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Published: January 16th 2011
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After my amazing dinner, I headed to sleep. After some weird dreams, I woke up around 3am. Startled I stayed awake for another 2 hours before falling back to sleep. I haven’t even started taking my Malaria pills yet (which may cause night tremors). Anyhow, I get a tap at my door. I realize its 9:45am! I was supposed to be up and ready to go at 9am. I first thought I was dreaming, but Aunt Jemima was at my door. Seriously, the housekeeper looks like the original Aunt Jemima. She woke me up and told me my breakfast was getting cold. I ate, washed up and before I knew it my host was saying Cora, Cora (as with his South African accent, he can’t seem to say Cara).
We started our day by heading to Boulders Beach. We went to a very remote part where it seemed we were the only ones there. I was able to take some great close up photos of the penguins. I even sat next to a few. They seem pretty harmless, but my host assured me not to make any sudden movements and/or get too close as they will bight… quickly. They were
ADORABLE!!! They did smell a tad and I sat in some penguin poo – but who cares! It’s all part of the experience.
After spending time with the African penguins (also known as Jackass penguins), we continued our way to Cape Peninsula. We definitely took the scenic drive. The ocean was spectacular. The water was turquoise and even purple in some places because of the kelp. Once we arrived we took the funicular up to the top of Cape Point. It was extraordinary. This is where the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean touch. This is the most southwesterly tip of Africa. From here you can see Cape of Good Hope. This was just another marvelous view of massive rocks, the ocean and natural beauty.
Following my picture taking frenzy, it was almost 2pm and time for some lunch. My host brought me to a local hotspot on the water. I had the fish of the day – yellow fin? It was good. Afterwards my host asked if I had R10. I did so he took it from me and asked me to follow him. We turn a corner and there is the largest seal I have ever
seen. He put the R10 in a bucket and a man started to give me fish to feed this huge seal. He said that I can sit on him. Ummmm – no thanks. He said I can pet the seal all I wanted. It was so slimy, but so cute. When he ate, I was scared as his teeth were huge! Turns out the seal was rescued by the guy collecting the money. The seal was cared for by this random dude after an oil spill. The man and the seal formed a special bond. Even though the seal lives in the wild, he makes an appearance every single day to kiss and play with his very special human friend. It was pretty neat.
As the weather was near perfect, my host insisted we head to Table Mountain. In Cape Town, even though it may be 80 degrees and sunny, it is normally extremely windy outside. If it is too windy or cloudy (which is common), there are no cable cars up to Table Mountain. Even though it was already 3:30, my host dropped me off and said he was coming back for me at 6:30. I thought why
so long? Well, as soon as you take the cable car up… it is massive at the top of this mountain. There are trails, rocks and many different lookout points. You can also sit at the top, have a cocktail and admire the views. This was pretty awesome! After about 2 hours I was done, so I read some National Geographic magazines in the lounge area. I headed back down the mountain and hung out and people watched for a bit until my host picked me up.
We arrived back at the guesthouse at 7:30. He suggested I order in some dinner as it takes a while. He popped in a documentary for me about the Penguins at Boulder. There was a huge oil spill and it was all about how the community pitched in to save thousands of penguins. It also showed how these ‘city slickers’ fancied their way into homes, pools, gardens, etc… at first people loved the little colonies of penguins. After time, there were too many and they simply became a nuisance. After the oil spill, everyone was just happy to see them all return.
Off to bed after a very long, but fantastic
day.
Also – on 2 separate occasions, we had baboon sightings on the side of the road. One of the sightings included a baby and its mother! It was outstanding. The locals in Cape Town will honk and put their brights on to let you know if baboons are close by so you should slow down. My host told me that people get out of their cars which they shouldn’t do as the baboons are super dangerous. Also, they will climb into your car to look for food. Once they are in the car, local authorities have to be called to remove them. Hilarious!
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