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Once back in Cape Town, it was time to do all the touristy things. Cape Town is a great city with lots of things to see and do. And in January, the weather is almost always perfect.
We started out by heading down to the V&A Waterfront, where we ate delicious fish and chips and visited the aquarium to see marine life from this part of the world. We then headed to Camps Bay for sundowners. Camps Bay is a popular and trendy bar and restaurant strip along the beach that would remind anyone of South Beach. Except that the cocktails cost $4 instead of $17.
On New Years Day Jack, Roy and I climbed up Lion’s Head with the hope of curing our hangovers from the night before. But also for the magnificent views of Table Mountain and the beaches below. That’s about all we managed to do that day.
The following day, Roy and I did a day trip down the peninsula with stops along the way. We visited the colorful huts on St. James’ beach, saw the indigenous African penguins at Boulder Beach, walked through historical Simon’s Town, hiked to the lighthouse at the Cape of Good Hope, took a picture by the Southern-most point of the African continent, saw seals at the dock in Hout Bay, and then ate Thai food and drank cocktails while watching the sunset over the ocean.
Our next excursion was a tour of Robben Island, an island where political prisoners were held during the Apartheid era. Our tour was given by an ex-political prisoner, who did a great job describing his experiences there. Later that day we headed to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens for a concert and walk around the grounds.
View of Table Mountain
The next morning we took the cable car up Table Mountain while the sky was still free of clouds. We walked around the perimeter of the mountain to admire the spectacular views of Cape Town. After an hour or so, we headed down and drove out to Stellenbosch, an area known for its vineyards. We spent the afternoon taking a cellar tour and wine and cheese tasting. We spent most of our time at Delheim, which is a small but wonderful vineyard with excellent wines.
Admiring the view
Wine and cheese tasting at Delheim winery
Those are most of the popular tourist sites in and around Cape Town, but we did a few other things as well. We visited the University of Cape Town campus and drove by my old house. We went clubbing one night at Tiger with some friends. We went shopping at the mall (my idea), went to the movies, and ate a lot of cheese and other good food (including the home-made pizzas we made in Jack’s wood burning pizza oven). Best of all, we got my computer fixed. As many of you probably noticed, no more crazy letters!
We awoke early in the morning to start our 34km bike ride down the Swartenberg pass and over to the Cango Caves. The Swartenberg pass is a steep and curvy road passing over a mountain range, and the bike ride down the pass is an exhilarating activity with stunning views.
Once my hands were numb from holding the brakes and we had reached the bottom, we continued peddling until we reached Cango Caves. Actually, I stopped about 1km before because it was a steep incline, but Roy wanted to ensure his spin classes paid off and he continued until the end. It was impressive to say the least. Once there, we did a tour inside the caves. They have an adventure tour in which one must crawl through some small crevices, but we weren’t sure if I would fit with all the ice cream and food I had been eating. Really, I could have fit through but a woman did get stuck once because she was too fat.
Inside the Cango Caves
After the caves, we visited an ostrich farm. Ostriches are by far one of the stupidest animals on earth. They typically lay 30 eggs a year but at the farm they take some of the eggs away. This causes the ostriches to forget they laid eggs, so they lay more. On the farm they average about 120 each per year. Ostriches also think that if they can’t see you, then you can’t see them. When I wanted to ride one, they caught one and put a cover over its head. All of the sudden it became completely calm. I jumped on and was expecting a nice calm ride, but it was actually more like riding a bull. As soon as they took the cover off its head, the thing just took off. You can tell it is moving fast by the way my hair is flying in the air. Roy wasn’t as crazy or stupid as me to ride an ostrich. Instead, he just ate one. His ostrich fillet looked pretty damn good, and he confirmed that it was nice and tasty.
Notice the ostrich is nice and calm while its head is covered
Ostrich takes off once its head is uncovered. Ahhh!
We stopped in several other towns along the Garden Route. We had lunch in Wilderness, where we ate falafel and shwarma sandwiches. If you’ve read my other blog posts, then you already know that falafel was exciting for me. We also stopped in Victoria Bay, a small but gorgeous bay. We just enjoyed the view and watched the surfers before heading on our way again. In the late afternoon, we turned off the Garden Route and headed inland to Oudtshoorn. Famous for ostrich farming and the Cango Caves, we knew we had another fun-filled day ahead of us!
Roy enjoying the views
Wishing we were that cool
After playing Tarzan, it was time to start heading back in the direction of Cape Town (at this point about 600km away). We stopped along the way to see the highest bungy jump in the world. We watched one person jump and thought “no way in hell would we do that!” We continued along and found a stop that was a bit more relaxing than jumping off a bridge. The place is called Nature’s Valley and it isn’t much more than a peaceful beach with a pretty mountain backdrop. A nice little stroll on the beach to stretch our legs and then we hopped back in the car and continued on our way.
We made it to Plettenberg Bay in the late afternoon, which is definitely the coolest stop along the Garden Route. Just a small city with a relaxed beach vibe. The next morning we went canoeing down Keurboom’s River to a deserted beach. I somehow talked Roy into sharing a canoe which worked well for me because then I could take breaks from rowing : ) It was a good thing because I would have never made the return trip on my own. The wind was so intense that I would have rowed and rowed and just gone backwards. And I don’t think AAA operates there for me to get towed (not like in Bethany, mom). It was a fun canoe trip, but Roy definitely slept well that night.
Roy and I headed to Tsitsikamma Nat’l Park specifically to do a canopy tour. Basically, a canopy tour is when you zipline from tree to tree about 90 meters high. Then you yell and pretend you are Tarzan. I tried to load a video but I suck at computers. I’ll try again next week.
After adjusting to the developing world again, Roy and I took a road trip down the Garden Route, a road that follows along the southern coast of South Africa.
Our first day took us to Mossel Bay. We didn’t do much there, mostly because our very slow, cheap rental car only got us there at 8:30pm. But we had an awesome dinner – a pitcher of sangria and a pizza – for $11. After some ocean views the next morning, we headed on our way to Tsitsikamma National Park, stopping enroute in Knysna for lunch.
Hiking along the coast in Mossel Bay
More to come on adventures in Tsitsikamma National Park…
After a dusty safari, Roy and I headed to Zanzibar for a few days of R&R. We stayed in an awesome hotel (Abuso Inn) with a beach view and air conditioning for only $47/night…thanks to my awesome Swahili!!! They also had delicious lattes for breakfast, which is a rarity in Tanzania. We did a Spice Tour, enjoyed sundowners at Africa House Hotel, wandered the small windy streets of Stone Town, visited pristine beaches and sampled seafood and Zanzibari pizza in the street market at night. It was the perfect vacation after an exhausting safari. Sitting in a Land Rover and looking for animals is hard work.
Roy eating a fresh coconut off the street
A typical street in Stone Town
Stepping foot in the clear blue water of Zanzibar
Sunset from Africa House Hotel, enjoyed with a nice cold beer in hand
I’m at about my halfway mark in Tanzania, so Roy came to visit. We started on our adventure with a little safari action. A 5-day trip to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater exceeded our wildest expectations. It was like going to the largest zoo in the world with the safari vehicle being the only separation between us and the animals. Of course, everyones’ main objective is to see the big cats or a kill. But at this time of year, we were also lucky enough to see the wildbeest migration – a site so spectacular that we couldn’t believe our eyes. I know you won’t believe me either when I say that the horizon was filled with millions of small black specks that upon closer observation turned out to be wildbeests and zebras. Here are some pictures:
Jara & Roy on safari
Dinner is served
The spectacular wildbeest migration. In this picture they are actually running from a cheetah. Seriously.
More pictures to come…
