check in will probably print a new one anyway! 

Collected on time only to hear that Tony is retiring at the end of the year - such a nice guy who spent 32 years living in Warlingham and now lives in Pevensey Bay, yet still looks after his former locals! What a trooper!

Through check in and shown into the so called Business Class lounge - sadly when using non UK based airlines such as Turkish Airlines, they share the lounge facilities with all and sundry. Not the best choice of food or drinks but it's 'free' and now it's mid afternoon is a little quieter. 

Proceeded to the boarding gate and boarded a few minutes late which was only the start of our problems. It took ages to get everyone on board and then, after the famous " doors to manual and cross check " we pushed back and stopped.

After about 10 minutes, we started to move but old clever clogs here realised all we were doing was heading back from whence we came!

In English with a broad Turkish twang, the pilot announced we had a technical problem with an engine and are returning to the gate. At this point, I'm thinking Air Crash Investigation on the TV and feeling thankful that we were in the hands of the British Engineering fraternity and not some far away place with a bag of spanners and a tin of WD40!

Back at the gate, doors opened and several burly beefy looking guys got on. To be honest and I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover but bloody hell, did I think they held a degree in civil or mechanical engineering? I think not.

At this point a young female passenger walked to the front of the plane and chatted with a stewardess. Not being nosey ( you know me!) but it appeared this lady had been spooked by the 'we have a problem, Houston' message from the Captain and basically was demanding to be allowed off. Most unusual but they acceded to her request and off she got. 

This action sparked a frenzied search in which every passenger had to identify their own luggage to make sure this lady hadn't left anything untoward on board. The search was hardly foolproof consisting of a vague wave at the overhead locker and a look at any passenger in the vicinity with a nod of the head and a comment of 'yours?'. Add to that the need to remove her hold luggage, I am now even more certain we will be featuring in a future episode of ACI - what caused this plane to fall from the sky.... an engine failure or an exploding piece of luggage?

At last after an hour and twenty minutes we were taxiing to the runway in torrential rain, driving wind and a distinct feeling of unease. A very bumpy take off but at least not only did we take off, we stayed up there and arrived in Istanbul 'shaken but not stirred'.

We made our connection in time but not sure if our bags would join us but thankfully they did.

Aren't these Airbus cameras clever! Mind you, the early views of the green fields did have a slight look of the Sussex countryside!

Friday 16th January

Arrived in Mauritius, not Port Louis airport but the International airport to be precise, and having dutifully completed our online digital immigration form, we sailed past our customs man. Bags retrieved eventually and after a ten minute drive we arrived at our hotel, home for the next four days.

A strange system of checking in greeted us. Yes we are a group of about 24 going to the ship on Tuesday but this was more than a bizarre check in. A member of staff brought a list of guests and asked us to find our name, sign it and add an email address. Simple you would think but no, for some inexplicable reason they used the middle name? Why? All very odd! Especially if, like Viv, you don't have a middle name!

All sorted out eventually and rooms were ready. Bags arrived and this was the view from the window.

True to its description it's a Garden View room with the bonus of the Indian Ocean thrown in.

An afternoon stroll along the beach and my first paddle in the waters of the Indian Ocean. What lovely sight.

Evening meal was a buffet in the Horizon Restaurant, plenty of choice and all very tasty. A few nice views of the evening ambience of the resort as we retired to catch up on some sleep from the travelling of the past day and a half.

Our first full day beckons tomorrow......

Saturday 17th January

A good night's rest followed by a very nice buffet breakfast including a freshly cooked cheese and mushroom omelette - one of the best ever!

Today was always going to a Rest and Relaxation Day after the travelling. We spent a couple of hours by the pool and then went for a gentle stroll round the grounds.

Along the beach is a lovely forest area with a strange building - it's not obvious whether it's half built or half derelict! Hard to tell! Later investigation revealed it is in operation and is actually the Training Centre for the local Coastguard.

Trying one of the three restaurants tonight, an Indian! Should be good. Will let you know later!

It's a large resort over many acres, a bit remote so we have booked a day's trip around the southern part of Mauritius for tomorrow.

Before we adjourn for the night, the Zafran Restaurant was excellent with wafer thin popadoms, a starter of broken samosas ( I think chefs refer to them as 'deconstructed' in posh nosh places, and a chicken biriyani for me which was served without a sauce (only British Indian cuisine has a sauce, I'm told). Viv had chicken tikka for starter and a chicken spinach dish (not sag aloo) in a savoury spicy sauce ( which helped my biriyani!!) and a sweet no less.

Please note just water for drinks! Must be a first!

Sunday 18th January

Our driver arrived at 9.20am - earlier than planned and we headed out on our tour of the Southern part of Mauritius.

As we headed past the International Airport, the skies darkened and for the first time we experienced rain! Arriving at a tea plantation our driver said "do you want to visit the factory and sample some tea" Our joint response was "not in this rain thanks". It was hosing down.

Next stop was the largest Hindu complex in the island. This is the best I could manage by way of a memento....

As you can see it was still a tad cyclonic outside!

Undeterred we moved on to our next stop, Alexandra Falls. By this time it was still raining but we thought sod it, we've come all this way we must see something. A trek up some slippery steps yielded a stunning view of ..... not a lot to be honest. Those who have lucky enough to have seen Iguazo Falls in South America ( check out South America 2017 blog) would have been forgiven for missing this trickle altogether.

