The morning of the 28th, we had to grab breakfast and take a picture of a road sign before we caught our flight to Cape Town. After landing, we waited for a minibus to come and collect us and drive us to our fantastic backpackers on Long Street in central Cape Town. Upon arrival, we had more errands to deal with as we managed to drop off our dirty laundry, buy a new headlamp, eat dinner and pick up some groceries. While we were completing these necessary tasks, it was nice to see a little bit of the city and to notice the plateau (Table Mountain) towering over the city. When we noticed it, we were surprised to see clouds rolling off the edge of it and down the sides. We found out later that the clouds that constantly hover there are nicknamed the tablecloth, but we weren't lucky enough to see it pouring over again. Eventually, we headed back to the hostel to bed.
The following morning, we arranged some trips and gathered some information about the town before heading to the Robben Island Visitors Center where we hoped to purchase tickets. At the time, we were blissfully unaware that tickets to the island sell out weeks in advance. We ended up waiting in line for several hours in the hopes that someone would be unable to use tickets they had previously purchased. Three or four hours into the wait, a man came up next to myself and the rest of the standby line and asked the lady behind the counter if she could perform any miracles. She groaned and started typing information into her computer while giving us a lecture about how much trouble she might get into. Within 15 minutes, we had our tickets for the next boat ride.
Although Robben Island is a quaint little museum town now, it has an infamous history. It had long been used for imprisonment, but in the 1960's, the government started using it to incarcerate people who protested or spoke out opposing apartheid. Some of the famous people who had been held prisoner there include Walter Sisulu, Nelson Mandela, Jacob Zuma, Govan Mbeki, and Robert Sobukwe.
Our tour guide was a former inmate and he showed us the current town on the island, the prison including Nelson Mandela's cell, the lighthouse, and the penguins and rabbits who call the island home. It was late in the day when we finally arrived back home and we went to bed early because we had a big day in front of us.
The following morning, we were up early with our daypacks ready and armed for a brief but strenuous hike up the Platteklip Gorge route at Table Mountain. It was a gorgeous hike and we were rewarded with breathtaking views at the top. When we reached the table top, we were able to walk around the periphery looking over the city, out at Robben Island and the Atlantic Ocean and over to the Cape of Good Hope. It was stunning.
We headed down via the cable car then hopped a taxi out to Green Point Market. We spent quite a long time at the market admiring all the goods for sale from all over the continent. Every variety of handmade jewelry, dyed and painted cloth, carvings in various mediums, trinkets and art were available. Eventually, my legs were worn out, and as Matt eyed up antler bottle openers, I sat down with a nice couple from Kenya and we talked about Cape Town and traveling. Finally, Matt and I headed back to the backpackers for an early evening.
The following morning, we ate breakfast before heading out on our scheduled vineyard tour in the Stellenbosch region. We spent the day visiting the Villiere, Beyerskloof, Dieu Donné, and Fairview vineyards, learning how red and white wine and champagne are made and exploring the vineyard country. I also learned some neat wine-tasting skills like how to judge the age and why aerating is important before testing the flavor.
The next day brought on our Cape Point tour. We spent the day driving, hiking and biking all over the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point, visiting Hout Bay (where people from Cape Town used to procure timber), traveling along Chapman's Peak Drive (a scenic drive along the Atlantic Ocean), and saying hi to the penguins at Boulders Beach (if you want to see them playing, click here).
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Our last full day in Cape Town allowed us to see some of the sights within the city limits. First we visited the Castle of Good Hope which was a fort built by the Dutch East India Company in the mid 1600's. Then we headed over to the District 6 Museum where we learned the history of the infamous community. In the Nineteenth Century, the neighborhood was a thriving settlement of people of all races and backgrounds, but by 1966, 60,000 people had been forcibly removed to allow the area to become an all-white neighborhood. It was tragic and a scene that played out repeatedly during the era of apartheid.
Later in the afternoon, we spent some time walking along Government Avenue, looking at the parks and museums before heading back to hide from the drizzle and pack our bags for Durban. Before dusk, we headed out to watch the sun set at Camps Bay before returning for bed.
