Cape Town, South Africa

Thankfully, Ma recovered nicely from her overnight hospital visit and was able to make the trip to the Cape after all. On our quick pit stop back in Three Rivers before continuing on with the tour of Africa, we got together with old friends of Jacques', Ted and Elmerie for a lovely dinner at their house. We spent hours catching up and enjoying the time then Jacques and Ted decided to bring out the shots - we mixed Sambuca, Peach Schnapps and Apple Pucker repeatedly which set us up for a nice babalas (hangover) for the next day and our early morning flight to Cape Town.

We woke early the next morning, Thursday, August 21st, to return to the airport. Thankful for the two hour flight and recovery nap, we landed in Cape Town and collected our rental car for the drive north to the quaint town Clanwilliam for wildflower viewing. The Cape area is so lush and green this time of the year and quite different from the dry and brown bush climate we just came from. We drove into the country side covered in wild calla lilies (my favorite). It was a cloudy day so some of the flowers were closed up, waiting for the sunshine to open them again. We arrived in the old Afrikaans town of Clanwilliam and our hotel for the evening. It wasn't quite the lap of luxury we had become accustomed to and reminded us of some of our backpacking days with a shower down the hall. Ma was scared of the shower situation and I was more frightened by the old cemetery that our room overlooked. We had good fun teasing each other about the situation over a delicious traditional Afrikaans meal in the hotel restaurant.





We woke early again the following morning, anxious to leave the hotel and to get on the road back to Cape Town. After breakfast, we explored a beautiful wildflower garden in Clanwilliam then headed into the Cedarberg Mountain range for a drive through the valleys covered in yellow and purple flowers before continuing down the Atlantic coast of South Africa. On our drive, we spotted Red Hartebees, Ostrich and the national buck, the Springbok. It was a beautiful blue sky day and perfect for the flower and coastal views. After stopping for a seaside seafood lunch, Cape Town greeted us with a most stunning sunset, the intense colors of the sky rivaling the colors of the flowers we saw during the day. We settled into our oceanfront apartment overlooking Robbin's Island (where Nelson Mandela was held) and Table Mountain in the distance.

















We woke Saturday morning to grey skies and a table cloth on Table Mountain (cloud cover). We postponed our visit to the landmark and instead explored Cape Town by car. We started the day with a visit to a fresh fruit and veg market (among many other things) then drove out to a coastal village, Fish Hoek, for the infamous fresh fish and chips. We ordered our food to go and parked the car overlooking the ocean below to eat our delicious lunch with our fingers. With full bellies, we continued our drive along to coast, alternating between the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. Jacques spotted a whale's tail off shore and we jumped out of the car for the unexpected whale watching experience. The tail never reappeared but we witnessed several spouts from his blow hole before he disappeared out to sea again. The plan was to drive the famous Chapman's Peak road (for stunning coastal overlooks) but to our disappointment, it was closed due to maintenance and safety reasons. Instead we drove another coastal route through Simon's Town and journeyed back to our apartment balcony overlooking the Atlantic for clearer skies and beautiful sunset before our dinner ocean side in a popular Cape Town area.













We were excited to wake on Sunday morning to clearing skies and rushed over to Table Mountain before Mother Nature changed her mind. Jacques and I payed the outrageous price of R130 (close to $20) each to take the cable car to the top but it was well worth the views from above (Ma and Pa opted out as they have done the trip many times). The clouds threatened to close in on the mountain but they kept at bay and we strolled around the flat rocky top. We looked upon Table Bay, Cape Point (where the two oceans meet) and downtown Cape Town before the chilly temperatures got to us and we took the cable car back down the mountain side. We spent the rest of the day exploring the many contrasting sides of the Cape - from beautiful homes and neighborhoods to enormous shanty town squatter areas, from the seaside to the valleys of wine country. We stopped in Gordon's Bay for another seafood lunch then completed the afternoon wine tasting at Blaauwklippen. Of course, no day would be complete without watching the sun set followed by a sushi dinner.



















We checked out of the hotel early on Monday morning but our flight wasn't until 3pm back to Jo'burg so we drove out to Fish Hoek again for a final meal of fish and chips (extra salt and vinegar this time around). We ate our lunch in the car again on a road high above the Atlantic, where the waves could be seen in sets for miles along the coastline. With an hour to kill before our check-in time at the airport, we stopped by another wine farm, Constantia, for a quick tasting. We sampled 5 varieties and enjoyed this winery more than the wines from the day before. Back in Johannesburg, we met up with Jacques' brother and sister, Theuns and Rene, and their families for dinner. This was just the beginning of the family reunion to come. We depart for Ma and Pa's game farm tomorrow near the Botswana border and several family members will be joining us for bush braais, campfires, game drives and more African sunsets.