Awesome, awesome day. Joe and I had booked a tour through a local operator to take us to Cape Point and surrounding areas. Pickup was supposed to be at 9 this morning, but we got a phone call from the front desk at 8 saying the tour had arrived. After rushing down and seeing our driver, a nice white fellow named Raymond, sitting in the van outside the hotel, we apologized for making him wait. That was ok, we were told, we lucked out, no one else had booked for today, so we had the tour to ourselves. Raymond (he preferred that over Ray) allowed us to grab breakfast quick, and then we were on our way.
Raymond was an older fellow (a pensioner, as he called it), but was very talkative and incredibly knowledgeable. Basically the whole time he delved into Cape Town/South African history and facts and figures, and even went on some tangents, such as explaining the origins of the words "marmalade" and "yankee". We were a bit perplexed about why he would do that, but we were happy to let him ramble on.
Once again, the weather couldn't have been better (I really know how to pick 'em) so we were in for a pleasant trip. First stop was a quick one at a bluff overlooking Camps Bay that gave a great view of the beach and the Twelve Apostles that overlook the area. After the obligatory camera snapping, we were on the move, moving beyond Camps Bay. After passing through Hout Bay and a nearby nudist colony (we didn't bother stopping......) we came to Chapman's Peak Drive, one of the world's most iconic roadways. Looking out onto a bay known as Chapman's Bay, the drive really does have some stunning views, almost unbelievable, in fact. Raymond stopped at a turn-off and let us get out, snap photos, enjoy the breeze and the scenery. From there the next stop was the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve and Cape Point, the very tip of the Cape Peninsula. The drive there took us through some quaint, peaceful-looking villages, but all are still considered part of Cape Town proper (citizens vote in CT municipal elections, for instance). Before arriving at the Reserve, Raymond had us stop at an ostrich farm. That's right, an ostrich farm. They are raised for their meat here in SA (Raymond informed us it tastes like beef, but is low in cholesterol). Beef can be pretty pricey here, so the birds offer a tasty substitute. The area surrounding the farm was very pretty though, so we got in some more photos.
After entering the Reserve, our first stop was to be the African continent's southwestern-most point, a short drive from Cape Point itself. On the way there though we got lucky, and came across a herd of baboons crossing the road. There were numerous signs warning against feeding them, as I guess they can get quite violent. They looked pretty lazy to me, and seemed busy picking bugs and all kinds of other shit off of each-other, but we photoed from the safety of the van anyway.After-wards we made it to Cape Point, where Raymond told us to take our time and he would wait. We could have taken a funicular or taken a fairly steep climb up the hill to the point and the (now defunct) lighthouse that sits atop. We went for the climb. It made for good exercise, as it got us both sweating and made my thigh muscles feel like they were on fire (out of shape, apparently), but we finally made it and took in the views. Below the lighthouse there was yet another point that juts out even further, so we hiked down there as well. After an Indonesian family (one of the girls was super cute-hard to go for it in such a place though) cleared out, we had the spot to ourselves, enabling us to capture the surrounding ocean-view and the cliffs across False Bay (the body of water separating the Cape Peninsula from eastern SA). The walk back was much easier (all downhill) and what better next stop than to go see some penguins?
Boulder's Bay has a famous African penguin colony, and after a short drive we joined in with groups of other tourists to catch site of the little beggars. Onlookers have to stand on a deck built just over the beach (very close though, penguins were walking under the deck) so you can get a good view of them. Man, have they got the life. The basically just waddle around or lay on the nice warm beach, occasionally going swimming to catch some food. Raymond put it this way: "They eat, sleep, and have sex, its the life". Agreed Raymond, agreed. Apparently they mate for life, so you could see couples of penguins standing next to each other just hanging out. Not the most romantic birds I guess, but very loyal. Amongst the tourists were some Chinese women with a Chinese tour guide. I could understand their conversation, and, upon seeing the little baby girl of some (I think) English tourists, one of the ladies said "look, a little penguin!" and tried picking up the poor child and take a photo with it. Well, the girl didn't like that so much, and starting bawling. The guide advised the lady to put her down, "she doesn't like it", he said. I can always get a kick out of Chinese tourists I guess, I had to have a laugh at it. Anyway, sorry for the tangent.
After having our fill of penguins on the beach we had one more stop to make. Driving from Boulder's penguin colony and through nearby Simon's Town, we came to Klein Constantia, a wine vineyard. Here Raymond said we could try out some wines and snap some photos of the grounds (Raymond said they weren't the best looking of the wine-growing vineyards, but, I thought they were pretty damn nice). We were allowed to try seven different wines. Now, as you may know, alcohol isn't really my thing. I appreciate that people really get into it, and that's fine, but I really can't stand the taste. By about the third sample (which of course we not all that much, just a small splash) I was ready to toss in the towel and just throw up everywhere. I held my cool though and was able to take in all seven, though I had to tell the poor bastard giving us the samples (who was watching me force the stuff down) to just give me a teensy amount of the seventh wine (the sweetest of them, as it were) or else they might have a mess on their hands. Joe, I could tell, knew what he was doing, and was even able to pick out his favorites and obviously could appreciate the descriptions of each of the wines the worker was giving. They all made me want to kill myself, was about the extent of my analysis, but I kept that to myself.
After taking in some of the wine-making operations and the vineyards, we hopped back in for the short ride home (We basically drove around the Peninsula. The drive out was long, but from Klein Constantia back into the city bowl it was quick). We were thoroughly bushed, and already we have required quick naps to recharge our batteries. Ray dropped us out right out front where we began, and we said our goodbyes. He paid us the compliment of saying we were one of his better tours, and that he thoroughly enjoyed it. We let him know we felt likewise.
