On Monday 10th November, we caught an early Emirates flight from Dubai which some nine and a half hours later deposited us in Cape Town's rather small but efficient airport. Jonathan was there to meet us and we were soon in the leafy suburb of Newlands on the eastern side of Table Mountain where he and Lea were renting a small house.

Desperate to stretch our legs, we went for a stroll around and were favourably impressed by the ambience of the place. It was positively friendly - people you passed in the street said 'hello', it was clean and full of pretty gardens bursting with spring flowers. Our first purchase in the little group of shops down the road was a bottle of bubbly - South African of course - so we could celebrate our arrival in a land new to David and effectively so for Gail - she was last here briefly some 37 years ago.

For our time here, we have rented an apartment in Kalk Bay, which is one of the string of small towns that runs along the eastern side of the Cape Peninsula and that look out onto False Bay. This is a huge bay some 32km across and a great place for whale spotting.

Being all of 50 metres from the shore where most of the time the waves come crashing in, the apartment more than satisfies our desire to be by the sea. We just ignore the rather noisy main road and railway line in between.

Kalk Bay town is a sweet little place and it is great to be able to walk straight out onto the colonnaded main street of art, antique, clothing and bric-a-brac shops and the numerous coffee shops and restaurants. It has a great retro, laid-back atmosphere and is full of retro, laid-back people, among whom the ladies seem to follow the dress code of shutting their eyes and reaching into the dressing-up box every morning.

There is a substantial harbour that is protected by two large sea walls that not only protect a small fishing fleet, but also attract large numbers of anglers ancaped on-lookers. Five restaurants on the harbour walls add to the attractiveness of the place, as does a regular visitor, Rosie the seal, who performs regularly for anyone who will throw her fish.

We rented a car for a few days when we first arrived and we shall again later. In the meantime, we use the excellent Metrorail train service that runs from Simonstown, which is a few km down the peninsula towards Cape Point, all the way into Cape Town. At 11 Rand return(less than 1 Euro) in 1st class whether you go one stop or 20, it's amazing value.

The ride is described in DK Eyewitness Top Ten, Cape Town and The Winelands, as 'one of the world's great suburban train rides, offering a giddying series of beachfront views across False Bay.' Certainly once the train reaches Muizenberg, the ride onto Simonstown hugs the shore. Through the open window the view is spectacular and it must be more than a little wet when it's stormy with an on-shore wind.

The train ride is almost as exciting when you are walking the coastal path from Kalk Bay to Muizenberg where at times the train is passing inches away.

One highlight of our stay so far was a trip to the beautiful Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, full at this time of year with their springtime colours. There are a couple of photos from that day on the Home Page and there will be more - we're going back and there will eventually be a separate piece about it - watch this space!

Gail's brother Roger and his wife Jean have a house here on a golfing estate near Paarl in the winelands, which are about 45 minutes east of Cape Town. While we had the car the first time, we headed out there to explore and to spend a night with them. The whole area is coming down with amazing restaurants, a lot of them on wine estates and all of them excellent quality and fantastic value. We had a superb buffet lunch near at the Victoria wine estate near Paarl and the following morning a champagne breakfast at another estate outside Franchhoek.

A few days later, we met up again at Gordon's Bay on the eastern side of False Bay and then drove on to Hermanas, a very smart seaside town that is particularly good at this time of year for whale spotting. Lunch was in a restaurant on the rocks just above the crashing waves, and almost on cue, a number of whales performed a march past - well really a gentle amble in the waves past. Pure magic. One even obliged by leaping out of the water to display all its beauty, waiting carefully of course until I'd just put my camera away!

December 15

The Cape Peninsula is not a huge area, but it's full of spectacular scenery from the Table Mountain nature park all the way down to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. Cape Point is not precisely where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic - that is a few miles east along the coast, but it's a pretty dramatic place. Standing at the lighthouse on Cape Point and looking south, you realise that there is nothing but sea all the way to the Antarctic, over 3000 miles away.

Between Simonstown and Cape Point is Boulders Beach where there is an African Penguin colony. These birds suffered a severe depletion in numbers in the 20th century owing to egg collection for food. Now protected, they are making a comeback. The colony at Boulders have their own beach, part of which they share with humans by whom they appear totally unfazed. There are shots of them on the Home Page.

In early December, the Jacaranda trees are showing off their magnificent summer flowers. Up in the winelands they seem particularly prolific and beautiful. They are not native to the area, having been imported from South America and in some parts, it seems there is a move to control the planting of non-indigenous species. However, I think that the Jacaranda will be around for a long time and I also doubt that any control will extend to the non-indigenous grape vine!

South Africa or Tuscany?