Exploring the Cape

Today I decided to rent a car and head out to see some of the main attractions the cape has to offer. Luckily there is a rental car agency literally inside my hotel and I got everything worked out, including a GPS, and they brought the car right to the front valet. Amazing easy. I hopped in my car and set out on my adventure. The GPS doesn't pick up a signal right at the hotel because of the hotel and convention center buildings, so I drove a few blocks away and parked and set it. It took a few minutes for me to get used to driving on the left side of the road again, but it came back to me and it was the most comfortable I have ever been keeping left. Maybe it is because I have been a passenger on the left for seven weeks this summer or maybe its because this is the third country I have kept left in, but it worked. Its actually kind of fun and sometimes feels more right than keeping right right now since I've been here for so long. Anyways, I set the GPS and got on my way, but who would have known that I basically could have gotten around without the GPS better than the way it tried to take me.

I followed the GPS instructions for a bit until I realized it was taking me on a ridiculously time inefficient route. I eventually found the freeway on my own and ignored the GPSs instructions to exit the freeway. And guess what happened? Each time I ignored those instructions to get off the freeway my time to destination would decrease. Imagine that. I ended up arriving 20 minutes ahead of schedule. Thank goodness for my good sense of direction!

My first stop of the day was Boulder's Beach. I wanted to go there to see the African Penguins, but found it to be so much more. Boulder's was literally one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen in my entire life. Add on top of that the fact that there are a a bunch of penguins you can see from the paths, on the beach, and even swimming in the water and it makes for quite a magical experience. It is also the middle of winter here and therefore the low season. I was basically the only one on the section of the beach and I was alone in paradise! I could have stayed there forever and ever. I hope to be able to come back someday because it is truly amazing. After hanging out on the beach a bit I walked over the the penguin viewing platform and saw the main group of penguins on the beach. They were so cute! There were even some babies and juveniles who hadn't yet molted woo! I hung out for a bit and took some pictures and then walked back to my rental car.

The next stop I made was the Cape Point Ostrich Farm to see the ostriches. There were a ton and very cute, but I probably could have bypassed this step on my journey. The tour was interesting and it was a private tour since it's the low season, but it really didn't see much. I didn't even walk around the farm to see the adult ostriches. I saw a skeleton, a hollowed egg (wow they are thick), some ostrich leather (who knew it was so strong and durable and beautiful), and some feathers. There may have been another thing or two that I am forgetting. I learned that a baby ostrich can't break out of the shell on its own and the mother has to crack the egg with its breast plate. Pretty interesting. After that I saw some baby ostriches, but since the breeding season ended in April and the new one is set to start in September the baby were 4-5 months old and not egg sized. Apparently in the breeding season you can watch them help hatch the eggs and see the ostriches being born. That sounds pretty cool. After the babies we walked back outside and looked at the adult pair right in front of the office and that was it. I had my free cup of tea and then walked around in the shop. There were so many beautiful purses made out of ostrich leather and I was dying to buy one (literally some of the prettiest purses I have ever seen), but they were all expensive! The cheapest one that I liked was over $300! So much for having a beautiful ostrich purse. After the shop I walked back to my car and set off to my next destination.

The next place I went was Cape Point. The drive out to the point was absolutely beautiful and I only wish someone else had been with me so we could have switched off driving and enjoyed the view. I got out to Cape Point and decided to have lunch at the restaurant there called Two Oceans (Cape Point is the place where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet). The restaurant had an amazing view and delicious food. For a starter I had a fried goat cheese with some onion and tomato stuff and OMG it was one of the most delicious thing I have ever eaten in my entire life! I only wish I could eat it every single day for every single meal. So yummy! For my main course I tried an ostrich burger and it was pretty good. I couldn't describe to you what it tasted like because it was similar to other burgers and had a medley of delicious toppings included marinated onions, mango chili sauce, tomato, and arugula all on a ciabatta roll. Yummy! It also came with chips which were okay. Still delicious, just nothing special like the rest of the food. It was so nice to have some different food after eating the same lunches over and over again for the last two months. After lunch I took the funicular called the Flying Dutchman up to the lighthouse of Cape Point. There were some spectacular views up there and it was lovely. I walked up to the lighthouse and took in some views for a bit and then headed back down to my car.

I was planning to drive out of the park (Cape Point is part of the Table Mountain National Park), but I detoured to the beach at the Cape of Good Hope nearby. It was also really beautiful and the drive along the water was wonderful. I am kind of obsessed with this area of the world. After marveling a bit I got back in my car and drove back to Simon's Town because I wanted to get some small pictures I saw after shark diving yesterday that I thought would look great in my bathroom. I got four small pictures, one each of penguins, and elephant, a giraffe, and two rhinos. The four will go side by side in my bathroom when I get back to Ann Arbor! When I was about to leave Simon's Town and about to call Joan to figure out when we would be meeting up my phone died which sucked. I hoped she would call before I got back and think I was avoiding her. I set my GPS (why?) and headed back.

The GPS once again tried to make me avoid the freeway and I ignored it and got back a full 30 minutes before its intended route. I don't know why that GPS was so intent on avoiding the freeway. When I got back I plugged in my phone and saw Joan had texted less than 10 minutes before, thank goodness, so we figured out the plan and I had some relaxation time. At 7:45 Joan and Gavin picked me up and we went out for some delicious pizza! It was so good and such a happy end to my lovely day. I got back to the hotel around 10pm and was so ridiculously tired, so now it's time for bed!

Penguins!

Boulder's Beach

Swimming penguin!

This lovely rodent is locally called a Dassie, though it is more commonly known worldwide as the Rock Hyrax or the Cape Hyrax. According to Wikipedia the closest living relatives to hyraxes are elephants and manatees. This seems rather odd, but is an interesting fact I think. They are also reservoirs for leishmaniasis in Ethiopia, Israel, and Jordan.

Probably one of my favorite all time pictures

Baby ostrich!

The Cape Point Lighthouse

The view from the lighthouse at Cape Point

My little rental car

At the Cape of Good Hope