Antarctica via Cape Town

via Emirates First Class

January 2025

Off to Antarctica

Today I’m off on a bucket list trip to Antarctica via Cape Town one of my favorite cities in the world. It’s a mostly Emirates First trip starting in Chicago where Emirates now flies the gorgeous 777 Game Changer. First up is an American positioning flight from Denver. And a great start as there is no one at CLEAR+ PreCheck.

First stop is the Denver Amex Centurion Lounge.

Pretty empty a little before 7am.

At T-50, I headed off to my gate. Cool Lear 35 hanging from the rafters.

Denver DEN to Chicago ORD

American AA 2771

A319

8:16a-11:54a

January 15, 2025

Cozy 8 seat A319 First Class cabin.

Sparing no expense, AA's cutting edge seat back entertainment system. LOL.

Gorgeous morning to fly.

Hey, it's 5 o'clock somewhere.

AA's tasty frittata breakfast.

Chicago on a frigid morning.

Classic T3 design.

With an 8 hour connection, I headed over to the Hyatt Regency O'Hare.

And a sweet Globalist Suite Upgrade for the day.

Emirates Game Changer First to Dubai

Emirates Game Changer New First Class to Dubai

Checking in for my flights to Dubai and Cape Town.

ORD T5 is an embarrassment. Even worse that Emirates partners with a pathetic lounge.

What a dump.

With gross food options.

The new LOT Business Lounge looks really nice from what I can see. How about making a deal with them?

The SAS Lounge was so depressing that I gave up and decided to hang out Rick Bayless' Tortas Frontera, conveniently located right across from the Emirates gate.

My Crispy Chicken Milanesa was fabulous!

Chicago ORD to Dubai DXB

Emirates EK 236

777-300ER

7:45pm-7:00pm +1

January 15, 2025

Departed 6/6

Cost: 178,750 EK miles for ORD-DXB-CPT

Gorgeous Gamechanger First Class cabin...

My Suite 2A tonight...

No more cheap stuff at the gate, as Dom is served as the predeparture champagne.

Each First Class suite has individual temperature controls.

Taxiing for take-off.

In the air, the really good stuff... Dom P2.

Tonight's menu...

And wine list...

Showtime: Emirates First Class style.

Tonight's amuse bouche.

Oh yeah!

Seared prawn starter.

Wowza!

Delicious cream of mushroom soup.

And fabulous chicken biryani.

Why not?

If you insist.

Nighttime pics of our gorgeous cabin.

Bedtime.

Another cool feature is being able to select your own lighting color.

I went with my favorite blue.

But a push of the button gets you other colors...

After a wonderful 7 hours of sleep, descending to Dubai.

What a wonderful flight. It's hard to beat Emirates First Class especiallty on the Game Changer.

My Instagram video of my day with Emirates.

First Class Lounge Hopping at DXB

Emirates First Class Lounges at Dubai DXB

With an 8 hour Dubai connection, lots of time to visit and explore the wines in all the Emirates First Class Lounges. Since I arrived at a B gate, I started with the B Lounge, mostly to check out the wine offerings. I never really liked this lounge, even more so after the "renovations".

Sprawling dining room with zero personality.

The worst part of the renovations is the lack of any visible wines anywhere, with all the wines are hidden behind the bar.

I had to ask to see what wines were available. Bartender was happy to line them up and give me a taste of whatever I wanted to try.

After 15 minutes or so, I headed for the long walk to the C lounge, which is the smallest of the First Class lounges.

Much more attractive and intimate than the B lounge.

But no hidden gems.

Saving the best for last, the long walk back to B and then the train to the A gates.

And the best for last. The A First Class Lounge, the largest First Class lounge in the world.

Checking out the wine selection.

Time for dinner in the elegant A Fine Dining room

The wine selections.

Starting with a beautiful Corton.

And lovely Ducru.

The Butter Chicken was fabulous.

As was the tiramisu.

After dinner, off to the quiet room for a couple hours rest.

And then back for round 2. lol

Hokkaido scallops were delicious.

The Iranian mixed grill was wonderful.

Emirates First Class to Cape Town

Emirates First Class Dubai to Cape Town

After a lovely meal, great wines, a nap and another meal and more great wine, I headed over to the B concourse for my 9 hour flight to Cape Town.

Dubai DXB to Cape Town CPT

Emirates EK 772

777-300ER

3:50a-11:30a

January 17, 2025

Departed 3/6

Cost: included in the 178,750 EK miles ORD-DXB-CPT fare

It may be old First Class, but I still love it.

Pre-departure Dom.

This morning's menu...

And wine list.

After take-off, sampling a couple of wines.

OK, pretty cool to have live TV. Sadly, only to see my Cavs get destroyed by OKC.

What a glorious Africa sunrise.

Bedtime for me across the aisle, for pretty much the rest of the flight.

Welcome to Cape Town. So happy to be back.

Very nice to see an empty immigration/passport control area.

My Instagram video of my Dubai lounge hopping and Emirates First Class to Cape Town.

Cape Town by Helicopter

Welcome to Cape Town

Sticking with my Hyatt theme, I booked a 4 nights stay at the Hyatt Regency Cape Town for the ridiculously cheap price of 6,500 points per night. And used a Suite Upgrade. The view from the Hyatt.

Nice outdoor terrasse.

Awesome view from my suite.

Nice to have the extra space but the room and hotel need some TLC and a refresh. But the price was right.

