Cape of Good Hope

Tuesday 3rd April – To the Cape of Good Hope

Once again, the day dawned fine, sunny and warm. We were met at the hotel by Tickey and a replacement assistant who was introduced at Richard. Apparently, the assistant we had met previously at the airport had been unexpectedly called home because of a sickness in his family and Richard would now be travelling with us as chief cook and assistant guide. Richard was a 23 year old with a keen sense of humour and a quite remarkable hairstyle. I remarked that it looked like he must have been struck by lightning at which he broke into a roaring belly laugh. This laugh was to become one of the highlights of the trip. (We also learned that Richard was a very talented cook as well).

At 8.30 am we were on our way for a drive along the coastline and down to the Cape of Good Hope. As you leave Cape Town there is a steep and prolonged climb out of the coastal basin. The higher you climb the more impressive the views become. We then descended down the opposite side to the beautiful region of Hout Bay. Hout is apparently the Afrikaans word for wood and this bay was one of the first locations discovered by the Portuguese & Dutch who utilised it as a safe and sheltered harbour, protected on three side by towering mountains. I thought that the region along the Great Ocean Road in Victoria was one of the world’s most beautiful drives but I would have to admit that the road along the Cape would give it strong competition.

We continued further to the Cape of Good Hope, stopping several times along the way to photograph wandering animals, including several types of antelopes, ostriches and baboons. The Cape is one of the best-known geographical locations on earth and is marked by a large sign denoting it as the “most southwestern point of the African continent”. I had pictured it as a wild place with huge waves driving passing ships to their destruction on the rocks, however when we were there it looked like the complete opposite. The oceans were so calm that we could see fishermen out in their small tin boats several hundred metres from the shore. There was almost no wind and the temperature would have been in the high 20s. By the same token, when I looked out over the wide expanse of the ocean and considered that the next land mass was Antarctica, it was not hard to imagine that conditions could probably change very rapidly.

We walked along the cliff tops to Cape Point lighthouse. Although there is a funicular railway to the summit, we decided to walk instead. After our recent climb to the top of Table Mountain, this climb was quite mild by comparison. From the lighthouse at the top, you can get an amazing panoramic view of the Cape Peninsula and the oceans disappearing as far as the eye can see. When I am at places like this, I make a conscious effort to try to capture the entire experience in my memory bank. While some spend all their time taking dozens of photos, I prefer to physically absorb the feelings that the location gives to me, in the hope that I might be able to better recall them in the years to come.

On our way back to Cape Town we stopped at a place called Boulders to visit a large colony of African penguins. These are sometimes referred to as Jackass penguins because of the strange braying noise they make. I always find it hard to watch these lovely little comical creatures without breaking into a smile.

After a long and event filled day, we arrived back at Cape Town a little after 6 pm.Read more