So how was that for some travelin' action? Tomorrow should be a bit more tame, but you never know with the Four Corners. Be sure to see what we have in store.....
Raymond was an older fellow (a pensioner, as he called it), but was very talkative and incredibly knowledgeable. Basically the whole time he delved into Cape Town/South African history and facts and figures, and even went on some tangents, such as explaining the origins of the words "marmalade" and "yankee". We were a bit perplexed about why he would do that, but we were happy to let him ramble on.
Once again, the weather couldn't have been better (I really know how to pick 'em) so we were in for a pleasant trip. First stop was a quick one at a bluff overlooking Camps Bay that gave a great view of the beach and the Twelve Apostles that overlook the area. After the obligatory camera snapping, we were on the move, moving beyond Camps Bay. After passing through Hout Bay and a nearby nudist colony (we didn't bother stopping......) we came to Chapman's Peak Drive, one of the world's most iconic roadways. Looking out onto a bay known as Chapman's Bay, the drive really does have some stunning views, almost unbelievable, in fact. Raymond stopped at a turn-off and let us get out, snap photos, enjoy the breeze and the scenery. From there the next stop was the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve and Cape Point, the very tip of the Cape Peninsula. The drive there took us through some quaint, peaceful-looking villages, but all are still considered part of Cape Town proper (citizens vote in CT municipal elections, for instance). Before arriving at the Reserve, Raymond had us stop at an ostrich farm. That's right, an ostrich farm. They are raised for their meat here in SA (Raymond informed us it tastes like beef, but is low in cholesterol). Beef can be pretty pricey here, so the birds offer a tasty substitute. The area surrounding the farm was very pretty though, so we got in some more photos.
After entering the Reserve, our first stop was to be the African continent's southwestern-most point, a short drive from Cape Point itself. On the way there though we got lucky, and came across a herd of baboons crossing the road. There were numerous signs warning against feeding them, as I guess they can get quite violent. They looked pretty lazy to me, and seemed busy picking bugs and all kinds of other shit off of each-other, but we photoed from the safety of the van anyway.After-wards we made it to Cape Point, where Raymond told us to take our time and he would wait. We could have taken a funicular or taken a fairly steep climb up the hill to the point and the (now defunct) lighthouse that sits atop. We went for the climb. It made for good exercise, as it got us both sweating and made my thigh muscles feel like they were on fire (out of shape, apparently), but we finally made it and took in the views. Below the lighthouse there was yet another point that juts out even further, so we hiked down there as well. After an Indonesian family (one of the girls was super cute-hard to go for it in such a place though) cleared out, we had the spot to ourselves, enabling us to capture the surrounding ocean-view and the cliffs across False Bay (the body of water separating the Cape Peninsula from eastern SA). The walk back was much easier (all downhill) and what better next stop than to go see some penguins?
Boulder's Bay has a famous African penguin colony, and after a short drive we joined in with groups of other tourists to catch site of the little beggars. Onlookers have to stand on a deck built just over the beach (very close though, penguins were walking under the deck) so you can get a good view of them. Man, have they got the life. The basically just waddle around or lay on the nice warm beach, occasionally going swimming to catch some food. Raymond put it this way: "They eat, sleep, and have sex, its the life". Agreed Raymond, agreed. Apparently they mate for life, so you could see couples of penguins standing next to each other just hanging out. Not the most romantic birds I guess, but very loyal. Amongst the tourists were some Chinese women with a Chinese tour guide. I could understand their conversation, and, upon seeing the little baby girl of some (I think) English tourists, one of the ladies said "look, a little penguin!" and tried picking up the poor child and take a photo with it. Well, the girl didn't like that so much, and starting bawling. The guide advised the lady to put her down, "she doesn't like it", he said. I can always get a kick out of Chinese tourists I guess, I had to have a laugh at it. Anyway, sorry for the tangent.
After having our fill of penguins on the beach we had one more stop to make. Driving from Boulder's penguin colony and through nearby Simon's Town, we came to Klein Constantia, a wine vineyard. Here Raymond said we could try out some wines and snap some photos of the grounds (Raymond said they weren't the best looking of the wine-growing vineyards, but, I thought they were pretty damn nice). We were allowed to try seven different wines. Now, as you may know, alcohol isn't really my thing. I appreciate that people really get into it, and that's fine, but I really can't stand the taste. By about the third sample (which of course we not all that much, just a small splash) I was ready to toss in the towel and just throw up everywhere. I held my cool though and was able to take in all seven, though I had to tell the poor bastard giving us the samples (who was watching me force the stuff down) to just give me a teensy amount of the seventh wine (the sweetest of them, as it were) or else they might have a mess on their hands. Joe, I could tell, knew what he was doing, and was even able to pick out his favorites and obviously could appreciate the descriptions of each of the wines the worker was giving. They all made me want to kill myself, was about the extent of my analysis, but I kept that to myself.
After taking in some of the wine-making operations and the vineyards, we hopped back in for the short ride home (We basically drove around the Peninsula. The drive out was long, but from Klein Constantia back into the city bowl it was quick). We were thoroughly bushed, and already we have required quick naps to recharge our batteries. Ray dropped us out right out front where we began, and we said our goodbyes. He paid us the compliment of saying we were one of his better tours, and that he thoroughly enjoyed it. We let him know we felt likewise.
So how was that for some travelin' action? Tomorrow should be a bit more tame, but you never know with the Four Corners. Be sure to see what we have in store.....
so drunk you lost your credit card eh?
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