The pictures in this post are: warthog x-ing, Mandela's cell, me and the view of Cape Town and Table Mountain from Robben Island, Cape Town from Table Mountain, the hills and vines surrounding the Dieu Donné Vineyard, the Cape of Good Hope, the penguins at Boulders, poems carved in a cell door at the fort, a public apology outside the District 6 Museum, and the sunset at Camps Bay.
The following morning, we arranged some trips and gathered some information about the town before heading to the Robben Island Visitors Center where we hoped to purchase tickets. At the time, we were blissfully unaware that tickets to the island sell out weeks in advance. We ended up waiting in line for several hours in the hopes that someone would be unable to use tickets they had previously purchased. Three or four hours into the wait, a man came up next to myself and the rest of the standby line and asked the lady behind the counter if she could perform any miracles. She groaned and started typing information into her computer while giving us a lecture about how much trouble she might get into. Within 15 minutes, we had our tickets for the next boat ride.
Although Robben Island is a quaint little museum town now, it has an infamous history. It had long been used for imprisonment, but in the 1960's, the government started using it to incarcerate people who protested or spoke out opposing apartheid. Some of the famous people who had been held prisoner there include Walter Sisulu, Nelson Mandela, Jacob Zuma, Govan Mbeki, and Robert Sobukwe.
Our tour guide was a former inmate and he showed us the current town on the island, the prison including Nelson Mandela's cell, the lighthouse, and the penguins and rabbits who call the island home. It was late in the day when we finally arrived back home and we went to bed early because we had a big day in front of us.
The following morning, we were up early with our daypacks ready and armed for a brief but strenuous hike up the Platteklip Gorge route at Table Mountain. It was a gorgeous hike and we were rewarded with breathtaking views at the top. When we reached the table top, we were able to walk around the periphery looking over the city, out at Robben Island and the Atlantic Ocean and over to the Cape of Good Hope. It was stunning.
We headed down via the cable car then hopped a taxi out to Green Point Market. We spent quite a long time at the market admiring all the goods for sale from all over the continent. Every variety of handmade jewelry, dyed and painted cloth, carvings in various mediums, trinkets and art were available. Eventually, my legs were worn out, and as Matt eyed up antler bottle openers, I sat down with a nice couple from Kenya and we talked about Cape Town and traveling. Finally, Matt and I headed back to the backpackers for an early evening.
The following morning, we ate breakfast before heading out on our scheduled vineyard tour in the Stellenbosch region. We spent the day visiting the Villiere, Beyerskloof, Dieu Donné, and Fairview vineyards, learning how red and white wine and champagne are made and exploring the vineyard country. I also learned some neat wine-tasting skills like how to judge the age and why aerating is important before testing the flavor.
The next day brought on our Cape Point tour. We spent the day driving, hiking and biking all over the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point, visiting Hout Bay (where people from Cape Town used to procure timber), traveling along Chapman's Peak Drive (a scenic drive along the Atlantic Ocean), and saying hi to the penguins at Boulders Beach (if you want to see them playing, click here).
.jpg)
Our last full day in Cape Town allowed us to see some of the sights within the city limits. First we visited the Castle of Good Hope which was a fort built by the Dutch East India Company in the mid 1600's. Then we headed over to the District 6 Museum where we learned the history of the infamous community. In the Nineteenth Century, the neighborhood was a thriving settlement of people of all races and backgrounds, but by 1966, 60,000 people had been forcibly removed to allow the area to become an all-white neighborhood. It was tragic and a scene that played out repeatedly during the era of apartheid.
Later in the afternoon, we spent some time walking along Government Avenue, looking at the parks and museums before heading back to hide from the drizzle and pack our bags for Durban. Before dusk, we headed out to watch the sun set at Camps Bay before returning for bed.
The pictures in this post are: warthog x-ing, Mandela's cell, me and the view of Cape Town and Table Mountain from Robben Island, Cape Town from Table Mountain, the hills and vines surrounding the Dieu Donné Vineyard, the Cape of Good Hope, the penguins at Boulders, poems carved in a cell door at the fort, a public apology outside the District 6 Museum, and the sunset at Camps Bay.
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