While visiting Cape Town, we decided to take a half-day road trip down the Cape Peninsula, which stretches for about 35 miles to the south of Cape Town and is the unofficial boundary between the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. Our new friend Alex had a car, so the four of us hit the road for a scenic drive.
The trip down the Cape Peninsula is a short but rewarding journey. It's full of variety - gorgeous ocean and mountain views, the history of the Cape of Good Hope, and endangered penguins. The entire peninsula is home to the unique Cape Floral Kingdom of plants (which we briefly noted in our Cape Town post). It's definitely worth the ride if you have some extra time while in Cape Town.
The Cape Peninsula is a string of mountains, beaches, towns, and a national park.
The four of us at a scenic viewpoint partway down the cape.
Some of the only beautiful sunny weather we had in Cape Town! It wouldn't last....
The very narrow Chapman's Peak Drive.
Penguins at Boulders Beach.
You can get really close to the penguins, although you're on a boardwalk.
There are over 2,000 endangered African penguins (also know as the Jackass penguin for their donkey-like braying) in the colony.
Penguins swimming.
To protect the endangered penguins, the South African government incorporated the site into Table Mountain National Park.
We made it! It was a little bit wet. And windy.
Not exactly the Southernmost point in Africa, and not exactly where the Indian and Atlantic always meet... but kinda!
It was a bit of a hike up to the top of the Cape Point cliff.
Looking out towards the Indian Ocean.
It was chilly and really windy up top!
The view of the Cape of Good Hope from the top of Cape Point. The first time a European ship made it around this point was 1488.
There were ostriches running around Cape Peninsula national park.
Cape Town is widely considered one of the most breathtaking cities in the world. From the spectacular seaside setting at the southern tip of Africa with Table Mountain looming above, to the colorful neighborhood of Bo-Kaap and the tantalizing food and nightlife, Cape Town did not disappoint and was an amazing contrast to the fairly bleak business-savvy Johannesburg.
We spent 3 full days in Cape Town, and we could have easily spent another few days. We didn't have time to visit the wine country out near Stellenbosch and only barely explored the unique biodiversity associated with the Cape Floral Region, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site due to the incredible biodiversity in plant-life (home to over 9,000 species of which 69% are endemic).
Cape Town is home to a unique blend of people and cultures. It is the only major city in South Africa without a black majority. Instead, the city is very ethnically diverse with a population mix of English and Afrikaans-speaking white people, mixed race people, Cape Malay and black Africans. Our AirBnB for our stay was located in the beautiful Bo-Kaap neighborhood, which is considered the Cape Malay quarter.
Our AirBnB rooftop patio! Too bad it was only really sunny for a few hours each day.
On our first full day, we walked around downtown Cape Town. We visited the Company Gardens, established in 1650 by the Dutch East India Company. Many historic sites are scattered around the gardens, including the South African Parliament Building and St George's Cathedral, the church made famous as the seat of Archbishop Desmond Tutu during Apartheid.
Desmond Tutu's church in downtown.
South Africa's Parliament Building.
The Company Gardens in downtown.
Christina likes animals. Even fake ones.
There are several pedestrian streets in downtown with shops and restaurants.
After exploring downtown for a while, we took an Uber to the Old Biscuit Mill for lunch at one of the most popular restaurants in Cape Town, The Pot Luck Club. Like most of our trips to developing countries, we always try to go to a high end restaurant or two that we likely couldn't afford in the US. The Pot Luck Club was our treat for this trip. Although not as good as our experiences in Mexico City (Dulce Patria) and Lima (Central)...the Pot Luck Club had fantastic views of the city and Table Mountain and delicious tapas-style shareable food.
Fancy pork belly dish at The Pot Luck Club.
View from The Pot Luck Club.
The elevator opens right into the restaurant, with amazing views of the city.
We were advised by multiple friends to go up to the top of Table Mountain the moment the sun comes out, since the weather in Cape Town can be very fickle. So, right after lunch we went to the mountain to take the cable car up to the top. Table Mountain, which rises 3500' above Cape Town, offers panoramic views of the city center to the north and the Cape Peninsula to the south.
