For my first couple of days in Cape Town, I had the company of my co-worker and her family, which was great to give me some built in fellow tourists for the first few days. Other than a day and a half in a similar situation in Hawaii, I have never done solo traveling.

As fate would have it, however, my final day in Cape Town was to be spent alone.

After my morning meeting, the day was mine. I already knew what was in the books for me - the famous wines of South Africa, and more specifically Stellenbosch. I had four hours before I needed to be at the airport, and while not nearly as much time as I would want, it gave me the time I needed to head out that way.

Since I didn't have a car, I hired a driver for the half day. He suggested we make a pit stop on our way out to Stellenbosch, which after hearing his idea I quickly agreed to. Even though I had seen cheetahs on our Kenyan Safari, this was a chance to get upclose and personal at Paardevlei Cheetah Outreach Centre.

In South Africa (and probably a lot of Africa), as farming lands and cities grow, the cheetahs in the wild are being run out of their natural habitat. When these farmlands encroach on the cheetahs homes, their food is taken away, so they tend to find new food sources, like the farmers cows and other animals. To protect their animals, farmers shoot or poison the cheetahs. The point of the outreach centre is to teach farmers how to live with the cheetahs, and inform them of alternative methods of protecting their livestock.

The way they do this is actually through Anatolian sheep dogs (from Turkey!). Cheetahs are not naturally aggressive animals, and therefore if they are challenged, they typically flee versus fight. The outreach centre not only teaches the farmers how to use these dogs, but also breeds them and provides them to the farmers. It has been so successful, there's now a waiting list for farmers wanting to get the dogs!

Back to the cheetahs though. They keep cheetahs at the centre to educate people on their true nature. I know some from our safari trip that they aren't inclined to hurt people, but it was amazing to be so close to one. They do stay with their handlers all the time, so they can keep an eye on their attitude and if they are open to having people around them. I got to visit Joseph and spent several minutes just stroking his fur and chatting with the handler about him. He's 11 years old, so he's an old pro at meeting people at the outreach centre.

After my encounter, it was off to try some wine! While I usually wouldn't drink before a flight, I couldn't pass up the opportunity. First up, we stopped at Bilton Wines for a chocolate and wine tasting. For each class of wine, they had a corresponding chocolate that were paired to bring out the flavours of each. I loved the cab so much that I bought a bottle and the delicious dark espresso choclate that I tasted with it.

Trouble of solo travelling? Finding someone to take your photo.

While I could have headed to the airport now and been there a few minutes early, we decided to squeeze in one last tasting. I figured it would be a good practice to help me to sleep on my long overnight flight back to London. We choose the picturesque Waterford Estate in Stellenbosch. The weather was lovely and I got to enjoy an outdoor seat in the sun, under the shade of the trees in their courtyard. Perfection. I got the chance to try three wines and three more chocolates, all lovely, but no space left in my suitcase to bring back. After the last of my wine, I took a few minutes to wander around the estate, with the lovely nectarine trees out front, lining the drive up to the estate.

And so my time in Cape Town came to an end. We drove back through Stellenbosch to give me some last glances of a place I had fallen in love with in only a few days. I know a trip back will be in my future, and perhaps next time with someone to share all my favourites of the city with!

South Africa has always been on my travel wish list - thinking of an exotic safari and perhaps some beautiful beaches. After our trip to Kenya, this got put on the back burner, since we had our safari adventure for the year (or perhaps lifetime!)

However, 2 months after my trip to Kenya, my luck self was back on a plane over Africa headed towards South Africa.

To be honest, I did have a stop in Johannesburg (or Joburg as almost everyone calls it), but it wasn't long enough to admire anything other than the terrible traffic and the inside of the airport for 3 hours because of a flight delay.

And while I made it to my hotel at 1 am, with a 5 am wake-up call the next day, my first views of Cape Town were magical. Driving in at night, you can still see the outlines of the mountain looming in the background, and hear the crash of the waves. My hotel, Camps Bay Retreat, had a rope suspension bridge that I had to walk across to get to the room, almost making me feel like I was on a jungle retreat.

Over the next three days, despite a large lack of sleep and very busy work day, I made the most of my time in Cape Town.

The first two days were spent close to "home" at Camps Bay. In my jetlagged state on the first day, I only made it down to the beach, but could have stayed for hours. It was a popular destination in the evening, with everyone from families, to couples, to people with their pups enjoying the beautiful weather (although not the water which is apparently always frigid).

We joined the ranks as we walked along the shore, climbed some rocks for a better view of the beach, then had dinner close by where we could watch the sunset over the water.

The next day was a stop to one of the main attractions in Cape Town - Table Mountain. As I was by myself, I took the cable car up, trying to ignore the heights and grateful that it got us to the top so quickly. I had planned to only stay up to snap a few photos, then head back to the beach, but after seeing the views, I knew it would be more than a pit stop.

I wandered along the front side of the mountain facing the see first, with beautiful views of the ocean, the city, Signal Hill and even Robbin's Island. Then I headed towards the backside of the mountain, with views still beautiful, although less protected by rails, so a tad bit scary for this girl with a fear of heights.


Walking back towards the front, I saw a 'table cloth' beginning to drape one of the mountains closer to the see, a phenomenon which gave the mountain its name. In the distance, was the Cape Point. I was wishing now that I had some good hiking shoes to join the others in heading that direction.  Since I wasn't so prepared, I took a seat (and a selfie) and just enjoyed the views before it was time for me to head back to the hotel for my braiia, a South African bbq feast on my last night in Cape Town.