7/27/19
We had an early morning departure to Cape Town. The scenery was very nice with green, rocky mountains turning to agricultural valleys in between the tabletop mountains. We stopped at a rest area that was rather interesting because it had an enclosure full of rabbits that you could go into. Before arriving to Cape Town, we went through a dense fog, but when we reached the coast, the fog was gone (though there was quite a lot of moisture in the air). We stopped at a beach that had beautiful white sand. Across the blue-green ocean, through the sea mist, we could see Cape Town and the famous Table Mountain and Lion's head peak.
We were dropped off at our hostel ("Once in Cape Town", which was an amazing hostel). Since the weather was nice and a forecast for poor weather in the future, I wanted to make use of the rest of the day and take a hike. Since it was already afternoon, I was thinking I'd like to do Lion's head peak. With the suggestion from the hostel receptionist that we should go for Table Mountain (the bigger hike)--because when there is nice weather in the winter here, you should take advantage of it--it took little convincing for me to decide to take advantage of the weather and go for the gem of Cape Town's hikes: Table Mountain.
Elisha, Lucy, and I quickly grabbed our gear and hopped in an Uber to the trail head. It was a steep rock stair-stepping hike to the rim, but we made it in 1 hour and 15 minutes. We spent a couple of hours meandering around the viewpoints on top. Cape Town sits along a large blue-green bay, surrounded by mountains, so views from the top were stunning. The sheer cliffs that dropped straight below our feet as we looked down, added to the dramatic scenery. From the top we could see all of Cape Town, Robben Island (where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated), Lion's Head Peak, and out towards Cape Peninsula. On the opposite side we could see the fog buffeted up against other table top mountains, which was quite dramatic and beautiful.
Because the sun was starting to descend quickly towards the horizon, Elisha and Lucy started heading down. I jogged towards the center of the mountain in order to reach the true summit. The steep hike back down was beautiful as the sun lit the side of Table Mountain with a bright red glow and the lights of Cape Town below began to twinkle.
We had a group goodbye dinner at a restaurant called Mama Africa, where I enjoyed Moroccan lamb and Elisha had chicken curry. I wrote a poem for the group that I read as a parting goodbye. Everyone seemed to love it. It was Saturday night and Cape Town was abuzz and really happening. There was so much partying and street activity that it was overwhelming. You had to be pushy just to get through to the entrance of the hostel. Thus, we ended up just chilling in our comfortable dorm beds.
Elisha and I learned that the group had been calling us Mr. and Mrs. Smith (from the movie with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie) because they thought we were so good at everything. But really it was just b/c we happened to have a lot of outdoor experience and are pretty athletic and fit compared to the average European backpacker (And Elisha is good at everything). But we could do such things as keep the canoe straight, set up our tent quickly in the dark, throw a frisbee long distance. And Elisha was good at fixing random things (like our leaky water tank) and I knew a lot about the wildlife.
7/28/19
Elisha has a friend from college, Shannon, who has lived in Cape Town for 9 years in a suburb called Muizenberg. She picked us up on a foggy, cold morning, and we headed out to drive along the Cape Peninsula. It was a scenic drive with the coast on one side and mountains on the other. Again, it didn't feel like Africa. There were fancy houses and little beach villages that reminded me more of coastal Britain or New Zealand. While driving along False Bay, near Fishhoek, I spotted a whale swimming around. Though famous for Southern Right Whales, I believe it was a Bryde's Whale.
Near Simon's Town we stopped at Boulder Beach, which was a scenic rock and beach area, made even more interesting by a large colony of cute African Penguins (known formerly as Jackass Penguins). We could get quite close to them, and they were fun to watch waddle around. Many had cute little chicks. After Boulder Beach, we walked a bit along the coast before hopping back in the car to drive to Cape Point.
At Cape Point we had a picnic lunch before hiking up to the lighthouse and then hiking onto the point, which juts out dramatically, high above the frothy ocean full of crashing waves. Next we drove to the Cape of Good Hope, dubbed as the most south-western point of the African continent. Interestingly, while driving through the Cape (part of Table Mtn NP), we saw eland and ostriches roaming about.
To return to Cape Town, we drove along the Chapman's Peak highway, which had stunning coastal cliff views as well as nice views of Table Mountain. The impressively engineered road wound around Houte Bay. Back in Cape Town, we visited the Mojo Market, which was a cool indoor food stall market with stalls of many different food varieties including Burmese, Thai, Mexican, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, macaroni, BBQ, middle eastern, South African, sushi, burger, and pizza. Elisha got Thai green curry, Shannon a burrito, and I ate a tasty plate of pork belly.
