The Mother City (Cape Town, South Africa)

Looking out over Cape Town

After three weeks travelling across Botswana and Namibia, the city of Cape Town was a welcome sight as it neared in to view as the truck headed down the N7 motorway. This meant a break from sleeping in tents, an end to long days on the road and, of course, being reunited with Rachel again and the beginning of our month together in South Africa over Christmas and New Year.

Once I said my goodbyes to my fellow travellers from the overland truck, there was some urgent business to attend to – the beard! After eight weeks without shaving it was starting to look a little wild and Rachel made it clear it had to go. So as you can see from the photos it was bye bye to my resplendent facial hair and hello again to plain old clean shaven Dan (can you tell I was a little sad to see it go?)

Before

After!

The next ten days or so were then spent exploring the fantastic city that is Cape Town and all that it has to offer. I was very much in my element as the city offers the twin attractions of lots of beaches to swim at and a large mountain to climb right on the city’s doorstep. My first full day in Cape Town was therefore spent scaling Table Mountain, the distinctive summit which towers over the city. It was a tough, hot scrabble through a gorge to the top, but very much worth it for the stunning views over the city which greet you at the top. There is the option of a cable car ride to the top, but where’s the fun it that?!

Cape Town view from the top of Table Mountain

That evening we also took in the sunset over the Atlantic Ocean from the top of Signal Hill, another fantastic lookout over the city and Table Bay, although this we drove up!

 After a relaxing Sunday taking in a food market at Hout Bay and a dip in the sea at Llandudno Beach,  I then took a trip to Robben Island to visit the former high security prison where Nelson Mandela had spent much of his 27 years in jail during the apartheid regime in South Africa. While the story of his incarceration and subsequent ‘walk to freedom’ is reasonably well known, it was incredibly powerful to be shown around the prison by one of his fellow political prisoners and to see the small cell where he was confined for so long. Looking back at Cape Town from the island also brought home the terrible isolation that must have been felt in being able to see such a beautiful city across the water, but not know if you would ever live to set foot in it again. The prison itself has been kept relatively unchanged with very few displays or exhibits, which adds to the power of the place.

The former political prisoner who showed us around Robben Island

Nelson Mandela's cell

View of Cape Town from Robben Island

Following another couple of days exploring Cape Town, we then headed out of the city to Franschoek, a charming town in the heart of the South African winelands. Although an ideal spot for relaxing, perhaps inevitably we still found plenty of time for adventure, including a walk in the hills above the valley and a mountain bike ride in sweltering heat to a nearby reservoir. We did though manage to squeeze in some wine tasting and a posh picnic so it wasn’t all hard work!

Walking near Franschoek

Let's off road!

Picnic lunch in a vineyard

Pretending to know something about wine tasting

After three nights in Franschoek, we headed back to Cape Town via a short detour to Hermanus, usually a great spot for spotting whales. Unfortunately we weren’t there at the right time of year, but we did take a wander along the sea front before taking a dramatic scenic drive along the coast.

Surprised by a big wave near Hermanus

Once back in Cape Town, we then had a great day at Newlands, Cape Town’s iconic cricket ground at the foot of Table Mountain. We hadn’t quite timed our period in Cape Town to coincide with a Test Match between South Africa and New Zealand, but we were able to attend a match between Cape Town’s Cape Cobras and Johannesburg’s Nashua Titans. Many of the big name Test players were away with the national squad, but the Cape Cobras secured a comfortable victory all the same. There were only around a hundred spectators in the ground (despite entry being free), but that did mean we were able to comfortably wander around the ground and on to the pitch at the intervals.

Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town

On Christmas Eve, we took a drive down to the Cape of Good Hope, often thought of as Africa’s most southerly point and the point where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet (in fact its Cape Aguillas on both counts - a headland slightly further east fact fans). The scenery along the headland was particularly dramatic, with huge waves crashing against the rocks below and a number of shipwrecks off the coast that had obviously missed the two lighthouses at Cape Point. We drove back along the stunning Chapmans Peak scenic drive which rewarded us with fantastic views of the coastline, before we stopped off for a sunset dip in the sea at Camps Bay, one of the most beautiful spots for a swim in Cape Town.

On the edge of Africa at the Cape of Good Hope

The road to Chapmans Peak

Hout Bay

Sunset swim

And so to Christmas Day, which was for me somewhat unusual as rather than the usual day with the family in cold, wet Kent, we were treated to a fantastic sunny day and were able to head to the beach! We earned our beach time with a strenuous early morning walk up Lions Head (another viewpoint over the city) before heading back to Camps Bay for a picnic and more swimming in the sea. The day was rounded off with a braai (South African barbeque) on which we cooked ostrich, steak and chicken, as well as devouring a large cheese board and lots of chocolate – yum!

Christmas Day at Lions Head

Festive sunbathing

Cheers!

The next morning we were up early to begin a road trip across South Africa – more about which in the next blog...!