Whilst the weather has been variable this week in Cape Town, the scenery has not! It is magnificent. On Monday we drove along the southern edge of Cape Town to False Bay and along the coast as far as Simonstown, the big SA naval base. Along the way we spotted whales cavorting in the sea just 20 metres off the coast. Everywhere we looked we could see whales jumping; whales swimming; whales blowing and whales just swimming. 
You could almost reach out to them from the land. Amazing! A bit further long the coast we saw a group of penguins walking around on the rocks.
On Tuesday we explored Cape Town City visiting the Castle of Good Hope and the Company Gardens. In the afternoon we took a drive along the Atlantic Coast beaches past Camps Bay (below) and along to Hout Bay.
Lovely sandy beaches and beautiful homes on the slopes of the Table Mountain National Park. After picking up our car we went for a sunset drive to the base station of the Cable Car to the top of Table Mountain to see if we could get up but it was closed so we drove up Signal Hill and watched the sun set from there.
The next day we set off for Cape Point, the extreme South West corner of Africa. It was drizzly as we drove down but cleared up a little at the Cape and we took the funicular railway to the top of the Cape where nthe lighthouse is, and looked out on the stormy waters that stretch all the way to Antartica. We drove to the Cape of Good Hope just around the corner. This is not as dramatic as Cape Point but is the true most south westerly point of Africa.
The most southerly is further east and called Cape Aghulas. That is where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Indian Ocean.
On the way back we encountered a troop of Chacma Baboons wandering along the road quite oblivious to the cars stopping to observe them.
We were getting hungry by now so we called into the famous "Brass Bell' restaurant at Kalk Bay for a lovely lunch of fish soup and pizza. We had a window seat and from here we could we watch the whales just metres away in the bay and the fishing boats coming back from their fishing grounds with the catch of the day. After lunch we wandered down to the fishing harbour and saw crate after crate of crayfish being offloaded. Then a bevy of seals sauntered into the harbour hoping for some scraps. They were big!
On Thursday we visited Wendy's cousins and Aunt for morning tea. Wendy hadn't seen them for 20 odd years so it was grand reunion for her. In the afternoon we went to Canal Walk, a modern shopping centre on the way to Paarl. Without a doubt it ranks as one of the biggest and best malls in the world. It is HUGE! Then as the sun dropped further in the sky, together with Peter and Colleen we drove to the Cable Car and went up to the top of Table Mountain and as the sun went down we sipped a glass or two of champagne. A magic moment.
Cape Town has incredible extremes of wealth and poverty. Whilst we did not feel threatened in any way you have to be on the guard all the time. All of the restaurants, hotels, car parks etc employ attendants to keep an eye on the cars parked there. Every house has electric gates and security grills on all doors and windows and alarms that when set off will have an armed guard around in minutes. Many houses have electrified fences around the perimeter. Like most cities you just have to be sensible. You don't go walking alone in quiet areas. You don't venture into the wrong sort of suburbs and if you see suspicious characters you keep driving or turn around and walk the other way.
On Friday Wendy was off to a reunion with some of her Port Elizabeth school friends whilst I babysat Rocky, Peter and Colleens's 7 year old golden labrador. Then it was time to leave Cape Town (sigh) and head off to the Wine Lands around Stellenbosch where we celebrated Peter's birthday in an olive farm owned by old friends of Wendy until the wee wee small hours of the morning.
Next day we went wine tasting and called into Fairview Winery where the famous Goat wines are made. The off to Backsberg where we had lunch. Wendy had the Roasted karoo Lamb on the spit (a whole lamb). Then we headed for Franschoek where we stayed the night in a lovely old period house in the middle of the town. We had a lovely meal at the French Connection including the best tagliatelle we had ever had. On Sunday we drove to Somerset West, about 40 km away to visit another old friend of Wendys. This week we head along the Garden Route to Port Elizabeth.
You could almost reach out to them from the land. Amazing! A bit further long the coast we saw a group of penguins walking around on the rocks.On Tuesday we explored Cape Town City visiting the Castle of Good Hope and the Company Gardens. In the afternoon we took a drive along the Atlantic Coast beaches past Camps Bay (below) and along to Hout Bay.
Lovely sandy beaches and beautiful homes on the slopes of the Table Mountain National Park. After picking up our car we went for a sunset drive to the base station of the Cable Car to the top of Table Mountain to see if we could get up but it was closed so we drove up Signal Hill and watched the sun set from there.
The next day we set off for Cape Point, the extreme South West corner of Africa. It was drizzly as we drove down but cleared up a little at the Cape and we took the funicular railway to the top of the Cape where nthe lighthouse is, and looked out on the stormy waters that stretch all the way to Antartica. We drove to the Cape of Good Hope just around the corner. This is not as dramatic as Cape Point but is the true most south westerly point of Africa.
The most southerly is further east and called Cape Aghulas. That is where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Indian Ocean.On the way back we encountered a troop of Chacma Baboons wandering along the road quite oblivious to the cars stopping to observe them.
We were getting hungry by now so we called into the famous "Brass Bell' restaurant at Kalk Bay for a lovely lunch of fish soup and pizza. We had a window seat and from here we could we watch the whales just metres away in the bay and the fishing boats coming back from their fishing grounds with the catch of the day. After lunch we wandered down to the fishing harbour and saw crate after crate of crayfish being offloaded. Then a bevy of seals sauntered into the harbour hoping for some scraps. They were big!On Thursday we visited Wendy's cousins and Aunt for morning tea. Wendy hadn't seen them for 20 odd years so it was grand reunion for her. In the afternoon we went to Canal Walk, a modern shopping centre on the way to Paarl. Without a doubt it ranks as one of the biggest and best malls in the world. It is HUGE! Then as the sun dropped further in the sky, together with Peter and Colleen we drove to the Cable Car and went up to the top of Table Mountain and as the sun went down we sipped a glass or two of champagne. A magic moment.
Cape Town has incredible extremes of wealth and poverty. Whilst we did not feel threatened in any way you have to be on the guard all the time. All of the restaurants, hotels, car parks etc employ attendants to keep an eye on the cars parked there. Every house has electric gates and security grills on all doors and windows and alarms that when set off will have an armed guard around in minutes. Many houses have electrified fences around the perimeter. Like most cities you just have to be sensible. You don't go walking alone in quiet areas. You don't venture into the wrong sort of suburbs and if you see suspicious characters you keep driving or turn around and walk the other way.
On Friday Wendy was off to a reunion with some of her Port Elizabeth school friends whilst I babysat Rocky, Peter and Colleens's 7 year old golden labrador. Then it was time to leave Cape Town (sigh) and head off to the Wine Lands around Stellenbosch where we celebrated Peter's birthday in an olive farm owned by old friends of Wendy until the wee wee small hours of the morning.
Next day we went wine tasting and called into Fairview Winery where the famous Goat wines are made. The off to Backsberg where we had lunch. Wendy had the Roasted karoo Lamb on the spit (a whole lamb). Then we headed for Franschoek where we stayed the night in a lovely old period house in the middle of the town. We had a lovely meal at the French Connection including the best tagliatelle we had ever had. On Sunday we drove to Somerset West, about 40 km away to visit another old friend of Wendys. This week we head along the Garden Route to Port Elizabeth.
