Hi,
Just a thought if you haven't quite booked yet. You could probably have a wonderful holiday with a two year old in South Africa; particularly in the Cape. There's lots to do and it is soooo beautiful. I loved Cuba and the people are very friendly but it just doesn't quite stack up against South Africa. We have had three holidays in the Cape over the last five years and we absolutely love it.
Maggie

Maggie
would love to hear about the Cape. Why not start a new post and tell us what you liked/did/any recommendations?

Will do Fiona. Let me have a think about that.
Maggie

no hurry!
Thanks

Although I was at school in Cape Town for many years, that was not the only reason my husband and I returned twice to South Africa after our first visit after the end of Apartheid. My husband had only been once before to Africa (East) and was as enthusiastic as I was to go back again, particularly to the Cape Province. On our first visit we arrived in Johannesburg, stayed with friends who were doubtful we would enjoy the train trip on South African Railways which we had booked from Canada, via Kimberley to Cape Town. We did enjoy it thoroughly; we had a comfortable compartment and our steward couldn't have been more caring and helpful. We ate simply from a small trolley which made the rounds regularly, and we slept well. We had an overnight in Kimberley to give us time to visit "the big hole", the well known diamond mine, and then boarded the train again for Cape Town. In Cape Town we stayed in an area I knew well from childhood; Oranjezicht or the Gardens. We had a small unpretentious apartment at the Garden Centre and were able to walk easily down Government Avenue to the city. We rented a car and toured the surrounding countryside; it has everything, mountains of course, the sea on all sides (Atlantic and Indian Oceans) , the wine district of Stellenbosch, Paarl, Franschoek and Robertson; Robyn Island (where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for 17 years); Cape Point (not quite the southernmost tip of South Africa which is Cape Aghulas), we watched whales in Hermanus from the road, they were so close to shore. After happy visits to my old school and friends we moved to Stellenbosch to visit the many vineyards and take advantage of the wine tastings. Then we drove the Garden route to Mossel Bai, Robertson, Montagu, Wilderness, George and Knysna and to the Karoo, a favourite part of South Africa for me. The landscape is open and dry and dramatic with flat topped kopjies and sheep farms, isolated wind mills and ostriches, which act as guard dogs! We visited the old towns of Graaf Rienet and the fascinating village of Nieu Bethesda, home of sculptress (?) Helen Martins of The Road to Mecca fame (play by SA playwright, Athol Fugard). I tell everyone visiting SA for the first time "Do not miss the Karoo!" We went on to Tsitsikama a beautiful rugged coastal reserve and spent a few days at the lodge in a small chalet gazing into the mountains. We discovered the tiny hamlet of Nature's Valley about an hour's drive away with a lovely rocky beach and the best fish and chips I have ever tasted! We drove from Tsitsikama to Port Elizabeth and flew to Durban in KwaZulu Natal which was very tropical, hot and humid. We stayed at Umthlanga Rocks outside the city in a B&B. It's an attractive busy holiday/beach resort. Durban boasts many lovely beaches and excellent Indian restaurants which we frequented. We then made our way NE to Richard's Bay and ultimately north through KwaZulu Natal and the Drakensberg mountains. We stayed at the Park lodge where the Queen many years before had made a speech to the Commonwealth on her 21st birthday and where the cast of the film Zulu had lived whilst making that film. We walked up to the Cascade waterfall and streams, and we saw rock paintings, which abound all over South Africa. ( I had seen them first, years before, while staying with a school friend whose father owned a huge sheep farm near Beaufort West in the Karoo. We had found them in caves on the farm.) We drove towards Johannesburg stopping overnight in prebooked farms and guest houses which excel in South Africa for luxury and hospitality. On our second visit with friends from the UK we remained in the Cape and on our last visit in 2004 we took a group on the Shongololo train from Cape Town to Johannesburg. We did the Cape of Good Hope tour which winds its way for 17 days around South Africa. It was a fabulous trip and almost all who came with us (13 in all) are preparing to return to Africa with us, (East Africa this time) in May 2006. Have a look at http://www.shongololo.com. Please feel free to contact me if there is anything I can help you with if you're planning to visit this amazing country....known as The Rainbow Nation because of the huge mix of colours, languages and races. I think like us you will want to return many times. One thing I should mention which makes the visit even more attractive, if that's possible, is that the rate of exchange for you in the UK and for Americans and Canadians is very beneficial and that's a treat in itself!