Antarctica to Zimbabwe – Day 56 – Silver Wind, Saldanha Bay can be found here.
(Today’s Chronicle can be found here.)
A painful transition this morning as we move from our seemingly-endless spate of sea days back to the world of expedition travel – up at 6:30 am for 7:00 am room service delivery. We expect to depart the Wind to clear customs at around 8:30 am but there’s always the possibility that they’ll move up the schedule, and we want to be prepared.
Everything goes more or less according to schedule – we embark the tender on time, and it’s only a short trip to the Saldanha pier. We’ll miss the adventurous feel of zodiac travel, but we do not miss the need for rain pants nor the need to limit each vessel to a maximum of 12 passengers.
Land! Glorious land! It feels so good to be ashore after 11 days at sea. We enjoyed our time in the South Atlantic – and it was well worth the attempt on Tristan – but right now a bit of terra firma is exactly what we need.
South African customs is waiting for us upon arrival. We’ve heard horror stories of cruise ship passengers waiting for hours in the hot sun but it only takes us a few minutes before we’ve got our passports stamped and we’re aboard the bus that will take us to our excursion – the Thali Thali Game Reserve.
This is our ‘bonus day’ to make up for our early departure from Tristan group and, as such, was put together at the next-to-last moment. However, Megan appears to have done an excellent job of organizing these new excursions. There are boxed snacks waiting for us on the bus upon boarding, and we have a guide who provides a steady patter as we make the 45 minute drive to Thali Thali.
Our guide Shai explains that Saldanha is named after Antonio Saldanha who found a fresh water stream in the area. This is the same person who named Table Mountain. Shai also explains that the current south easterly wind we’re experiencing is called the “wind doctor” as it blows away the polluted air from Cape Town. He further notes that the first humans who settled here came more than 117,000 years ago, known as the San people.
We arrive at Thali Thali soon after these facts have been passed along. We leave the bus with intention of making a quick rest stop and staking out a spot in one of the smaller safari vehicles, but between a wrong turn on the way to the facilities and some indecision over drinks we end up on the slow bus instead:
How bad could it be? we wonder.
Our guide introduces herself as an intern, and says that she may not know very much about the animals and so the driver may need to help fill in the gaps.
Uh oh, we add.
We set off, and soon come across some deer:
We then set off for our next stop, and the limits of our slow bus immediately become clear. The tractor-pulled cart is much, much slower than the smaller safari vehicles. We wonder how this is going to work. Thali Thali clearly does not identify itself as a Big Five game reserve, but we wonder if there will be any animals by the time the slow bus catches up.
But there’s nothing to do but carry on, so that’s what we do.
And we come across some springbok:
It’s at around this point that one of the passengers loses his hat, and our intern needs to sprint back to get it. But she does so, and quite quickly! We come across a tortoise (not pictured), and it also becomes clear that she does know the animals, and works well in partnership with her more-experienced driver. We’re starting to wonder if maybe this slow bus isn’t as bad as we’d feared.
We carry on, and come across some wildebeast:
It’s now becoming clear that the slow bus – though frustrating at time – is working out better than we expected. Yes, the ride is taking longer but we’re still seeing the animals. And we’re getting more time with the landscapes, too.
We carry on further and come across some cape buffalo:
Including a wee one:
We weren’t expecting any of the Big Five, so this is a real treat.
Onward and upwards – giraffes!
And more wee ones:
If these shots look up-close-and-person, it’s because we are – the giraffe come right up to us.
We continue on and come across some eland:
And even an ostrich:
It’s around this point that we come across one of the safari vehicles that’s blown its tire – something our slow bus seems utterly incapable of doing. Rather than waiting until the tire is repaired, the others squeeze in aboard the slow bus.
At this point we figure out game drive is pretty much over, but Thali Thali still has another surprise in store for us – zebras!
Fun fact – did you know that zebras make a noise like a squeaky toy when surprised? They do! And it’s adorable.
And one last little ostrich to round off the game drive:
I didn’t have big expectations of Thali Thali, but it was honestly a really nice trip – even on the slow bus. Especially on the slow bus? Well, we have no complaints.
But we’re not done yet – we returned to Thali Thali’s restaurant, which is quite lovely:
They also put out an incredible spread for us:
I could hear the chef running around ensuring that everyone was having their dietary needs met – and some of them were quite complex. The chef showed a real enthusiasm for ensuring that everyone had a good meal.
Our kids then have a quick (but lovely) play on their extensive playground:
But eventually it’s time to bid farewell to Thali Thali:
But not quite yet – as George invites us off the bus to admire a scorpion!
It’s hard to express just how fantastic the crew has been with all of us, the kids in particular. It’s one of the reasons we’ve enjoyed Silversea as much as we have. (We are booked on a Summer 2026 cruise with Ponant because of their commitment to sailing with fewer than 200 passengers in Svalbard, but they will have a lot to live up to.)
45 minutes back to the port, which I put to good use by sorting through my photos. Then off for a very quick (and small) lunch at La Terrazza before we undertake our least favourite of all activities – packing. Punctuated by the second least-favourite activity – homework.
No recaps today, and we’re skipping tonight’s final trivia as it’s just too late for kiddos (and adults). Instead we head to our final dinner at La Terrazza, this time out on the back deck.
My wife has the risotto:
I have the duck pappardelle:
We all have the chocolate torte with vanilla ice cream for dessert:
And we enjoy our penultimate sunset aboard the Silver Wind:
Continue reading Antarctica to Zimbabwe – Day 58 – Silver Wind, Saldanha Bay.