South Africa
It’s been said that Cape Town is the “San Francisco” of South Africa, and I would have to say that I kind of agree. From the waterfront area (like Ghirardelli Square), to wine tours (like Napa/Sonoma), to the nightlife and outdoorsy ambiance I can definitely see the connection. However, the shark diving, game reserves and penguins on the beach… do set it apart.
Even though it was winter when I arrived in Cape Town, I was fortunate to get only one rainy day in the week that I stayed there, which was awesome. At the Backpackers hotel where I set up camp, there were a million and one things you could do… and I signed up for most of them. I started with a climb up Table Mountain on a perfectly clear day.
Now there are 2 ways to get to the top of this mountain, which is one of the highest points in Cape Town and provides breathtaking views. The first is to hike it, which is about a 3 mile hike and doesn’t sound too intimidating considering I’ve hiked Mt Tallac in South Lake Tahoe, CA a handful of times, but what they don’t tell you is that the whole 3 miles consists of knee high rocks that you have to hoof up about 1500 vertical feet. It’s like working out on a stair stepper for 2 hours strait… taking 2 steps at a time, but I made it and it was totally worth it. The other way you can see the view is via cable car, which is how we made it down. It might be one of the coolest cable cars I’ve seen with a rotating base so you can see the whole view as you descend no matter where you’re standing. Genius!
After a day of hiking I took off on a 5 hour bus ride to the Garden Route Game Reserve for a night to drive around in an open jeep and see nature at its finest. Having been to zoos all over the country I’ve seen heaps of “exotic animals” before, but nothing prepares you for seeing a giraffe family of 3 walk 2 feet in front of you, or a lion sit on a hill and watch the sun set while you’re 50 feet away. It literally took my breath away. Not to mention when the sun went down the entire sky was lit up with pinks, yellows, oranges and blues that cascaded over the rolling hills. It was remarkable.
Once back in Cape Town we went on a wine tour of the area and tasted the best Syrah I’ve ever had from Annandale Winery. Buy it if you see it anywhere, you won’t regret it! After the wineries we went on a tour of the area with boats, bikes and hikes with Day Trippers. We boated to the seal island, hiked up Cape of Good Hope, biked along the beaches and played with the penguins at Boulders Beach….which was my favorite! (I couldn’t help but think of the penguins from Madagascar!) They were so cute.
To wrap up my adventure in Cape Town I thought what is more adventurous then Shark Diving? So I headed out on a boat before the sun was up to the seal island and hoped to see some great whites. While unfortunately none of them breached, it was still an amazing experience. Seeing them from the boat was one thing, but once I got into the 10 degree water in the cage, I could see how graceful and magnificent they truly are, and definitely a force to be reckoned with.
Overall I would have to say that my time spent in South Africa was remarkable! Saw the most incredible sites and definitely want to go back and see more!
