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.