April 02 2026 Day 87 – Last Day Sailing the Indian Ocean

As always, the images and any videos in this posting are best viewed on the web page. View the complete set of blog posts here.

The following image was taken from the sliding door of our stateroom. The second image is a video from our stateroom deck.

Today was another sea day, meaning, of course, we did not leave the ship. I spent my time catching up on the blog (posts from 17 days ago…).

The ship celebrated another milestone today: Singapore to Cape Town, and our last day sailing in the Indian Ocean. And unlike all previous deck parties, the weather was a cool 68 degrees at noon.

Viking prepared another special brunch on the pool deck with a wide variety of food – sushi, lobster, Indian dishes, African dishes, a wide variety of low-calorie desserts, and of course, drinks. The truth is, I (Cheryl) take more pictures than eat at these events because they are over-the-top.

While these events are really fun to look at and participate in, we often wonder how much of the food is actually eaten and how much goes to waste.

Enrichment – “Cape Town – The Mother City.” Gain an overview of the history and sights of South Africa’s most captivating city – Angela Schneider

The following from the internet is consistent with Angela’s presentation:

Originally inhabited by the Khoisan people, Cape Town was established in 1652 by Jan van Riebeeck for the Dutch East India Company as a refreshment station. It became a British colony in 1806, developed into a major port, and now serves as South Africa’s legislative capital, known for its diverse history and natural beauty.
Early History and Colonization Indigenous Inhabitants: Long before European arrival, the Cape Peninsula was home to the KhoeSan people (Khoikhoi and San), who were highly socially structured and largely nomadic livestock farmers. Around 500 CE, the Bantu people took over and continued to focus on livestock rather than raising crops because of poor growing conditions.
Dutch Establishment (1652): Jan van Riebeeck was the first European to arrive on April 6, 1652, to set up a supply station for the Dutch East India Company (VOC) ships traveling to Asia.
Slave Trade: From 1658, the Dutch imported slaves from East Africa, Madagascar, and South East Asia, who became foundational to the city’s growth and cultural mix, particularly the Cape Malay community.
French Huguenots (1688): French refugees settled in the region, bringing with them a wine culture and the ability to grow grapes and produce wine.
British Occupation (1795–1803): The British seized control to prevent the Cape from falling to the French, briefly returned it, then took permanent control in 1806.
Abolition of Slavery: The British introduced legislative changes, including the freedom of slaves, in the 1830s. Slavery continued in different forms for many more decades, well into the early 1900’s.
The Boer Migration (1835–1846): the abolition of slavery led to the Great Trek, when former Dutch settlers left South Africa because they didn’t like British treatment and wanted to continue to own slaves. They moved inland and to the east coast in search of their own land, and this led to the subsequent Boer Wars. See the next Enrichment section below.
Gold and Diamonds Discovered (1865-1880): led to a gold rush and substantial growth of Cape Town. Sir Cecil Rhodes was a major British industrialist and short-term prime minister who gained great wealth from the mines and attempted to unify Africa and build a railroad network throughout South Africa.
Union of South Africa (1910): Cape Town became the legislative capital of the newly unified South Africa. The administrative and judicial houses are in Pretoria and Bloemfontein, respectively. This is an unusual approach to governance, but it “works for them”. But deep civil discontent continued for the next 80 years. The African National Congress (ANC) was created in 1912 to give a voice and advocate for the voting rights of African and coloured people, but was abolished by the National Party in 1960.
Apartheid Era: Following the 1948 election, the country was governed by the National Party controled by Africaneers (who were white but felt disadvantaged by the British) and strict apartheid laws were adopted that allowed only white people to vote, segregated black, coloured and white people and attempted to forcefully relocate black people to their “native lands”, which meant ousting people from their Cape Town area homes and moving them to barren, undeveloped areas that they had never seen. Apartheid in Cape Town included the destruction of the racially integrated District Six. Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life in prison in 1963.
Democracy: In 1990, President F.W. deKlerk freed Mandela after 27 years at Robben Island Prison, and the two men worked to negotiate the end of apartheid in South Africa. The ban on the ANC party was lifted in 1990. In 1994, Mandela was elected president of the country, the country’s first Black president. He is considered the “father of the nation”. The history of apartheid is long and painful and has had profound effects on the country and its people. And as we have heard from other speakers, including Hugh Neighbour, it is classified as having a “flawed democracy” today.
Modern Day: Today, Cape Town is a major metropolitan area with a population of five million people, continues to be a large industrial port, and a major tourist destination. It is known as the “Mother City” of South Africa. It is a beautiful, European-like city, by the iconic Table Mountain.

An interesting story we heard during one of the many presentations on South Africa is that in 1488, Bartolomeu Dias, not da Gama, became the first European to navigate around the southern tip of Africa (the Cape of Good Hope). Violent storms pushed Dias’s fleet far south and west into the open ocean. Without realizing it, he sailed around the southern tip of Africa. Upon discovering they had rounded the African continent, Dias originally named the stormy southern point Cabo das Tormentas (Cape of Storms). King John II later renamed it the Cabo da Boa Esperança (Cape of Good Hope) because its discovery promised a direct trade route to India. Likely a good marketing change…

Enrichment – “The Great Trek.” Find out about the extraordinary journey made by Dutch-speaking settlers from the Cape Colony in the 1830s – Jennifer Caithness

The following, from the internet, is consistent with Jennifer’s presentation:

Causes:
- Disenchantment with British administrative policies, the abolition of slavery, land shortages, and cultural clashes on the eastern frontier led to the migration.
- The Voortrekkers: Known as “pioneers,” these farmers (trekboers) moved inland in organized groups, most notably led by Andries Potgieter, Piet Retief, and Andries Pretorius.
Conflicts and Major Events:
- Battle of Vegkop (1836): A small group of trekkers led by Potgieter successfully defended against an Ndebele force.
- Battle of Blood River (1838): Led by Pretorius, 470 Voortrekkers defeated a large Zulu army led by Dingane, solidifying their presence in Natal.
- The trekkers had superior weapons compared to the native tribes and were particularly vicious, and they slaughtered thousands of people, including women and children.
Outcomes: The Boers established the short-lived Republic of Natalia (annexed by Britain in 1843) and later the independent South African Republic (Transvaal) and Orange Free State.
Legacy: The trek created deep-seated political, cultural, and territorial conflicts between Boers, British, and indigenous populations, fueling later conflicts like the Anglo-Boer Wars and shaping modern South African history. In later years, Boer ancestors established the National Party, which came to power in 1948 and initiated the policies that led to Apartheid.