Munching in Montech; walking with Wendy; boiling heat and bingo in Grisolles; Aperol spritz recipe
Daughter Wendy drove 4.5 hours from Marseilles to spend two nights on the boat with us: the first in Montech and the second in Grisolles.
Summer itinerary; travel travails; party people; broken bones; fetching the Twingo; music in Montech
Summer plans
So, after two months in Durban, what’s on the cards for the next four months in France aboard Karanja? Nothing hectic, it must be said. We’ll start the cruising season by heading eastwards along the Canal de Garonne to Toulouse, and spend a week in that lovely city. Then we may continue along the Canal du Midi to Castelnaudury for a few nights, before retracing our steps back to Montech. There, you can join the Canal de Montauban, which takes you to – you guessed it! – Montauban.
Comrades and parkrun; musseling in on Umdloti; Sunday seafood extravaganza
It’s almost mid-June, the nights are starting to cool in Durban, and it’s time to fly north to France. But what a memorable last weekend!
Just two hours from Durban in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands is Indigo Fields Bush Spa, a unique and world-class destination that I would recommend to anyone who likes an idyllic natural environment, a lot of pampering and oodles of warm, discreet and personalised service.
Seriously, what do you give such a thoroughly spoilt man as Roy for his 68th birthday? Such men already have everything they need or want – or, at least, everything in my limited price range.
It can only be an experience, preferably one he hasn’t had before. So, having heard good things about Indigo Fields, I surprised my husband with a two-night mid-week stay there. (Click here for spa and accommodation packages.)
A few days after our arrival in Durban, BFF Sally and her husband Jon Chapman picked us up in their 4×4 double-cab Ford Ranger for a blissful, week-long Easter getaway.
Ponto Malongane is the next headland after the more famous Ponto do Ouro in Mozambique – and 430km from our home in Umhlanga Rocks, Durban.
Mauritius, Madagascar and Mozambique – how exotic they sound! And after eight days of prolonged pampering at sea, we were itching to go ashore at Port Louis.
#1 Port Louis, Mauritius
It’s only a four-hour flight to Mauritius from Durban, so it may be surprising that this was my first visit to this African island.
From Perth’s port of Fremantle, it’s eight straight days at sea to Mauritius. Roy had been looking forward tremendously to the many sea days on this cruise – around 15 in total – and he wasn’t disappointed.
What can one say about eight days at sea? On Day One, the prospect seems endless… endless in a good way, if you’re a hardy sailor such as Roy; but if like me you’re already popping the Kwells and calculating whether your stock is sufficient to last all the way to Durban, it may not be an unalloyed delight.
That said, after a couple of days of wind, high swells and general queasiness, I’m happy to report that the sun came out and the Indian Ocean unruffled its feathers, settled down and suddenly turned the mesmerising shade of blue that it should be.
Though we liked the idea of Viking’s “included tours” at each destination, meaning you don’t have to spring for the generally pricy optional excursions, it must be said that some were better than others.
#1 Hobart, Tasmania
Our Hobart tour started off abysmally with a young guide who was perhaps paralysed by nerves. Fortunately, driver Lindsay quickly picked up on the simmering discontent and took over the microphone from her after the first stop.
After three months with the family in Perth WA, how comes it that Roy and I are indulging in such an extravagantly long cruise?
Well, my Chief Planner of Travel & Leisure found a ship that could take us from Australia to South Africa – the Viking Sun would be docking in Fremantle port during the 28-night Sydney-to-Durban leg of her Miami-to-London world tour.
Ha! Roy was finally prevailed upon to visit Rottnest Island – or Rotto, as it’s more generally known here in Western Australia. (Click here for my 2018 day trip with Susan.)
As regular readers of this blog will know, my husband is the epitome of a Taurean: he loves his creature comforts. He detests anything akin to camping, hates the heat, and is anything but a beach bunny. No doubt he was hoping to continue to dodge the issue as he had successfully done thus far.
