Table Mountain and a night on Long Street

Monday morning dawned with clear blue skies and absolutely no wind, so Louise and I grabbed the chance to take a trip to the top of Cape Town's most recognisable landmark, Table Mountain. As the weather was spectacular there was a queue and we probably had to wait 45 minutes to an hour before we got in a cable car but it was not really a problem as we just chatted and enjoyed the beautiful weather and the view of the City Bowl to one side and the impressive mountain to the other. 

Whilst in the queue there are information boards regarding the history of the cableway, completed in 1928, and old models of the original cable cars which look a lot less sturdier than the one we went in. When you go up the mountain in the cable car it rotates 360 degrees giving you  a full view of the city and the surrounding area on the way up. 

I have been up the mountain once before and was excited to go up again accompanied by an ecstatic Louise. We had the perfect day for it and the view from the top was absolutely breathtaking; something you want to gaze upon, take a mental picture and appreciate forever. I could say much more about how indescribably beautiful it is up there but I will let the photographs do the talking. 

A model of the mountain range including Signal Hill, Lion's Head, Table Mountain, Devil's Peak and the 12 Apostles stretching out at the back towards the peninsula.

The 12 Apostles.

Camps Bay.

Lion's Head and Signal Hill to the left of the picture and the city sprawling in the bowl.

Devil's Peak.

The scorching sun combined with the gentlest of breezes made the conditions at the top of the mountain absolutely lovely. I could have sat looking out over the city for an extremely long time if we hadn't planned anything for the afternoon. We treated ourselves to lunch with a view from the cafe at the top of the mountain revelling in the beautiful natural landscape around us. 

When we finally left the mountain we took ourselves off to Long Street to meet Ladina and browse the many quirky shops. I ended up getting a hair braid, fulfilling a childhood desire at last, and it even had an owl charm in it. I was beyond excited... It's the little things. The gentleman who braided my hair promised me the neon in it would get me all the guys, obviously what I was after. However, my night out with the girls did end in a marriage proposal from a drunk Argentinian rugby player in the group we were having drinks with. I respectfully declined even though he did try and serenade me with Don't Cry For Me Argentina. 

Irresistible obviously. 

Tuesday became a day dedicated to recovering from the night before, our first proper night out in Cape Town. Having arrived back at the hostel at 4:30am it seemed only right to spend the whole day by the pool working on my tan. 

Until next time. 

A x

A wonderful weekend

The day after our Peninsula Day Tour we didn't particularly feel like doing anything too active and so decided just to take a walk through the city and see where we would end up. I dragged two very unwilling participants to the National Gallery so that I would not have to be the only person to experience the craziness that was Chandelier. Thankfully they were just as nonplussed as I was. 

After the gallery we wandered through Company Gardens, Greenmarket Square, the downtown area and ended up finding ourselves back at the Waterfront. We passed through some lovely flats situated on the canals in the near vicinity too. 

We grabbed something to eat and then slowly made our way back to the hostel to spend the rest of the day in the sunshine. 

Saturday followed a similar pattern to the day before. Ladina finally arrived back in Cape Town (another face from Durban) and if was lovely to have a reunion and introduce her and Louise. We all went to the Old Biscuit Mill in Woodstock which holds the Neighbourgoods Market which came highly recommended by my friend Lauren who used to live in Cape Town and it was completely worth a visit. 

It is separated into a food market and a craft/clothing/general knick-knacks market. Being the foodies we are that was the first stop. All the food looked gorgeous, smelt divine and the bits that we tried were mouth-wateringly good. I also had a strawberry Moscow Mule which was lush. The selection was incredible with fresh fruit, veg and juices, food from all different countries and cultures, sweet treats and savoury delights. I even tried a bit of tuna biltong which was ok but I definitely prefer the meat ones. 