Hardly wasting a minute, we trekked back to our waiting chariot ( which I must say was a very pleasant 7 seater for 2) and set off for the Black Rivers Gorge, which we were told is most spectacular. Sadly not in the rain and low cloud it's not.

However as luck would have it, the rain was easing off and the clouds and mist started to clear. Success at last....

The gorge appeared and impressive it certainly was.

A few miles down the road we came to what we expected would be the highlight of the day. In fact, a double delight, firstly a better waterfall in the sunshine (don't things always look better in the sun) and secondly a Geopark ( more later). Here is the waterfall in all it glory in a place called Chamarel.

Named after the first owner, a chap named Charles Chamarel or to give him his full name, Charles Antoine de Chazal de Chamarel who lived around 1800. The falls are named after him, as is the park and he also created/founded/stumbled across an area now known as The Seven Coloured Earths.

He inherited a vast area and grew coffee and other goodies and had the village named after him. The strange thing is he loved the area so much, he left Mauritius and settled in France!

The geopark shown below 

is very impressive, with a promenade walkway around the Seven Coloured Earths

Do you think I look a little like Rick Stein in the photo? Just a thought. I'm trying to work out why my Skechers Slip Ins look about 2 feet long?

Next to the coloured earth is a tortoise park which on inspection you can see is very easy to keep secure! A few poles in the ground is all you need and these devils are hardly likely to leap over the fence.

Helped by the sun putting in an appearance, this venue was well worth the entrance fee. Memories of Alum Bay in the Isle of Wight came flooding back in the gift shop with those phials of coloured sand on show. Amazing how much you can charge for a bit of coloured dirt!

Our next stop after having cleverly negotiated a Mauritian ATM which managed to dispense the required amount of Rupees to pay the driver and, what's more, return my card safely, was a very pleasant beach along the South coast.

All in all, a most enjoyable trip and a chance to sample the delights of southern Mauritius. We are both tempted to make a return trip one day and with so many wonderful places in the world to explore, you don't often hear us say that.

The evening meal was a buffet, having tried to book the Sea, Fire, Salt speciality restaurant only to find it's closed on a Sunday. Not as good as the previous experience - salad starter was hard to get wrong, especially if you choose it yourself and plaster it with Thousand Island dressing. The mains were a problem giving the Octopus Stew a wide berth, as we did the rather strange looking noodles. We both opted for the freshly cooked pasta with tomato sauce, Parmesan cheese and black olives which was bland and lacking in tomato flavour. No worries, it's good for the diet and the cheese and mushroom omelette for breakfast is not far away!

Tomorrow, is our last full day here and embarkation is looming fast. A final R&R day before heading off to the delights of the Azamara Journey, our home for the next two weeks.

Monday 19th January

A quiet day, lazing around the Aqua Pool in the morning and spending some time with fellow ROL travellers, Carol and Ken from Warrington in the afternoon.

Our plan to pack a four day 'pod' for this part of the trip didn't quite go as expected so a re-pack is required this morning before we head to the port.

The Anantara Resort has been a pleasant home for the four days, and to be fair, has outperformed the rather mixed reviews it received on Trip Advisor. The hotel is due to change ownership in early February so we are not sure what will happen but the staff have been excellent and the room very spacious. The complex is big and needs a bit of an overhaul and some areas are a bit tired. The one thing we would comment on is the price of drinks is disproportionally high with a G&T tipping the scales at over £15! Both our livers have benefitted from the enforced temperance - that said, the upcoming drinks package for the next two weeks will ensure that normal, if not abnormal service will be resumed shortly.

Not a bad view from our hotel breakfast table on our last morning.

A lovely island with warm friendly people. Thank you Mauritius!

Tuesday 20th January

Left the hotel at 12.30 and headed for Port Louis, about 45 minutes drive  away.

A very efficient check in and we were aboard in time for a buffet lunch and a couple of glasses of wine, our first in four days!

The mandatory safety drill was at 4pm attended by everyone who had just boarded and it was surprisingly busy. The vast majority of passengers had joined in Mauritius. A rather old fashioned drill with the staff showing you how to don your life jacket. Most cruise lines, these days show a video in your cabin. 

Our bags took a while to arrive but when they did we were unpacked quickly with plenty is storage space.

Dinner in the dining room was very pleasant and as luck would have it we were seated next to a couple from the hotel. A father and daughter combination who are avid explorers. The daughter looks remarkably younger than her fifty five years.

Wednesday 21st January 

Breakfast in the restaurant - first course of fruit and yoghurt (all very healthy!) was a delight. Sadly not the same can be said about the so called 'Healthy Choice' of Poached eggs and slices of avocado on brown toast. How wrong can you get poached eggs. Given a choice of easy, medium or hard, I opted for medium expecting a cooked white and a runny yolk. Not so, the egg was like translucent jelly and had to go back. We now have a new measurement for correctly poached eggs and that is 'medium plus'!

We jumped on the courtesy shuttle bus into town and found the Waterfront, a delightful place full of shops, cafes and restaurants and a wonderfully colonial looking hotel overlooking the marina.

Alongside the waterfront was a beautiful crafted thoroughfare festooned with brightly covered parasols.

Close to the marina are three statues of some of the former great and good of Mauritius, various ministers of state and past luminaries. Here is the most recent

It's hard to tell whether the weather in Port Louis is always cloudy due to the mountains or whether we were just unlucky. Still very warm but very overcast.

