South Africa Sunday 8 Nov '09
Cape Town
Yesterday, wandered around the coastal path then the V & A Waterfront, a very nicely laid out harbours and docks area with plenty of shops, live entertainment and restaurants for tourists. Saw the nearby huge stadium they have built for next year's (football) World Cup - very impressive.
Starting 11 day tour with company called 'Explore', met the group in the Ritz Hotel yesterday evening, 18 of us, leader Chris is Africaans, we have two canadians, 2 welsh, 2 northern irish and the rest english. Had a perfectly cooked rump steak in a nearby restaurant.
Today at 7.30 we climb into bus for tour of the Cape Peninsula National Park.
First to Hout Bay, an active fishing port with a dramatic backdrop of mountains including 'The Sentinal', a massive rock. We walk along the pretty beach then to a cafe for coffee.
Then an incredible cliff hugging drive along the coast to the Cape of Good Hope, this (we are told) is a world ranked route for beautiful and dramatic scenery and it is well deserved. Part of it had been closed for 3 years (due to a 5 tonne rock falling onto a car) and reopened with netting protection 3 weeks ago. Spectacular.
At Cape Point, we walk up to the lighthouse for breathtaking views, then down to beach level. I get some decent photos which I hope to attach to the e-mail.
The terrain is like moorland, but scattered about are clumps of pure white flowers. Chris tells us they are called ice plants and some have been exported to the UK but I have never seen them. They are not in full bloom for us due to the cloudy weather but are still very striking.
Next to Simonstown, a (formerly British) major navel port. Plenty of fishing boats and I have the best fish cakes ever here for lunch.
Lastly to Boulders Beach to catch sight of a resident colony of African Penguins. They used to be called the Jackass Penguin due to their donkey-like braying, but because these birds are peculiar to SA and other penguins in South America make similar noises, they re-named this lot the African Penguin. Thought you'd like to know that. They just look like penguins to me.
We drive a different way back, and see more beautiful landscape and beaches.
Raining all day so a bit wet but no matter, this is a beautiful and spectacular place.
All the Best to everyone, more to come when I can get online,
John
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