Final Stop, Cape Town

My trip to Africa began and ended in Cape Town. The Intrepid tour met up in Cape Town, but I was there less than a day at the start, so I planned several days back there at the end of my journey to see the city.

As soon as you fly into Cape Town, there are posters and notices everywhere altering people to the drought conditions, and to be very careful with water use. As I write this, the conservation efforts have been successful enough (with a 50 liter a day limit per person) that their "Day Zero" has been pushed back to August. After that point, officials are counting on regular seasonal rains to divert them from having to shut off water to residences and businesses. But this is not the first year it's come close. Climate change and population growth have brought clean water shortages to many major cities around the globe.

After leaving behind the wonderful tour group I'd spent over three weeks with, in Cape Town I'd booked a B&B for a little luxury (after weeks sleeping in a tent). It was kind of strange to be in a large room with a huge bed, my own bathroom, a balcony, a TV, a mini-fridge, all to myself.

It was also very quiet. After weeks with a group of people around all the time, when you are alone, the silence is amplified. But with just three days in Cape Town, I had to plan my time and see everything on my list.

The first full day, I looked into the tour buses, and I walked from my place in Sea Point up the coast to the V&A Waterfront. The waves crashing up to the shore and the sea wall were wild, spraying up and onto the boardwalk. 

Along the way, I passed interesting public art, an outdoor gym, and a large off-leash dog park.

To see this rhino, you have to stand at a specific spot so that all of the pieces, which are spaced out across the grass, line up.









The giant glasses were inspired by Nelson Mandela’s Ray-Bans, and are apparently very controversial.

The Victoria and Alfred Waterfront felt like I had left Africa and stepped into an alternate Santa Monica. There is a huge mall (I got lost, it’s enormous), a Ferris wheel, and lots of waterfront restaurants. The story behind the name (I learned on a tour bus later) is that while Victoria was married to Albert, Alfred was her son who accompanied her to Cape Town, so the two of them are the namesakes.

I wandered through some shopping stalls, because I have a terrible habit of putting off buying souvenirs until the end of a trip (I always think there will be more time, other places to look). On the way back toward my B&B, I passed Somerset Hospital, which looks like a palace.

Green Point Urban Park is a pretty, grassy area to walk through (though a lot of grass was a little worse for the drought, but I appreciate them not wasting water it). The jungle gym was pretty cool with its literal interpretation.

Wandering out in the sun for hours completely zapped my energy, so I had to take a quick nap before heading back out to climb Lion’s Head for sunset. Everyone from my tour who had gotten to Cape Town a few days early told me how great the view is from up at the top, and that I had to add this hike to my shortlist. So somewhat dehydrated, I packed a bottle of water and my camera, and went out to catch the MyCiti bus.

I’ve found the best ways to get to know a city are by walking through it and using its public transportation system. I went to a nearby bus stop in Sea Point, and had to switch buses in Camps Bay to get as close as I could to the trail head. The buses are not air conditioned and the afternoon was hot, so everyone on board tried to angle themselves into a shady spot. I broke into my water before even getting to the trail.

Up a steep road from the bus stop, I found the actual trail head to officially start my trek. I didn’t realize it until later, but you can start up in either direction, and the one I chose may have been rockier and a little steeper.

Lion’s Head is just north of Table Mountain, with a sort of domed peak you can climb all the way to the top.  With over an hour before sunset, I began my hike, around the back side of the mountain, wondering why I didn't see more people (see above re: easier trail in other direction). As I came around toward the front, the shadows were gone and I was back in bright, hot, sunlight.
There are a few places on the trail where it seems to branch in two. I think the branches that take you vertical rather than winding around were actually created by other energized hikers eager to get to the top, but I took a few of these, and can tell you while faster, it's definitely more work to go up that way. 

By this point, I was getting a dehydration headache, and I stopped to drink water, now realizing how small a bottle I'd brought with me. This isn't a very long or intense hike, about an hour up and moderate difficulty (or a little more on the vertical non-trails), but after spending all day in the sun, much like the city, I was suffering a drought.
I pushed on, coming around the back again into the shade. Near the top, there are some ladders you have to climb. The first small one was easy; the second chain one had a line of people waiting to go up it, and rather than wait, I chose to take the longer way around. It wasn't much further after that to the top, and I made it with plenty of time to spare. Despite first impressions at the bottom, there was a crowd at the top, all ready to watch the sun dip into the sea.

The sunset did not disappoint, it was a mostly clear day with just enough clouds to reflect colors as the sun descended.
I started walking back down just before the sun hit the sea, not wanting to climb the steepest parts in the dark. I had my trusty headlamp for the flatter trails (like the one that wound around the front of the mountain toward the base, that it seemed everyone else used), but the ladders and the scrambling places near the top I wanted light for. I've heard with a full moon, you can descend at night with no problem.

