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Published: July 17th 2019
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Our day began with an 8:15 a.m. departure following another hearty breakfast at The Portswood. We headed south from Cape Town towards Muizenburg, which put us on the Atlantic coast. From here, it would be a series of quick and scenic stops to admire beautiful coastal views and/or wildlife. Our ultimate destination was the Cape of Good Hope/Cape Point--the southwesternmost point on the African Continent.
First, the wildlife: Though we did not see any sharks or baboons, signs pointed to trouble with both species. After heading uphill from a beautiful beach, we encountered a "shark spotter" shack, looking over the swimmers and surfers to track any approaching shark dangers. Near the "shark shack," another sign warned us that baboons "are dangerous WILD animals - DO NOT FEED - Keep doors locked and windows closed." We continued on to Fish Hoek to visit with three sleepy seals and from there it was off to the Penguin Colony at Simons Town. The Penguin colony began with a pair of Penguins in 1982 and has now grown to a colony of over 2,200. At night, they leave their colony and wander around throughout the town. They are a protected endangered species. It was
fascinating to watch them go about their daily activities. The next wildlife feature we came across were two ostriches. A female ostrich can nest over up to 17 eggs at a time, and they can live to be 55 years old! Later in the day, we would see an actual ostrich farm with even more members of their tribe, and later tonight, we would eat one.
It was on down the coast to the Cape of Good Hope within Table Mountain National Park. We stopped for some memorable photos, first at the formal "Cape of Good Hope" sign, followed by some special photos framed by a slice of kelp. We called these kelpies, not selfies. (This was the idea of our guide, Andre.). Off in the distance, we saw the waves crash on rocks that had led to the demise of many a ship though the years. These were some of the biggest waves we had ever seen, and were marked by their stunning bluish color and the white foam at their crests. We then headed uphill to Cape Point, riding a funicular to arrive. Jake and Rich took on an additional 120 steps to get to the lighthouse
that, after much effort in the 1840s proved to be mostly useless as it was too high in the cloud cover most of the time.
We began our route home on the Western coast, thinking the beauty we had seen at the Cape of Good Hope would never be outdone. It was outdone. On our northerly journey, we continued to stop at various points on a long and winding road to take in the views, many of which had us hundreds of feet above the water level, with a cliff at our feet and mountains of sheer rock at our backs. At one stop, we took in the sight of two eagles gliding. It was like living in a landscape painting.
The last portion of our drive was along Chapman's Peak, which our guide compared to the Amalfi Coast in Italy. Without a doubt, these views were more magnificent than those we had seen on prior visits to Scotland and Ireland. Our guide described the various layers of rock, which was interesting. It was also interesting that signs warned us to use the road at our own risk due to falling rock. In several places, wire netting had
been installed to prevent damage to the road, vehicles, and people.
Our final stop of the evening was at Beau Constantia, a beautiful yet quirky wine farm. Some very punny signs called for laughter and conversation. We took in the "nicest bathrooms on earth" which had views overlooking the terraces of vines below. We took in a tasting of two whites and two reds before heading back to our hotel and enjoying dinner.
Wanting to experience the best of local cuisine, we opted for a South African braai restaurant, and all four experienced ostrich on a skewer and venison sausage. Knowing that tomorrow will lead us to the much-anticipated Robben Island, we opted for a quiet night tonight.
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