Cape Town
We boarded our 1:30 a.m. flight in Bangkok to make our way to Cape Town via Addis Ababa (Ethiopia). The flight was remarkably smooth and uneventful. The best kind of flight. We managed to get a reasonable amount of sleep on both legs of the flights, but were a little bit jet lagged and tired when we got to Cape Town. When we stepped out of the airport in CT, the first thing we noticed was the absolutely perfect temperature of the air and lack of humidity that was typical in SE Asia. We picked up our rental car and a slight panic entered. I was very tired, and I hadn’t driven stick in many years. And it is left hand drive in SA. After a few wrong turns trying to exit the parking lot, including driving in the wrong lane for short stint, we managed to make our way to the city. A couple of more wrong turns (Meli’s new nick name is Magellan) and we finally arrived at our AirBnB. But before we got there, we had to climb a hill that was likely close to a 20% grade. We got to the top, no problem. I was about to pop out and grab the keys from the mailbox when my phone died. The phone had the instructions and code to get in. We decided the only option was to find a store or café where we could charge the phone. Back down the steep hill. We pulled up to a couple of shops and we landed on a gelato shop. I asked if they had any outlets and was told that they did not (well I guess were not getting any gelato then!). We ended up finding a café and were able to get some drinks and get the phone charged up enough to get the entry information for the AirBnB. We ended up being very happy with our AirBnB – a nice little 2 bedroom with all the amenities we needed for the next four nights. After getting settled in we went for a nice stroll along Green Point Park to the ocean. There were these massive waves that would smash against the large breakwall sending water and large pieces of algae onto the walkway. Liam got absolutely soaked on one of them. We walked around the Cape Town Stadium and then headed back home for dinner.
Simon’s Town, Boulder Beach, and Cape of Good Hope
The following morning we headed out for a drive to Simon’s Town and Boulder Beach to see the penguins. We ended up purchasing this thing called a “Wild Card” that can be used at all of the SANParks (South Africa National Parks). It was not cheap (about $500), but it has thus far paid off – we were able to skip the line and forego the admission to Boulder Beach and later at Cape of Good Hope NP. We purchased this card primarily for Kruger NP, but it is nice that it ended up working at all the other parks.
We entered the park and walked along the wooden boardwalk. The penguins were very cool to see. They were all over the place – swimming, on the beach, and in the bushes. After a little while viewing the penguins we made our way along another path towards Boulder Beach, this little swimming area with all of these massive boulders. We climbed under, over, and through the boulders to make our way along the beach. At one point I tried to take an alternate path through a little passageway and as I stuck my head through space in the rocks I was faced to face with a penguin! It scared the crap our of both of us and I backed off and went the other way (apparently penguins will bite).
We made our way back to Simon’s Town for some lunch. We ate at the Salted Sea Dog – a nice little fish and chips spot right on the ocean. The portions were massive and absolutely delicious!
After lunch we got back in the car and decided to head south to the Cape of Good Hope NP. Along the way we passed numerous signs warning of Baboons. I have heard that they can be quite a nuisance, and fortunately we didn’t encounter any along the drive. The drive to Cape of Good Hope is absolutely stunning. The road winds along the cliffside high above to ocean. We entered the park (free again with Wild Card!) and made our way to the furthest point south, the Cape of Good Hope. We hiked up this hill with magnificent views all around. This is one incredibly beautiful country! At the top of the hill you could walk right to the edge of the cliff. I wondered how many people had fallen off. I guessed at least one or two tourists per year.
Next, we drove along the coast, stopping frequently to snap photos, and made our way to the lighthouse. The lighthouse was situated along the same coastline as the Cape of Good Hope, but a little further up along the eastern side. We decided to take the funicular to the top to save some energy which was probably a wise choice in the end. More incredible views. At the top was a lighthouse which was no longer in use. In turned out that they built it too high up and ships wouldn’t be able to see it when the fog rolled in . After the Lusitania crashed on Bellows Rock in 1911, the government decided it was time for a new lighthouse (in the past 500 years more than 2,500 vessels have sunk along the Cape). We took a walk along a little peninsula that led to the current lighthouse located much closer to the ocean and at a lower elevation.
