South Africa – 6 – Cape Town

We have arrived at the last stop in our trip in South Africa and are spending three days in Cape Town.  Thanks to Olivier, we found a great place to stay in the ‘Waterkant’ district.  We have a three bedroom townhouse in this old part of town within walking distance of many restaurants and the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront.  After settling in, we go explore and near one of the marinas, we get our first good glimpse of Table Mountain.

We are not done with wildlife sightings here.  Near the docks, there are seals relaxing, we suspect, after a hard day of fishing

The following day, we decide to head towards the “Cape of Good Hope” and see if we can go where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Indian Ocean.  We head South along the coast and once outside Cape Town and the near suburbs, the scenery becomes very rugged

We never got there as the main road to reach it was closed and it would have taken a huge detour to still make it – we decide it is not worth it.  While we are having lunch, we spot a whale

An eagle

and the crew of a Singapore Airline flights taking advantage of their lay-over to do some sightseeing.  I could not resist the temptation to take a photo of the “Singapore Girl” – out of uniform … We chatted with them and unfortunately they would be on the flight from Cape Town to Singapore and not mine from Johannesburg to Singapore.

Our patience, and a little luck paid of in the end, with the “classic” whale shots of the fluke slowly disappearing into the sea as the whale dives.

We then headed to the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden.  It is fabulous – the situation, on the back side of Table Mountain is already scenic.  The plants and, especially at this time of year (spring in the Southern hemisphere), the flowers were spectacular.

We finished the day on Table Mountain.  We did not get the full “Table Cloth” effect, but still had very interesting views thanks to the clouds which were generally below us.

The next day was our only “city” day of the whole trip.  We did a walking tour of Cape Town and discovered both the good, and some of the bad of South African history and society.  We started at a museum that ‘celebrates’ District Six.  One of the saddest episode of Apartheid when ‘black’ residents were forcibly removed from a whole neighbourhood that had been declared “white” in the early 60’s.  Even though it was eventually emptied and most houses raised to the ground, nobody ever moved in as the ‘beginning of the end’ of apartheid prevent local authorities from executing the plans they had.  Recently, the first residents forcibly removed in the 60’s and 70’s have been allowed to come back.

We stopped for lunch in a small cafe

and we finished the day on the foothills of Table Mountain as once again the clouds were offering spectacular views.

We started at Telegraph Hill

moved on to Table Mountain

followed by the Lions Head

We went back for dinner at the Waterfront and had a last view of Table Mountain, very different from our first day here.

It was a fabulous trip!

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