The Rovos Rail, taking us from Cape Town to Pretoria in South Africa, served as the beginning of the luxuries that would await us on our African safari adventure. Chamber music and champagne greeted us on the platform as passengers awaited boarding.

John Manton in front of Africa's Rovos Rail.

We spent four days at the foot of Table Mountain in Cape Town, a picturesque city founded in the 18th century by the Dutch East India Company as a supply depot for ships plying the spice trade. Awakening from its Victorian past and getting ready for the 21st century, the city boasts world-class hotels as well as historic colonial buildings.

This port city's past is recaptured by the Victoria 1pma1 Alfred Waterfront district, known as the V1pma1A. Children and their parents come from all over to watch tugs, pilot boats, ferries and other vessels of the working harbor. It's a great dose of local culture as well as a great place to meet fellow travelers. This is also the melting pot for performers like jugglers, mime artistes, rock 'n' roll bands, magicians, sword-swallowers, and fire-eaters who will entertain for a few Rand (US$1 = R4.60) in appreciation.

Shopper's will find this a mecca for local crafts. Crafts from Natal, neighboring Mozambique, Tanzania and Namibia vie for attention with the latest from Nike, Britain's Marks 1pma1 Spencer, posh leather goods from Italy and, yes, genuine safari gear. The V1pma1A caters to all taste buds with restaurants for any budget.

A short drive south, en route to the Cape of Good Hope, was the launching off point for our trip to Seal Rocks. The spectacle of thousands of seals sunning themselves on the boulders, cavorting in the surf, diving for fun and food was an amazing sight. Even the penguins were amused.

Gazing south from The Fairest Cape, practically the southern-most tip of Africa, it was hard to believe that there was nothing but ocean until Antarctica —to the right the south Atlantic, to the left the Indian Ocean.