As we had our morning coffee we met up with our 'will be travelling group' for tomorrow. We arrive in Reunion Island and have arranged to join an Aussie couple, Jen and Rod, who together with Tony and Kirsty will be travelling in a mini bus for a half day tour of the island. Meeting through Cruise Critic, Jen is a master (or mistress) of tour organisation. Significantly less than the ship's tour excursions, Jen has commandeered the use of a driver and guide who will show us the delights of the island. Looking forward to it.

We sail at 6pm having undergone face to face immigration to be allowed out of Mauritius.

Dined in the Aquafina Restuarant tonight - lovely Dover Sole beautifully cooked. Viv's herb crusted salmon looked a peach if you know what I mean.

The only downer on the evening was the table of six next to us, sadly Brits who all hailed from the same village and had known each other for years. How did we know this, their voices were loud. Not only did they disturb our quiet meal for two, they did the same for the other three tables for two. A lovely view looking out over the back of the ship spoiled by ignorant people who should know better. One lady in particular saw herself as Queen Bee held court for the whole meal telling everyone in the restaurant all about the trials and tribulations of her families' attempts to get married in Covid times.

Big note to self - next time check out the nearby table layout! Schoolboy error!

The Captain held a welcome party in the Cabaret Lounge introducing the senior officers. He was very amusing and clearly enjoys the limelight on stage. From Spain and being Captain he got away with some quite non PC comments about his staff, all good clean fun (ish). We were then treated to performances by the ship's entertainment ensemble, a six piece band (very good), bar pianist and singer (very good), a group from the Philippines whose lead singer would perhaps have been better off not trying to imitate Tina Turner. The remaining singers were varied with one doing a Michael Buble number with the strangest choreography and lastly a girl from Oz who absolutely murdered her Adele song. I shouldn't degrade performances as I can't sing for toffee but then I'm not paid to perform.... thank goodness I hear you all cry.

Thursday 22nd January

As we slipped into Pointes Des Galets, the largest port on Reunion Island, we were greeted by a heavy storm mixed with thunder. Could be an interesting day out on our Island trip.

Hats off to Azamara and a note here for our friend Girvan who is recovering from a serious operation and we wish you a full and speedy recovery. Today we ordered a cooked breakfast in our cabin as we are heading out around 8.30. The scrambled egg and bacon was served on a piping hot plate, the food was freshly cooked and still hot to the last mouthful. Well done Azamara - in suite dining can be served hot on hot plates ..... it can be done.... other cruise lines take note. Girvan would have been proud!!

We had arranged an independent tour with an Aussie couple from Cruise Critic and a couple they have shared excursions either before. Our organiser, Jen had mentioned that her husband Rod's health was impaired and he wasn't able to manage long walks. The lady from the other couple was really confined to a wheelchair so quick fire moving around was never going to happen. Notwithstanding the problems, we had a great time exploring the island's west coast which, given the weather when we arrived turned out to be much better than expected. The plan B put in place by our driver and guide Gregory, avoiding long walks and the mountain weather was excellent.

Incredible views along the coast dodging hang- gliders was the order of the day for the first hour.

An amazing feature I hadn't ever seen before, which I was informed occurs in volcanic areas where the basalt reaches the sea and is eroded by the incessant pounding of the waves, is known as a 'blow hole'. As the waves and current swirl around the rocks from below, pressure builds and water is pushed out from between the rocks much akin to a whale blow hole - hence the name!

Not every wave causes a pressure spray but after watching the sea movement for a few minutes, you get a strong sense of when the next blow is about to take place.

Next stop was a pit stop for coffee and a rest room moment. The local cafe owner was struggling with our coffee orders due to the complexity of how Australians like their coffee! All sorted eventually and on we went.

Whilst not prevalent, sharks do roam these waters and there is a quaint monument next to a beautiful beach where a swimmer was lost to a shark some years ago. Lovely though the beach was, and inviting though the sea looked, I was definitely staying on dry land on this occasion.

Traveling back to the ship we took a slight detour into an area known as the wetlands - fed by local water from the cliffs nearby. Luscious green scenery with crystal clear stream waters looked inviting except for the attraction to mosquitoes that an area such as this offers. Viv was definitely staying on the bus this time.

Jen kindly sent through her photos taken during the tour and being in the front of the bus had more opportunities. Here are a small selection.

The last one was actually mine as we sailed away from Reunion over dinner.

The afternoon was rounded off by an invitation to meet the Captain and Senior Officers on the Bridge. Being Azamara virgins we felt a little out of place surrounded by those with many Azamara cruises under their belts. Nevertheless, the offer of a drink is the offer of a drink and not to be ignored!

A very pleasant dinner in the main restaurant, Discoveries, an interesting chat with a couple of new Aussies, when I say new, I don't mean they were new, they had been Aussies all the time. They were new to us! I was very brave raiding the subject of the cricket but the husband, John, (not Bruce) was very balanced in his comments - I think the Aussies were hoping for a better scrap really which is fair enough.

I joined Ken and Carol to watch the show - not as good as the singers and band on Viking Mars but you can't have everything. Clocks went back an hour tonight so an extra hour in bed.

Tomorrow is our first at sea heading for Madagascar.

Friday 23rd January 

After our extra hour's sleep, we were fit and raring to go for our first day at sea heading for Madagascar. We had already decided that due to the island being a Red Zone for malaria and as we were here for just the one day we would not venture off the ship. Taking tablets for two weeks didn't seem to be good value and also Viv's propensity to attract anything that bites or stings, better safe than sorry.

The good thing is Viv can get her nails done while everyone else is on trips ashore! I would get my hair cut but at over $10 per follicle of hair it doesn't seem to be worth it.

