John here... We farewelled Swellendam and it was my turn at the wheel. We headed for Mossell Bay for a coffee, quick walk along the waterside and a very quick tour of the manned lighthouse which was closed for maintenance. We drove through Robinson Pass which cuts through the Ruiterbos Valley, linking Mossel Bay and Oudtshoorn and this trip through the Outeniqua Mountains as part of the famous Garden Route did not disappoint once again for beauty. Our next stop...

Laurel here... It was with anticipation (for what is ahead), awe (for the striking country around us) and a little sadness (for leaving Franschhoek, with which we have all fallen a little in love), that we headed off this morning. The weather was beautiful and the drive over the Franschhoek Pass was an 'oooh, ahhh' affair with the striking beauty of the Franschhoek valley surrounded by mountains with clouds playing majestically over them, combined with a painter...

Nick here... We stayed in Franschhoek at the Rickety Bridge Manor house and winery, what a magnificent venue with beautiful lush lawns and klms of sweeping vineyards shadowed by the awesome Franschhoek mountains. The morning commenced again with a fantastic breakfast, yes another big fry up followed by numerous complaints by some individuals of expanding waistlines. After breakfast we drove into Franschhoek village which I would best describe as similar to Hahnd...

Judy here… The guys went to pick up our hire car, a comfortable Toyota Fortuner SUV. As we headed off on our drive to Cape Point, it was cloudy with light rain, but it cleared and the sun was soon shining. What a wonderful drive, we passed Hout Bay which we had seen from Table Mountain, on through Kommetjie, then to Cape Point Lighthouse, with stunning views and where the Atlantic Ocean (9-15C deg) meets the Indian Ocean (22-25C deg). We walked about 800 mtrs ...

John here… Today we explored some of the attractions around Cape Town. First up was Table Mountain. This land mark dominates Cape Town and is visible from anywhere around town. Our luck is holding as usually the mountain is shrouded with cloud locally called the "Table Cloth", but this morning it is clear. The hotel courtesy van transported us to the cable car entrance and we were soon on our way via cable car to the top. The mountain is just over a 1000 meter...