Cape Peninsula - The Highlight of a Big Week!

Standing at Cape Point Lighthouse, with New York 12,000+ KM northwest, was in every way the pinnacle of a day trip out of Cape Town. The Cape Peninsula is considered one of the Cape Town Big Five--in this case not big animals, but sights: Robben Island, the Waterfront (with Ferris wheel), wine country, Kirstenbosch Gardens, and the Cape Peninsula. We managed four of the five (no gardens) plus Table Mountain and District Six, plus shopping, spa treatments, and a lot of good food and wine. It was a full week capped by seeing two oceans meet at the southwest tip of Africa, remembering those days of World History class and the explorations of Vasco Da Gama.

Before we could get started for real on the trip south, we made a stop in Woodstock, now a part of the city, to find a fabric shop called Mnando. I had been told this shop had the best selection of "blaudruk" or schweschwe cloth in town. With the patience of Job, Sean (son of Raymond) found the store and waited while we shopped. I am at my happiest planning projects and so I had a good time imagining all the things I might make. Cognizant that I don't always finish the projects I plan, I limited myself to two--a table runner and napkins from blue prints for Stro's patio table, and napkins and napkin holders in green for my own. Stay tuned on how fast I finish them after returning home.

Following this satisfying visit, we headed south to the eastern side of the Cape Peninsula. We could see Muizenberg from a distance, with its wide beaches. From some elevation on the highway we stopped to visit a shark watcher. This is someone who sits in a shaded booth high over the bay with big binoculars and looks out all day long for shadows and other telltale signs that sharks are present. In the meantime, with this assurance, surfers abound on the beaches. The last shark-sighting this year was in May.

ESM with snoek

From there we visited Kalk Bay, which has an active fishing fleet. Besides seeing the big seals hanging around the harbor for the fish trimmings, we got to see snoek being dried. Snoek (pronounced like "ooh") is a popular fish that is often sold smoked or dried. We actually enjoyed it for breakfast one morning at home with scrambled eggs (something South Africans don't do, we found out). We also saw whole yellow fin tuna for sale. Most of the boats were out after crayfish that day.

Bounders Beach - Penguins Only

Simon Town was up next. This is a city with a lot of military history and is currently home to the RSA Navy. The main attraction these days is Boulders National Park where elevated boardwalks permit humans to get close to the colony of African penguins without disturbing them. This was my first penguin experience and I think I could have watched them all day. The sand on their beach was covered with webbed footprints. There were natural nesting sites as ell as planted protected sites with families in the making. We also saw a huge dassie, which is like a big groundhog. He was just sunning himself on a big rock in the brush.

But it was time to head to Cape Point via the Cape Point National Park. This is harsh territory with boulders and scrub bushes but it has an excellent road. Special permits are available for hiking with registered guides, either for the day or for three days in a hut to hut fashion. Our destination was Cape Point lighthouse. Happily due to our wise choice of off-season travel there was actually a place to park the car. We opted for the "easy" 25 minute climb (vs. the rugged 90 minute climb from way below) out to the lighthouse). Some of it was in a fairly steep incline and other parts were stairs. I wore my left knee brace but was so worried about it that I overused my right leg on those stairs. Coming down was harder on the knees, especially the declines, which required baby steps. It might have been wiser to take the funicular, but I survived.

One of many stops along the way!

There was every excuse to stop along the way to catch my breath and gasp over the views on all sides. With every stop we took pictures, and then would find even better views at the next stop. When we got high enough to see two oceans, I felt amazed to be there. The day was brilliantly sunny and pleasantly warm (I took off my sweater while others kept on their winter jackets!). The waves crashed in foam all around down below us. My climbing efforts were rewarded by a veranda table overlooking the eastern bay at the Two Oceans Restaurant and a very good lunch of griddled hake with vegetables; Stro opted for the grilled crayfish. Everything was remarkably fresh.

We are loving the Afrikaans!

There was a lovely shop where we found some items we could not live without, and then we headed to the Cape of Good Hope, which is actually separate from Cape Point and the southwest point of Africa. Again, thank goodness for off-season travel. The line to take photos at the sign was virtually non-existent and everyone was amiable. Ostriches grazed nearby. The surf was huge and due to the rock formations, the crashes were spectacular.

Fortunately we did not have to test this assertion.

Throughout the park we noted that "Baboons are dangerous and attracted by food." But it was not until we had left the park that we saw a large family of baboons crossing the road in front of us. Led by the biggest males, the entourage included females with babies on their backs and many youngsters as well. They were coming from the hills on the left, crossing a stream and the road and then heading down an obvious driveway/lane.

By now we were headed back north on the western side of the peninsula and another fabled sunset over the Atlantic. Sean timed our entire day around getting to the right spot for sunset. It reminded both of us of driving up the coast in California. The road was narrow and curvy and in places there were big views and scary drop-offs. In fact, in one place, we saw the repairs from a huge mud and rock slide that had occurred several years ago, closing the highway for three years of repairs. We drove through several beach towns just south of Cape Town on the ocean that would be too far to commute but great locations for a second home or retirement. Unfortunately very much out of a reasonable price range, despite the weak Rand. These were towns we could see easily from the top of Table Mountain in town.

For reasons of both merit and convenience, other spots in and around Cape Town -- like Robben Island and Table Mountain -- claim more visitors than Cape Point. But we were thrilled to be able to have a full day to devote to it and the help of Raymond and Sean to make it happen. It's a struggle to pick a favorite activity or site, but this one is utterly unique so I give it #1.