A cab ride back to the B&B ended my first full day in Cape Town. I had already booked my Cape Point & Penguins bus tour for the second day. Without a car, the bus tours (yes bus, not truck) are easy ways to see far flung points of the city.

I caught my tour bus at a stop in Sea Point, close to my B&B. We had an on board Emcee of sorts to tell us about the things we passed and answer questions. I would have appreciated this more if he didn't say the word "literally" in literally every other sentence.
Some interesting factoids I picked up on the drive down to Boulders Beach to see the Penguins were: the first successful heart transplant was done in Cape Town; District 6 is a sad part of apartheid history, in which people were forcibly removed and their homes demolished, to establish a "whites-only area," but some residents resisted, standing by their long time homes. Today, it's a mostly vacant area, a memorial of remembrance.

Boulders Beach and the penguins was our first stop, which I mentioned in my earlier post about the African wildlife. After an hour there checking out the cute, feathered inhabitants, we headed down to Cape Point.

At the southwestern tip of Africa, there are two adjacent points, Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope, both of which we saw. It turns out however that neither of these is the point where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet -that happens a little further east at Cape Agulhas. But there is plenty of rough water and waves crashing at these capes as well.






Off the coast in the haze, you can make out Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years. 

At the top of Cape Point, there is a light house, and a signpost showing the distance to various cities around the globe.

The whole bus group walked the boardwalk path to the rocky cliffs of the Cape of Good Hope. Far below was a beautiful white sand beach you could get down to by steep stairs, if you had the time. We made our way slowly out to the edge to take our pictures from the east side of the Atlantic Ocean, then down a rocky path to the far side. All I could think was how much easier of a descent it was than the one in Victoria Falls to the Zambezi for rafting, or the one the night before from the top of Lion's Head. 

At the bottom, everyone stopped to take their pictures by the iconic sign. At least this cape can make the claim of being the most south-western point of the continent. Off the coast, seals lazed on rocks while waves crashed around them. 

From there, the bus drove us back to the V&A Waterfront, passing the very hazy 12 Apostles cliff faces of Table Mountain. I was glad I'd done my sunset hike the night before, as this one proved to be mostly overcast (though no more than a few drops of rain fell throughout the night). 

That night in my room it was far too quiet. For a month I hadn't even thought about TV, but I finally turned it on just for the voices. South Africa's Lip Sync Battle is pretty amusing. There are also a lot of old American shows and movies starring black actors that play there regularly, things I'd forgotten ever existed like Malcolm and Eddie with Malcolm-Jamal Warner (off the air since 2000), and classics like Waiting to Exhale. I appreciated the departure from US media norms. 

For my last full day in Cape Town, I got a ticket for the hop on/ hop off open-top bus. You can ride around the city all day on different routes, making whatever stops you want, while a prerecorded audio tour tells you about the places around you. I rode out to see Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens at the foot of Table Mountain, because I like walking through trails of exotic flowers. 

They have one area with plants that have been around since prehistoric times, brought to life by dinosaur statues scattered around. On so many of our safaris, I'd had the feeling of being in Jurassic Park, so the lurking beasts seemed very fitting. 

I hopped back on board to visit the wineries. The bus stops at 3 wineries, but somehow I only made it to the first one. At Groot Constantia, I visited their restaurant and finally had the cheese I'd been missing for weeks! There is cheese in Africa, but without a refrigerator, I couldn't really buy it from a store, and most of our meals were made by our tour's cook, so aside from cellophane wrapped cheese slices, I had been pretty bereft. 

That's where the winery saved the day, with a cheese plate to compliment my new affection for Chenin Blanc. I stayed there for a while, so that when I re-boarded the bus, I was ready to ride straight back to my B&B. 

I hate to tell you, but my last night in Africa, I didn't do anything. I went out to walk around by the coast again, just to say goodbye, I packed everything up, visited the nearby ice cream parlor for a milkshake, and watched more old movies on TV. 

It wasn't quite the end of my trip though. The way scheduling worked out, I had a 9 hour layover in Johannesburg before flying back to New York. Coincidentally, one of the girls from my tour group had an overlapping long layover. There was a torrential downpour in Joberg while I sat in a cafe in the international terminal awaiting my friend's arrival, so different from Cape Town.












Once my friend found me, we had hours to kill and Rand to spend, so we explored all the terminal had to offer: duty free shopping (I bought Amarula to bring home), a sushi restaurant, a spa with chair and feet massages, a Haagen Dazs, an electronics store, and other fun places to wander. Eventually the hours ticked away until I had to get to my gate. It was sad to saw goodbye again, but had been a really nice reunion. 







Off I flew back to the cold, grey winter of New York. I'm still not ready to be back, and it's been a month. There is so much more of Africa to explore, this taste made me hungry for more and more. So while this is my last blog about this trip, there are sure to be more trips to come soon, my wanderlust is strong. Where in the world will I travel next? Stay tuned!