Hello Everyone.Well we are now in Cape Town and what a place this is. We have had so much trouble but we will tell you about it. We'll also talk about Cape Town itself, which was great but first, the problems... Our accommodation! Well we arrived at our Lodge 'Ashanti' (THATS ASHANTI - NAME AND SHAME) having booked camping for 4 nights but when we arrived late at night the campsite was full. We were moved to a dorm which was ok we thought but then got there and we couldn’t see the floor for bags and clothes everywhere. We had just enough room to put our bags. Darren didn’t sleep well that night as there was a man snoring right under him all night. We also had to move out of that room then next day due to it being full again. There were still no spaces for camping so we had to have a double ensuite, which was nice but came at a price. It was in a separate guesthouse, which was lovely. We had a great nights sleep there. We then had to move again due to it being full to another double. This time it was right by the pool and kitchen. We thought yes this is nice but then we found 6 Cockroaches in our room, which were not anywhere else in the hostel. Certainly not worth over 20pounds a night. Maybe if we were paying a couple of quid then fair enough, bring on the roaches! We complained to reception and they didn’t do anything and kept saying the hostel was full. They didn’t have any spray so they said we just have to put up with them. We both were not happy at that and then decided to sleep in the TV room. Again bear in mind it was still costing us over 20quid to do this. We had no key to lock the door. Didn’t have a very good night sleep at all, probably 2 hours due to people keep coming in and shouting outside the door. We then were moved to another double ensuite the next night, which was lovely. However, they said it would be R370 (about 26quid). Darren said no way, you should charge us the same rate as a double due to this being all your problem, not ours. She seems hesitant to do this but did in the end. Once again this room was lovely and we got a good night sleep. We had also decided to leave Cape Town the next morning first thing and go back to Stellenbosch (the 'Stumble Inn' where we stayed for Darren's birthday). It was a bit out of the way but we couldn't bear another day/night in this place. So we woke up next morning, Baz Bus already booked. Here comes the cherry on the cake... We went to check-out. Once again a different bloke on reception (another big problem, too many staff so no one new you from Adam). And the bloke had no idea we should of been charged the same as a standard double and insisted we had an outstanding balance of R79 (about 6quid). Darren tried to explain that we were bumped up at no extra charge due to the incompetence of this place from which the guy just kept talking over him. It was at this point that Darren flipped big time. Started shouting at him stating that we have had nothing but crap service since we got here and if anything, he owes us R50, which was our deposit. Needless to say he gave in after this. It wasn’t about the money anymore, just the principle. Nice one Darren! There were other issues as well but there’s no point in going through all of them now. Ashanti's is trying to be a posh hotel and a hostel in one. This just simply doesn't work and add together bad management skills; it’s a recipe for disaster. Anyway, that’s better now that’s off our chests. As soon as we got back into Stellenbosch a couple of hours later, we were very chilled out and back to being very happy again :o)Well now we can talk about Cape Town. Sorry if we’ve bored you all about our problems. 1st day we went to the museum, which was great. It took most of the morning to get round as it was one of those museums about everything. It was very good. We had to do something inside due to the weather being so bad. We hadn’t even seen Table Mountain yet as it was very misty and raining. The afternoon cleared up and we went to Victoria and Alfred Waterfront. This is such a great place and there is so much to do. It’s like a bigger Brighton marina but far more to do and lots more boats. We saw a seal in the harbour just swimming around. There are so many cafes and lots of lovely posh shops and lots of people dressed up eating outside in the harbour. The next day we went to the waterfront again and went to the aquarium. This was good but nowhere near as good as ushaka in Durban. We also went shopping in a huge shopping mall. From where we were we had a good view of Table Mountain. We took a lot of photos of Table Mountain as we didn’t know when the cloud would come over. Saturday we went on a Cape Peninsuila tour. That was great. We went on a boat tour and saw some seals. This was the seal island. There were hundreds of seals with birds as well. We also saw 3 Southern right whales. They were huge. We then went on a bike ride to the cape point nature reserve. That was ok but the seats were hard and it started to rain. It was only 6km aswell. We then had lunch and went for a walk to Cape Point. This was a great walk but we were very tired after as we hadnt had much sleep the night before. 

Cape Town is such a lovely place. Lots of great buildings and amazing views. Once we were back in Stellenbosch we spent Sunday just pitching our tent and relaxing. Monday we took the very long train journey back into Cape Town and then off to Simons Town to finish Gamma’s PADI diving course. We didn’t realise it would take 3 hours each way on the train in terrible carriages but its still better than staying at Ashanti's Lodge. Once we were in Simons Town Gemma got kitted up for her diving and went with her instructor down to Long Beach. Darren went for a walk around Simons Town. He said it had a very French Feel to it again. Gemma passed her diving course and it was great fun. She saw a lot of fish and even went through a Kelp forest (long, tall seaweed) She picked up starfish and saw a lot of jellies. We then went to a great fish restaurant on the beach after to celebrate. Gemma had Tuna steak and Darren had Calamari steak which were both great. We then got back onto the train back to Cape Town then back to Stellenbosch. The next day we then traveled to Cape Town again but this time traveled first class due to when coming home yesterday we got rather squashed. Its like London Underground but a lot hotter and tighter, not nice. 1st class is so much nicer. Just like our normal class and at only about 2quid extra was well worth it. We went to Table Mountain today. Wow what amazing views we had of Cape Town. George (teddy) also had his photo taken. Just for the record, Darren plays no part in this ridiculous teddy bear affair!!! It was very hot up there and we spent about an hour up there. We saw a lot of lizards and they pose for the camera. Very Funny. Well that’s it for our Cape Town experience. We have loved every second of it apart from the obvious.... DON'T STAY IN ASHANTI'S LODGE, IT'S CRAP! Thank you everyone for the messages and the great emails. Hope this has made you all smile. Lots of love Gemma and Darren xxxPS. Not sure if we forgot to mention that we think Ashanti's Lodge in Cape Town, South Africa was not up to standard... Thanks :o)