Monday morning the sun was out and it was looking like a beautiful day. We took our time getting organized, enjoying a nice breakfast at the inn and then heading out around 10:30. Christopher took us to the Dollar car rental office at the Cape Town airport where we picked up a nice little car. We decided not to get the GPS thinking how hard can it be to find our way to Port Elizabeth.
Our destination was the Cape Peninsula and particularly Cape Point which is the southernmost point of the African continent, in Table National Park, where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Indian ocean.
Well we got lost quite soon after leaving the interstate when I told Bill to get off at an exit. We couldn’t find where we were on any of the maps we had in hand. I realized at that point we really did not have any decent maps of South Africa and maybe that GPS would have been a good idea. And this was Bill’s first time ever driving on the left side of the road. We just kept driving through parts of town we did not recognize and that were definitely not where the tourists hung out. We stopped at a couple of gas stations but noone sold maps and the first one didn’t speak any English. We finally found someone who pointed us in the right direction – head towards Muizenberg on the highway. Come to find out we were actually headed South in the right direction all along. Pure luck. Muizenberg had a tourist information office (always look for i on your international travels) where we bought some decent maps.
So we made our way down the eastern side of the Cape Peninsula through seaside villages called Muizenberg, Kalk Bay, Fish Hoek, and Simon’s Town where we stopped to take a look and have a little lunch. Bill loved this town and declared that this is where we would spend the night. Simon’s Town is a lovely village which is home to the South African Navy and is the country’s third oldest settlement with many Victorian buildings. We ate a little fish and chips place on near the harbour and then booked a room at the Simon’s Town Quayside Hotel which turned out to be a great choice, despite no free wifi.
By then it was 1:30 and we decided to head straight down to Cape Point. It was still a beautiful sunny clear day. The drive was less than 30 minutes to get to the park. Cape of Good Hope is actually the most south-westerly point in Africa. The park is quiet and covered in fynobs which is the natural hardy ground cover/vegetation – similar to what covers our barrier islands on the Gulf Coast, particularly what we find in Seaside area – thick low to the ground flowering bushes. We didn’t see any wildlife in this park but we weren’t there long. We headed to the far most parking lot where you can start a climb up to the lighthouses for unparalled views of the ocean. It was quite a hike up but worth it. We took an additional cliff view hike beyond the lighthouses – amazing.
By 4:30 we were ready to start heading back with a goal of seeing the sunset on the Atlantic ocean – something you cannot do in the US. The cape is not very wide at this point and we were able to make it to the village of Scarborough quickly. A beautiful beach covered in boulders and kelp with mountains towering all around.
We were glad to get back to the hotel in Simon’s Town – entire hotel has a nautical theme very well done. Front desk recommended Cafe de Pescano which was right across the street. We had salad, pizza and red wine while I caught up on email on the ipad.