Travel Tidbits

On our trip to South Africa, we found that in any city, the local buses are a very cheap way to sightsee. Just get on a bus and don’t get off until you’re back to your starting point.

We were in Johannesburg on a Sunday and the buses weren’t running, so we made a deal with a taxi driver to drive us around the city center for about an hour and point out all the interesting sights, including the compound where Nelson Mandela lives. He dropped us off at our hotel. It was a very interesting hour for $30. — OTTO SCHUMACHER, Wake Forest, NC

On an Elderhostel tour of South Africa, my husband, Maurice, and I visited Stadsaal Caves, a wonderland of bizarrely eroded rocky shapes. Eons ago, on the cave walls, San Bushmen recorded in red ochre the passage of a herd of elephants. We continued on for a stay at Oudrif Farm (Clanwilliam, 8135, Western Cape, Box 409, South Africa; phone 021 482 2397, www.oudrif.co.za) on the Doring River. There we saw deftly executed ancient rock paintings depicting a herd of antelope jumping off the cliff into the river below. The scene almost certainly had happened right from the very rocks where we stood! — JACKIE BLACK, Thunder Bay, ON, Canada

On a trip to South Africa in May ’07, my wife, Les, and I visited Cape Point, where the Atlantic and Indian oceans converge, and stopped at a lovely glassed-in restaurant for lunch. Suddenly, a very large and ferocious-looking baboon jumped through an open window right over Les’ shoulder! He landed on our table, breaking the dishes, and ran the length of the dining room jumping from table to table, terrifying about 70 restaurant guests. He then jumped out a window at the other end of the room. After we realized that no one was hurt, we decided that it was one of the highlights of our trip. — D. MASON WELLS, Gainesville, FL