South Africa 2026: Bye to Halle, Joburg, Lost Luggage and Cape Town

Lost luggage in Joburg

So we zoomed onto our Johannesburg flight, and we were worried about our luggage making it. The guy told us to just kind of zoom on and things would be okay. Walking off the plane I asked Tara and Halle, “Do you think we used up all our luck, or do we have some left?” Of course we have some left, they answered.

Unfortunately we were temporarily out of luck, because our bags did not arrive. Tara filed a lost luggage report, which was tricky because the last people to have our bags were “Flight Link,” and they were supposed to be on a Kenya Airways flight. There was one more Kenya Airways flight coming in at 1 AM, so we contacted so many people to try to get the bags on it. We did everything we could, and then we just decided to go to Woolworths and buy some pajamas and underwear to survive the night.

Everyone was tired and didn’t want to hunt for food, so we hit up Nando’s and got some delicious spicy chicken and a delicious bowl. Then we took the train into town — two stops and then a transfer to Sandton. Halle wanted to hold onto the Woolworths bag so she would have something in her hand, and then she almost left it at the Sandton station 🙂 It took us about the same time as a car and cost as much as an Uber! Uber is cheap in Joburg, and the airport train is expensive.

We made it to our hotel, the Hyde Johannesburg Rosebank, which was super hip and cool. We had a nice big tall room, and Halle had a sleeper couch that they made up for her real nice. We all piled onto the bed and watched an episode of Serengeti. Everyone was very worried about the baby zebra, but then I told Halle the stories were fictionalized, and everyone was a little disappointed. We went to sleep, and I felt okay. Calm.

Bags found, and goodbye to Halle

I woke up about 5:30 and refreshed our lost luggage status page, and sure enough the bags had been delivered to the Joburg airport. They weren’t in our hands yet, but they were at the airport. I went to tell Tara the good news, but she already knew, having gotten a text at like 4 AM. Halle was so relieved. It would have been hardest for her, since she was leaving that morning on another flight to start her internship. We were leaving for Cape Town that evening as well.

So we got ready, ate the best breakfast in the lobby (almond croissant for the win), and hopped in an Uber. At the airport we were pointed downstairs, walked along the sidewalk to the lost luggage office, and there were our bags, right in the front of the office. Everyone was so relieved. A few short minutes later the bags were in our hands and we were walking to say goodbye to Halle.

We walked Halle up to domestic departures and said goodbye to her at security. Then we walked back to the train to Sandton again, where we would be meeting our Joburg guide for the day, Theobella.

A day in Johannesburg

Theo picked us up from the station and was excellent in every way — friendly and knowledgeable. First we hit up Liliesleaf instead of the Apartheid Museum. This is where many of the top ANC members were arrested in the early ’60s as they planned an armed resistance to apartheid. The museum was fantastic. It told the stories in an interactive way, with movies and radio and all the cool things. I learned so much about apartheid and the resistance. My favorite part was learning about the prison escape of some of the early planners: four people escaped from prison, avoiding a likely 25-year sentence. I was also interested to see that almost half of those arrested were white.

After Liliesleaf we made a quick stop at my work’s Johannesburg office, which was tiny but fun, and the food was excellent as usual. We filled our pockets with chocolates and gummies and brought a San Pellegrino back for Theo.

From there it was on to Soweto, the township of Johannesburg with all the history. This was much different than I thought. It was a city within a city. It was organized and tourist-friendly (at least the parts we saw).

Then we went downtown to Constitution Hill, which sits in a fort that was a prison during apartheid. The conditions were horrible, and it was really hard to listen to. They showed us right into the Constitutional Court of South Africa, which was neat to see.

On to Cape Town

From there it was off to the airport and our flight to Cape Town, where we landed about 9 PM. Easy breezy, no issues. My phone died, so we just took a taxi, and we had the strangest taxi ever. The driver was like, “Hold on, let me grab my wife.” So his wife sat in the front seat, Tara and I sat in the back, and we all went to Cape Town. I guess it was his last ride for the day. Anyway, he was nice, I gave him a good tip, and he had to record me saying that I wanted him to charge me more, because I guess there have been problems with people getting scammed.

Our hotel was the AC Hotel on the Waterfront. It was in a funny location beside the docks, so even though it was close to the waterfront, you had to walk around everything. We crashed, and the bed felt SO good and the room was the perfect temperature.

We woke up Tuesday morning planning on doing nothing, and we almost did exactly that. We wandered down for some breakfast, then back up to the room to watch a movie. Remember, we were tired. We watched Challengers, and it was dumb, but it was fun to talk about, and it was a tennis movie (kind of, but not really). Then we had another nap.

Then it was time to explore the city. We walked to the V&A Waterfront, found the Time Out Market and grabbed some snacks. Then off to the City Bowl, where we walked downtown, and then on to Bo-Kaap, the Muslim district.

