Points, Princes, Paternoster

On Tuesday we drove south from Cape Town along stunning winding roads, enjoying incredible views of the ocean and mountains. A quick pitstop at a lighthouse provided us with spectacular views! We stopped for lunch in Simon’s Town at The Meeting Place and had one of the most delicious meals of the trip. Afterward, we checked out the famous penguin colony at Boulder’s Beach.

Those dots on the rock are penguins, I swear!

Our afternoon was spent in Table Mountain National Park (confusingly named, since it does not contain Table Mountain - see the map for clarification!). Along with throngs of other tourists, we stood on Cape Point as the wind howled around us. Eager to escape the crowds, we hiked out to the Cape of Good Hope (the most South-Western point of the African continent) and frolicked with rock hyrax.

Cape Point

Rock Hyrax

Cape of Good Hope

We camped in Zandvlei that night, enjoying a nice mountain view. Chida and I befriended the security guard, who was French Congalese and relished the opportunity to speak his native language!

The next morning, we drove back up to Cape Town for a bit of shopping on Long St, followed by an afternoon of our favourite activity – WINE TASTING! We tried seven wines at the Warwick winery, where we were also treated to a romantic story about a silversmith who fell in love with a princess. He had to win her hand in marriage by creating a cup from which they could both drink at the same time, which he could only hold with one hand. The king thought this was impossible. Think you could do it? Check out the solution http://www.warwickwine.com/weddingcup.asp. Later, we ate an amazing meal and tried eleven different wines at the Guardian Peaks winery. Delicious!

We slept in Somerset West that night, and got up early the next morning to drive up the West Coast. Our first stop was the town of Paternoster, where we ate mussels on an enchantingly beautiful beach (and even braved the chilly water!). We continued on to West Coast National Park where we spent the afternoon chasing ostriches and feasting our eyes on the views of the park’s beautiful lagoon, the Atlantic and even Table Mountain in the distance!

Paternoster

Fishing boats at Paternoster

West Coast National Park

Our drive that evening took us back past Cape Town and Stellenbosch - False Bay was resplendent in the fading light – the sky lit up in fiery orange, and the mountains were tinted a lovely pink.