7/29/19
Norbert, Jodi, and I were picked up and driven to the small village of Van Dyksbaai to go Great White Shark cage diving in Dyer Island Conservation Trust with Marine Dynamics, a conservation organization. We had beautiful weather and fairly calm seas (though some people did throw up from sea sickness). We saw a sea-lion and 4 or 5 different great whites, though each shark would make multiple passes by the ship. There were 3 different rounds of cage diving. During the 1st round, I watched from the top deck of the boat as the sharks came in (lured by bait and a floating, penguin-shaped plywood lure). It was cool to see them from above in the clear water.
Jodi, Norbert, and I went in the cage with the 2nd group. We had really great viewings as a large (4.5m/15 feet) female shark made many slow, repeated passes along the cage, within feet of us. We wore full wetsuits in the water as the water was very cold, though you didn't so much feel it with the excitement of seeing the sharks!
After we got out and were being served hot chocolate, the said there was space for 2 in the last group, so Norbert and I jumped right back in. Again, we were treated to multiple passes by a 3.3m (11 ft.) male shark. On the way back to the harbor, a humpbacked dolphin rode the bow waves in front of us for a little bit.
On the drive back, as we neared Cape Town, we saw from the road some of the shanty towns for which Cape Town is also known. Jodi, Norbert, Elisha, and I went to the Eastern Food Bazaar for dinner, where we had butter chicken and chicken tikka masala as well as some gelato for dessert. Portions were huge and prices were cheap!
We had an early morning departure to Cape Town. The scenery was very nice with green, rocky mountains turning to agricultural valleys in between the tabletop mountains. We stopped at a rest area that was rather interesting because it had an enclosure full of rabbits that you could go into. Before arriving to Cape Town, we went through a dense fog, but when we reached the coast, the fog was gone (though there was quite a lot of moisture in the air). We stopped at a beach that had beautiful white sand. Across the blue-green ocean, through the sea mist, we could see Cape Town and the famous Table Mountain and Lion's head peak.
We were dropped off at our hostel ("Once in Cape Town", which was an amazing hostel). Since the weather was nice and a forecast for poor weather in the future, I wanted to make use of the rest of the day and take a hike. Since it was already afternoon, I was thinking I'd like to do Lion's head peak. With the suggestion from the hostel receptionist that we should go for Table Mountain (the bigger hike)--because when there is nice weather in the winter here, you should take advantage of it--it took little convincing for me to decide to take advantage of the weather and go for the gem of Cape Town's hikes: Table Mountain.
Elisha, Lucy, and I quickly grabbed our gear and hopped in an Uber to the trail head. It was a steep rock stair-stepping hike to the rim, but we made it in 1 hour and 15 minutes. We spent a couple of hours meandering around the viewpoints on top. Cape Town sits along a large blue-green bay, surrounded by mountains, so views from the top were stunning. The sheer cliffs that dropped straight below our feet as we looked down, added to the dramatic scenery. From the top we could see all of Cape Town, Robben Island (where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated), Lion's Head Peak, and out towards Cape Peninsula. On the opposite side we could see the fog buffeted up against other table top mountains, which was quite dramatic and beautiful.
Because the sun was starting to descend quickly towards the horizon, Elisha and Lucy started heading down. I jogged towards the center of the mountain in order to reach the true summit. The steep hike back down was beautiful as the sun lit the side of Table Mountain with a bright red glow and the lights of Cape Town below began to twinkle.
We had a group goodbye dinner at a restaurant called Mama Africa, where I enjoyed Moroccan lamb and Elisha had chicken curry. I wrote a poem for the group that I read as a parting goodbye. Everyone seemed to love it. It was Saturday night and Cape Town was abuzz and really happening. There was so much partying and street activity that it was overwhelming. You had to be pushy just to get through to the entrance of the hostel. Thus, we ended up just chilling in our comfortable dorm beds.
Elisha and I learned that the group had been calling us Mr. and Mrs. Smith (from the movie with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie) because they thought we were so good at everything. But really it was just b/c we happened to have a lot of outdoor experience and are pretty athletic and fit compared to the average European backpacker (And Elisha is good at everything). But we could do such things as keep the canoe straight, set up our tent quickly in the dark, throw a frisbee long distance. And Elisha was good at fixing random things (like our leaky water tank) and I knew a lot about the wildlife.
7/28/19
Elisha has a friend from college, Shannon, who has lived in Cape Town for 9 years in a suburb called Muizenberg. She picked us up on a foggy, cold morning, and we headed out to drive along the Cape Peninsula. It was a scenic drive with the coast on one side and mountains on the other. Again, it didn't feel like Africa. There were fancy houses and little beach villages that reminded me more of coastal Britain or New Zealand. While driving along False Bay, near Fishhoek, I spotted a whale swimming around. Though famous for Southern Right Whales, I believe it was a Bryde's Whale.
