We started by heading to Table Mountain straight from the airport. Actually, let me back up a bit here. We had a very pleasant flight on South African Airlines from Johannesburg. It was about two hours, and the staff was very friendly and accommodating.
Okay, back to Table Mountain. It is a sandstone and quartz plateau that dominates the landscape of Cape Town. It is over 1000 meters high and is pretty flat on top, hence the name “Table Mountain.” There is a cable car running up the side of it, and this was how we got to the top. The cable car is rather advanced. The floor rotates and the bottom of the car can be filled with water to provide ballast on windy days and transfer water to the top of the mountain. Each car can hold several thousand liters and 65 people.
The ride up was quite nice with wonderful views from the car, but the views from the top were spectacular, especially since the weather was crystal clear. The ecosystem on top is unique, and there was an abundance of flora and fauna to view. There are several hikes on top, as well as hikes to the top and rock climbing, but we did not have appropriate shoes to do a lot. We still spent over an hour on top looking around. By the way, the cable car and Table Mountain are featured in the Sky News Sports commercials for the World Cup.
After Table Mountain, we drove down the Eastern coast of the Cape Peninsula to Simon’s Town. The drive was nice, with several old vacation homes and beach views along the way. There were also several towns with nice little boutiques and shops.
We arrived in Simon’s Town and checked in to our hotel, the Simon’s Town Quayside Hotel, and were very pleased with our room and the service. We were met with a glass of sherry upon our arrival, and a personalized letter and chocolates, as well as a French press for coffee were in our room. The hotel is pricier than many, but is quite reasonable compared to Norwegian standards. The hotel is also the home to Felix the Cat. Felix hangs out in the lobby area, but has no problems visiting your room to assure everything is up to his standards. He will go as far as climbing in through your window, if it is open, and joining you in bed.
Outside the hotel is a statue of a Great Dane named “Just Nuisance.” According to the local history provided, he was a dog that would greet sailors returning from sea during World War II. Many sailors considered him to be lucky, and others just fell in love with him. He became the town mascot, and the statue is erected in his honor. His grave is even a marked historical site. Each April 1st (his birthday), there is a dog parade in Simon’s Town in celebration and memory of Just Nuisance.
We relaxed a bit our first night and planned the remainder of our trip as we watched the sunset and sailboats from our balcony. Oh yes, and Sidney likes oysters on the half-shell. I let her try one of the half dozen I ordered at dinner, and she ended up eating half of my order!
On Monday, we had a full day, starting with a visit to the penguin colony at Boulder Beach. Yes, you read right – penguins in Africa. These little guys actually live here naturally and do quite well. We walked along a boardwalk and saw many nesting areas, then went onto Boulder Beach to “swim” with the penguins. We did more wading than swimming as the waters were a little cool since the South Atlantic current mixes with the Antarctic current here.
The penguins are extremely tolerant of human presence and will walk or swim right past you as you hang out on the beach. This was Sidney’s favorite part of the day, mostly because she loves the beach, but also because she liked looking at the penguins. She also gathered “treasures” of shells and such to take home with us.
After swimming, we came back into Simon’s Town for lunch at “Spill the Beans” Coffee Shop. I highly recommend this place to anyone coming to or through Simon’s Town. The menu was diverse, the food was excellent, the service was great, and the atmosphere was relaxing. The staff are almost obsessive with their attention to detail with everything, all the way down to presenting the bill in an antique hand-carved tea caddy. The prices could not be beat, with our lunch of a pastrami sandwich with fries, a Thai chicken wrap, fruit salad, two iced coffees (delicious!) and a dessert coming to 118 Rand (about $16 US.) They are located two doors down from the British Hotel on the main street through town. Their email address is spillthebeans@gmail.com.
We left Simon’s Town and headed south to Cape of Good Hope National Park. Along the way we saw this sign, warning us to look put for baboons in the road. We didn’t quite believe it until we saw this one. Once we arrived in the park, we saw several more.
We visited the lighthouses at Cape Point first, taking the Lighthouse Keeper’s Stroll out to the end of the peninsula. Again, the weather was perfect and the views were spectacular. Watching the waves crash against the rocks gives you an idea why there were so many shipwrecks here. We then went over to the Cape of Good Hope, which is not the furthest southern point of Africa, as many believe, but is a very famous maritime landmark.
We drove around the rest of the park, taking side routes as often as possible. This strategy paid off for us, as we saw more baboons, Springbok, ostriches, a hawk, and even a couple of tortoises along the way. Again, the unique location and weather give rise to a diversity of flora and fauna.
We drove back to town afterwards and again enjoyed a relaxing evening with beautiful views from the balcony.
On our last day, we had a nice breakfast and did a little shopping downtown, purchasing some uniquely “African” gifts made of soda cans, a tribal mask from a reputable dealer (the ones on the street are usually reproductions or not of any collectible significance), and a couple of Christmas ornaments to add to our tree. We then took a beautiful drive over to the Atlantic side of the Cape Peninsula and up the coast toward Cape Town. We crossed Chapman’s Peak (well worth the small toll) and witnessed the clouds rolling over the tops of the mountains.
We ate lunch at a place called The Oven Door in Hout Bay and had tremendous portions, friendly service, reasonable prices and some of the best prawns I have ever tasted in my life! They were seriously as sweet as lobster! Sidney took the opportunity to play on a little playground next to the restaurant while waiting on our food, adding Africa as a continent where she has tested the playground equipment.
The Cape Peninsula was well worth the trip and we would recommend it to anyone coming to South Africa. Next posting – elephants!
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