Cape Town

My trip to Cape Town was great! We left on Friday, Dec 28th at 4 in the morning and didn’t arrive at our final destination until 10PM. There was a couple who owns a house that needed house sitters while they were in Europe, and we needed a place to stay, so God blessed up with free lodging while we were there.

We visited many different beautiful places. Richard (Pastor Cheryl’s Son) went with us. He lived in Cape Town for a few years, so he was the perfect tour guide and chauffer! Im going to list some of the places we visited with a few highlights about each place.

Me, Carol and Richard on New Year's Eve at the Waterfront.

Beaches—We visited SEVERAL beaches. These included The Strand, Blouberg, Nordhoek, Fish Hook, Camp’s Bay and Gordon’s Bay. All of the beaches had COLD water. The Indian Ocean waters were not as frigid as the Atlantic Ocean waters. Some beaches were perfect for surf boarding, but not for swimming. So we usually just walked through the sand and saw the sights at those beaches. There were some kite surfers that amazed us with their high jumps! Our favorite beach was Gordon’s Bay. The water was fairly shallow, there weren’t too many waves and there were trees along the back of the sand line so shade was available. A few lazy hours reading a book on the beach in the sun is God’s best therapy plan ever!

One of the beautiful sunsets we got to see.

The Waterfront—This is where we spent New Year’s Eve. The waterfront has lots of shops to explore and places to eat. There were a couple of local bands playing and fireworks at midnight. This place was SOOO crowded. I guess it was a safe place to find free entertainment on New Year’s Eve. You can also see seals around the water front. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see any. But there were some great views of Table Mountain. We also saw a movie while we waited for it to get closer to mid-night.

Me and Carol at the Waterfront on New Year's Eve

Table Mountain-- Cape Town is surrounded by mountains. Table Mountain is a Cape Town landmark. It is a high mountain that is flat on top….hence the name Table Mountain. From on top of Table Mountain you can get a view of most of Cape Town. There are 4+ hour hiking options to the top of Table Mountain, but hiking in the middle of a South African Summer wasn’t a choice I wanted to make. So we took a cable car up the mountain. The cable car holds about 40 people. The floor inside rotates as you ascend so you can get a 360 view on the way up the mountain. We went up around 6PM and got to watch the sunset. When we first got to the top of Table Mountain, the sun was about three-quarters of the way down in the sky and there was a large mass of clouds below us. What a beautiful sight to see the blue sky, bright sun and clouds shining like gold and silver below us. It almost looked like you could just step out on the clouds and walk straight to heaven. Some of the clouds seemed to be pouring over the mountains in wispy trails. The pictures we took don’t begin to show how gorgeous it was.

Cape Point- Because of the strong winds and rough seas in this area, there are many ship wrecks off of Cape Point. We climbed the hill of Cape Point to see the view from the light house there. At Cape Point there is a view of where the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean meet. There is also a view of the Cape of Good Hope. The day we were there it was extremely windy. All of the pictures have my hair blowing all over the place! It was a beautiful day with amazing views!

Behind me is the Cape of Good Hope

Boulders Beach Penguin Colony—Yes, Penguins live in Africa. On the Southern coast of Africa live the Chin Strap African Penguins. This specific type of penguin can only be found here in Africa. We walked along a board walk through some trees near the beach. As we were walking, we saw penguins waddling through the trees or sitting in small hollows in the dirt. There were many pairs of penguins protecting their eggs….in fact Richard got a little too close to one mom and got a bite on his foot! Down at the beach we saw penguins waddling through the sand or sunning on a rock. It is odd to see penguins on the sand instead of snow. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see any swimming or surfing. My favorite part was all of the signs relating to the penguins. There was a Penguin crossing sign. And as you are headed back to the car there is a sign that says “Please check under your car for penguins.”

"That's MY Egg!" Said the penguin before biting Richard's foot.

All in all it was a fabulous trip. I have LOTS of pictures! Im so glad we had the opportunity to play tourist for a few weeks. Cape Town was beautiful. But it was good to get back to Jo’burg. And my next post will probably be about the wonderful kids and how the new school year is going!