Cape Town - The Mother City

We were all feeling a little tender the day after our wine tasting extravaganza. By early afternoon, however, we had rallied ourselves enough to make the drive from Somerset West into Cape Town itself. I was giddy when I first saw Table Mountain, and watched in awe as the magnificent city unfolded around me.

We ate amazing burgers at the Royal Eatery for lunch and then checked into the Long St Backpackers, where we’d be staying for the next four nights. Long St is a hip, busy street filled with delicious eats, vintage shops, and tons of pubs and clubs. Our next few days were spent experiencing as much of the city as we could, followed by nights enjoying the Long St vibe.

On Saturday we joined hoards of tourists in a grueling hike up Table Mountain. I was so stoked to finally accomplish what I’d said back in September as I watched the stunning shots of the mountain in Invictus with Mum and Dad – “I’M GOING TO HIKE UP THAT!!” And I did. What I didn’t expect was to have to hike back DOWN, since the cable car wasn’t running. Hello, lactic acid buildup in the quads … none of us could walk down stairs without extreme pain for the next three days. FUN.

Table Mountain with its tablecloth - according to legend, these clouds are actually smoke from a smoking contest between the Devil and Jan van Hunks.

An amazing coincidence occurred on the hike though – worth mentioning. As I was taking a photo, I dropped my lens cap amongst a bunch of rocks. A few guys helped me try to find it, lifting up all sorts of boulders and looking in crevices, until one of them was able to reach it and pulled it out. BUT IT WASN’T MY LENS CAP – IT WAS ANOTHER ONE!!!!! I couldn’t believe it!! My lens cap was never found, and so as a souvenir I took the crusty, dirt-covered lens cap that my kindred tourist friend from the past also dropped in that mysterious place.

After our grueling descent of Table Mountain was finished, our day continued with delicious eats at the Old Biscuit Mill, a trendy market similar to the one I went to in Joburg. Afterwards we played rousing game of paint ball with friends, followed by a night out on Long St.

On Sunday we went to Camps Bay for the morning, an area known for its beautiful beaches and upscale living. Afterward we headed to the Two Oceans Aquarium and explored the V & A waterfront. That night we saw Goldfish perform live, which was a ton of fun (check them out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAdX_nwXlrY).

Camps Bay

Oh hey there Nemo!

On Monday we went to Robbin Island, a trip I’d been looking forward to ever since I’d read about Nelson Mandela’s experiences there in his book A Long Walk to Freedom. Unfortunately, the trip was extremely touristy and the experience left me feeling like I’d been stuck on a conveyer belt and spat out the other side. There was little opportunity for exploration on your own – on the ferry ride over we were stuck in the lower deck watching a film, then on the island we got loaded on to buses and barked at by a tour guide for 45 minutes, after which FINALLY there was a genuine part to the experience – we were shown around the prison cells by a former political prisoner. It was haunting to walk around the halls of cells and the prison grounds, knowing that tremendous leadership potential was wasted there for decades. Our guide had spent 7 years on Robbin Island for leaving South Africa to receive army training in the fight against apartheid. He was arrested upon re-entering the country. It amazed me that he could spend every day giving tours of a place where he'd been detained for so long. A lesson in forgiveness.

On the way back to Cape Town, we managed to snag seats on the top of the ferry, and enjoy the amazing views on the way back into town!

This one definitely tastes like fermented grapes.

Feeling slightly fragile after our night out in Stellenbosch, we gingerly headed to the beach in Somerset West late the next morning. It was a beautiful, clear day, and we enjoyed the warm water and massive waves immensely. Feeling revived, we were able to tackle the day’s serious event: WINE TASTING.

The Western Cape is famous for its wines, and it is possible to visit many different vineyards in a day and experience a variety wines through inexpensive tastings. We were touring Stellenbosch wineries and started the afternoon at Dornier, where we tasted five wines and ate an incredible meal. It is days like these that I really appreciate the exchange rate from Canada to South Africa – the same meal and tasting at a restaurant back home would certainly put a dent in a bank account, and yet it cost us less than $5 for the tasting, and under $20 for the meal. DEALS. Plus there was the added bonus of the stunning mountain scenery. No complaints from this happy camper!

