Sandy again, this time with her husband Alex, plus Dot and me, close to sunset at a hotel on the edge of Table Bay. Wonderful light, but a chilly wind, and we eventually drove to an indoor Fishmarket restaurant for a delicious meal with a good view of a sushi bar. I know understand more about how sushi works without actually having to taste it, which has to be good.

This is an example of one of the may good things about Cape Town. If I could be transported magically, I would go there often, despite the threat to personal security as evidenced by high walls, electric fencing, barbed wire and threat of armed response. The only time I really felt threatened was when we took a wrong turning and walked by Cape Town rail station around 6.30pm. A couple of guys (or maybe the same one) grabbed my arm and Dot’s, but another one stopped him and we hastened on. A definite feeling of being outnumbered and in the minority.

Apart from this, I didn’t really feel threatened, even when we went to the township of Guguletu in the middle of a taxi drivers’ strike, which had led to some violence and a strong police presence. One vehicle was stoned and then destroyed, some roads in town were blocked and there was definitely more violence in the air, because schools were being sent home early. We were driven to the J L Zwane church and community centre, which has a huge reputation for good, and spoke to the church leader, Spiwo, and to one of the education ministers for the province. We then went by car (taxi-shaped vehicle too provocative!) to a Roman Catholic school and spoke to the head teacher.

The poverty of the townships was unmistakeable, but in normal circumstances the mood was upbeat, if fatalistic (it was quite normal for the township residents to stroll across motorways). I had expected to feel generally much more uneasy in Cape Town than I was, and the black people I spoke too were friendly and helpful. Outside Cape Town centre, in the stunning bays round the peninsula and in the winelands, everything was peaceful.

Highlights of the holiday were many: our first Sunday lunch outdoors at a restaurant on the shores of the Langebaan lagoon; climbing in the rocks at Llandudno Bay, where we first glimpsed whales from the shore; the stunning Chapman’s Peak Drive; sitting on the rocks at Kalk Bay on a stormy day; exploring the unexpectedly lovely Kirstenbosch on a day when the sun suddenly broke through the clouds; reaching the summit of Table Mountain after a two-mile walk from the cable car and breakfast in the restaurant; going as far south as we could at Cape Point after climbing to the top of the Cape of Good Hope (not even the second most southerly point in Africa, but wonderful just the same).

Then there was the stunning scenery of the winelands, especially the beautiful Huguenot village of Franschhoek; the seductive emptiness of Overberg; the magical Waterfront in Cape Town; white-sanded and rocky Blouberg beach, with its beautiful view across to Table Mountain; two mouth-watering mountain passes; and of course the totally new experience of a walking safari, during which we came within a few yards of a white rhino, which had to be dissuaded from charging us by the ranger “talking” to it – and during which also Dot ate a termite.

We had a tremendous opportunity to talk to local people at a party hosted by Sandy and Alex – both of whom were culinary experts – and the totally different experience of staying at the Vineyard Hotel, with its fascinating history, its colonial feel in the middle of a very English Newlands district – home of test cricket and rugby, and of a few people who seemed to be still living in the past.

There were a couple of brushes with disaster while I was driving. On the first occasion we were travelling down Tafelberg Road below Table Mountain when a car came round the corner on the wrong side of the road. We were both doing about 35mph, and he showed no sign of getting back to his own side, so I swerved round him, to the accompaniment of the odd scream from the back. No idea what he was up to, but it was quite a shocking experience. The second episode was one only I noticed: we were driving down towards Hout Bay when a couple of young boys pushed a truck out across the road; nothing inherently dangerous in that, but I noticed that only one of them had run back to safety. The other was hidden by the truck, but I suspected he might also run back across the road – which he did. Happily, I had slowed down in anticipation.