From there we tried to climb Signal Hill, but it got sketchy. Some guy came out and said, “Stop, stop — these people will try to rob you, you can’t go any further.” So we got scared and called an Uber to take us back to the hotel.

I found us a place to eat that looked like a Mafia boss restaurant — everything was decked out in all red. There was a dress code, no shorts or caps; apparently that’s to keep the cockroaches off your legs. That’s right: halfway through our meal a (small) roach ran across our table and hid behind the railing. It ruined the meal. Definitely our worst dining experience. Should have just stayed home.

Down the Cape

Wednesday was breakfast and then out the door with our packs to trek across the city to Avis. This was a further hike with our packs than I would have liked, and it was through some sketchy areas. But we made it to Avis and loaded up the car for our adventure down the Cape.

We drove to Chapman’s Peak and the overlook, and then along the road itself, which was beautiful — right on the cliffside, and a little hair-raising having just started driving on the left side of the road again.

After Chapman’s Peak was Hout Bay, where my dad once ate a giant avocado on a bench. We kept driving all the way to the Cape of Good Hope reserve. First to the Cape, where we climbed some rocks, then around to the lighthouse. Tara was worried about feeling hangry, so we grabbed some snacks, including a babushka cookie that was hilarious.

From here we hiked down to Diaz Beach, which is right on the Cape. About 400 steps take you down to the beach from the cliffside. This beach was amazing. We had a great time running around in the sand, until the wind hit and blew sand 100 mph at our legs and it felt like sandpaper. Free exfoliation. We hiked back up (I fell in the mud), made it back to the car, and drove to Simon’s Town.

Here is where we had our best meal of the trip, at the Lighthouse Cafe. The chicken pot pie was flavorful and delicious. Tara had the fish and chips, which were perfectly done. Dessert was a berry crisp with ice cream that was just divine. We loved our meal here.

Then we got to see the penguins at Simon’s Town! I don’t know what more to say about the penguins. They were cute, and there were a lot of them. But I liked the rock hyraxes better.

After the penguins it was time to head back so I wouldn’t have to drive Chapman’s Peak in the dark. For the last two nights we were staying at the Bay Hotel in Camps Bay. I specifically picked it because they had these cool corner suites with giant outdoor bathtubs. But alas, it wasn’t meant to be: when we got there, they put us in a regular room because of a booking snafu. I was disappointed. But they gave us a free braai (lamb chops = yum), and then we crashed in our perfectly lovely normal room.

Lion’s Head, and the penthouse

The next day we were going to drive to Hermanus, but the weather wasn’t great. So we lay in bed a while, hit up some breakfast, and then went to hike Lion’s Head and try to recreate a picture that my dad took. It was so perfect. Lion’s Head was so much fun. I’m glad we did it.

From there we went to the Golden Spur, which is where my dad used to get milkshakes all the time. It was inside a mall, so I doubt it’s the same location, but it was still fun.

Then back to the Bay, where we were informed that we had been upgraded to the PENTHOUSE. While we waited for it to get ready, I found an ocean swimming pool on Google Maps not far away, so we headed there first. We both did a cold plunge, and I did a full swim. This was so fun and so beautiful, and not so bad once you get used to it. One of my favorite things we did on the trip — so much that I couldn’t wait to do it again.

Back to our penthouse suite, which was as amazing as you can imagine: a stairway foyer and then three rooms, of which we only used one. First a dip in our massive double tub (no jacuzzi jets, but what can you do). Then we were determined to just enjoy the room as long as possible, so sunset on the balcony, followed by room service, and we finished a movie we were watching.

Then we actually went and played padel on an indoor court in the hotel, because why not? What the heck? It was so much fun. Tara is really good, and we had a great time together. That was the end of our last night in South Africa (this trip).

The long way to Hermanus

Up the next morning, and rather than hurry to Hermanus we ate breakfast and made it out around 10:30. We drove the long way to Hermanus along a coastline that was just gorgeous, stopping at whale overlooks, then Pringle Bay, then the Betty’s Bay penguins (meh), and one more wild swimming stop.

Then to Hermanus, where Tara found us lunch at Finn’s Pool Restaurant — another one of these tidal pools, but with a delicious restaurant above it, down in a rocky ravine. This was also one of the coolest things we did. We ordered a delicious meal of Spanish tapas, hit up the pool and had so much fun, then ate, and unfortunately it was time to drive back.

One more adventure: I booked us a private spa room at a self-serve spa with red light therapy, an infrared sauna and a cold plunge. Mostly so I could shower, but we had a great time using the red light therapy and trying the cold plunge and sauna. We only had 30 minutes, but it was so worth it.

I had a great time in South Africa with Tara. It was just good to spend time with her and talk about things.

Now back to reality. 15 hours on a flight!