I didn't mention this before, but last Saturday just three days before we were due to sail, we received an email from Azamara asking if we were happy to change cabins! It was a request from a passenger who had booked back to back cruises, spending the first cruise in what was going to be our cabin and the second cruise in another cabin, two decks higher. When they booked their cruises they knew the our cabin was already booked for us, but they felt it was worth asking the question.

Viv and I thought about it for a nano second and even had compensation been offered the answer would be the same. A resounding NO! followed by at least two other words I would not dare include here.

To be honest, we were a bit put off by Azamara even asking the question and more so, putting the onus on us to decide. How would the other passengers react, how big are they, could it turn nasty when they realise we were the awful couple who said no? Would we find a dead rat behind a radiator?

Today, we found out! Returning from breakfast there was old gentleman with a frame and his wife walking down the corridor towards our cabin. They allowed us to pass by and we heard them say " I think this couple are heading for our old room!". We turned and said yes we are. They were coming to see the cabin steward to perhaps give him a tip. They asked if we had heard from Azamara and we said yes we had and had declined to give up our booked cabin.

They said we don't blame you! The cabin on Deck 8 (albeit directly above ours) the veranda is smaller and it sways more in the wind. That's why we didn't want to move. They were fine about it and felt they should ask the question and didn't expect us to agree - so they weren't surprised!

I think they didn't expect Azamara to even ask us the question so they at least were happy that their request had been listened to and actioned. From our side, I still think the decision should not have been put on us.

Alls well that ends well, we brought them into our cabin for a last look round, then threw them overboard......  (only joking).

An interesting lecture about the moon today, all about eclipses from a professor of Astrophysics in Labrador, Newfoundland. 

The rest of the day has been a nice relaxing one catching up on reading and a quick chat with the onboard future cruise chappie to see what offers they have available..... you never know!!

Not a bad view from our cabin as we sail the Indian Ocean.

Saturday 24th January 

Arrived in Taolonga (or Port Dauphin as it's sometimes called) at 8am just as Viv and I went completing our morning walk around the misnamed jogging track before breakfast. We both checked the scales and were very impressed with the lack of poundage that had gone on! This gave us hope that our weeks 2 and 3 wardrobe would be capable of doing the biz.

Even before 8am it was mighty hot and as we watched the early passengers leave the ship for their tours, we couldn't help but notice the rather antiquated air conditioning ( open windows!).

Due to Madagascar being identified as a Red Risk malaria area we had decided before we left home that it not worth taking two weeks of tablets for one day on the island so we enjoyed a very pleasant morning on the ship with many less people than normal.

Most of the people who went ashore to the local town weren't too impressed and those who did the David Attenborough bit enjoyed the lemurs. Viv had her nails done do a very successful day!

First swim today and boy was it needed, the temperature definitely went up a notch or two and it was very humid. A lovely meal with Ken and Carol tonight in the main restaurant followed by a great Jazz set from Rory the Assistant Cruise Director and the Journey Band. 

The first of two days at sea tomorrow as we head towards our first stop in South Africa, Richard's Bay.

A lovely sun set as we left Madagascar behind.

The only snag so far is the need to turn the clocks back twice in three days as we sail west towards South Africa. It seems to be more disruptive than it ought to be.

Sunday 25th January

Woke up just after 5am (thank you time change!). I'm not sure why cruises seem to think they have to change the ships time before you reach the land where the time change is needed. For example, we have two days at sea heading for Richard's Bay and we are now in Cape Town time which is still over 1000 miles away!

The good news is, I hope anyway, there are no more time changes needed.

We have been invited to join the senior officers tonight for an Acamar Experience. No idea what this is but it seems to involve the Executive Chef? Smart casual dress code is the order of the event which is the growing trend these days. No longer needing to scrub up but I may maintain some sense of tradition by wearing a jacket and a long sleeved collared shirt. No tie I grant you but we are British and some attempt to maintain some standards is required. The jacket will go well with my tailored shorts and flip flops!!

After a very relaxing day at sea, we met our fellow 'honoured guests' in the Drawing Room. Accompanied by The Captain, Staff Captain, House Director, Chief Engineer, HR Director and Future Cruise Sales Manager, a table of 30 was laid out. It was the nearest we will get to a State Banquet.

These are the senior officers but check out the guy in red to the right. Hardly smart casual but what a look! Bright red formal jacket with black trousers and matching red trim. Add the impressive Uncle Albert beard - what a top gent! And he was American.

Excellent food and paired wines. 

These are just the starters and the dessert!

The evening was rounded off by the ladies receiving a gift 🎁 it appears to be a bottle of a liqueur in the shape of Africa! How novel! Oh yes and we each got a signed menu card and a photo. 

As with all these evenings with a formal seating plan, it does depend on the luck of the draw. The officers moved seats part way through, I started with the HR Director, Margaret Robinson ( good old namesake opener) and then had the Staff Captain, a Greek, who brightened up after a tricky start. Viv, sadly, pulled a dud, an old guest by the name of Jack. Turns out he doesn't like beetroot (starter knackered), doesn't like wine (pairing wines knackered) and doesn't like short beef ribs (main course knackered). Add to that he was a boring old f*rt and Viv struggled. 

The comic magician in the show that followed was pretty good. A Brit called Peter Whalley who apparently worked at Covent Garden. So did I for some years (well nearby anyway) and I never saw any magicians! 

Another sea day tomorrow then we set foot in South Africa, in Richard's Bay. We have booked a trip to  Zulu Village. I'm hoping to bump into Stanley Baker and Michael Caine - not many people know that.

