Cape Town - Sea Point

Our final stop in South Africa - using this waterfront area as our base while we explore the city centre.

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Day twenty-three: We bid a final farewell to our rental car after racking up roughly 3,000km in three weeks, dropping it back at the airport before getting a taxi to check into a self-catered apartment in the Sea Point area (on the Western waterfront part of Cape Town).

We largely spent the rest of the day taking much needed rest at the apartment, stocked up on food, and went for an evening stroll along the nearby promenade.

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Day twenty-four: Stranded at Robben Island!

We set off in the late morning to walk along the seafront from our apartment to the V&A waterfront (about a 70-minute stroll in the sunshine). After a bit of food and pottering about we arrived at the Nelson Mandela Gateway, where our boat to Robben Island would set out.

Robben Island is the infamous prison island where political prisoners were kept during the apartheid regime, most famously Nelson Mandela. The island also has a long history prior, mainly of holding prisoners on behalf of various regimes over the centuries; it was also used for over a hundred years to keep lepers quarantined.

Overall, the tour was fantastic - very interesting to understand more about both the experiences of inmates and guards on the island, and the broader history of apartheid on the mainland.

Our experience was made all too real when our delayed return boat meant that we were stranded on the island for two hours longer than intended - although it did mean we got a sunset cruise heading back into Cape Town.

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Day twenty-five: Conquering table mountain

We were picked up at 5.45am by our guide to head to our starting point for a 3.5 hour-long hike up Cape Town's famous Table Mountain (originally named "Mountain of the Sea" by the indigenous Khoi people). We set off properly at about 6.30am to start up the "India Venster" route - it's 3km of mainly scrambling, but you're rewarded with a diverse landscape of flora as you work your way up. We got very lucky with the weather: A little cloudy for the first part of our hike and low enough wind that we didn't come up against the infamous "tablecloth" that often forms atop the peak. It meant we had some beautiful views from the last third.

After a bit of recovery in the early afternoon back at the apartment, we went into central Cape Town for a historical walking tour, followed by some excellent African cuisine and live entertainment at Mama Africa. Knackered!

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Day twenty-six: A relatively chilled day. Gym session in the morning, relaxed at the apartment, and then walked along the seafront to an Irish pub in the V&A area. Watched England scrape a narrow, underwhelming victory against Scotland in the six nations rugby, followed by a couple of beers while being entertained by a covers band and lively revellers.

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Day twenty-seven: Kept it simple, went for a morning run (5km) from the apartment to nearby Camps Bay beach. Jack went for a freezing cold dip after, and we had some brunch in Harry's café. Walked back home and had a chilled rest of the day. Early start tomorrow!

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Day twenty-eight: Our penultimate day in South Africa started at 3.30am to get up and out early for a sunrise hike at Lion's Head. It is a mountain in Cape Town, nestled between Table Mountain and Signal Hill. It peaks at 669 metres (2,195 ft) and forms part of the dramatic backdrop to the city. With a guide to help us along in the dark, we set off up the mountain with our head torches and made the peak in time to watch the sun rise over the city at 6.30am(ish).

Back to the apartment with plenty of the day still left, we had some breakfast and a rest before walking over to nearby Saunders Rock to enjoy a swim in a tidal pool. A popular spot with the locals, we sat on the rocks and enjoyed watching a large group of local kids getting very overexcited while jumping off rocks into the surf.

Given the exceptionally early start and the night flight looming tomorrow, we headed home and decided to spend what day we had left relaxing in the apartment.

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Day twenty-nine: Our final day in South Africa before flying to Zanzibar in the late evening. Turned into a big day out!

We went to the gym over the road (we're masochists), checked out of the apartment, dropped our bags at a luggage storage in the city centre and headed to District Six Museum. It's a small venue that tells the history of District Six, an area destroyed by the apartheid regime where about 60,000 residents (all non-whites) were forcibly moved from the area.

Afterwards, we had a packed lunch in Company's Garden (where the parliamentary buildings are) and went to nearby St George's cathedral, the oldest Anglican church in South Africa where Desmond Tutu is buried, and were fortunate to catch some live classical music inside. We then went on to do a guided tour of the Bo Kaap area.

With several more hours still to kill until our flight, we settled into a restaurant called Tiger's Milk for the rest of the afternoon for food and a few drinks. It's been some trip in South Africa; beautiful country, lovely people, a complex history. We'll definitely be coming again at some point.Read more