Near Simon's Town we stopped at Boulder Beach, which was a scenic rock and beach area, made even more interesting by a large colony of cute African Penguins (known formerly as Jackass Penguins). We could get quite close to them, and they were fun to watch waddle around. Many had cute little chicks. After Boulder Beach, we walked a bit along the coast before hopping back in the car to drive to Cape Point.
At Cape Point we had a picnic lunch before hiking up to the lighthouse and then hiking onto the point, which juts out dramatically, high above the frothy ocean full of crashing waves. Next we drove to the Cape of Good Hope, dubbed as the most south-western point of the African continent. Interestingly, while driving through the Cape (part of Table Mtn NP), we saw eland and ostriches roaming about.
To return to Cape Town, we drove along the Chapman's Peak highway, which had stunning coastal cliff views as well as nice views of Table Mountain. The impressively engineered road wound around Houte Bay. Back in Cape Town, we visited the Mojo Market, which was a cool indoor food stall market with stalls of many different food varieties including Burmese, Thai, Mexican, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, macaroni, BBQ, middle eastern, South African, sushi, burger, and pizza. Elisha got Thai green curry, Shannon a burrito, and I ate a tasty plate of pork belly.
7/29/19
Norbert, Jodi, and I were picked up and driven to the small village of Van Dyksbaai to go Great White Shark cage diving in Dyer Island Conservation Trust with Marine Dynamics, a conservation organization. We had beautiful weather and fairly calm seas (though some people did throw up from sea sickness). We saw a sea-lion and 4 or 5 different great whites, though each shark would make multiple passes by the ship. There were 3 different rounds of cage diving. During the 1st round, I watched from the top deck of the boat as the sharks came in (lured by bait and a floating, penguin-shaped plywood lure). It was cool to see them from above in the clear water.
Jodi, Norbert, and I went in the cage with the 2nd group. We had really great viewings as a large (4.5m/15 feet) female shark made many slow, repeated passes along the cage, within feet of us. We wore full wetsuits in the water as the water was very cold, though you didn't so much feel it with the excitement of seeing the sharks!
After we got out and were being served hot chocolate, the said there was space for 2 in the last group, so Norbert and I jumped right back in. Again, we were treated to multiple passes by a 3.3m (11 ft.) male shark. On the way back to the harbor, a humpbacked dolphin rode the bow waves in front of us for a little bit.
On the drive back, as we neared Cape Town, we saw from the road some of the shanty towns for which Cape Town is also known. Jodi, Norbert, Elisha, and I went to the Eastern Food Bazaar for dinner, where we had butter chicken and chicken tikka masala as well as some gelato for dessert. Portions were huge and prices were cheap!
7/30/19
Shannon picked us up again in the morning, and we drove to a
Cheetah Conservation center in Somerset West, known as Cheetah Outreach. They
have several cheetahs there used as Ambassadors for their conservation program.
Elisha and I got to pet one adult (named Rafiki = friend in Swahili), and I
also got to pet one of the 4 super cute cubs that had recently arrived to the
facility. I *love* Cheetahs! It was an amazing experience to get so
close to them and even pet them. It was also fun to see the cubs move around
and do their chirping call.
After the cheetah interaction experience, we visited a
nearby winery (that happens to be one of the sponsors of the cheetah outreach),
Flagstone, for a wine tasting.
After Shannon dropped us off, we hiked up to the top of Lion’s
Head peak, which was a cool hike because you have to use ladders, chains, and
staples to scale the top cliffy section. From the top, there are superb 360
degree views of Cape Town, Table Mountain, and the rocky crags known as the 12
Apostles. It’s a small summit with sheer cliffs on all sides, which adds to the
exhilaration of being on top. Halfway down, we were caught in a very wet and
blustery squall coming off the ocean. It had actually been a cold, wet, and
windy day, but we had lucked out with a nice weather window to climb the peak.
For dinner we went to a nice, authentic Thai restaurant where you take off your shoes and sit on cushions on the floor. We had Tom Yum soup, Thai green curry, and Thai red curry. We packed for tomorrow's journey as our 2 dorm-mates sleep in late every morning
For dinner we went to a nice, authentic Thai restaurant where you take off your shoes and sit on cushions on the floor. We had Tom Yum soup, Thai green curry, and Thai red curry. We packed for tomorrow's journey as our 2 dorm-mates sleep in late every morning
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