Days 18 - 20: Cape Town / Cape Point

How could we possibly top off our safari adventure? Cape Town was as good a bet as any.

Burdened with minimal directions and questionable driving skills (more on that in a minute), we managed to find our way to the apartment at which we were staying. An acquaintance of mine, who works as a dermatologist in Cape Town, lent us his place for a few nights. It was a beautiful place and perfectly situated by the upscale Waterfront area.

I normally consider myself a good driver, but when given a manual car with the driver seat on the right, left handed shifting AND left sided driving, things start to fall apart. The good news is I only hit the curb once and stalled once getting to the apartment.

The next morning, we set off to see the famous sites of Cape Town. First stop, a picker upper at Origins coffee. A popular place that trains most of the baristas around town, Origins is serious about their coffee, brewing in at least 4 different ways. I chose coffee brewed through a "siphon" which made for some exceptional coffee (truthfully I'm not sure if I could tell you the difference between this and say a french press but it looked cool).

Invigorated, we headed to Table Mountain, a impressive natural rock formation for which the city is famous. We opted for the less grueling way to the top of this 1000 meter plateau: cable car! The sheer steepness of the rock face and ascent made for spectacular views but nothing quite compared to those at the top. Another beautiful weather day meant perfect scenic views.

Rock hyrax looking out over Cape Town! Its closest genetic relative is the elephant, no joke.

We finished the day by wandering around some of Cape Town's well-known neighborhoods, which included Long Street (similar in architecture to Bourbon Street!), the Company Gardens, Bo Kaap (home of Cape Town's oldest mosque) and the Waterfront.

The next day we set off driving south to see some of the picturesque coastal towns of Camps Bay and Hout Bay on our route down to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. We wish we had more time to spend at the Cape Point Nature Reserve as there were countless hikes to be done in areas that see few visitors this time of year.

 

Unfortunately the penguins in Simon's town were calling out for us. Also termed "jackass" penguins for the loud braying call they make, the African penguins have formed a natural resident colony here. While perhaps a little smelly, they are quite photogenic!

 

As we snaked our way back to Cape Town, we stopped in Muizenberg, the birthplace of South African surfing. Since the water was a little too cold for us to test the waters ourselves, we enjoyed a warm cup of tea and watched hundreds of surfers do their thing.

Finally, we stopped for a quick wine tasting/sun downer at Buitenverwachting Winery. They offered tasty wines that only served to whet our appetite for things to come...