14th March 2008, Cape Peninsula, South Africa
This day, like our first day in Sydney, was to prove one of the finest days of our double trip. And the common reasons are not difficult to find. Despite the rhetoric, there is actually no substitute for personally experiencing arrival in one of the world's great cities. In the case of Sydney, it was arrival by sea into the harbour, past the Opera House and under the Harbour Bridge. In the case of Cape Town, it was by air with a fabulous view of Table Mountain (Tafelberg) covered in its table cloth. (Unfortunately, for reasons we cannot fathom, we never got to photograph the table cloth). The other features of commonality were that on both occasions we had less than a full day after our arrival so we packed lots into the first day and were met by great friends who showed us around. Neither of us has been disappointed by the great cities - we include New York, Paris, Rome and London as well.
After an early start we caught the 8.55 from Durban and arrived slightly late at 11.15 at Cape Town. We were met by Stewart and Pam, our friends and dining companions from the first leg who spend part of the year in SA from whence Stewart originates. They had organised a programme for us and we set out in Stewart's great 1974 Mercedes Benz like film stars of yesteryear into Cape Town on the N2 motorway. We then journeyed along Rhodes Drive, passing the rear of Table Mountain and the great man's monument and Groote Schuur as we headed to Hout Bay and the Cape peninsular. Coming down into Hout Bay we next travelled along Chapman's Peak Drive, a fabulous coastal toll road only reopened in the last year which travels across precipitous cliffs, much of the time inside overhangs and protected most of its length from falling boulders. We have a pic of M and Stewart from the highway looking back towards Hout Bay and one of the toll road which better captures the wildness. At the end of the highway, looking south, the cliffs give way to a huge sandy bay where a Brit was taken by a great white last year. The waters off the Atlantic shore are chilled by the cold Benguela current and, being rich in sea life, are populated by sharks. Our pic of this bay includes a large thatched house, which came as a surprise to us, but we soon got used to seeing thatch on buildings of all types. We crossed the bay and stopped for a late lunch which seemed at first like an ordinary eatery, but one with a superb courtyard half shaded by trees. M had spare ribs and D, S and P had 'line fish' (otherwise known as freshly caught fish of the day - Cape salmon), all washed down by a bottle of local wine. The bill for the four of us was just £20 including the wine.
We then set off for the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve - but not before M procured a 5ft carved wooden giraffe which was so huge it wouldn't fit into the boot of the Merc - so rested for the remainder of the day between the seats, running from the gear select (auto) and the rear parcel shelf, much of the time on D's shoulder. We then turned into the park, S teaching us how to benefit from the reduced rate for pensioners. M proved to be relatively expensive that day! We drove the 10 or so km to the Cape Point car park from where we took an excellent photo of Diaz Bay and the Cape of Good Hope. Few realise that the extremity - with the lighthouse and the high point - is actually Cape Point. We rode up the funicular from the car park towards the lighthouse and legged the remainder. S & P sensibly remained perusing the items in the car park gift shop, but M took a pic of D from the lighthouse with Cape Point in the background.
Following our visit to the Point we journeyed towards Simonstown - the former Royal Navy Base - now used by the SA Navy. On the way we called in at Boulders Beach to view the colony of South African Jack Ass Penguins, which were both numerous and very tame. Simonstown provided for some interesting colonial architecture but was otherwise unexceptional. We motored on via Muitzburg past a couple of townships to Strand and on to Gordon's Bay where our accommodation was located. This comprised an excellent B & B. After establishing ourselves we went with S & P for an evening meal at the end of a fabulous day.