After trying not to eat everything in sight and waiting for the heaviest bit of rain to pass we made our way to the second part of the market. The clothes and jewellery on sale were fabulous, as were all the other small items. There was one shop, Karoo Moon which sold a mish mash of everything, from silk scarves to Art Deco travel posters. Again I had to exercise my self control so as not to buy anything. The buildings housing the shops and markets were beautiful too and when I wasn't trying to buy myself presents I was admiring these. 

After the markets we walked back to the hostel, past the 'castle' and through the city, which actually turned out to be quite a distance but it was a good walk. I rewarded myself by jumping in the freezing cold pool afterwards. Again our evening ended with us chilling in Ashanti's relaxed bar. 

On Sunday we were not very active, saving ourselves for the week of tourist activities we had planned ahead. We did say goodbye to Matt who had a 20 hour bus journey to Joburg. Rather him than me. Our weekend ended in the bar and with an early night for the exciting trip planned for the next day. 

Until next time. 

A x

Cape Peninsula Day Tour with Baz Bus

On Thursday morning Louise, Matt and I were up bright and early for our day tour of the Cape Peninsula operated by Baz Bus. They collected us from our hostel and we drove round the city picking up other passengers along the way. Once everyone was on oard we made our way out of the city and to the Peninsula via the Atlantic Seaboard. This took us through the exquisite beach areas of Clifton, Camps Bay and Llandudno as well as past the stunning 12 Apostles rock formation.  

Our first stop off was at Hout Bay to browse the market and curios stalls there or alternatively take a trip to Seal Island for an extra cost. We chose to stay in the harbour and take a look around. The stalls were fantastic selling many different trinkets and touristy items. We spotted a couple of seals lazily swimming around the harbour, one of them being fed by a local for tourists to get a closer look. 

This seal was swimming around with his flippers out of the water as above and playfully rolling around. It was a joy to watch.

After I was torn away from the seals, especially the adorable second one, we made our way to the beach at Hout Bay. It was still a bit hazy due to the early morning sun and not exceptionally warm but it was good to have a look around what is an extremely pretty bay.

Our next stop was the scenic Chapman's Peak Drive, one of the most beautiful roads in the world, in my opinion. It was completed in 1922 after seven years of work carving the road out of the cliff face, a major engineering feat for the time. Over the years it has been closed numerous times for maintenance or to clear rock falls and it is now a toll road so that it's upkeep can be continued. The road is absolutely beautiful and gives superb views back over Hout Bay before winding round the cliffs towards the pristine beaches and clear sea of Noordhoek. 

A bit of Chapman's Peak that has been reinforced to help prevent rockfalls.

We carried on our drive to the home of the South African Navy at Simon's Town. Unfortunately, due to time constraints we could not actually walk round the town and so had to be content with driving through. The main attraction however, where we did venture off the bus, was at Boulders Beach which is home to the African, or as they are also known, Jackass Penguins. They were given the name Jackass due to the bray-like noise they make. 

From two breeding pairs in 1980 a whole colony of penguins has spawned with around 3000 now living in this protected area due to their endangered status. What I love about these penguins is that they are often quite cheeky. We spent a good 15 minutes dedicated to watching one penguin trying to rob sticks from other nests to create his own. Often he wasn't very successful because he wouldn't choose empty nests and so would be chased off by other irate penguins. 

When we finally left the penguins it was time to head onto the Cape Point Nature Reserve where we got out off the bus for a 5km cycle through the park which was good fun. It was a good bit of exercise although I wouldn't recommend cycling barefoot (it was that or flip flops!). Lunch was next at one of the stops along the way to the Cape Point. Thankfully we didn't have to cycle all the way there, I'm definitely not fit enough, and so it was back onto the bus for the last drive to the most South-Western point of Africa. 

As with every part of the Cape Point Reserve, the tip of the peninsula was absolutely breathtaking. We walked up to the lighthouse to get good views out over the ocean and coast line. However, we were a bit unlucky with the weather and whilst it was clear on our walk up, it suddenly clouded over just before we reached the light house meaning we couldn't see much at all. 