Just before we leave our Acamar Experience, here is a photo of the photo of the whole table and a pic of the aforementioned Liqueur in the shape of Africa.

Monday 26th January 

The second of two days at sea on our way to Richard's Bay. We cant help feeling that somehow the real holiday is starting tomorrow as we set foot in Africa.

We enjoyed the second of two lectures from the Professor of Physics in Newfoundland, this time a talk about tectonic plates, how they affect continents and how volcanoes erupt and tsunamis happen.

We could see how the current thinking of a US President could have been better served 175 million years ago. Much of North America was one giant mass!

One interesting fact which I hadn't appreciated was the way the Richter Scale works. For example, a strength of 5 on the scale when compared to a 4 is not just an increase of one, it is 10 times more powerful. A strength of 5 compared to a strength of 3 is 100 times more powerful and a 5 compared to a 2 is 1000 times more powerful. Extraordinary!

The highlight of the afternoon was a lecture from Mark Sampson, our on board comedian from two days ago who had spent nearly 7 years driving his family over 47000kms around Africa in a clockwise direction using a Mercedes truck powered only by vegetable oil. 

Here is a link to find out more about his amazing journey.

https://africaclockwise.wordpress.com/

So, after our first week on board, we have enjoyed our journey from Mauritius to Madagascar via Reunion on our way to South Africa. Nearly six years ago, just before the first Covid lockdown, we were due to experience this vast wonderful country, but sadly we couldn't. Tomorrow, the 27th January 2026 feels like it should be a day to remember.

Tuesday 27th January

So here we are, at last setting foot in South Africa for the very first time. Richard's Baybidvour first destination, our first landfall.

We had been warned that customs could be a little time consuming and it sure was. The planning looked ok, each tour given a time to head to a face to face encounter with the SA customs entourage.

At the appointed time, we joined a longer than expected queue stretching a long way. For those who know the Azamara Journey, the queue stretched from the Cabernet Lounge stage, past the Den, past the Coffee Bar and almost into the Main Restaurant!

Customs is what it is and I have no issue with checking who is coming in to a country and who is leaving. What I fail to understand in this day and age is the lack of use of existing technology. A week ago when we boarded, we had our photos taken to link with our cruise cards, and when you leave the ship they check your picture with your face and when you return they do the same. So they have a means of checking that the cruise card belongs to the person who face is supposed to be matched. With me so far?

The first stage today was a queue to ask for your passport (given in some three days ago) and the crew scribbled the expiry date on your arrival form and then let you go forward to customs. Surely this check could have been done much earlier and passports returned so all we had to do was visit passport control customs? If you have the technology then use it!

That said, we boarded the bus at around 9.15 heading for the Dumazulu Park. Slow traffic hindered our journey which too nearly 2 hours.

Our coach guide had tried to teach us a few well chosen words of Zulu, which, if we could have remembered them would have stood us in good stead as we tried to enter the park.

We were greeted by a very lively local warrior type who it later transpired was running his own gratuity accumulation racket. Nevertheless he was a cheerful chappie.

The rest of the exhibits were varied and ranged from a Witch Doctor who rather than bring proud of his many potions and goodies designed to keep all ailments at bay, looked more like a bulldog chewing a wasp or Colin Montgomerie after missing a short putt.

The next were two guys making spears and shields.

These ladies, the ones with shoulders covered are married and those without are not. None of them look too pleased to see us.

Next was a tribal dance, lots of drums, warrior chants making me realise why the Welsh soldiers defending the fort in Zulu starting singing Men of Harlech. The chant we learnt was 'Yeah Boh' which means 'I'm fine' but when shouted by loads of Zulus it does put the wind up you.

All in all a very pleasant trip, learnt lots including the fact that South African coaches have little leg room and rather large Welsh ladies have bony knees that keep pressing into your back and, some guests on our ship have absolutely no manners. Our hosts had put on a lovely spread of refreshments of tea, coffee, fresh natural fruit juices (mango, guava etc), scones with jam and cream. The small glasses for the juice were more than adequate except for one of our party (non Brit) who helped himself and filled three, yes three 500ml water bottles with the fruit juice. Ignorant or what!

Shame one of the Zulu warriors didnt stick one of their newly crafted spears up his jacksie!

Not a bad view looking out over Richard's Bay towards sunset with a rather delightful G&T. Life doesn't get much better than this....

Tonight is one of our speciality restaurant nights, Prime C which is Azamara's Steakhouse. A lovely venue with a spectacular table with a view over the bay before we set sail at 8pm

If it looks very similar it is! Just four decks higher than our cabin!

Starters were immense, Viv opting for the Korean Chicken and I had the Crab and Lobster cakes with Wasabi infused mayo - stunning!

For the main course we selected the Chateaubriand served with Steak Fries and believe it or not, Brussel Spouts with flaked roasted almonds and bacon. Magnificent!

Most enjoyable and we are fortunate to have another reservation before we get off the ship next week.

Wednesday 28th January

Arrived in Durban this morning - what a stunning place. Nice relaxing morning and even had a swim in the pool.

At 12.15 we headed off on our excursion, starting with a scenic coach tour of Durban. The sights in the city centre were a real paradox with some beautiful old buildings reminding one of the colonial past of the Dutch and British. This was interspersed by scenes of piled rubbish, buildings showing major neglect and rather run down markets.

