Cape Point

 

We picked up our hire car in the morning, a VW Polo. This is our transport for the rest of the holiday. Our journey for today was to drive down to Cape Point. First stop was Simon’s Town, followed by a walk to the Boulders National park to see the Penguins. Simon’s Town is the location of the first naval base in South Africa. Its sits on the Atlantic Ocean and is exposed directly to the winds of the ocean. It was windy today, but the wind must be brutal during a storm.

Then on down to Cape Point, where the victorian era light house is situated. The south cape area is part of the Table Mountain National park, so they charge to enter. A wind swept terrain with many different wild animals, including Baboons who look for food from passing cars.

 

Cape Point is on the east of the tip of the Cape, and Cape of Good Hope on the west. The old light house is at Cape Point, where you can park and walk to Cape of Good Hope. Time didn’t allow us to walk to the Cape of Good Hope, but spending time at light house gave us an insight into why this area has been the down fall of so many ships. Wind, Rocks and bad weather make this stretch of coast notoriously dangerous, However, it is also incredibly beautiful, which seems a common theme for much of South Africa.

        

Our home journey took us up the east coast, with golden white sand beaches. Kite surfers were out on the water at Witsand beach, riding the waves and launching themselves in the air. 

And then back to our hotel for dinner, plus some load shedding. Due to power contrainsts, buildings across South Africa are removed from the power grid at specific times to balance the power grid. A little sign of the economic challenges this amazing country is facing.