This shows the difference that occurred in a matter of minutes. Luckily when we headed back down the path and away from the point we came back out into the sunshine. From here we walked for about 45 minutes or so along the cliffs to the Cape of Good Hope. It was a pleasant trip along a well trodden pathway and thankfully wasn't quite the hike the tour guide had built it up to be as otherwise my flip flops would have been rendered useless and completely inappropriate. 

When we were leaving the park we stumbled across some of the reserve's wildlife babies...

These baby ostriches were trying to escape the ever present heat by having a sand bath whilst mum watched on. 

The naughtiest baboon we came across!

After an eventful day it was time for us to pile back into the bus once more for the journey back to Cape Town. It was a wonderful day and we had an extremely good guide although I've forgotten half the facts as I'm writing this blog 3 weeks after the event! I have to say I was extremely impressed with Baz Bus for this day trip. It was only R540 - £36 and that included a light breakfast and lunch, bike ride, park entrance, penguin tickets and access to Chapman's Peak Drive as well as being ferried around. It somewhat redeems them for the hop-on hop-off journeys. 

We had a relaxing evening after a hectic and well spent day. 

Until next time. 

A x

Louise arrives! (and a trip to the waterfront)

On Tuesday 4th March my travelling partner for the next three and a half months, the remaining duration of the trip, Louise arrived in Cape Town. We didn't really do all that much during the day as she hadn't got much sleep on her 12 hour flight so we just chilled and lazed around by the pool which was lovely. 

As I'd booked the hostel last minute (surprise surprise) there was a slight issue with the bookings. There were many consecutive nights where we couldn't stay in the same dorm and so had to keep checking out and checking in again. There was one night where they couldn't accommodate us unless we took their guest room which would have been around about R1800 - £120 for the night which was completely out of our budget. However, because we were staying at Ashanti for a grand total of 10 nights they let us have this room at dorm rate each; a much more manageable £11 each. It was luxurious to not be in a dorm and to have an ensuite with an amazing shower. A great way for Louise to start her travelling experience... although most accommodation has been downhill from there in comparison!

On the Wednesday we visited the famous Victoria and Alfred Waterfront. It is commonly assumed that the name is incorrect and that it should be Albert rather than Alfred. However, when it was first completed it was known as the Alfred Basin, named after Victoria's son, not her husband. When it was later expanded it gained the name it is known by today. 

We walked through the Waterfront to the Atlantic Ocean which stretches beyond the horizon and was beautifully blue and clear. We could even see Robben Island from the shore line. 

I loved wondering around the Waterfront through the bustling crowds and admiring all the lovely shops, cafés and restaurants. It is a vibrant hive of activity and life in the centre of Cape Town. When we walked to the harbour we came across a pod of dolphins having a little swim around, something I wish happened in London!

Additionally there are awesome views of Table Mountain with some of the scenic buildings and boats in front of it. 

After lunch and a bit more ambling we decided to go and soak up the glorious sunshine on Camps Bay beach. From here we had a wonderful view of the 12 Apostles, the mountain formation seen in the background. It was a hot day but this did nothing to change the extremely cold temperature of the sea which was about 12C! Unsurprisingly there were not many people in the sea. We did make it in a couple of times but you quickly lose feeling in your limbs and it takes about 20 minutes to recover, even under the hot African sun. Matt and I quickly switched to playing some kind of cricket whilst Louise was content to sunbathe and occasionally sit and watch us looking like fools, especially due to my feeble batting attempts. 

As the sun went down we found a place to enjoy sundowners which was strongly recommended by our guide book so we happily went along with it. I managed to order the craziest and most outrageous cocktail on the menu which looked like it had waltzed straight out of Sunday's gay pride march. However, it was delicious. 

Sundowners were definitely a brilliant choice to start our evening.

Until next time. 

A x