I went to South Africa a while back to interview Desmond Tutu and I was really taken with the place. I had all of December off before I started this insane job so I came to stay at the Twelve Apostles Hotel in Cape Town. You have the Atlantic ocean in front and the Twelve Apostles peaks behind - it's gorgeous. It's a small hotel, two floors high, and far enough out of Cape Town so that all you can see is sea and mountains.

I had enough energy to explore the nearby Victoria and Alfred Waterfront with its great shops, cafes and restaurants. You can go on water journeys down the coast, and of course you have to go to Table Mountain. I took the cable car to the top, which takes around five minutes. It's very flat and expansive and you can wander around quite happily on your own.

My intention was to have a long rest because this job involves getting up in the middle of the night and is very physically demanding, especially in the winter time. So at night, I decided to leave my curtains open and wake up naturally without an alarm. And every day, before 6am, I awoke to blue sky, the sun and sea. My room had almost one whole wall made of glass and I thought: I never want to come home. One morning I woke to a double rainbow across my view and I felt as though I was on a boat.

I'd often go straight out for a swim although the sea is a little choppy from the local wind, known as the Cape Town doctor, because they say it blows away the germs. Everyone in the hotel was warning me - the sea is freezing - but I am a fiend for cold water, nothing wakes me up better.

Interview by Gavan Naden