Living on the mountain is a small mammal called the dassie. Despite looking like a ground hog these things are actually related to elephants and manatees. David enjoyed referring to them as "elephant monsters" throughout the rest of the trip.
Downtown Cape Town.
The cable car is very steep and rotates as you climb so you can see in all directions.
Clouds crashing into Lion's Head and evaporating as the wind blows down the mountain.
Obligatory Table Mountain photo.
Our friends Kalyan and Alexander taking a break from searching for elephant monsters.
Christina's looking south from the mountain into the sea of clouds on the peninsula.
The flowing clouds were beautiful.
Cable car climbing up the mountain.
Lion's Head with a mane of clouds.
A short video we took of the cable car and flowing clouds.
After getting our fill of Table Mountain and with dusk approaching, we went back to our place in the Bo-Kaap neighborhood. This area, adjacent to downtown, is the center of Cape Malay culture in Cape Town. The buildings are all brightly painted (which reminded us of San Juan, Puerto Rico) and there are a number of mosques. Hearing the call to prayer added to the atmosphere of the neighborhood.
Bo-Kaap is really colorful.
I like to call this the Greece Blue Building!
Clouds crashing over Table Mountain in the background.
Each separate residence is a different color. Wonder if they coordinate?
One of the neighborhood mosques. There were several.
Table Mountain behind Bo-Kaap.
Such a cute neighborhood!
Another mosque.
We also enjoyed some of the nightlife in Cape Town. At hipstery Mother's Ruin, a gin bar, artisan cocktails were only about $4. Can't beat that!
Fancy Pimm's Cup at Mother's Ruin. David got a cocktail with strawberries and black pepper.
Not as fancy as a Pimm's Cup, ginger beer is popular in South Africa. This was the best brand! No jiving!
On Saturday morning we decided to check out the Neighborgoods Market, located at the Old Biscuit Mill. This was a much larger scale than the Market on Main we visited in Johannesburg. There is also a Neighborgoods Market in Johannesburg, but it happens on Saturdays only, so we missed it. This place was packed with people, but there were vendors of everything from dim sum to desserts, greek food, soap and everything in-between. We'd highly recommend you visit if you're in Cape Town on a Saturday morning.
After the market, we visited the renowned Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens. Despite being sunny on the downtown side of Table Mountain, the gardens were shrouded in fog and light rain. It gave the gardens an ethereal quality...but also was slightly annoying and didn't make for the best pictures. The location, at the foot of table mountain is very scenic and is another sight we'd highly recommend.
With 5 people and only 2 sets of keys... accidental lock-outs were bound to happen.
With this many people, you know it must be good!
Barista doing his thang!
Paella!
Lush verdant Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens.
The "Boomslang" canopy walk.
When lots of people walk on it, it shakes and slides like a tree snake!
Wet...but happy!
Even the rain can't stop that smile!
The colorful flowers with the ominous clouds was kind of neat.
A protea, a genus of flowering plants that are mostly endemic to the Cape Floral region. Pretty!
Flowers!
On the way back to Cape Town we decided to stop on Long Street to check out the restaurants, bars and shops. The whole street's architecture is somewhat similar to Bourbon Street in New Orleans...it's also a very popular nightlife district. We also took a stroll along the Sea Point Promenade. This walkway along the Atlantic Ocean passes through some of the most affluent neighborhoods on the continent. The pathway was bustling with adults and children. There were playgrounds and public art sandwiched between the surf and Table Mountain.
That evening, we had dinner at a sushi/Asian restaurant named Beluga. They sat us down right in front of the biggest TV in the restaurant, because they assumed we'd want to watch the second South Africa Rugby World Cup match. As soon as they realized we were American they asked if we wanted to move. We didn't bother and the rest of the evening the entire wait/prep staff starred through us at the TV!
Typical Long Street architecture.
Sea Point Promenade.
People getting their exercise at the Sea Point Promenade.
Early on Sunday morning all our friends except Alexander headed out after breakfast to the airport to return to Johannesburg. Alexander graciously offered to drive us down to the Cape of Good Hope. We'll handle that in a separate post. Cape Town is a lovely city, easily our favorite city of our Southern Africa trip. Make plans to visit!
