Cape Town, the Garden Route, and Amsterdam

Route Planning & Itinerary

Towards the tail end of the Covid 19 pandemic, quite a few airlines began promoting “back to normalcy“ across a number of countries globally. In particular KLM / Air France offered incredible fares originating out of numerous ports in Canada at roughly $2000-2300 CAD per person in Business! What a steal. Having never been to any African country at that point, I jumped on the opportunity to book a ticket for my mother and I to visit Cape Town, South Africa. Routing was quite simple with KLM. YYZ-AMS-CPT and the return was CPT-AMS-YYZ with a stopover in Amsterdam for a night to break up our journey.

Normally, I don’t use any sort of travel agency or guide to help with itinerary building. However, after a bit of research, I realized that there were numerous towns and cities that we had to stop over on while exploring the Garden Route. For this reason we worked with a government accredited tour company in Cape Town to get us a tour guide / driver to help us get us around within the city and regionally. We would be spending first 4 nights in Cape Town before heading off to Oudtshoorn. We would then head further South East to Knysna and Tsitsikamma National Park. We would then turn back towards Cape Town stopping in Wilderness, Albertina for a Game Safari, and then onwards to Hermanus. Our final two days were spent in Stellenbosch before we caught our flight back to Amsterdam. Our time in Amsterdam was cold and short, just one night, but it was stunning as always. The final sector was our nonstop from Amsterdam back to Toronto. Hope you enjoy the report.

Skyteam Partners like KLM, Air France, and Westjet all use Terminal 3 at YYZ. We didn’t want to show up too early, as well, let’s just say its not the best terminal or airport experience you can have. Our checkin agent was frankly quite rude and failed to mention lounge access at all. We made a quick pit stop to the KLM lounge for an espresso. Right after I took the photos you’ll see below, I noticed a little critter running around the buffet area. It beelined for the cookies and that was enough for me to say we’re going to the gate. I did let the lounge attendant know and she was certainly very apathetic and had a look of shock on her face when I told her. Hope they’ve sorted that out. I’ll never understand why people line up, even if it is within their zones well before boarding has even been called. It led to a mess with people not knowing who was in line to board and who was just waiting for their zone to be called. Eventually they had to make a separate boarding call for Zone 1 and boarded them through a new separate area. We did spend some time on the jetway for elderly passengers to complete their boarding but we were soon onboard our shiny new 2.5 year old Boeing 787-10 (PH-BKH). This aircraft features KLM’s new World Business Class seats. They’re quite similar to the Safran Cirrus seats that they use on the Boeing 787-9, but the -10 variant that we were flying on today, have JAMCO Venture seats.

Be careful with the food here as I'd previously mentioned

Boarding with my mom as she frantically looks for her seat and space in the overhead bin :)

Number 2 for Takeoff behind this Are Lingus narrow-body to Dublin

A fast departure and a 180* turn towards East set us on course for Amsterdam

Stylish KLM glassware and iconic Dutch bowls. I went with some bubbly to start

Its astonishing how much movement there is at any given moment while crossing the pond

Love the KLM trolleys with Dutch insignia

Breakfast was served about 80 minutes before landing. Didn't have much room for it though

KLM has really done well with the mood lighting

A wonderful KLM tradition, the dutch houses which are modelled after real houses in the Netherlands and its territories. They're a new one released for every year of its operation. Its also filled with Bols Jenever, a form of Dutch Gin.

Such is tradition when I enter the Netherlands. Love Chocomel

After a very early arrival into Amsterdam and a long taxi to the gate, we had a quick disembarkation. This was the point where I had the idea of entering the Netherlands since virtually no shops were open airside. What followed was an unusually slow 25 minute wait to enter the country. After a quick visit to Albert Heijn for a chocomel and a quick walk, outside the terminal, my mother and I took a stroll around the terminal. After some time spent at Rituals, we decided it would be best to head to the Crown Lounge. Believe me when I say it was packed. Looks like KLM needs some new lounge infrastructure as it was very difficult to find any sitting space. Early morning rush hour had commenced. Only one of the two of us even got a shower slot. You snooze you loose I guess. It was only after my mother had gone to freshen up did I realize that my iPad was missing. And I knew exactly where it was. It was tracking inside my aircraft about 20 minutes prior. After quickly chatting with some lounge attendants, they told me to go straight to Lost and Found, which is exactly what I did. After giving the wonderful lady all of the details of my missing iPad, its location, gate number, and time last tracked, I was told to be within the vicinity so she could call me if needed. I was a bit stressed out as my next flight was boarding in about 15 minutes. It was at this point that I had the ‘brilliant idea’ of taking matters into my own hands and head straight to the gate. Narrator: “this was a stupid idea!“