After a much needed shower, off to the V&A Waterfront. What better way to see Cape Town on a glorious summer day than an helicopter tour. I booked a last minute seat on Cape Town Helicopters’ 3pm Two Oceans flight. What a wonderful flight with incredible views of Cape Town and the gorgeous coastline.

My Instagram video of my Cape Town Helicopters flight.

Dinner at La Colombe

Dinner at La Colombe

What a treat to return for my second visit to fabulous La Colombe, one of world's truly great culinary experiences. Ranked #1 in Africa and finally into the World’s 50 Best restaurants at #49, La Colombe is a delight. Service was impeccable from the entire team. The special no-phones/cameras-allowed wine cellar experience is a not-to-be-missed experience. I made some new friends in the cellar who I joined for the rest of the meal. What a thoroughly enjoyable five hours.

Lovely G&T to start.

Cool presentation of all the ingredients for tonight's meal.

Tonight's menu, at an amazing price of just US$120.

And the 3 wine pairing options. After a little on the spot Vivino research, I went with the Heritage Pairing at US$205. The Iconic Pairing at nearly US$700 seemed way out of line given the mediocre ratings of some the selections.

And away we go.

My menu with my Heritage pairing list.

The beautiful starter cart.

Iconic Tuna "La Colombe" now with secret sauce.

Namibian Crab, Game Fish, Nahm Jim...

Cape Coastline...

Litchi palate cleanser...

Karoo Wagyu, pomme purée, broccoli...

Three part cheese and honey course.

Rose, raspberry, pistachio desert...

What a delightful evening. Such a treat.

My Instagram video of my dinner at La Colombe.

V&A Waterfront and Lunch at Marble

Cape Town's V&A Waterfront and Lunch at Marble - Cape Town

For lunch today, I’m off to Cape Town’s gorgeous V&A Waterfront, home to an array of tourist friendly shops, hotels, restaurants and entertainment attractions. And so excited to try the new Marble Cape Town, the newest outpost of impressive Marble Joburg which I enjoyed three years ago.

Out of the heat into massive VIctoria and Wharf shopping centre.

Over to Marble for lunch.

Stunning setting, gorgeous decor and great atmosphere. And what a treat Marble Cape Town is, fabulous food and flawless service. An absolute must if you are visiting Cape Town.

After lunch, over to the White Desert Antarctica orientation and safety briefing...

My Instagram video of my visit to the V&A Waterfront and Marble Cape Town.

Dinner at Salsify At The Roundhouse

Dinner at Salsify at the Roundhouse

After my afternoon Antarctica safety briefing and a nap, it’s over to Camps Bay for dinner and another of my Cape Town favorites, Salsify at the Roundhouse. Stunning mountain top setting with a stunning view of the the Twelve Apostles and the coast. What an outstanding tasting menu with wonderful wine pairing.

Welcome drink and amuse bouche.

My table with an awesome view.

Today's menu, amazingly just under US$100.

Coal Roasted Oyster • Spekboom & Ginger • Shiso • Yellowtail • Coconut

Raw Springbok • Local Agave • Umfino

Simon's Town Chokka • Fresh Amasi Curd • Peas & Beans

Meuse Summer Salad...

Pan Fried Kingklip • Abalone • Lime Leaf Emulsion

Steamed Pork Jowl • Sultana • Pork Skin Crumble

Karoo Wagyu Beef Sirloin • Jollof Rice • Chakalaka

My impressive collection of wines with lots of Zalto glasses. Bravo.

Fig Leaf • Pineapple • Sheep's Milk

Silver & Gold (aka Salsify Snickers Bar)

What a special dinner at one of my favourite restaurants anywhere.

My Instagram video of dinner at Salsify.

Wine and Lunch in the Cape Winelands

The Cape Winelands

With a revised 8pm flight departure to Antarctica and now an unexpected open day, I headed to the Cape Winelands for day of wonderful views, wine and a relaxing lunch. First stop was beautiful Delaire Graff Estate in Stellenbosch, then up to Franschhoek for lunch at La Petite Ferme.

Gorgeous vistas from Delaire Graff Estate

About 40 minutes north is beautiful Franschhoek, and lunch at La Petite Ferme.

Tuna Mosaic starter...

Beef fillet..

Lovely lunch and visit to the Cape Winelands.

My Instagram video of my day in the Cape Winelands.

The Greatest Day Antarctica

Greatest Day Antarctica

So excited to finally be boarding our charter A340 to Antarctica and tonight’s 6 hour flight to Wolf’s Fang runway. For safety reasons, we had a 8pm departure to make sure that our landing temps were no more than -5C/23F.

Cape Town CPT to Wolf's Fang Antarctica WFR

Hi Fly 3L 801

A340-313 (27 years old)

8:30p-11:57pm (Antarctica time)

January 19, 2025

OK, this sure is butt ugly, but it got us there and back. LOL.

Just a little dated...

Fortunately, I was able to commandeer a crew "rest seat" for take off and landing.

Gorgeous evening in Cape Town.

Despite the dated seats, we had an excellent crew with great service, although it was tough to get much sleep given the anticipation and the dated angled lie flat Business Class seats.

Tonight's menu...

The seared tuna was excellent.

As was the delicious wild mushroom risotto.

Very cool.

Descending to Antarctica.

Landing in Antarctica.

Stepping onto Antarctica at midnight was surreal as the sun never sets and the temps were quite bearable, out of the wind. The outstanding White Desert Greatest Day team made the seamless transfer to our ground sleds to our activities.