South Africa

Africa-South Africa-Cape Town I have to say this is one of my favourite cities in the world. This is a view from just outside where I stay. Lovely to walk here. It has been 11 years since I have been back. Loved my time here and very good value if you are coming from outside South Africa. 

I went to the main GPO in Cape Town down in the city. It is a large Post office surrounded by shops . There is no Philatelic counter . They did not have a full selection of stamps. I was told to go down to the Post office at the Waterfront, as they get more tourists there and will have a better selection. This is a small post office on the first floor . Again no philatelic counter and no stamps in sets. But they did show me stamps in the stock book and they had some new issues. 

Africa-South Africa-Paarl  This area is known as the Cape winelands. Less then one hours drive outside the city of Cape Town. This card is from babylonstoren where my friends and I had lunch. 

I posted all my South African cards in Cape Town. All have laser printed postmarks. At least they have a competition to design a stamp. 

Africa-South Africa-Clarens  This small town in in the Free State . Driving on the way from Lesotho to Bloemfontein to catch a flight to Cape Town. The town itself is very nice with a old world feel to it.  

On the day I was in Clarens I had no South African stamps . So this card had to wait until Cape Town to get mailed. The stamps are part of a large set in relation to a World Geographical conference being held in South Africa. 

Another view of the beach in Cape Town 

Paarl Winelands. 

The African Penguins near Simons Town , outside Cape Town 

With friends having dinner in Cape Town. The bottle of wine I am holding is a Bottle of "Penny Black" . 

Africa

Africa-South Africa-Robben Island. A World Heritage site. A short ferry to the island from Cape Town. A very historic place for lots of reasons. Well you can see there are lots to see in South Africa even in the Western Cape region itself. 

Posted on Robben Island with its own postmark. I had to have at least some stamp with Nelson Mandela. This was from a stamp booklet. It shows Nelson visiting the jail on Robben Island . What a fantastic man.   

South Africa-Stellenbosch.Stellenbosch famous for its wines . Also great architecture dating back to the early 1800s. 

A long lunch and some wine.. Any better ideas!!! lol 

Got a laser postmark. Posted in Stellenbosch. 

Africa-South Africa-Cape Town  This was the nearest shopping centre to were I was staying. A 15 minute car ride I would say. Went many evenings as was very handy and lots of restaurants and shopping options. It does look a little like somewhere in the United States. 

Posted in the Shopping centre Century city. 

Africa-South Africa-Cape Point  This park is a World Heritage Site. Well worth visiting.  Some nice walks. I do remember the monkies jumping on cars, so one had to be careful. Many people think this is the point where the Atlantic joins the Indian Ocean. But it is not.  I walked up to that Lighthouse on the top as in the postcard. 

A lion on a definitive stamp. Did see in a lion in Cape town but was in a sort of zoo. So  not sure that really counts. 

Africa-Botswana-Chobe  My first time to see Elephants in the wild. Chobe is a great park. Part of it is on the river. So  most of the game viewing was on a boat. A great experience. Was surprised how good the roads were and the quality of the accommodation.  Excellent!  

Finding the post office near Chobe national park was not easy. This was mailed in the nearest town in Kasane. This card took 3 months to make it home, I had nearly given up on it. Nice Botswana stamps. 

Africa

Africa-South Africa-Johannesburg. I did not manage to see any of this city. I was on a connection flight from Cape Town to Livingstone in Zambia. 

Posted at the airport in Jo'burg. 

Africa-Zimbabwe-Victoria Falls. Just across the border from Zambia. I seen the falls from this side as well as the Zambia side. With the crazy exchange rate everything was a high price. Went to have afternoon tea in the Victoria Falls hotel. While having  tea an American couple were having a hard time with the waiter and the bill. I asked if I could help.They had got a bill in Zimbabwe dollars = to 40 USD for afternoon tea for two. The did not want to pay with the credit card as the bill would have had lots of zeros and they were afraid how much it could end up on their bill when they got home. I said have you got 15USD? They said they had. I said just pay them that in cash. It wont go near any till that is for sure. So that sorted that out. They were looking for 10 USD for a coke. Remember this was 2005.. Glad to get back to the Zambia side. 

Well here is a story and a half. Went to the Post office with about 5 USD to buy some stamps. They would not take USD, I had to change it outside. I did manage to find someone to change. The money was like Monopoly money. You could have printed it yourself. Back to the post office and offered 2 USD for 2 sets of stamps. I got the first stamp worth Z$50 then they told me the total was Z$40,000. I thought I heard it wrong. I said you need 40, thousand ? Yes. Surprise they had stamps that came up to this value.  I think each postcard was about 2.50 USD in stamps. Inflation was bad here. 

Africa-Zambia-Livingstone. Named after David Livingstone. Just on the border with Zimbabwe. I enjoyed my few days here. Safe and no hassle. 

A definitive stamp from  Zambia. Not much choice in stamps from the Post office in Livingstone. It was a large Post Office. 

Africa-Zambia-Livingstone  This is Victoria Falls from the Zambia size.  When I was there  it was full of water. You have to go at the right time or you may see no water. One of those 'must see' sights. A joint World Heritage Site with Zimbabwe.

A postmark from Livingstone. 

Africa-Zambia-Livingstone  Took at trip on the Zambezi river.  It really was a bit like the African Queen  from the movie. 

I can't remember if there was a sunset or not. 

A postmark from Livingstone. Could do with a clean . 

South Africa

Africa-South Africa-Cape Town. Not often I have a section on one country let alone one city . That city is Cape Town. One of my favourite places in the world . Cape Town has it all.. The scenery and there is lots of that  are outstanding. Should I mention the liquid lunches at the wineries? In 2005 the prices were a bargain . This area shows table mountain. A iconic site in Cape Town. When you see it first it does take your breath away. In the foreground you will see Victoria and Alfred Waterfront. Lots of shopping and restaurants here. 

I do like these stamps especially the sporting stamp on the bottom right. 

Africa-South Africa-Cape Town-Camps Bay. A upmarket part of Cape town. A good beach and a excellent view point all around. 

A mixture of stamps purchased at the main Post office in down-town  Cape Town. 

Africa-South Africa-Cape Town-Franschhoek. Well want a good place to have lunch? This is the card from the restaurant . La Petite Ferme. The weather was good as was the company and the food. 

Looks like a laser postmark. A good train stamp. 

Africa-South Africa-Cape Town-Franschhoek  What a great postcard. This is how I remember it. A very  good day out back from Lunch. 

Posted at Franschhoek but a standard Cape Town postmark. A very good train stamp. 

Africa-South Africa-Cape Town-Simonstown  This is a naval base in the area of False Bay. Very nice seaside village and nearby you see the famous Penguins.  Well worth a visit a great location. 

Posted at Simonstown post office, but gone to the Cape Town sorting office. A airmail definitive stamp featuring a rhino.