I’m in love with the Cape Town area. I can’t believe we have less than two weeks here before heading to Rwanda. There is still so much I want to see and do before we leave! Even re-do some of the things we’ve done! I find our calendar filling up so fast with adventures with the wonderful people we have met here. That’s ok…when we're done running around seeing the world, we can come back and live for a year or maybe even two, like maybe in this apartment for 25,000R/month (US$1,660/month) or this one in Gordon’s Bay for only 12,000R/month (US$795/month)?

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of activity with my mom and Kel visiting us here. It’s so exciting when people visit, and we get to show them our favorite spots and check the touristy things off the list with them!

Flying from the US to South Africa is a looooong trip, generally at least about 24 hours of travel time. Add the time difference of seven hours from the east coast into the mix, and you can expect to be exhausted when you get in. We figured their first day here could be a relaxed one exploring Kalk Bay on the False Bay coastline. It’s is known for its interesting shops, vast selection of restaurants and stunning views. It’s the perfect low key, slow pace kinda place to meander.

After allowing a whole day to get over their flights and jet-lag—that’s what you can expect when you visit us, one day of relaxation—we set off on a whirlwind of adventure. The word of the trip was “amazing.”

We packed a lot into the twelve days they were here: scenic drives, hiking, penguins, local markets, beaches, safaris, seals, shark diving, a cold for mom and Kel, and a stomach bug for me and mom!

Scenic Drives and Hiking

Chapman Peak Drive. This drive is amazingly scenic and quite the engineering feat with rockfall protection measures and a half tunnel (making for some pretty nifty views).

The Chapman Peak drive brought us to the Boulders Penguin Colony. Jim and I were there a few weeks earlier, but what a difference a few weeks makes. When we were there at the beginning of January, we saw almost no penguins nesting. This time there were eggs everywhere and mamas and papas building nests and sitting on eggs. So cool.

Cape Point. Again, just one word: “amazing.” Here we made mom and Kel work off their jet lag with a few hikes to take in the incredible views from the most Southwestern corner of Africa. We hiked up to the lighthouse (rather than taking the Flying Dutchman funicular–where's the fun in that?) and down to the (deserted) Diaz Beach. The weather was perfect but these beaches aren’t meant for swimming. The waves are HUGE and impressive. The beach is right at the very tip of Cape Point at the base of cliffs that look exactly like the Cliffs of Insanity (about 600-700 feet high). Fortunately, there are loooooong steep wooden staircases to get down there and they don’t make you climb a rope a la Andre the Giant/Fezzik.

Plattekip Gorge up Table Mountain. I tried to kill my mother (don’t worry, that’s a running, inside joke) by hiking up Table Mountain via Plattekip Gorge in the hot intense sun with no breeze at all. This hike is relentless. It’s up, up, up. Not as bad as a Colorado 14er… but it was just so darn hot that day.

Silvermine. The views on any hike you do here are just awe inspiring. Views, wildflowers, and more views.

Lions Head. Our hike up Lions Head included ladders and chains and mom’s shoe falling apart. Seriously, it was like the hiking gods did not want her hiking in Cape Town! We switched shoes on our way down–I figured it was better for me to have a shoe with no sole/traction than my mother! I swear, I’m really not trying to kill her…

Water Adventures

Sharks. Which leads us to diving with the sharks. I swear I'm not trying to kill my mother! We went cage diving with sharks: big metal bars between us and any potential sharks. This was supposed to be Kel’s big birthday event. She loves loves loves sharks. We were excited at the chance to see some seven gill sharks and maybe, just maybe, a great white. The great whites haven’t been seen in the area much lately, though. It’s thought that the killer whales (orcas) have scared them out of the area but we were still hopeful!

Alas, the sharks must have spent the day at church or maybe a secretive great white was in the area scaring the other sharks away. There was a recent sighting nearby of some killer whales and that definitely scares the other sharks away. The tour company rescheduled all four of us for another day at no charge, but the weather didn’t cooperate and the second trip never materialized. Jim and I are rescheduled for this week (fingers crossed).

We did get to hang out waiting for the sharks at Seal Island, home to 65,000 seals, no exaggeration! It was fun watching them jump and play in the waves (but OMG they are STINKY).

Seal Snorkeling. We got ourselves geared up (double wet suits with hoods: brrrr… the water temp was only 59 degrees) and out on the boat for a 25-minute boat ride to the best area to get in the water with the seals. As we headed out, the captain warned us that there would only be a 50% chance of getting in the water because the swells were getting big…and WOW I’ve never been on water that rough! Our little speed boat was flying through the air. As a lover of roller coasters, I loved it! :) But seriously, I felt like I was in that movie with Marky Mark about the fishing boat from Gloucester, The Perfect Storm. OK, maybe the waves weren’t that big, but they were the biggest I’ve seen.

Unfortunately, the swells were just too big to get in the water but we didn’t mind because we ended up encountering a pod of humpback whales! Not one, not two, but at least thirty or forty of them hunting. They were breaching and jumping out of the water all around us. We even had one come up right next to the boat and blow: talk about stinky breath. That guy totally needed a breath mint!

So, no seal snorkeling, but a magical hour watching the whales all around us and a glimpse of a sunfish (that was pretending to be very shark-like).

Safari

Then we went on SAFARI! 🦓🐘🦁🐆🐃🦒🦏🦛🐍🐢 Three days on safari seeing the most wonderful animals and overeating at every moment. Me, Jim, Mom and Kel even held a bull python snake 🐍🐍 😮

Alpaca Farm

On our way back to Cape Town from the safari, we did the thing I MOST wanted to do: stop at the Alpaca Farm. 😊 I have no doubt that if we move to Cape Town, I will be a frequent visitor to this farm. Actually, you know what, I’m going to do a whole post just on going to the Alpaca Farm. It warrants its own special post.

Socializing

Before heading to the airport, we were lucky enough to make our schedules work to spend an afternoon with some of our new Cape Town friends. You remember our friends from the side of the road, Kenny and Susan, right? They invited us over for lunch and some socializing (and to pet the dogs, of course). It’s so enjoyable to hang out with such a fun family. Hearing funny stories about the dogs, shared complaints on load shedding (and how it effects even the university), and meeting friends of theirs as well–entertainment at its finest! The most welcoming of hosts!

We were sad to see my mom and Kel leave, but we're excited to see them (and my cousin and his husband!) in Barcelona in just seven weeks.