Cruising South Africa - The Safari

Addo Elephant National Park, Port Elizabeth (Addo), South Africa - copyright Andy Richards 2023

SOUTH AFRICA is not somewhere I had on my radar for a cruise. But I guess any continent or country that has a substantial seacoast is a possible candidate. South Africa has a few things going against it, though, where cruising is concerned. There aren't many notable destinations that lend themselves to cruise stops - or cruise ports being built. The one place that seems like it lends itself to cruise stops is Cape Town, which has a very well-developed harbor and marine system - as it has been a shipping stop for centuries. It is the only large, developed metropolitan area near any of the coastline. There is a lot to do and experience in Cape Town. For the most part, there is not much going on in any of the other coastal cities. Maybe Durban.

Kudu -Addo Elephant National Park - Port Elizabeth (Addo), South Africa - Copyright Andy Richards 2023

ONE THING I noted about the entire South Africa Coast is that it is very windy. On the days we spent in Cape Town, it was apparently unusually so. We boarded the Oceania Nautica, a new cruise line and ship for us, on Friday after 4 full days in Cape Town. The ship is quite small compared to our experiences with Celebrity and Princess. Our typical cruise involves somewhere around 2000 - 3000 passengers (when full). There were about 450 on this cruise. The size of the ship is comparatively smaller, too. With 9 decks and a full capacity of about 670 passengers, the Nautica is just under 600 feet long, and about 80 feet wide (at the widest point), weighs in at 30,000 tons and was recently refurbished in 2022.

Michael Hammer, me, Bart O'Brien, Terry Brown and Lisa Hammer - Nautica Martini Bar - Not sure we were having any fun - (photo courtesy Lisa and Michael Hammer)

BY CONTRAST, our accustomed Celebrity ships (the Solstice and Edge classes) and Princess (Royal Class) all exceed 1000 feet in length, and are between 123 and 128 feet wide, with passenger capacities between to 2,500 to over 3,500. They range from 126 tons to nearly 130,000 tons. The Celebrity ships have 15 decks and the Royal, weighing in at 126,000 tons, has 18 decks.

Oceania Nautica compared with Edge Class Celebrity Apex - Copyright Andy Richards 2023

SOME TIME back, I blogged about the Nautica in detail, and rather than repeat it all here, I encourage you to follow the preceding link to learn more about our thoughts on the ship. I have said before that there are different features for different passengers. Some like the smaller, more intimate environment of ships like the Nautica. I also think that in places like South Africa, a number of factors (including port capacities, the size of groups traveling to the continent and the windy conditions) mitigate in favor of smaller ships. Being freshly refurbished, the traditional "trappings" of the ship were clean and polished. The overall space was quite nice.

Pink Salt reclamation - Walvis Bay, Nambibia - Copyright Andy Richards 2023

I HAVE repeated in a number of blog posts here and in my other Blog, we wouldn't recommend South Africa as a cruise destination. In our estimation, there are two primary factors that make a cruise a "good cruise." One is the ship and amenities, and the other is the itinerary of the ship. With the notable exception of Cape Town, there are really no other ports that rise to the level - in our view - of a "good" cruise stop. Indeed, in virtually every case the primary excursion and thing to do was part-day safaris. In our view, the "better" way to do this would be a land-based trip to South Africa, where you can spend more than a short port stop somewhere near the features. And much of what it spectacular about South Africa is in-country, not readily accessible from the ports. Because we think South Africa is mainly about the spectacular wildlife and natural spots, our conclusion is that a land-based trip is a better way to see it, and there are other, more desirable cruise destinations.

Walvis Bay, Namibia - Copyright Andy Richards 2023

AS THE title suggests we think South Africa was mostly about seeing wildlife (and some scenery) that cannot be seen in other parts of the world, for the most part. In South Africa, these wildlife viewing excursions (as well at some limited hunting opportunities) are referred to as "Safari." Once we boarded the cruise ship it became apparent that the vast majority of port excursions were a safari of some description. We had 5 scheduled stops during our approximately 10-day cruise, including one stop in Namibia on the west coast, and the rest in South African cities along the east coast. Of the 5, we personally had scheduled 3 safari-like trips. Our third scheduled trip was cancelled as we ultimately skipped the port due to windy conditions. In Namibia, we took an impromptu excursion on shore that did involve a pretty impressive area of pink flamingos. The Namibian Coast is also noted for its pink salt deposits and we also saw them.

Flamingos - Walvis Bay Namibia - Copyright Andy Richards 2023

OUR SECOND stop was Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha), where our destination was the Addo Elephant (reserve) National Park. From the port, we traveled by car, a distance of nearly 60 miles. While the roads we traveled were mainly paved (until we got into the park), the were still country roads, through small (and sadly poor) communities, and it took us well over an hour each way from the ship.

Addo Elephant National Park - Port Elizabeth (Addo), South Africa - Copyright Andy Richards 2023

ONCE WE were in the park, our guide for the day drove the park in his own vehicle with us. There were 4 of us, my wife and me, and John and Debbie Hutton, two great and fun new friends we met on this cruise.

New friends - Michael Hammer, me, and John Hutton aboard the Nautica - photo courtesy of Michael and Lisa Hammer

PROBABLY MY favorite image of the day was the elephant who walked across the road in front of our vehicle, so close that I thought he would rub against the bumper. We got several good glimpses of elephants, as well as some other native wildlife on that very enjoyable day, getting a chance to become better acquainted with John and Debbie, who we hope to see again sometime soon.

