Cape Town

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Cape Town is awesome! It is an amazing place...totally different to Durban. It is a lot more of a 'trendy' place and everything feels a lot more chilled out (it also does very good pizza). We took a local taxi (eventually plucked up the courage to do it) round to Camps Bay which had a beautiful beach all surrounded by the mountains. It was extremely windy but that did not matter because the views were stunning, the sun was shining and the beer was cold. We stayed at the Sunflower Stop backpackers hostel and it is a small place but has a big atmosphere. The staff are chilled out and we have met some cool guys as well. On Thursday we joined up with two other lads from our room and decided to walk up/climb Table Mountain. At first, it thought this would be a walk in the park...I was wrong. It involved climbing over massive boulders, up through steep gorges and avoiding two massive bumble bees than seemed to be following us all the way! Great fun though and would urge everyone to give it a go...there is a great sense of achievement when you reach the top. The views were unbelievable. It was a very clear day too so we could see out over the whole of the city and down the coast line. We took the cable car back down and then cooked up a massive braai back at the hostel in the evening. On Friday I decided to take a trip down the Cape Peninsula to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope with another group and it turned out to be a brilliant day out. Organised by the Baz Bus it took me and my new found Canadian friends down through the peninsula via Hout Bay, Simon's Town and eventually to Cape Point in the Table Mountain National Park. Just out of Hout Bay we took a small ferry to seal island where hundreds of seals sit on the rocks. There is also a surf spot near the rocks nicknamed the 'dungeon' where 25ft+ waves come in in July/August and it plays host to the pro tour of big wave surfing each year. I saw a lot more wildlife on the tour as well including penguins in Simon's Town and three whales on the way down to Cape Point. The trip also included a lunch and a bike ride through the National Park. There was a bit of mist around but that still did not spoil the views at Cape Point. The endless ocean streching out into the distance was a magnificant sight and if you looked down of the clift top you could see seals, a lot of rocks and some big waves breaking. There is so much history behind the Cape of Good Hope and the tour guide kept pointing out ship wrecks lining the cost from hundreds of years ago. It was difficult to get my head arounf the fact that I was stood at the most South Westerly point in the whole of Africa. It was a great feeling and made me think back to the last time I reached the end of civilisation...up in the Canadian High Arctic four years ago! On Friday night Dan and I went out in Cape Town to Long Street with the guys who work at the hostel and a swiss chap called Marco (to our amazement and good luck Marco is in fact a top class chef so we have been eating very well the last few days!). We stopped of at a lot of cool bars and pubs and ended up in the Dubliner bar which had a live band playing. Finally on our last day we have chilled out, I have been for a run along the waterfront (it was strange to be out running with Table mountain to my left and a Robben Island to my right...quite surreal) and we have sorted out our bags in preparation for a few hectic days of travelling back up to JoBerg, on to Singapore then asuming all goes according to plan we will be in Thiland on monday night. Thats all folks!

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Photos

Cape of Good Hope
Most south-westerly point in South Africa

Comments

[Carol Walsh]

Envious or what
Hi Harry, Cape Town sounds amazing and as for the climb up table top mountain well done you, the only way I will do that is in my dreams. I'v been to Singapore which was quite an experience hope you enjoy it and Thialand, have a wonderfull time.xxxxxx