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| Africa > South Africa > Cape Town > Mar, 2006  2 slideshows
 1 blog
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South African Rand (ZAR) ZAR 1 = US$ 0.1624 US$ 1 = ZAR 6.16 check current rates |
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Overview:
We drove around the
Cape Peninsula
on the afternoon after visiting Table Mountain, and again the following day.
Tip: Get an early start on the day for the peninsula, without seeing an attraction
in town first.Large chunks of the peninsula are part of the Table Mountain NP which, as the name implies, includes Table Mountain itself. |
NP = National Park |
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Satellite Photo:
See this satellite map
of the Cape Town area with pushpins and then zoom in at least once. |
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Details:
We cruised down the M3 again to Muizenberg and then down the east coast of the peninsula
past Kalk Bay to quaint Simon's Town, home of the nearby penguin colony at Boulders.
We ate lunch at Meeting Place on the main street "downtown," sitting on the large 2nd floor balcony.
They had no power in town at the time (remember the rolling blackouts)
so we could only order tasty cold deli food and drinks (no coffee!). |
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We meandered to a nearby park overlooking the harbour, where more wooden statues and bowls were sold
(similar statues/masks/beads to the ones we had seen in Kenya/Tanzania, plus statues like the one
I bought during the township tour). |
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Just south of Simon's Town is a big
penguin colony
at Boulders.
There were enough penguins (inc. two babies!) near the parking lot, that we didn't bother paying
to go inside the main area (also, we were short on time).
We were able to get quite close to the penguins (3m rule)!
There was a "funny" sign warning you to check under your car for penguins! |
Tip: you can also get to Simon's Town by train | |||
Then we drove to the
Cape of Good Hope NR
even though it was getting late in the day;
in fact, the concessions were already closed (what, no coffee?)
Baboons at the parking lot near the light house entertained us, even jumping up on the hood of our car
as soon as we parked! They were lounging about on top of pay phones and drinking from the trickling
water of a faulty drinking fountain (tip: don't drink from the fountain! :-)
We thought at first that they had figured out how to activate that drinking fountain...
We also witnessed a baboon with an erection chase a female across the parking lot
to a more secluded spot. |
R50 pp NR = Nature Reserve |
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Near the lighthouse is a road down to the windy coastline of the Cape of Good Hope proper --
the southwestern most point of Africa! |
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We drove up the west coast a bit, past Kommetjie Lighthouse, then cut across the peninsula
back to cozy Kalk Bay for a romantic candlelit dinner at Café Matisse before returning home
along the M3. |
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The next day we spent another afternoon on the cape peninsula to see
more of the scenery in daylight...We cruised down the M3 again, across Silvermine NR, over Chapman's Peak and down into Hout Bay for a tasty lunch at a little resto w/ a patio, near the beach (we didn't want to wait at the larger, crowded hotel resto next door). |
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Then we cruised up the western coast and stopped briefly a the beach in trendy Camps Bay.
Actually there is a large beach with a California beach-vibe (restos and shops across the street)
and then a smaller beach next door. The water (Atlantic Ocean) was very cold; we could only
manage to dip our feet! |
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Return to
Cape Town
story. |
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