Wine smiles at Dornier

The next vineyard on our schedule was Waterford, where we tasted seven different wines, the final three accompanied by fine chocolates to enhance the wines’ flavour. Delicious. Our last stop was Peter Falke, where we tasted six wines … to be honest, I don’t really remember those wines, but what I do remember is lying in the sun on a giant bean bag, watching the moon begin to rise as the mountains turned pink. Bliss.

Mmm... Chocolate and wine, delicious!

Peter Falke ... I wanted to stay on those bean bags forever!

That evening we were treated to a traditional South African meal – Ox Tail – cooked by Christi’s mum. It was delicious!

I can pretty much see Antarctica from here, guys!

There are few feelings as glorious as washing away early morning grogginess with a swim in the ocean – especially when reaching the ocean merely requires rolling out of the tent and taking a few delicate steps in the sunshine towards the glistening water. On Day 4 of our trip we experienced just that, followed by a delicious breakfast.

After our early morning swim, we drove to the red-and-white-striped Cape Agulhas lighthouse and walked up to the top for a fairly disappointing view (the stumpy lighthouse doesn’t afford much of a viewpoint, not to mention the area isn’t overly thrilling). Our spirits couldn’t be dampened, though, because a few minutes later when we were back on the ground, we’d reached the SOUTHERNMOST TIP OF AFRICA! HOORAY!!! The Indian and Atlantic Oceans “meet” at this point, and Antarctica is only 6146 kilometers away. After taking a heap of completely necessary touristy photos, we checked off Cape Agulhas from our list and drove off.

That’s when things got interesting. We chose to drive the Whale Route, which runs along the coast through Hermanus, Betty’s Bay, and Gordon’s Bay. We stopped to view the penguin colony at Betty’s Bay – it was so fun to see healthy penguins in their [almost] natural habitat after spending so much time with recuperating penguins at the rehabilitation centre!

We continued on our way, stopping briefly for a windy roadside lunch. Back in the car, the stunning views of False Bay and its surrounding mountains left me breathless. The drive certainly gives the Sea to Sky highway a run for its money.

Our destination for the night was Somerset West, where we were staying with our good friend Christi, who we’d met back in St Francis. We got into town in the early afternoon when Christi was out to lunch at a vineyard, so we decided to meet him there. After getting frustratingly lost, we finally made it to Vergelegen, the 2^nd oldest winery in South Africa. Let me paint you a picture – Vergelegen charges an entrance fee of about a dollar to prevent riffraff getting in. Upon payment, you are handed a map, which outlines the many restaurants on the grounds as well as beautiful strolls through the gardens. Once we’d managed to park the car, it took us over ten minutes to find Christi, who merely directed us to “the patio” where he was eating. There were probably eighteen different patios on the grounds. Alex, Blair, Chida and I were sweaty, smelly, day-four-of-camping messes, and we must have looked ridiculous to the posh clientele Vergelegen caters to, but when we finally reached Christi it was a joyous reunion. After tea and coffee, we drove to Christi’s house, and a brilliant evening followed.

Beaches for Dayyyys

I awoke as our tent began to heat up with the early morning sun. Camping is bearable since it cools off at night in South Africa; if the temperatures were the same at night as they are during the day, we’d melt! After eating breakfast and solving some car troubles (we had a finicky tire) we ventured out to reattempt to reach the coastal part of De Hoop. This time we made it – and what a stunning beach it was!! We frolicked in the waves for a while before climbing into the car and heading off.

We drove southwest to Arniston, a small fisherman’s village with breathtaking beaches and seashore. Small white houses are perched on the coast, contrasting the intensely turquoise waters lapping the sand. We attempted to reach the cave that Arniston is famous for, but the tide was too high so instead we beach hopped in the area and spent hours enjoying the sun and warm water.

Exhausted and sun-zapped, we drove to Cape Agulhas where we ate a feast at an Irish pub. We set up camp at a site on the coastline and collapsed into our tent, sleeping soundly to the waves crashing nearby.