On the road in SA

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July 17 - July 21

Picking up our hire car in Cape Town was hilarious. We ended up with an original Mark I VW Golf the kind they stopped making in the UK in the 1980s. This is what you get when you trawl the net for the cheapest price. Funnily enough though in Cape Town these cars are everywhere and their owners keep them pristine. It was a bit odd though getting in the tiny vehicle after being used to Simon's monstrous Skoda Octavia.

We decided to head up the coast for a long weekend. Luckily for us the weather turned and we had sunshine for most of the time.

Driving through the South African landscape was breathtaking. We would go up huge hills and be surrounded by rolling green hills and then come down to have the ocean spread out alongside us.

Our first port of call was Hermanus which is the best place in the world for land-based whale watching. Those of you that know me well will no doubt recall the hundreds of dolphin and whale items I have collected over the years. I LOVE whales and dolphins in pretty much the same way a trainspotter loves trains. So I was in my element when we were sat on a cliff top overlooking a secluded bay and watching the whales jumping about below. Hermanus is a picture postcard perfect seaside town and we stayed in the cutest little guestlodge run by a Dutch lady.

To get even closer to the whales we took a boat trip and saw southern right whales come right up within touching distance. Amazing.

After one night in Hermanus we headed through more rolling hills to Mossell Bay. We arrived in the dark and the hostel we stayed in was a converted train. It was literally a train carriage. The novelty was certainly there. Our bunks pulled down from the sides of the carriage and we had a sliding door to get into our compartment. We had planned to go great white shark cage diving in Mossel Bay but having bumped into Fern and Nic (from the overland trip) who told us they didn't get to go in the water we decided against it. So we spent our days taking long walks along the cliff paths (we could see whales from here too) exploring the rock pools and chilling out on the beach. The best thing about the hostel was being able to take breakfast on the terrace overlooking seals playing in the surf.

After Mossel Bay we went to look at the penguin colony at Betty's Bay. There's a boardwalk that takes you right over where the penguins live and breed. They are so funny to watch as they take clumsy steps on land but as soon as they are in the water they are swift and elegant. Very cute. Simon loves penguins like I love whales and dolphins.

Then we headed to Simon's Town! Yes there really is a place named after Simon. Well it isn't really named after him but it's close enough. It's the site of a huge naval base and our hostel overlooked the ships. We got up at 6am on our final day with the car as we wanted to see Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. The national park was pretty much empty when we arrived just as the sun was rising. We had already visited Cape Agulhas which is where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet and wanted to see the other 'Capes' before we left. We took a very brisk walk up to the headland where the lighthouse is and from here could see Table Mountain in the distance and ocean as far as the eye could see. To be there on our own made it even more peaceful.

Our five days with the car was a real adventure and we saw what must be some of the most gorgeous scenery in the world. I would definitely return to Africa and I would certainly drive in South Africa again although maybe in a 'proper' car next time.

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Photos

Whale
Hermanus

Whale watching
Hermanus

Breakfast
Mossel Bay overlooking the sea

Fish and chips
Mossel Bay

Fish and chips
The tastiest fish ever in Mossel Bay

Comments

[Nina]

VW - the best car in Africa
Hello world, we, that is holamundo in travelblog (the spanish world for hello world) just finished a 1 year travel. In South Africa we also hired a VW in the same colour. We also had a great time, it is a pretty cool car. Enjoy your travels. We are back home trying to go back to normal - but that means suffering. We are looking forward to travelling again soon. all the best, holamundo (Nina and Markus)