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Published: July 15th 2014
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Vicki and Kevin at the V and A Waterfront
Victoria and Alfred waterfront - similar to Darling Harbour Our African adventure began with a 5 day stay in Cape Town at the Mt Nelson Hotel. Jet lag aside we had a wonderful stay. We began by spending a day at the V and A Waterfront - a type of Darling Harbour development at the old port. It gave us a chance to get out in the sun and stretch our legs after the long flights having arrived at midnight the night before. We met another couple from our South American trip and off the eight of us went. Looked at a great craft market that sold goods made by women which helps provide an income for them. This will become a recurring theme in Africa as women try to create a livelihood. We came back to the hotel and had High Tea that afternoon at the Mt Nelson which is legendary in Cape Town.
Woke up the next day and of course the table cloth had settled over Table mountain so our tour was delayed to the following day. Instead we went to Signal Hill which gives spectacular views over Cape Town including the stadium built for the soccer World Cup in 2010. It is now a white
elephant and sits empty most of the time except for rock concerts. In the afternoon we visited Stellenbosch the wine land region of the Cape. The first winery is semi- organic and uses 8000 Indian runner ducks to control the pests amongst the vines. The second winery we tasted some cheese as well as some wine including Pinotage a wine created by blending Pinot Noir and Hermitage. They also had a mobile bottling truck which comes along and they hook up lines to the wine vats and bottle it as they do not have their own bottling facility.
Off to Hermanus the next day for our whale watching adventure. We saw whales! In fact one came up within a few metres of the boat complete with a head full of barnacles. A great experience followed by a great lunch (photo of menu attached). We then caught up with our trip to Table mountain deferred from yesterday. Today the weather has been glorious and so off we went. The cable car to the top has a bottom which rotates 360 degrees so there is no need to jostle for the best position when you get in. Great views of Cape
Whale close to the boat
Whale watching off Hermanus Town and surrounds.
Next day (no rest for the wicked) as we were up early for a trip to Cape Point/ Cape of Good Hope. A spectacular journey through the Chapmans Peak Drive. Saw our first animals (apart from sea creatures). There were baboons on the road being herded by a monitor. The monitors are employed to try and keep them away from people ( who feed them) and houses. We also saw bonteboks, a type of antelope. We took the funicular up to the lookout at Cape Point and then walked up to the lighthouse. Spectacular views over both the Indian and Atlantic oceans. We then drove to Boulders Beach where there is a colony of the endangered African penguins. They are kept separated from local houses by fences and walkways as they tend to enjoy petunias and other flowers much to the annoyance of the locals. Unfortunately after this we were forced to endure another beautiful lunch. We went to the Black Marlin at Simon's Town where their specialty is Kingklip on the spit. Pieces of the Kingklip fish is wrapped in bacon and served on a huge skewer. Delicious and made even better by being able
to sit outside overlooking the ocean.
The tour continues..........
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