Capetown, the last stop on our holiday, is a wonderful urban town surrounded by 2 oceans, Atlantic and Indian. This city has a lot of mountains offering scenery different than anywhere I have ever been in the world. It is a city with areas allowing for exercise other than shopping… we hiked around the Cape of Good Hope. Because there are both Dutch and Indian influences, they have the best curries and other spices, so I brought some home along with some local recipes. Bobotie is my favorite.
On the way to Table Mountain (named for its flat top and its location in the middle of the city) we saw antelope and zebra grazing. The famous Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens have more flowers than I ever knew existed. More than 22,000 varieties and many different types of proteas endemic to S Africa, even specific to Capetown.
Along Boulders Beach, we saw S. African penguins living in large colonies, protected from humans. This was a fine addition to our previous game drive animal list! These little penguins are so cute…they swim about a mile off shore and then nest on their own private beach. And at least with penguins, the parents take turns sitting on the eggs and watching the chicks! Oh, to be a penguin here!
Only 40 minutes from town are the most scenic rolling hills, home to hundreds of wineries. The “winelands tour” offers a variety of tastings of some of the finest wines in the world…and good thing we had a driver! There are wonderful small lodges in the area, offering bike rides and horseback riding as well as walks through the small towns of Franschhoek and Stellenbosch. Cute art galleries and cafes were all around.
I only had 2 days in Capetown, surely just a tease. I will be back to explore more of South Africa and be sure to include the garden route and the east coast….but as for this trip, it was truly spectacular!!!
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