After finding no staff at the gate, I went to the adjacent one that was boarding and got a couple KLM agents who made a series of calls and said sorry we have no access and eventually told me that I should just go to Lost and Found. I rushed back and this was when the lady who had initially helped me said she was just on the phone with airport staff. Interestingly, this isn’t a KLM run operation and so they had other airport staff go into the aircraft in plain clothes who retrieved my iPad. They were incredibly kind and I am very grateful for them doing so. After thanking them profusely, I had to head straight to gate F3 for boarding to Cape Town. It was at this point I rendezvoused with my mother who gave me strange looks for I looked a bit stressed out. The gate was completely packed and looked like we were overbooked on today’s flight to Cape Town. KLM operates daily flights to Cape Town with a Boeing 777-300ER but also have a couple Dreamliner flights operating a couple days a week. Today’s departure was on the Boeing 777-300ER which features the old KLM World Business Class, with us sitting in 2H & 2K

4 De-Icing trucks ready to work on our aircraft

Beautiful Crisp morning as we wait Number 3 for Departure

Cute Dutch signage inside bowls of cheese. Beverage of choice was water on this flight as I had a terrible headache

Yikes. By far the most inedible thing I've ever been served on a plane ever. Shocking that KLM was serving Beef Loin of this quality. Sent this one back and settled for some tomato soup.

This was a day flight so most the passengers were awake for quite some time

I was glued to the window as I witnessed these colors.

Eventually the sunset turned into this over Luanda, Angola.

Snacks for J passengers. Stroopwafels <3

A very late arrival into our hotel, the 12 Apostles Cape Town

The only hotel anywhere for miles and miles, located at the base of the 12 Apostles Mountains

Unmistakeable things happened on Robben Island, all while they had a view of the mainland

An ex political prisoner gives us the tour of Robben Island. He was 17 when he was imprisoned and spent 4 years on the island with Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela.

Limestone caves where Mandela and other prisoners met and discussed their ideas. On the right hand side is a pile of rocks that Mandela began to place and where others followed suit. This happened well after his release, and occurred during one of the few visits of his return to the island.

Cape Town and Table Mountain in the distance

Dinner was at Azure, inside the 12 Apostles. Executive Chef Christo Pretoria's nailed 3/4 dishes, with the exception being the lamb shank

The Lions head showing its beauty in the darkness

Little friend was curious while I had a nightcap

Definitely something I'll be adding to my bucket list with friends

Chapman's Peak are a hotbed for whale watching. Whales usually come by from mid August to mid November

The way the landscape changes in this country is refreshing

Indian Ocean on the left and the Atlantic Ocean on the right

Amazing colors, though I'd be a bit afraid of what's in the water in these areas

The tiny people shows the scale of the photo

These penguins can be found along the South African coast as well as up towards Namibia

This one definitely wanted his photo taken

Kataifi crusted goat's cheese with sweet chilli relish

Jan van Riebeeck on the Heerengracht Street, Cape Town

The place Nelson Mandela greeted thousands and delivered one his most iconic speeches

The best Peri Peri prawns & chicken I've ever eaten

Our dinner was very different and well laid out

The stars were dazzling above the property

First stop in the morning were the Cango Caves

Have to zip around in these for two reasons, distance and baboons.