Since 1994, South Africa has undergone major change in all aspects of life. The vast majority of the population are Black Africa with the Zulu people being far and away the largest. Back in the day, the whites represented 20% of the population but of course had control of the country. Now that everyone in South Africa can vote, the influence has changed leading to mass migration of whites to other parts of the world. Very few white faces to be seen in Durban, at least in the city centre.

Having said that, the FIFA World Cup in 2010 hosted in South Africa resulted in some impressive new stadia not least of which is in Durban where the semi final was staged.

What is clear in South Africa is the social and financial gap that exists. The have's and the have not's are poles apart. Some 40kms outside of Durban is an example of what could be described as a 'gated' town. It's called Ballito and is situated on the shores of the Indian Ocean, azure blue waters under blue skies.

From a hilltop outside the city you get a sense of the size of the city.

Not sure the pano option works that well but worth a try.

Going back to the town of Barrito, many of the houses have serious security measures in place. Auto activated gates and shutters are commonplace but was is even more surprising is the amount of electric fencing. The guide explained this is not to stop wild animals but more to help reduce the amount of criminality, carried out primarily by blacks, for whom unemployment continues to be a major problem. During the COVID years, the level of unemployment reached over 40%.

There is definitely a feeling of entrapment. Security from undesirables trying to get into your property is a must have, and yet the feeling of not feeling safe outside your property is equally real. So far, what we have seen in South Africa does create an uneasy feeling that life is not totally under your own control.

There is undoubted beauty to be seen but there remains an underlying concern that all is not as perhaps it could be.

As if to emphasise the point, our last stop was the Oyster Box Hotel, an amazingly colonial hotel that once stood proudly commanding its position overlooking the coast. Here we enjoyed a sumptuous high tea, beautifully presented and served by immaculately dressed staff who would not have looked out of place in the 1850's.

English Breakfast Tea served in china teapots, together with a fantastic array of savoury and sweet morsels. 

Upstairs, on the third floor is the Lighthouse Bar, not sure why it is named as such?

The clue is in the picture!

Umhlanga Rock lighthouse stands tall in an otherwise sandy beach.

Arriving back on board just before 5.30pm we had time to get changed into our White Party outfits. We had been warned to bring something to wear and we did ourselves proud.

Amazing Zulu dancers provided a magnificent performance of music, dance and agility. Sadly too many people had grabbed tables at the front but the next photo gives you an idea of the event.

Thankfully we had eaten so we didn't have to queue up for the incredible buffet and BBQ'd food, but we did manage a nibble later on when things had died down.

Great music and singers from the ship's regular band provided fabulous entertainment on what is a famous renowned event held on every Azamara cruise. So much organisation goes into this event and it is a quality night.

Thursday 29th January 

The date started with a haircut at 8am. Didn't take long and was not expensive. When I got the bill the top line was $59 shock horror, but then I noticed a discount......   -$50 - that brought it down to a princely 25c a hair which I thought was very reasonable. Included a wash and blow dry.... I mean a blow dry??? When you have had clippers ( I'm told it's called a buzz cut in the US) and a No.1 at the back and No. 0 on top - it takes longer to switch the drier on than to actually dry the hair!!

Breakfast was next, very leisurely and a very lazy day at sea all round. We have Ken and Carol our newbie mates from Warrington for champagne and canapés tonight in the room. Gone are the days when Viv and I can manage a bottle of bubbles by ourselves. We are hoping the rather bouncy weather and sea swell today doesn't put them off!

Safari day out of Port Elizabeth tomorrow - could be the highlight of the trip?

Friday 30th January

Todayvis Safari day. Driving out of Port Elizabeth at 8.15 heading for Kareige Private Reserve which was a good two hours away. We had never experienced a safari so had no idea what to expect.

Arrival was normal..... hunt the restroom! Then we boarded our transport for the next three hours.

Pretty impressive standing still but a bit lively when on the bumpy dirt tracks. Not too bad on the back but the knee was giving me gip from time to time. The four vehicles kept in touch and radioed to the others if they spotted anything worthwhile. The first sighting were some odd looking antelope type animals which sadly I didn't catch the name of. They looked sweet enough!

Our next spot was our tall friends!!

Followed by our white (rather grubby looking ) rhinos

We were advised by our ranger that an incident had occurred recently, whereby poachers had broken into the reserve and taken rhino horn. The rhinos have now been tagged and monitored so that if their heart rate goes above 59 bpm, a signal is sent to the ranger station indicating the rhinos are being disturbed and where they are located.

The great news is the poachers were captured and sentenced to 24 years in jail...... bloody right too!

Several of the animals were sheltering from the hot sun.

Honestly if you look very closely, you can see a white leopard with black spots. In fact there were two of them.

Take a look at this lazy so and do. Tough life isn't it!

We drove round for ages and to be honest didn't see much else. Considering it was midday we were not surprised. Animals have far more common sense!

Back at the lodge, we were treated to a nice lunch and a very welcome beer. Then all aboard the coach for a two hour drive back.

Lessons to be learned..... it's tricky and tiring trying to do a safari from a cruise ship, the distances and timings don't make for great viewing. We saw some wildlife and it was a great day but it's better to take a safari holiday where you stay on site and can have a sunrise or sunset drive when more is going on around you.

This, by the way, is one of many thousand termite mounds in the reserve. It's frightening to think how many millions of these little destructive bug gers are whizzing around eating everything and then leaving the excreted debris lying around!!

