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Saved: November 30th 2021
Silvermine Lookout
Shot of Cape Town area from the Silvermine Lookout.They call Cape Town the Mother City. I don't know the official reason why, but most locals will joke with you and say it's because it takes 9 months to get anything done.
We have been lucky and we know it. We are so grateful for Peter's family and the extended time we have been able to stay and enjoy delightful Cape Town. As you can see from the amount of photos that we are posting, we enjoying the sights of this beautiful city! With it's gorgeous beaches, mountains and sunshine it is easy to see why almost 4 million people choose to live here. Don't be fooled though. On the outside Cape Town looks and feels like a first world city. The locals refer to South Africa as a third world country. From what we have seen - South Africa is an example of a developing country. Being a new democracy means that there are still lots of political and economic woes (but which country is exempt from these?) and racial tensions are still palatable. However, the people are optomistic for the future and foreign investment continues to pour into the country. Our hearts go out to the South
Lookout
Another angle from the Silvermine Lookout. Africans and their strength to improve their country and the lives of all South Africans, regardless of their race, colour or creed.
Our next adventure was with Peter's cousin Allan and his family. Allan, Vanessa, Ronaldo and Jayson warmly welcomed us into their home. They had only just returned from a 2-week vacation in Germany and Allan had a free week before he had to head up to Johannesburg for work. Although he had many errands to complete before heading up to Jo'berg, Allan and Vanessa treated us to many sights and experiences. Our very first night we visited the largest mall in South Africa called Canal Walk. It is a new complex and is beautiful as far as malls go. A nicer, more elegant version of our malls - kinda like a cross between Chinook Centre in Calgary and West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton (but not THAT big).
The next day Allan and Vanessa took us on a fabulous day trip where we visited Cape Point, the most south-westerly point in Africa. It was a whole circle drive tour that included visiting the very aptly named Misty Cliffs, Boyes Drive and Boulders Beach.
The drive toward
the coast provided us with some fantastic views over Cape Town and Allan graciously pulled over for us to take photos. It was a beautiful day, so it was hard to comprehend the mist out at Misty Cliffs. At the same time, the mist provided a real mystical element to the area and we are glad we got to see it when the mist was there. From Misty Cliffs we drove to Cape Point which is a National Park and encompasses the whole peninsula. The most commonly seen animals are baboons. We only saw a small group from the car, but apparently there are tons of them throughout the entire area.
Cape Point was very busy with tourists (sheesh - the nerve of other tourists visiting at the same time as us!) but beautiful. We chose to walk up to the lighthouse instead of paying to take the funicular. It was definitely steeper than any of us imagined, but the views were breath-taking.
From Cape Point we drove along toward Boulders Beach which is famous for it's penguin colony. On the way we pulled off to see the view and happened to catch sight of a Southern Right
Misty Cliffs
Misty Cliffs on the Atlantic Ocean side. Whale! In fact, we think there may have been two, possibly mating. It was fantastic! The photo we have shows the barnacles on it's nose, indicating that it is a Southern Right, and not a dolphin as some have suggested. (HA! To all the non-believers - we DID see a whale!)
From here we pulled into Boulders Beach and decided to head down to the beach first before we visited the Jackass Penguin Colony. Once again, the beach is aptly named for all the boulders that shelter this beautiful beach area. This is the warm Indian Ocean side, but the water was still very cold. While we waded, a group of young British girls went swimming! Brave, brave girls!
The photos of the penguins have been edited down to the few we have inserted here. Those of you who know me and my love of snapping photos will believe me when I say I took a ton of penguin photos, and I have decided to spare you the endless penguin shots (okay, truth be told, Peter is sparing you from them, as he has expertly chosen the photos on display). The penguin colony is quite incredible. There is
Cape Point
Our visit to Cape Point, the most Southwestern point in Africa. The Indian and the Atlantic Oceans meet here. a boardwalk that winds along the top of the beach where there are lots of trees and foliage. It is penguin breeding season, so lots of mums and tots are snuggled up in little dens at the base of the trees, or under the boardwalk. I never thought we would see the penguins as close up as we did. They are right there for you to see! There is also a large, prospering colony of dassies (rock hyrax) that live in the trees and bushes. The penguins and dassies live in peaceful harmony. The boardwalk continues along until it curves around to take you down to the beach. The open area of the beach allows us to see the larger mass of penguins. The penguins are lounging around, hanging out in groups and heading out into the water. It was a fabulous experience to see so many penguins, so close up. As you will see in the photos, you are asked to look under your car for penguins, as they are wandering all over the parking lot and into nearby residential areas. Yes - I looked! Not only under our car, but everyone else's too!
After our penguin play
Cape Point Lighthouse
Steep stairs take you up to the lookout, but the view is worth it! time, we headed home via Boyes Drive and got more fantastic views of the Indian Ocean/False Bay beach areas. We had a marvelous day with Allan and Vanessa, and perfect weather too.
The next day we accompanied Allan to his going away party. After 23 years of civilian work with the South African Navy he resigned. His new job will take him to Johannesberg for a few years, and will offer him much better opportunites for the future. The Navy dockyards are located in Simon's Town, so we gathered up all the necessities and headed off to the Navy Pub to set up. The original plan was for Peter and I to help set up and then spend the rest of the afternoon wandering around Simon's Town. However, the pub was left in a little bit of disarray from the previous party, so we rolled up our sleeves to clean up, and set up and by the time this was completed, the first well-wishers began to arrive. The fellow nominated to bartend was quickly overwhelmed (these Navy boys can DRINK!) so Peter and I pitched in and started pouring drinks and opening beers. Then it was time for the
View of the Atlantic Ocean from Cape Point
Cape Point and it's surrounds are all part of the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, which is one of the many reserves encompassed by the Table Mountain National Park. speeches, so I snatched Allan's camera and took some photos of the speeches and the crowd. All the while Allan has been introducing us as his Canadian cousin (and fiancee) who travelled through West Africa. We were not only kept busy with bartending, but also chatting with everyone about our travels and Canada. It was a fun afternoon, meeting people we would likely have never met under normal circumstances. We did sneak away for about an hour and walked around Simon's Town waterfront area. We are looking forward to going back and spending a few days in Simon's Town at a later date.
