South Africa has always been on my travel wish list - thinking of an exotic safari and perhaps some beautiful beaches. After our trip to
Kenya, this got put on the back burner, since we had our safari adventure for the year (or perhaps lifetime!)
However, 2 months after my trip to Kenya, my luck self was back on a plane over Africa headed towards South Africa.
To be honest, I did have a stop in Johannesburg (or Joburg as almost everyone calls it), but it wasn't long enough to admire anything other than the terrible traffic and the inside of the airport for 3 hours because of a flight delay.
And while I made it to my hotel at 1 am, with a 5 am wake-up call the next day, my first views of Cape Town were magical. Driving in at night, you can still see the outlines of the mountain looming in the background, and hear the crash of the waves. My hotel, Camps Bay Retreat, had a rope suspension bridge that I had to walk across to get to the room, almost making me feel like I was on a jungle retreat.
Over the next three days, despite a large lack of sleep and very busy work day, I made the most of my time in Cape Town.
The first two days were spent close to "home" at Camps Bay. In my jetlagged state on the first day, I only made it down to the beach, but could have stayed for hours. It was a popular destination in the evening, with everyone from families, to couples, to people with their pups enjoying the beautiful weather (although not the water which is apparently always frigid).
We joined the ranks as we walked along the shore, climbed some rocks for a better view of the beach, then had dinner close by where we could watch the sunset over the water.
The next day was a stop to one of the main attractions in Cape Town - Table Mountain. As I was by myself, I took the cable car up, trying to ignore the heights and grateful that it got us to the top so quickly. I had planned to only stay up to snap a few photos, then head back to the beach, but after seeing the views, I knew it would be more than a pit stop.
I wandered along the front side of the mountain facing the see first, with beautiful views of the ocean, the city, Signal Hill and even Robbin's Island. Then I headed towards the backside of the mountain, with views still beautiful, although less protected by rails, so a tad bit scary for this girl with a fear of heights.
Walking back towards the front, I saw a 'table cloth' beginning to drape one of the mountains closer to the see, a phenomenon which gave the mountain its name. In the distance, was the Cape Point. I was wishing now that I had some good hiking shoes to join the others in heading that direction. Since I wasn't so prepared, I took a seat (and a selfie) and just enjoyed the views before it was time for me to head back to the hotel for my braiia, a South African bbq feast on my last night in Cape Town.
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