We decided to give the Azamazing Evrning a miss. It seemed a lot of effort getting off the ship, driving to a massive non air conditioned venue with non elevated seating to watch 40 minutes of African dancing. I'm sure we may have missed a great spectacle but sometimes the lure of a Gin and Tonic and a quiet meal for two after a really tiring day is too much to ignore. 

Saturday 31st January

A quiet day at sea pottering slowly towards Mossel Bay. Lots of reading, talking to fellow passengers and not much else!

Dinner was in Prime C again but we were pretty much full from a big breakfast and lunch. Bit of excitement in the restaurant during dinner when a fellow Brit couple ( we hadn't met them) had a problem when hubby felt unwell. Started by asking for a cold towel for his head, then he proceeded to lie down on the floor under the table. His wife didn't seem overly worried or concerned, in fact she started shouting at him! Next thing the medics arrived, his wife just looked at the dessert menu, finished her wine while hubby was recovering on the floor!

He got up, and asked for the dessert menu leaving the medics wondering what all the fuss was about, weren't we all!

The evening finished with a great show from the magician, he was equally as good as he had been earlier in the cruise. Peter Waddell, look him up on You Tube.

Sunday 1st February

Sailed into Mossel Bay around 7.30. Looks a really nice place and we weren't disappointed. The only tendered stop on the cruise and there was a bit of a swell which meant getting on and off had to be timed carefully.

Our tour excursion was entitled Mossel Bay - a tour of the city and a Gin Making experience!

Not a large place but very clean and many small hotels and restaurants. In fact this place is the cleanest snd most well kept place in South Africa so far by some distance.

A great surfing location.

Overlooking the crashing waves commanding a place high above some steps is a rock cave which is reported to have been the living place of local humans over some 150,000 years ago.

The area was first discovered by European explorers, mostly Portuguese, who were trying to identify and map their way to India and China using the Silk Road. Bartholomew Dias first set foot here in the late 15th Century having set sail with 25 men on a small Caravelle ship.

This is a replica which sailed into Mossel Bay to celebrate the 500th anniversary - sadly not under sail but diesel engine power!

The Diaz museum features many artefacts from the time as well as replica items from various periods since the original explorers landed.

This is a slightly more modern mode of sea transport.

After the museum we made our way to the so named Cafe across the road. Far from being a cafe, the building housed a Gin museum and a room where we were encouraged to design, create, distill and drink our own gins and other created by the ginnery themselves.

In front of each of the twenty of us was a tray with countless flavours, a jar of juniper berries, cinnamon stick flakes, coriander and other various spices.

Behing the tray sat three large jars of Lemon, Earthy and Herbal bases. We were asked to select three of the many flavours and add the contents of the little bottles into one of the base jars if our choice.

The contents of the spice jar was then tipped into a gauze muslin cloth and tied to make a Bouquet Garni. This, together with the gin base was poured into the copper pot ( I'm sure there is a proper name for it but I can't remember what it was).

Ronnie, our South African gin guide then came round to each station and lit the flame under each pot.

The pot as it heats distills the liquid and after some time, drops of pure gin drip into the waiting glass jars. The first 10mls is discarded as this is pure alcohol and then we wait for the small jars to fill. As they do we empty the contents into a test tube type cylinder which contains, when full, 250mls of distilled gin made from your chosen base, Bouquet Garni and three flavours. 

I hear you ask? Which base and which flavours.... my base was Lemon and my chosen flavours were Chicolate, Mint and Coconut. 

While we waited for our gin to reach the required 250ml, we were treated to a gin tasting of four different special gins from the ginnery. First tasted neat, then with a zest of lemon or lime or orange added and lastly topped up with tonic water and encouraged to 'kill it' by drinking the whole measure!

These are the four tasters on the tray.

As the gin progressed to its final stages, we were asked to give the gin a name. Before that, when the 250ml was reached we had to use a hydrometer to measure the alcohol level. Mine was 85% proof!!

We took the neat gin to a young lad whose job it was to add 250ml of water to bring the gin down to a more normal level of alcohol content.

I know just one person who is a connoisseur of fine gin, our good friend Girvan who we mentioned earlier was recovering from major surgery. Now Girvan is a Tanquery 10 gin drinker so what better way of celebrating his recovery than naming my gin........ 'Girvan Special'

The cork won't be tight enough to seal it sufficiently for carrying it home so we will taste it before we leave South Africa and if we can find a way of bringing a small sample back we will celebrate together in May when we meet up with Girvan and Liz in Northern Ireland.

Viv made hers as well with Ginger, Orange and Vanilla.

Just tried both gins and they bith teste raely gud, maibe a lytul moor tonik needed nezt timme?

A pleasant meal in the main restaurant with Ken and Carol finished off an interesting day in Mossel Bay.

Monday 2nd February

Today was our last full day on the cruise and we celebrated with an eight hour shore excursion to Cape Point, otherwise known as as The Cape of Good Hope.

Leaving the ship we passed through parts of central Cape Town on our way to our first photo shoot at Maiden's Point. This is apparently where the ladies came to be bathe when they weren't allowed to mix with the men!

Our next stop was a quaintly named place, Chapman Peak's Drive.

Along very winding and at times, steep mountain roads, we were introduced to the Apostles. So named as there are twelve of them, mountain peaks of various shapes and sizes. One small snag... if you count them carefully, there are in fact eighteen, which rather detracts from the name!

Chapman's Peak Drive offers fantastic views of the bays surrounding Cape Town. Part of the famous Garden Route, it is well worth the visit if you haven't been before.

