Mike and I are awake quite early as usual but eager to start the day’s sightseeing. Mike checks on the internet and finds out that the cable car up to Table Mountain is closed due to high gale force winds and poor visibility at the top, so that’s one thing crossed off the list for today. We drag Victoria out of bed around 8.30 am then call Maggie and Bob who are somewhere in Cape Town recovering from the flu, arranging to meet them at the Waterfront for breakfast.
There’s no sign of Victoria’s luggage yet as the flight from Dubai doesn’t come in until late afternoon, so with she and I both wearing the same clothes as yesterday (I was expecting some more things from home so hadn’t bought a change of clothes either) we wander around the V & A Waterfront until it’s time to meet up.
Photos: V & A Waterfront, Cape Town
Suddenly we spot Maggie and Bob waving from the other side of the dry dock, and braving all sorts of vile bacteria and viruses there are hugs and kisses all around.
We find a venue for breakfast and eat a huge meal, complete with delicious filet steak (I have to add here that Maggie eats the healthy option of muesli and yogurt) and swap horror stories of the journey from Richards Bay to Cape Town (from Ocean Jasper) and just to Knysna (us). It’s wonderful to see them but after a couple of hours we have to get going. Hopefully we’ll see them at Christmas or New Year.
We take the car up to Table Mountain but the cable car is still not working so we just look at the view from viewpoints. To be fair, the view is probably better from here anyway – any higher up and you can’t make anything out unless there is no haze whatsoever.
Photos: Victoria and Mike admiring the views of Cape Town and Table Mountain
We take the toll road around the coast, stopping at Hout Bay to see what it is like as this is where the boats will start from on the next leg to Brazil via St Helena. Mmm, not very impressing – we certainly won’t be in a hurry to arrive in this marina. The pontoons look very rickety and it is all a bit scruffy.
We stop to watch a couple with their ‘tame’ sea lion doing tricks for the tourists. As the sea lion approaches the dock, the man holds a piece of fish in his mouth, leans over the water and the sea lions jumps for it. He is obviously very well fed because although he catches it, he doesn’t bother eating it at all and drops it.
Photo: Feeding the sea lion
As we start to leave, Mike realises that he has no money less than a R200 note. We realise that the inevitable request for a donation will soon follow and feel guilty not giving anything. Victoria is a bit slow on the uptake and we have already moved away when the request comes in and she berates us quite severely.
We head further down the coast towards Cape Point, which is extremely beautiful.
Photo: Hout Bay looks better from the distance!
Photo: The Cape coastline looks more like the Italian Amalfi coast at times
Photo: Long Bay (or beach – I can’t remember)
From here we head down to Boulders Beach. This is the bit I have been waiting for since reading about it in the WCC folder. Boulders Beach, just past the naval base of Simons Town, is home to a colony of African penguins. I love penguins. I always have. I love their silly waddling and waggling of bottoms; their forlorn head-hanging walk. I find them comical and interesting. I was so disappointed in the Galapagos Islands that the tsunami had scared off the colony there and all we saw was Billy no-mates penguin at a time when I didn’t have my camera.
There are a few penguins as we walk along the boardwalk, but once we pay our money and go down to the beach, the whole colony is spread out before us.
Photos: Boulders Beach colony of African penguins
Victoria and I find it difficult to drag ourselves away but as Mike is waiting in the car, we eventually do although we go for a drink at a nearby restaurant before heading back to the hotel. I notice that Mike is eager to get back but don’t realise that he has a hidden agenda until we arrive back in the room and he switches the TV on. Lo and behold, Liverpool are playing live and Victoria and I have to wait until it’s finished before we can all go for something to eat.
There is still no sign of the luggage so Mike rings Emirates to find out where it is. First of all they say it didn’t arrive on today’s flight, then they ring us back a few minutes later and say it did and it will be delivered by courier to the hotel ‘shortly’, which we presume to mean that it’s on it’s way. We go out to eat. Having tried the restaurant yesterday, we are in no hurry to eat there again and go instead to the pub which is attached to the hotel which has a much better menu. Our meal is good, much better than yesterday’s.
The luggage still hasn’t arrived when we have finished eating and we ring the airline again. They assure us it’s on it’s way and sure enough, about an hour later it arrives. Phew. Clean clothes and decent teabags!
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