Penguins, lighthouses and scenic drives
Today’s excursion took us south out of Cape Town to the southern most point of the African continent.
Another good breakfast to begin the day:
On the way south we stopped the 12 Apostles, Hout Bay and Chapman’s Peak.
The Twelve Apostles are mountain peaks, part of the Table Mountain range. The mountain range is composed of yellowish sandstone down low, shale half was up and topped with granite. The rough weather causes the sandstone to erode quickly and tumble down the slope, often closing the narrow two lane road.
Hout Bay is a spectacular inlet and the road out of it offers some wonderful views:
Boulders Beach was the real star of the trip, home to “Penguin Town” and its thousands of South African “jackass” penguins. “Jackass” because they sound just like a donkey.
The beach, off limits to all except the penguin colony, is filled with huge boulders upon which the penguins and gray seals lie to sun themselves.
The penguins are cute but we are warned they bite so don’t get close.
They waddle back and forth from the ocean to build their nests, lay eggs and feed their young.
This recycled fellow was made of old coffee cup lids and plastic forks.
Next stop was the Cape of Good Hope, the southern most part of the continent…
…where many a ship floundered on the rocks.
A lighthouse warns sailors of the approaching peril..
And steep steps lead you to the top after a funicular ride takes you part of the way up.
With spectacular views of the small bay far below.
On the drive to lunch we stopped to admire the north end of a family of baboons walking south.
Lunch was at Harbour House at Kalk Bay overlooking the water. We started with a beetroot carpaccio. For the main course I had the salmon and Barb the seafood selection (prawns, mussels, lime fish, and calamari tubes). For dessert we had the sponge cake, panna cotta and black sesame seed gelato.
Best of all-for me-was my new favorite white wine: chenin blanc, one of the best wines coming out of South Africa but unavailable in Oklahoma.
We both slept on the bus ride back to the hotel and are still so tired we may call it a day shortly.
Our South African Adventure 