Before leaving the park, we made one more stop at Platboom Beach. There was absolutely no one at the beach, which was both cool and concerning, but it turned out to be great (Cam, Kyle, and I had an incident on a beach in Lombok one time at a vacant beach which always put me on edge). We walked along the beach and found these giant pieces of seaweed that looked like massive whips strewn about along the beach. Mel and I grabbed either end of one piece and the boys played jump rope which was hilarious. Afterward the boys grabbed a piece and had an epic game of tug-o-war.
Table Mountain
The following morning, we drove over to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. This is the starting point for the Skeleton Gorge trail to climb Table Mountain. Our plan was to climb the mountain, take the cable car down the other side, and take an Uber back and spend some time at the gardens before driving back home.
We started the climb which was fairly straightforward at first, but soon became very steep. At one point there were several ladders to get over some of the trickier spots. Near the top of the gorge we had to scramble up over boulders in some areas. When we got to the top of the gorge we turned around and were impressed with the vertical that we had achieved over a relatively short time. We ate lunch on Breakfast Rock (I guess we started the climb late, otherwise it would be called Lunch Rock) and took in the views. What we hadn’t realized was that the climb was far from over. Although it felt like we were at the top, there was still a very long gentle (7 km) ascent towards the top of Table Mountain to get across to the other side where the cable car was.
The walk across the upper part was completely different from the gorge, and was filled with all types of different bushes, shrubs, flowers, etc. At one point I turned around to remark to Mel that it almost looked like some type of fancy landscaping with all the intermixing of various plant species. After almost two hours (lots of stops along the way) we get to Maclear’s Beacon, the peak of the mountain. We met a very nice local guy who told us that he did the hike about 3 to 4 times a week. He was a former mountain guide, and it showed. He was very friendly – almost too friendly – and at one point walks us over to show us an alternative route. Both Meli and I were thinking that maybe he wanted something (i.e., money), but he just turned out to be a super friendly guy. We were glad we took his route suggestion as it gave us some incredible views that we wouldn’t have seen otherwise over Cape Town. At this point of the hike, we were all getting quite tired and were very thirsty (we had underestimated our water needs). We finally got to the cable car station and bought as much water as we could and just started chugging it!
The cable car ride down was not for the faint of heart. The car is on wires that are at an angle of about 45 degrees and as the car descends over 750 metres, the floor rotates 360 degrees giving all the passengers the full view. At the bottom we grabbed an Uber, which was about a 30-minute drive back to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens where we started. We entered the gardens, and after about 5 minutes, we all decided that we were exhausted and wanted to head back home.
Hout Bay, Chapman’s Peak, and Kalk Bay
The next morning, we got in the car and drove the other way around Table Mountain (along the east side) past Camp’s Bay Beach. The weather was a bit nasty at that point, so we decided not to stop at the beach. We continued to Hout Bay to grab lunch. We headed towards Fish on the Rocks restaurant on a recommendation (thanks Phil!). As we pulled into the parking lot, we saw a market and decided to check it out. The market was full of vendors selling merchandise and clothing and there was a large food section. The food looked so good that we decided just to eat there (I also saw a guy walking with a pint of beer and I just had to get one there and then!). We ate and listened to amazing live music. These South Africans know how to spend a Saturday afternoon!
After lunch we continued onwards towards Nordhoek Beach in search of the Kakapo ship wreck. To get there, we took Chapman’s Peak Drive. Such a beautiful drive along the coast with stunning views. We arrived to the entrance to Nordhoek Beach and walked about 40 minutes to reach the wreck. The wreck is in the middle of the beach and is almost completely buried in sand. All of the rusting metal ribs of the boat were visible along with the boilers.
Our next and final stop of the day was Kalk Bay. We parked the car and made our way to the tidal pool. They have these tidal pools – basically a wall constructed along the shore that captures water from the ocean – all along the coast. We went for a quick dip in the pool, quick because it was very cold, and then grabbed some ice cream before making our way back home.
The next day we left Cape Town on our way to Hermanus to start the Garden Route. We had an absolutely incredible time in Cape Town and it was the first time that we truly felt we didn’t have enough time to see everything. We stayed four nights but could have easily stayed a week. Put this on your travel list!
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