Addo Elephant National Park - Port Elizabeth (Addo), South Africa - Copyright Andy Richards 2023

IN DURBAN, we had not been able to schedule, or join, another safari-oriented tour, so we just took the cruise shuttle to the beach and amusement area of the city, where we spent some time in their museum, and aquarium. Still mainly wildlife oriented.

Acquarium - Durban, South Africa - Copyright Andy Richards 2023

OUR FOURTH stop was Richards Bay. From this essentially industrial port, we were driven another 50 miles inland to Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game Reserve. Said to be South Africa's oldest game preserve, we were transferred from our vehicle to one of the often-seen open-air transport jeeps. From a photography point of view, this was better than our previous shooting at the Addo park from a closed vehicle. There, the best we could do was open a window. Here, we were out in the open - more or less.

Giraffes - Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game Reserve - Richards Bay, South Africa - Copyright Andy Richards 2023

WE SAW more variety of wildlife at this reserve. We never got as close to the elephants as we did at Addo, but we did see a rhino, some buffalo and giraffes. We had a fun day, and were treated to Braai, the South African term for barbequed or grilled meat. There didn't seem to be any special food in South Africa. But they do love their meat - braai.

Rhino - Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game Reserve - Richards Bay, South Africa - Copyright Andy Richards 2023

OUR RICHARDS Bay adventure was not pre-planned on our part. We had not done our usual job of organizing tours and excursions for this trip. But while on board, my new friend, Michael and Lisa Hammer had found an opening for two people with a couple from Canada that were not part of our wine group but were on the trip. They found another opportunity with some other members of the group and told us about the Canadian couple. We approached them and they were delighted to have us join them (it made for a group of 4, gave them some company, and of course, cut their cost in half - a win/win). They were a very fun couple, and we learned that we had already booked another excursion with them for the last stop of the cruise. Unfortunately, that stop was cancelled due to high winds, and we just sailed on back to Cape Town.

Cape Buffalo - Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game Reserve - Richards Bay, South Africa - Copyright Andy Richards 2023

IT SEEMS like I "promised" the occasional entertaining anecdote here on the blog. One of the things often talked about on the many on-line spaces relating to cruising is the consequences of not making it back to your ship on time when in port for the day. In our 20 plus cruise experience, we have never really even had more than a slightly nervous moment relating to this issue. In Malta, in 2017, a couple of our group got engrossed in souvenir shopping about 45 minutes away from the ship, and we had to go find them and roust them, as they were dangerously close to missing the all-aboard time. In Istanbul in 2013, our private tour vehicle got stuck in traffic and it was pretty clear that we weren't going to be back to the ship at our all-aboard time. Again, we remained un-worried, as we could see a half dozen Princess Tour Busses around us. We knew all we had to do was get there before the last of them unloaded. We easily did. In 2019 in Naples, my wife and I had taken the ferry to the Isle of Capri. We miscalculated, thinking we would just come down the funicular when it was time to leave, and buy a ticket back. I stood in the ticket line with plenty of time and was one of 4 who were turned away because the ferry was full. We would have to wait 1 1/2 hours for the next one, which would get us back exactly at the all-aboard time. If everything went well. Still no real worries for us. We considered what we would do if we missed it. Our next stop was not that far away, and we figured we would just find a way there. We didn't need to. In 2015, as our Celebrity Reflection cruise pulled away from Old San Juan, well away from the dock and gaining speed, our ship suddenly slowed and the captain came on the PA system to let us know that the harbor master had very graciously agreed to bring a single straggler out. He had to board the moving ship from the harbor master boat! I would never count on that happening! One thing to keep in mind is that it takes the ship some time to prepare to disembark and the all-aboard time is always at least 30 minutes before sail-away. While that doesn't guarantee you will get on, it does give some breathing space. Well. On this trip, we had some very nervous moments, and came very close to learning what it would be like to miss the ship. At our Richards Bay Safari, we had some communications issues between the different persons responsible for our transportation. To make a long story short, we were 15 minutes late for the all-aboard time. Fortunately, my new buddy, Mike and I had exchanged numbers, and I was able to text him as we were on the road, and it was apparent that we were going to be late. He notified the ship authorities, and they called my wife, whose number they had for emergency contact, to confirm. We did make it back, (indeed, 15 minutes before sail-away) but not before becoming minor "celebrities" on the ship. Like the man said: "I am a Celebrity!" 😁

Baboons - Cape Point Nature Reserve - Cape Town, South Africa - Copyright Andy Richards 2023

BACK IN Cape Town, our flight back to the U.S. didn't leave until sometime around mid-night, and we had booked a driver/guide for the day to give us some additional sightseeing in and around the Cape, and eventually drop us at the airport. On board, another couple - who we had met previously, first on the inaugural O'Brien cruise to the Caribbean on the Celebrity Reflection, and then a couple years later in Ireland during another O'Brien trip - had a similar flight schedule, with no plan for the day. Their son asked us if they could join us. We had plenty of room and it worked out perfectly. The day turned out beautiful, with sunny skies and winds much reduced from the prior week.

Ostriches - Cape Point Nature Reserve - Cape Town, South Africa - Copyright Andy Richards 2023

OUR EXCURSION included a drive around the southern tip of the cape, visiting the Cape of Good Hope, and the huge national park surrounding it. We saw more wildlife, including Baboons and Ostriches, among others.

Penguin Colony - Cape Town, South Africa - Copyright Andy Richards 2023

WE ALSO stopped at the Penguin Colony and were able to get some up-close photos of the Penguins. Looking at my own photographs, it was pretty easy for me to see that South Africa is really all about the safari. As we concluded our trip, we knew that we would not likely take a cruise in South Africa again - but we certainly might make a trip back there and focus on the safari.