At midday on the 7th January, at position 35º south, 20º east, we crossed from the Indian Ocean back into the Atlantic. Cape Agulhas, the southernmost point of South Africa, was 10 miles away, barely visible in the haze. We had had an easy run downwind from Mossel Bay over the previous 24 hours and were now able to gybe onto a north-westerly course towards Simon's Town. In pleasant sailing conditions next morning we could just make out the Cape of Good Hope in the mist to port, but rounding that particular headland would have to wait for another day. We reached the marina soon after midday.

Simon's Town was once the southernmost base of the Royal Navy and is now home to the South African Navy. This might suggest a town like Portsmouth but it has much more of a resemblance to Dartmouth, not least because of the steep hills behind. The town was declared a 'white group area' in 1967, resulting in the forced removal of half its original 12,000 residents. The policy was resisted in vain by the Town Council, Navy and community, and resulted in a long period of depression. Nowadays, the pretty square overlooking the quay is surrounded by restaurants and souvenir shops whilst good-natured street vendors and entertainers add to the lively atmosphere, making it a popular place for tourists. Historic Naval buildings such as Admiralty House, a fine Regency mansion, are on the seaward side of the High street, and Victorian era shops and hotels with ornate gables and balconies, most of them well preserved and converted for modern day use, on the landward side. What makes the place really convenient for people like us without a car is that there is a railway station at the edge of the town with a regular service to Cape Town. The line runs along a picturesque track next to the sea, stopping at a series of seaside towns, the first being Fish Hoek, before turning inland. What you can't get in Simon's Town can almost certainly be found a few stops down the line.

The marina at False Bay Yacht Club, tucked between the Naval base and the town, is reasonably sheltered from swell, but south-easterly winds are often intense, accelerated by the surrounding hills. We got straight down to refitting work, and at the end of the first week we had "Egret" lifted out onto the hard to scrub the bottom, touch up the 'Coppercoat' and replace the anodes. We soon felt at home amongst the regular members and world-girdling cruisers. Happy hour, Wednesday evening races, Friday restaurant suppers and Saturday evening braiis at the club were always well attended. One day a visiting English couple who introduced themselves as Sam and Anne came and chatted to us through the railings. They returned after reading about us on our blog and discovering that they knew cruisers that we'd met in the Atlantic: Mike and Carol of Tashi Delek. They invited us to join them for a very pleasant evening at a restaurant. On our first Sunday afternoon, we walked the short distance out of town to Boulder Beach to see a remarkable natural attraction. It is home to a large colony of African penguins which seem oblivious to the even larger numbers of tourists who stare down at them from the visitors centre. One can watch them swimming, landing in the surf ashore, waddling about, breeding, but mostly standing stock still on the beach with their backs to the wind. They even land on the rocks in the next cove despite it being crowded with local families.

It had long been a dream to see the Victoria Falls, and as we were unlikely ever to be so close again, we decided to splash out (in more ways than one) on a flying visit. We stayed in the town of Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, but decided to view the Falls firstly from the opposite side of the river. We set out to walk across the iconic 1905 bridge to Zambia, on the way receiving our first tantalising glimpses of the Falls as we stood above the swirling Zambezi, 130m below. Once inside the National Park one can walk a little way upstream of the Falls, where the waters are wide and shallow and deceptively tranquil. But you can hear the roar and see the rising spray, hence the local name for the Falls: "the Smoke that Thunders". The river is scattered with wooded islets, but we declined the offer by some local guides to lead us, wading across the river, to Livingstone Island in midstream, where the famous doctor became the first European to see the Falls after landing by canoe in 1855. If you are brave or mad, you can lie in a rock pool, with someone holding your ankles, and look over the edge. Definitely not for us!

Walking back towards the Falls we could see the point where the water speeds up and tumbles over the shear precipice into the narrow, 100m deep gorge, which extends across the full 1,700m width of the river. Nowhere is it possible to view the entire falls square on, except from a helicopter, but from either end you can see a vast expanse of falling water, gradually receding into clouds of spray. A path, thankfully fenced, runs beside the gorge as far as the "Knife Edge", a third of the way along, where the river funnels out through a ravine towards the bridge. Various viewpoints look directly upstream as the river plummets over the edge just a short distance away. Getting drenched by spray is normal, but it was also raining, so a rented waterproof cape was definitely de rigueur. Next day we visited the National Park on the Zimbabwe side, where the path beside the gorge is longer and the views wider, but every bit as wet. After a day of being awestruck, what better than afternoon tea at the Victoria Falls Hotel - something of an institution? The elegant establishment was built to cater for tourists who arrived by train from Cape Town, and in 1948 it became a stopover, known as 'Jungle Junction', for BOAC flying boats on the route from Southampton. Now that was the way to travel!

Our second 'mini break' was a driving tour of the Cape 'Winelands'. It was like visiting a series of National Trust properties - even down to the European oak trees - with added wine tasting! Seeing acorns on the ground made us feel quite homesick! One could get very sozzled if one indulged at every vineyard, and of course one of us had to drive, but it was enough sometimes just to admire the beautiful 18th century 'Dutch Cape' houses, the formal gardens and mountainous backdrops. After doing exactly that at Vergelegen, near Somerset West, our first tasting was at Blaauwklippen, founded in 1682. We were particularly impressed by their 'Before and After Aperitif'. Continuing through the elegant university town of Stellenbosch, we stopped at the Boschendal estate for lunch. We ended the day at the pretty little town of Franschhoek where we had booked in at 'De Alchemist', which proved to be a very pleasant B&B. From there we could walk to our final tasting of the day at Mont Rochelle, which is owned by Richard Branson. Next day we drove to Paarl to get a close-up view of its bald granite hills. The Fairview Estate, apart from grapes, also keeps goats, a few of which live in a kind of helter-skelter! After an enjoyable tasting of cheese and wine, Lyn, our guide, surprised us by producing an atlas so that we could show her our route round the world, then asked to have her photo taken with us for our blog! Villiera was the only vineyard not to charge for tastings, and our guide was most enthusiastic and knowledgeable. We thought all their wines were good and reasonably priced, and their 'Tradition Brut Rosé' outstanding. Next day, after a drive out to Cape Point, we went to Groot Constantia for lunch, which being so close to Cape Town is a very popular vineyard. It claims to have supplied Napoleon Bonaparte with a bottle a day during his exile at St. Helena. It is our intention to sail there ourselves, voluntarily, soon; but first we had to get back to the business of refitting.