Cape of Good Hope - scenic drive

Pete woke early and did a coffee run. We agreed to be on the road for our adventure today by 930am and we were pretty close! We planned a day trip to the Cape of Good Hope, Cape Point (southernmost tip of west Africa and where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet). A beautiful day with a stunning drive on the coastline to get there. It took 1.5 hours to get there via Chapman’s Pass. We saw many seals lounging around on rocks when we arrived. After a short walk up a rocky staircase (not unlike yesterday’s walk…), seeing lizards and Ted on the lookout for baboons (none spotted much to his disappointment), we arrived at an amazing viewpoint. Quite a few buses arrived as we left, and we all agreed we were happy not to be on a tour bus! We drove to the lighthouse and with reception, we were thrilled to hear news of the safe arrival of Tim and Emily’s baby boys (Aidan and Oliver)!!!! We were so excited about their arrival that some impromptu shopping for the babies ensued. The funicular to the top of the point and to the lighthouse was undergoing maintenance and after our tough walk yesterday and having seen the view the other side, we all agreed to skip this walk. We were all hungry at this point and embarked on the same route back, arriving in Simon’s Town in 30 minutes and deliberated where to go for a light lunch. The cafe Pete wanted to go to unfortunately didn’t have many options, and another one seemed to be a bit greasier than we wanted (Ted was keen however). We finally found a small looking cafe that seemed to have a good specials menu. However we started to question our decision when we were unable to see any customers or find any server until the back courtyard, with a woman stubbing out her cigarette and no shoes on. She ushered us to one of the three tables, and we didn’t feel like we could leave as she explained the disjointed menu. As she walked away we saw the black soles of her feet and everyone hoped she’d washed her hands before she prepared our food as it was a one woman show. This caused much giggling to everyone but me who tried to keep some order. It was a quaint heritage listed building and we act ually enjoyed delicious, fresh bread sandwiches and home made ginger beer. We then drove Boulder's beach, famous for its penguins. We enjoyed watching these creatures in their natural habitat, swimming, sunning themselves and waddling about. And there were so many of them! It was a hot day so we all went for a swim at Seaforth beach, except Ted who didn’t want to go if there wasn’t a shower to wash off the salt. The water was cold but very refreshing. Back to the house for some R&R, games and chilling. Pete, Jess, Ted and I wandered down to the beach for a quick swim (Pete and Ted) with some full on, on shore waves, while Jess and I watched from the shore. We went to a restaurant Pangara, recommended by our host. It was probably the more fine dining of all our dinners, however the waitress was less enamoured and we were at the back of the restaurant. However the food was great, although Pete did have to send back his fillet that was rare, not medium. Out of the three restaurants at Cape Town, I think we all agreed the best atmosphere, view and ambience was Zenzero, Dad and Ted 1 - girls 0. We enjoyed a gelato afterwards. A full, fabulous and satisfying day!Read more