As with many part of the world you will often find local artisans selling their wares at local photo shoot opportunities and why not? Viv picked up a beaded necklace amazingly made from recycled paper!

This was a display from the same seller only this time colourful birds, and hand made from local materials.

More and more views came into view.

Next stop was lunch but before that was a quick glimpse of the thousands of South African penguins all lounging and waddling (if that's what penguins do) along the coastline. There were a few seals dotted around for good measure.

An amazing lunch was included, two drinks of your choice, Greek salad to share and baked hake with rice and veggies (including broccoli - you just can't avoid it). Dessert was a Mulva cake - sort of bread pudding without the bread, gingerbread sponge without the gingerbread and sticky toffee pudding .... you guessed it ..... without the sticky toffee or the pudding. 

After short drive along the coastline we found ourselves at Cape Point (on purpose I hasten to add). Driving through the coastal area was scenic and we looked forward to being rewarded with a picture at the most South Westerly point of Africa.

At this point (no pun intended), we realised the queuing etiquette of the British extends to Australians and Americans (not forgetting Canadians) but sadly the Chinese have still yet to realise the queues are there to be observed, not ignored. In fact Chinese Tour guides must be trained by the military to find ways through, over, under and  beyond folks waiting in line. More later at the railway.

Those you you hardy folks who have persevered with us through previous trips, will know we are not averse to the odd bit of 'hazardous' pursuits, eg a gibbon zip wire, or a 15000ft Sky Dive over Lake Taupo.

From the picture you will struggle to see but there are fooly, hardy, brave, idiotic folk who decided to trek up to the top of Cape Point. No handrails or travelators, just a trek timed at over an hour or so.

Not for us today ..... so sorry to disappoint.

Back on the bus, we travelled to short distance to the Cape Point Natural Reserve. Not much in the way of animal life to be seen, our guide getting positively orgasmic ( apologies) over the sighting of two ostriches ( should that be ostrichae?).

Arriving at the base of the funicular railway, our intrepid guide ran off to  purchase said entry tickets while we queued very politely to the left hand side of the gangway. This time, a group of Middle Eastern folk, led by a rather aggressive looking tour guide decided to muscle into our line. Chaos as well as an international incident was not too far away. As the train pulled in, emptied out of the far side and to ensure that all our group got on the train, when the doors opened and the crowd moved forward, I saw the most innovative piece of foot and body serve take place.

Lewis Hamilton in his prime would have been so proud of this blocking manoeuvre. A dummy move to the right suggesting a gentlemanly 'after you Madam' followed by a swift yet perfectly executed block stopped five Middle Eastern ladies in the tracks and allowed our party to move through and get on board. A master stroke conducted by Ken the Warrington Wizard had the crowd in raptures. 

Alighting the carriage at the top, our Warrington Wizard announces he is off to climb what is referred to in guide books as a 'short walk to the old lighthouse'. Experts and those of an inquiring mind will be pleased to tell you it is in fact less than 200....... it's actually 199!

Not wishing to be outdone I followed in hot pursuit. Well when I say hot let's just suggest more like lukewarm or perhaps a touch tepid. I met Ken at the lighthouse, I do have to admit I did stop close to the top but there was no way I was going going to let someone from 'ooop Norf ' triumph over a softy southerner from 'darn sarf'

I had to hang on the him as I was still catching my breath!

During the earlier part of the day our Guide had teased some our group by suggesting a tweak in our itinerary might result in those who wanted to being dropped in town and taking a look at the sights from Table Mountain. Due to passenger delays getting back in the coach at the appointed time (there is always at least one), and the onset of heavier cloud, the additional moment of magic didn't happen.

Here is a view from the cabin balcony before we left the ship this morning.

A quick shower and pack when we got back to the cabin and a swift chicken curry in the ship's buffet (the Windows Cafe) was all we had time for. A very enjoyable but tiring day to end our cruise.

Tuesday 3rd February 

Debark day or as I used to call it Disembarkation Day so an early breakfast in the room and then off the ship around 8am.

Cape Town is not the easiest port to navigate if your ship is docked away from the Cruise Terminal. The luggage was all laid out neatly on the jetty, identified by us and loaded onto a shuttle bus. Taken to the Cruise Terminal, some 10 minutes away and then we stood waiting for our transfer team to pick us up at 10. All went well.

The Southern Sun Cullinan Hotel is only 10 minutes from the Terminal. 

Sadly, I think the buffet Chicken Curry had ideas of it own this morning and I stayed close to the facilities in the hotel while Viv, Ken and Carole took the shuttle bus to the Waterfront. We have a trip booked to Robben Island tomorrow so I'm taking things easy this afternoon.

Wednesday 4th February 

Unfortunately, the chicken curry from the buffet has continued to take its toll. Not only was I laid low yesterday, but Viv joined forces last night. 

We were left with no other sensible option but to cancel our Robben Island Trip today. The Imodium and Buscapan tablets have taken a serious pounding. So far, we are hoping that whatever caused the problem has moved on and we will feel better for travelling home tomorrow evening.

In the interests of not causing any undue stress and alarm no photos have been taken or uploaded (or downloaded!).

We managed a shuttle bus ride down to the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront (yes we thought this was a mid-print and it should have been Albert). So named after Queen Victoria and her second son Prince Alfred who commissioned the harbour in Cape Town in 1860.

It is a very impressive mixture of harbour, complete with fishing vessels, shops and restaurants.

Very cosmopolitan and full of vibrancy and musicians. We just missed an old boy playing a variety of instruments under a large tree in the middle of the waterfront.