This holiday started with a flight from Gatwick to Cape Town via Johannesburg.

Ellie had been suddenly unable to co-guide the holiday, so Lorraine came to Gatwick instead - to meet with everyone at check-in.

The flight was uneventful despite the heightened airport security. We had arranged for the group to be seated together so that they could start getting to know each other...

Arriving in Cape Town, the group were met by Ros and Louise. Louise would be taking Ellie's place on the holdiay - a WalkingWomen friend of longstanding, and also a good friend of Ros'.

Having collected luggage, we transferred to Brenwin Guest House in Cape Town's Green Point district near the Waterfront. It was great to just arrive!

There was time to freshen up before venturing out to the V&A waterfront for some shopping and foreign exchange.

There were buskers and bands playing, superb views of Table Mountain, shops to peruse, and loads of blue sky!

We had a cup of tea to help with the jet lag and walked back to the Brenwin G/H to get ready for the Wang Thai restaurant in the evening.

Despite the good red wine it was not a late night as most folk were tired after the long trip.

We woke up to a typical winter's day in CT - cold and windy but luckily no rain!

Ros decided to take us for a walk on the front table as the top of Table Mountain was covered in thick cloud.

We walked up to the contour path via the Platteklip (flat rock) Gorge ascent.

On the path we passed a waterfall and a wonderful overhang en route to the Saddle.

Here we encountered a stiff wind and after viewing the False Bay coast line hunkered down at Breakfast Rock for some shelter and a quick snack. By this time all of us had put on all our layers.

We continued along the contour path to Oppelskop stopping for lunch on the way. A bit of rock scrambling down to the lower contour path added some spice to the walk!

Thereafter a lovely meander back to where we had started.

In the evening we went to the Cape Town Fish Market Restaurant and new tastes were experimented with - some tried sushi, others tried roast sweet potato and all agreed that the restaurant was a good choice.

Today while Ros and I (Louise) shopped, the rest of the group went on a tour of the Townships.

On the way they stopped at the District Six museum - a simply excellent museum documenting life under Apartheid.

The tour stopped at the old District 6 - the former centre of Cape Town that was once a thriving mixed community and was cleared and raised to the ground under Apartheid for just that reason.

Slowly now it is starting to be rebuilt.

In the former townships and shanty towns they visited a school for migrant kids outside the school system and a flower maker (making flowers out of metal scrap).

They visited Rosie's soup kitchen - set up to give kids with working parents breakfast before school...

They then stopped for lunch at the 'smallest hotel in the world' - Vicky's B&B in 2 shanty houses.

Most of these initiatives to improve the quality of life in the former townships and shanty towns are women-run.

In the afternoon the tour left them at the Robben Island ferry for a trip to this former prison island where Mandela and other political prisoners were held.

Robben Island is now a museum run by former prisoners and wardens in the spirit of reconciliation, and as they walked around the former prison they were also shown Mandela's former cell.

In the meantime Ros and I had been doing the food shopping for the Whale Trail trip - 35 bags of groceries in total!!

We met up again to go out to dinner at Marcos African Restaurant - a great restaurant with music as well as a wide range of local dishes.

Everyone was tired after the long but fascinating day and most went to bed soon after we got back - ready for the big day tomorrow.

Today we left for the De Hoope Whale Trail - after a morning of sorting gear and packing. Some clothes could be left in Hermanus en route ready for our 2 nights there after the trail.

I did a suitcase check resulting in a few more items being left behind! Of great concern however was how much wine could be taken due to the restriction on space.

After many calculations based on how large a glass of wine per evening the dispute was settled.

Ferdinand our driver arrived at 12 noon and all the bags were packed in an instant.

It was with great excitement that we headed off for the Whale Trail. We passed fields of green wheat and yellow rape seed encircled by mountains.

Blue cranes (an endangered bird) were seen in abundance as were ostrich.

After a stop in Bredasdorp for last minute shopping (and coffee or tea) we arrived at Potberg, the start of the Whale Trail.

We unpacked and explored our surroundings. Ros had us wrapping onions and potatoes in foil and doing general preparations for the evening braai and the packing for next day.

Wine rationing was allocated to me and I was apparently very strict!

It had started to rain soon after we arrived and did not let up the entire night. This did not stop us having a generally good sleep before the big walk.

Today dawned overcast and damp, unfortunately. As we walked in the mist to the top of the ridge we saw sunbirds, sugarbirds, podilyria, but no vultures.

It was cold and windy when we reached the ridge - more aware of the flowers around us than the views of the Breede River. However after a shower the views opened up.

We had lunch beside a where a tame Southern Bou Bou (bird) also invited himself to lunch.

A small river crossing then took us into the final section of the days walk to Cupidokraal hut, our next night stop.

We passed myriads of flowers along the way, including the cats paw plant which excited a lot of interest.

A mass of leuchadendrons gave splashes of yellow to the landscape.

Finally we could see the cottage way below.

We soon had a roaring fire and another braai going, with lots of banter as we competed in the name game - which we played on several nights.

Today we woke to another overcast day but still with views back to the cottage as we walked up the hill headed for the sea via Potberg mountain.

The weather started to clear as our route took us through limestone hills with a strikingly different fynbos ('beautiful bush' - the name given to this kind of vegetation).

At one point of the walk the ground became very swampy from the exceptional rainfall that the area had received, and we had to create bridges by using old branches.

Just before we descended to the coast the sun came out, and stayed out, giving us fantastic views of the Indian Ocean and the Breede River behind us.

There were no Whale sightings today as the sea was extremely rough.

To our left we could see wonderful Noetsie Bay with our two huts for our 3rd trail night beyond.

