We docked at 7.00 am on Sunday, 8 December, and left the ship at 8.00 to collect our cases and make our way to our hotel. 

We had three days at the Hyatt Regency in Cape Town where we would be left to our own devices for the first time for a month! Quite a shock to the system after all the care and attention we had received from the Azamara crew. 

As soon as we had taken our belongings up to our room, I rang a very dear friend, Deidre, who had been a member of Plimmerton Rotary before, during and after Covid. She had been very supportive to me during the lock down when over 70s weren’t allowed out unless absolutely necessary. She would visit each week with bags of groceries and we would sit at my garden table in the sunshine and put the world to rights. With the job market situation in New Zealand and the lockdown which lasted for months, she decided that it would be wise for her to return home to Johannesburg even though she said at the time that she would have returned to New Zealand ‘in a heartbeat’ if things had been different. We had become very close during her time in New Zealand and I was very touched when she told me that she would fly down to Cape Town so that we could spend some time together. And spend some precious time together we did. 

Deirdre had booked a hotel just five minutes away and arrived within moments of my call! We had a very special day together, just talking, walking, and snacking down at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront which was buzzing with activity. Di spent part of the day by the hotel pool so Deirdre and I caught up with all our news without feeling too selfish about the lack of a general conversation. It was a really lovely reunion and she stayed for an early dinner with us at the hotel before we had to say our second very sad goodbye. WhatsApp has been a tolerable substitute over the years, but to meet in person was a real treat.