RADIO WAVES ON THE SA COAST
Andy Mossack takes his roving BBC radio slot on a cruise ship from Durban to Cape Town
All things considered, I thought things were going pretty well. It was late evening and I was on the bridge of Le Lyrial, sitting in Captain Etienne Garcia’s chair. Fortunately for Ponant, the French cruise line that operates Le Lyrial, the captain was sitting next to me, otherwise I might have been tempted to make an unscheduled passenger announcement. The good captain had agreed to be my guest for a historic broadcasting moment. Well, I say historic, but that might be overegging it a little. Nevertheless, for the first time in its history I’m attempting to broadcast “Where in the World is Andy” live from a ship on the Indian Ocean. The refined Le Lyrial, carrying 200 passengers, was sailing along South Africa’s east coast — a nine-day voyage linking Cape Town with Durban.
“Where in the World” is a travel series that has been a live Thursday-night staple on Russell Walker’s BBC radio Late Show — broadcast in York, Sheffield, Leeds, Humberside and Lincolnshire — for more years than I care to remember. Shows have taken me to Cuba, the Canary Islands, on a Saga ship, and put me in the saddle on a dude ranch in Colorado.
A LUXURY EXPEDITION SHIP
Russ and his listeners attempt to work out where I am through the clues I send over. More often than not they succeed, and with the reveal out of the way I am able to relax a little, and chat about what there is to do and see.
Over the years I’ve been hugely grateful to Russ and his producer Darren for patiently coping with all the connection issues I throw at them. Skype is a wonderfully easy technology to operate, but without a good internet connection it is about as useful as a chocolate teapot.
So there I was aboard Le Lyrial, faced with this week’s challenge: connecting to the studio via the ship’s satellite system. Happily Le Lyrial is a vessel not unfamiliar with taking on big challenges. As a luxury expedition ship she is equipped to navigate some of the remotest places on Earth, from Antarctica to Polynesia.
With just 120 cabins, Le Lyrial is light years away from the bigger, attention-grabbing ships that graze today’s seas. It’s this compact size that provides access to destinations that are often off-limits to larger ships.
The vibe was informal and distinctly French, with plenty of freshly baked pain au chocolat on offer, plus delicious coffee and a gastronomic degustation every night. On the first day, having been advised by cruising friends to book ahead for the “posher restaurants”, I bowled up to reception to prebook my seat at the gastronomic restaurant only to be met with a Gallic stare. “We only have gastronomic restaurants, sir,” came the response.
The itinerary, a leisurely wander along
SA’s coast, stopping off at Richard’s Bay (SA’s second-busiest port) and Port Elizabeth was a bit like a seafaring version of the famed Garden Route. Like many, I tacked on time in Cape Town, to climb Table Mountain, see the penguins at Boulders Beach and better acquaint myself with the region’s wines. It was good to get into the country’s interior. There were daily excursions to see wildlife, led by the ship’s guides. These offer the chance to dip into the scene without committing to a pricey lodge.
ADDO UNDER THE RADAR
While most have heard of the Kruger National Park, Addo Elephant Park, SA’s third-largest national park, flies under the radar. Addo is home to zebras, buffaloes and lions (we didn’t see any) and more than 600 elephants. Around 70% of Le Lyrial’s guests were French, the rest of us a mix of British and American but we were thrilled, in our various ways, at the sight of elephants, giraffes and wildebeests.
Compared with Le Lyrial’s usual navigational fare of vast polar landscapes and giant ice caps, this cruise was a piece of cake. My broadcast, less so. Guy, Le Lyrial’s communications engineer, had to embark on his own expedition, exploring the nether regions of the bridge to convince the satphone to connect with my laptop.
Eventually, still muttering, he materialised from the bowels of the bridge armed with a huge spool of cable to connect to my computer. Time was ticking towards transmission as his fingers danced around the keyboard. Captain Garcia, a veteran of many expedition voyages was unperturbed. He’d clearly seen worse things at sea.
THE FOUR-SECOND LIFETIME
With a mighty “voila!” Guy stepped aside and we were, in the nick of time, finally on air. There was one last problem: the satellite had a delay of around four seconds, which felt like an hour while I was trying to have a live conversation. Nevertheless Garcia charmed me with his expedition exploits, recounting tales of polar adventures where his passengers experienced the thrill of visiting some of Earth’s remotest places.
I was just relieved we’d pulled it off. Mind you, I could have got very used to that captain’s chair.
Book an eight-night “Along the SA Coastline” cruise from Cape Town to Durban on Le Lyrial with Cruiseabout from R55,990. Departs March 24. See cruiseabout.co.za. ● L S. © The Daily Telegraph