We descended the cliffs to cross a river mouth heading for the huts, with much laughter as a couple of folk got wet from an unexpected wave.

We settled into our huts and enjoyed the view of the sea. There was lots of birdlife around (Cape Robin, red winged starlings, rock kestrel and Cape bul-bul) and baboons as well.

Frisbee games and later a sing-song around the fire as Ros cooked up a great stir fry.

We had a leisurely start to the day as the distance to the next hut, Hamerkop hut, was not going to be as long as the previous two days.

The weather had returned to overcast keeping the temperature cool for walking, however our first whales were spotted at dawn by Sue, as well as more curious baboons!

We saw more whales from the hut, and as we started walking we saw still more whales....

The terrain was different to the previous 2 days as we walked hugging the coastline.

As we walked we saw more whales and sunbirds. Red lichen on rocks added colour to the day, and we also spotted 3 Klipspringer (buck).

There was a final stretch along the beach and then the welcome sight of Hamerkop Hut.

We had a lovely meal - though I say so myself as it was my pasta dish! Everyone pitched in to help slice and dice.

Our wine we drank out of a bowl - French style - which I carefully measured out again; and had a spoonful of port - also carefully measured!!

Later we sat around the fire which warmed our conversation as it dried the washing.

First excitement of the morning - was it a dassie (rock hyrax) or a mongoose? After much debate agreed that it was a mongoose. We also had an early sighting of a dolphin.

This morning we walked along the beach to start with - in the mist. The conditions made the rock formations look rather surreal and eerie.

It threatened to rain at one stage but our donning of waterproofs sent the rain away!

We had a leisurely walk spotting whales, looking at birds, and chatting.

In the afternoon we descended a ladder to visit a wonderful cave, conquering many fears, as well as some brave souls taking a quick dip in the Indian Ocean.

It was whale family day as we saw 3 pairs of mother and child and a quick sighting of a seal.

We arrived early at Vaalkrans and some of the group took time to stretch muscles while others played cards or read.

This was our last trail night so we sipped the last of the wine - carefully measured by Ros, and the bottle of port emptied using a new dessertspoon technique.

Another leisurely start to the day with no more food to pack into suitcases.

We saw strange duck-shaped rocks as we walked along the beach, with a final adventure of walking across the rock pools.

A marshmallow stop eased the calf muscles - Beth is undoubtedly the marshmallow queen!

Hippo pools intrigued everybody, however the water was too cold to swim.

After our last lunch on the beach we continued onto the board walk where we did a group bow to the trail and to the fact that everyone had completed it.

Now came the trip back to Potberg by National Park bus. On the way through the park we saw Blesbok and Eland (buck), baboons, birds...

At Potberg we met up with Ferdinand again, then it was off to Hermanus. We were a bus load of tired walkers!

The Windsor Hotel has a great location on the seafront where a whale was waiting to greet us in the bay.

Once everybody had freshened up we went out for dinner with no wine rationing!

Today there were several options open. We had a day and another night in Hermanus to spend.

Some went for a walk in Fernkloof Nature Reserve in the morning, while others decided to explore the town.

The walkers took a path to the waterfall and then up to Lemoenkop. There were plenty of sugar birds flashing their long tails.

A few folks went on the Dyer Island whale watching trip and had close encounters with Southern Rights, great white sharks, African penguins and lots of Cape Fur seals.

The rest of the group went for a long lunch at the Harbour Rock restaurant, and had front row sightings of whales breaching.

The evening was at everyone's' leisure, but none of us went to bed late due to the early rise the next morning to get back to Cape Town.

We had a hearty breakfast before packing up into the bus for the trip back. We took the coastal route, past Betties Bay, Rooiels and through the Strand and had stunning views of False Bay looking over to Cape Point.

We continued the coastal route to Boulders Beach to see the African penguin (they were formerly known as the Jackass penguin due to its call).

We stopped for lunch at Seaforth overlooking False Bay from the far side.

The group assisted in the economy of the Cape by popping into all the local shops for souvenirs and last minute presents.

We then drove on towards Cape Point. Here we climbed to the Point for some amazing views, then did a little shopping at the souvenir shops.

From Cape Point we walked along the boardwalk to the Cape of Good Hope where we had to wait to get a group photograph, fending off other tour groups!

More close encounters with daasis. We then witnessed a male baboon doing a 100 metre sprint to break all world records when he decided we were a potential food source!

Finally we arrived back at the Brenwin in time for a quick refresh and dinner at the Waterfront. We chose a Greek meal for a change, sitting outside with the outdoor heaters.

Saturday dawned with clear skies, windless and warm. The morning was spent exploring the city and doing more shopping.

In the afternoon when the sun had burnt off the mist on Table Mountain we caught the cable car up, and walked across top to Platteklip Gorge.

Ros pointed out where we had walked on the first day. We had fine views down over Cape Town.

We watched puffer runners (a race that starts from Cape Point and ends in the city) running down the Platteklip Gorge. Afterwards we walked to the Back Table for a view across the Cape Peninsula.

Later we walked to Camps Bay beach to watch the sunset and to look out for the 'green flash as the sun goes down'!?

Dinner was at Tuscany Beach with lots of cocktails.

The group gave Ros and I lovely presents and a wonderful time was had by all, capped off by trying out 8 different ports … with teaspoons all round!

Today our very last walk was along the base of Lions Head in the morning.

There were lots of spring flowers and views over the Atlantic coastline - still a lovely walk despite fire damage last year.

There was then still time for last minute shopping before setting off for the Airport in the afternoon.

Some women had record luggage weights!! It had been a great holiday and everyone was sad to be going home.