South Africa Day 8

Monday was the first day of vacation for EVERYONE. We woke up in Simon’s Town on the Cape Peninsula, in a really lovely HUGE apartment we had rented right in downtown Simon’s Town. After an early morning walk through the residential part of the town, we had a lovely breakfast at a little place on the main street. We then got in the car and started our drive around the southern peninsula. We drove first to Boulders Beach in Simon’s Town, home to a colony of African penguins. It is nesting and molting season, so we walked along the boardwalk where the penguins had their nests. After the penguins, we drove down to Table Mountain National Park, which extends off and on from Cape Town, but specifically to the part that contains the Cape of Good Hope. We went first to Cape Point, where the lighthouse is. We walked up the hill to the lighthouse for some great vistas. We did not, however, walk along the cliffs to the new lighthouse because it was very windy, and the wind gusts can reportedly reach 55 knots. After descending from the lighthouse, Miryung and Alan got some coffee, while Tim and I walked along the coastline to the Cape of Good Hope. (They met us with the car at the other side, which was great…) The walk was beautiful, and it included a steep descent into a protected beach (Tim went down, while I waited at the top). We ended at the Cape of Good Hope, where the winds were nothing short of impressive. I had to actually sit down to descend one set of steps for fear of being blown off of them. We got back in the car and drove further around the peninsula to the Imhoff Farm near Kommetjie. It was a little tea house, farm, restaurant, shop, all combined into one. We had some delicious sandwiches and bought some goodies for the road. We continued on up and drove both ways along Chapman’s Peak Drive, which hugs the coastline for some terrific views of the ocean and cliffs. After that drive, we headed back to Simon’s Town. Tim and I went to dinner at a place called the Black Marlin and recommended both by a local and one of our tour books. We were literally the only people in the restaurant, though the food was good and the service great.

South Africa Day 8

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