Our usual 6 AM wake-up, with breakfast at 6:30 AM and departure at 8 AM. Today we are scheduled for a full day tour of the Cape Peninsula, which the local authority proclaimed a nature reserve in 1938; Incorporated into the Cape Peninsula National Park in 1998; and renamed Table Mountain National Park in 2004. We entered the Cape of Good Hope before any large tour groups arrived and were able to be the first group to ride the funicular up to the Cape Point Lighthouse. From that vantage point we were able to clearly see Cape of Good Hope, Cape Maclear and Cape Point. After we descended on the funicular, most of the group went into the gift shop. I was adding some info to my journal outside the shop when I saw out of the corner of my eye that a marauding baboon was scoping out the vulnerable tourists who might have something worth eating. Apparently he was a regular pest in this one lady's shop, frequently sneaking in and making quite a mess of her souvenir displays. This time she was more than ready for him, with a broom in one hand and a stick in the other. He must have seen her hovering in ambush because he decided to perch on the brick wall right next to the sign for the toilets. What a great photo!
Iris rides the funicular to the Cape Point Lighthouse.
The Cape Point Lighthouse.
View of the Cape from the Lighthouse.
This baboon is anxiously awaiting her turn for the toilet.
While driving out of the park, Deitz pointed out a bontebok - one of the antelope family members that we had not seen. It was very colorful and majestic looking.
The bontebok.
On our way from the Cape to Boulders, the , the thriving colony of African penguins, we stopped for lunch at the Black Marlin. We had a fantastic lunch that featured very tasty Hake fish wrapped in bacon and served on a vertical skewer (referred to as an espetada). Lunch was topped off with a very creamy, very smooth vanilla ice cream (called La-vene ziana) with a berry mixture. We tried to find that brand of ice cream in the Pic n Pay near our hotel room but no luck. (Yes, dear reader, Pic n Pays are everywhere here, but I don't think it's the same chain that we had in certain states). I asked the manager of the restaurant how the Hake was made and he told me he would only give me the information if I promised to email him after I made it and let him know how it turned out. (Now I've got to go and try to find stands that will hold the Hake vertically - have to admit I've never seen those in the US).
Iris and Deitz get ready to devour their Hake.
Iris demonstrates the correct method of separating the
Hake from the skewer,
using what looks to be a butter knife, but really isn't.
Next stop was Boulders, a sheltered African Penguin cove between Simon's Town and Cape Point. From just 2 breeding pairs in 1982, the colony has grown to about 3,000 in recent years. This is partly due to the reduction in commercial pelagic trawling in False Bay, which has increased the supply of pilchards and anchovy, which form part of the penguins' diet. We were able to view them very easily from the meandering boardwalk that would through Foxy Beach.
African Penguins.
Last stop was Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden. I was really looking forward to some phenomenal photography here, but with it being winter and dusk not too far off, photo ops were few and far between. We did do lots of walking so I was pretty pooped when we finally climbed into the van and departed for the hotel.
Cycad.
Cycads.
Bird of paradise.
As I mentioned earlier, I was pooped and my knees were screaming from all the uphill and downhill trudging, but that didn't keep me or Iris from walking about 3 blocks to the Pic n Pay for a much-needed potato chip + ice cream run (well, we did buy a diet coke as well to balance out the calories). Iris bought cheddar chips and I bought sea salt + pepper chips. Our ice cream bars were white almond w/dark chocolate and mint w/dark chocolate. We were stretched out on our beds, with one pillow propping up our heads and one underneath our knees, munching on our chips and licking every bit of ice cream off the wooden sticks. Happy as 2 pigs in a poke. (First junk food in 3 weeks)!
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