Allan and Vanessa also took us to Grand West - a large casino complex that has, of course, a large casino, but also, several restaurants, movie theatres, a skating rink, and a conference centre. There are fast food outlets in one area and across the building are the upscale restaurants. As you walk into this area, you feel as though you have walked into a different place completely. This is because they have built this area in the theme of the now destroyed District Six community of Cape Town. They have done a fabulous job of
Cape Point
This photo is of the actual point of Cape Point. recreating the streets, and the feel of this once vibrant community. After a nice meal, we headed to the casino to try our luck. Needless to say, no one struck it rich that night.
The Thomas clan is made up of five brothers - listed from oldest to youngest: Michael (wife Sandra); Jonathon (wife Maria); Julian (wife Shaney); Allan (wife Vanessa); and Andrew (wife Natasha). As Allan still had plenty of things to do before he headed off to Jo'berg, we packed up and headed over to Julian and Shaney's house. Julian and Shaney took us to meet his brother Michael, who recently returned from a 3-week visit to Canada (Toronto and area). On Saturday evening, Julian invited the family over and we met Jonathon and his family for the first time and also cousin Mervin and wife Debbie. When Andrew joined us later, we had our first "Vienna Parcel" - which consists of a pizza box filled with chips and vienna sausages (or European wieners as we Canadians call them!). We are definitely enjoying all the food Cape Town has to offer!
Michael is off work right now, so he offered to take us around on Monday.
Ater a lovely breakfast, we headed to the race track for a little betting (once again, we did not walk away big winners). What was meant to be a short visit to see Sydney (Peter's cousin's husband) at "Pinky's Bar" (a full bar in Sydney's garage) instead turned out to be a full afternoon of imbibing. Luckily, by starting early it also meant we were home and in bed by midnight and that meant the next day wasn't a total write-off!
We headed down to the waterfront area and enjoyed a lovely, sunny afternoon strolling around and taking more photos of Table Mountain and the harbour.
On Wednesday Julian had to travel up the West Coast for business, so we got up early and joined him. The west coast is completely different to the east coast. It is much more rugged and less developed. The open plains reminded us of the rolling plains at home. The first stop was Vredenberg (pronounced Free-den-berg), which is the inland hub of the area. From here Julian took us out to Paternoster, a lovely small fishing village. Even though it was a cold and windy day, the beach was beautiful. From here
we drove to Saldana Bay and then back to Vredenberg. The west coast is supposed to come alive with flowers as spring approaches, so we are going to attempt to make it back this way to experience the flowers if we can.
The weather had changed and some rain had started so we thought that a visit to a museum would be the best way to spend our time. We did not take into account that we had to get from the train station to the museum in the pouring rain - so we arrived at the District Six Museum soaked to the skin. Luckily, the museum was warm and we were able to spend a few hours enjoying the exhibits of this museum dedicated to the memory of the District Six Community. The history of District Six is tied to the aparthied era. The area was declared a "white group area" and the original inhabitants were forced to move into new settlement areas far from the city centre. Forceably removing inhabitants from communities was happening all over South Africa as the "whites" moved into the most desirable areas, forcing current occupants out. District Six was later deemed a
Fins in Water
Glad we're not swimming - but we still want to kayak. crime-ridden, drug-infested area and the decision to demolish it was made in 1982. The musuem is dedicated to keeping the memory of District Six and the forced removals alive, in effect reminding us all of the horrors of the apartheid era.
That evening we were on the move again. This time to cousin Keith and his family. Luckily, they live only 2 blocks from Julian and Shaney, so we were still in the same area and still had the same easy access to the train. Keith is Peter's cousin from his mum's side and his wife Norma, kids Chad, Joshua and Jordan welcomed us back, as we had stayed with them briefly before joining Allan and family. We have really enjoyed getting to know each cousin and their family. They have been so incredibly warm and welcoming to us and the Cape Town hospitality is legendary.
Our next forays took us back to Muizenberg Beach for an afternoon of strolling on the beach and back into the Waterfront area, where we attempted to get tickets for Robben Island but found out they were sold out for the day - YIKES - were did all these tourists come from??
Southern Right Whale
We were very excited to see our first whale in False Bay. Our next entry will document our trip to Robben Island and also our Table Mountain experience (we finally made it up Table Mountain!).
Lots of love,
Laini and Peter
NOTE: We have included some family photos at the very end of the photo section.
p.s. We hope you were able to view all the photos from this entry and the last one. You have to click on the bottom "2" or "next" to see the rest of the photos.
p.p.s. If you are a red wine drinker and ever stumble across any Stellekaya wines - try them! Delish!
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The Roberts' Family
non-member comment
Hello!
Hello Peter and Laini! Glad to hear you are still having so much fun! I have added visiting the "jackass penquin colony" to my list of things to do. It sounds and looked like a wonderful adventure with Peter's extended family! That is fabulous!! The Misty Cliffs look just breath taking! Love hearing from you and send you our love! We miss you! Pam and Family.