Hope he doesn't land in those shark infested waters

We were very lucky to get the rainy cool weather for our two rides at the Garden Route Game Lodge

Springbok as soon as we passed the entrance gates

Took this picture and got out fast, the bartender very casually told me there was a snake that lived in the tree nearby

I've seen this part in Jurassic Park and I've not learnt my lesson

I feel like Jim Carrey will just be walking around here somewhere :)

The sunsets in this country are wonderful

Crab cakes and the food in general were spectacular

The final day of our 11 day expedition to Cape Town & the Garden Route was complete with wine tours in Stellenbosch & Franschhoek, I have some general thoughts on my time in Cape Town which I’ve not already highlighted. To begin, we were advised of several safety issues prior to embarking on the trip. Having finally experienced the city and its surrounding areas, I have to say, we did not at all feel unsafe. Having said that, we spent much of our time around other tourists and friends. I do think Cape Town has its issues, but these may be the same you see in most cities you travel in. My advice would be to be smart, vigilant, and make safe choices. take an uber or a cab home from the restaurant even if it is close by. Uber was incredibly handy on our trips when our driver wasn’t available. Something I did not foresee were the load shedding issues the entire country is facing. It is unfortunate but unavoidable. Luckily every hotel we stayed at had provisions like generators to make sure our sleep was unaffected. I have to say the locals and others in and around Cape Town were incredibly friendly people. I have been truly blown away by the hospitality, the kindness, and the welcoming nature of the people I’ve come across. In many ways, I’m pinching myself for not coming sooner. The food, history, people, culture, diversity, weather, geography, and nature were nothing short of spectacular. I know I’ve opened a Pandora’s box, and I will be back as there were still many things I didn’t get to do on this trip. However, we still had a flight and night in Amsterdam to look forward to.

There are 2 lounges available to J passengers. The first one is also a Priority Pass Lounge. We opted for the second one assuming most would choose the first. The second lounge was the newer facility operated by the same contracting company and it was comfortable and some great coffee!

Qatari B772LR with an early morning arrival. This one will be pushed to the stand for a later departure

I have to say, these lounges definitely weren't ideal as they made passengers squeeze into a bottleneck on one half of a long corridor before getting reaching passport check

KLM does operate a second flight on certain days of the week to Amsterdam with the Dreamliner

Takeoff to the southwest with a bank right to slowly point in a northerly direction

Service begins. Wonderful crew on this flight

Those aren't contrails, they're just a continuous line of clouds

Sweets before landing. Not for me but looked nice

After a quick night, time to head back to Schiphol

KLM really needs to build more lounges for its INTL passengers

Just as busy as last time, with some people catching some sleep in the open

The 3rd floor of the Crown Lounge has apron views and a restaurant

Named Vlijtig Liesje or Busy Lizzie, a beautiful flower native to Eastern Africa (PH-BKC)

Lining up on RWY 24. Never seen two planes line up for takeoff on the runway at the same time

KLM has to fix their tech issues. Between this and the internet, its horrendous

Absolute Chaos. 4 flights per baggage carousel. Complete disorganization, no one re-arranging bags properly, and passengers with yelling really contributed to a poor arrival experience

Final Thoughts:

KLM offered great connectivity from Toronto Pearson to Cape Town with the one stop in Amsterdam. 3 out of 4 segments were on their new Dreamliner aircraft, though I had to carefully position my dates and flights around those choices. Their old product on their older planes just do not cut it. With the prices that they charge and with where the competition sits, there’s a lot that KLM’s management needs to figure out. I paid for the highest tier onboard WiFi on all 4 segments and every single one of the flights had issues or did not work at all. The cabins were relatively clean, but their newer product is already showing its wear and tear. My mother’s ottoman did not work on one segment and my electronic seat adjustment gave way too. In flights maps were great but there were two incidents of IFE not working. Having said that, their crew are some of the friendliest in the skies. I had great conversations with the pursuers and crew. The pilots also had no problems with butter landings on all flights. Every time I board a KLM flight, I feel immersed with Dutch culture right away. I hope that never changes.

Overall an incredible trip that I was lucky to do with my mother post-covid. Again, Cape Town was spectacular and Amsterdam was sublime. I hope to be back soon to both places. Thanks for reading! :)

Cape Town, the Garden Route, and Amsterdam

Route Planning & Itinerary

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