Cape Town, South Africa 2018

Pretty Harbour in Cape Town

The next day we flew to Cape Town where we had another enjoyable 2 days. We did a local tour of Cape Town visiting the botanical gardens where we saw the national flower, the Protea, and we did a day trip down the Cape of Good Hope - the furthest south-eastern most point of South Africa. 

African penguins

We went down via the western side and stopped to visit the lighthouse there, then back up to Cape Town via the eastern side of the cape, calling in to see an African penguin colony on the way near Simons Town. Most female penguins were sitting on eggs, or already had brown furry chicks in their sandy 'nest'. Sadly the penguin numbers are dwindling, and considering that we saw a mongoose boldly eating an egg at the back of the colony, I daresay that is one of the causes of their demise. 

Table Mountain was shrouded in cloud on the day of our tour, and so although it was a fine day, it would have been a worthless trip up the mountain as there was no visibility to Cape Town below. Instead we visited Signal Hill, and witnessed the midday firing of the Noon gun - or cannon - a practice begun in 1806 so that the sailors could check their marine chronometers and reset their time if necessary.

I daresay everyone has heard about the Cape Town drought and how the city was heading for Day Zero when it was predicted the city would run out of water. Some recent rains had raised Cape Town dam water levels from 11 up to 16%, but rest rooms at tourist facilities reminded us to conserve water, and most only provided hand sanitizer but no running water. Hotels ask guests to refrain from having baths and some have removed bath plugs from the rooms. 

Jen at Cape of Good Hope

Bo-Kaap Area

During our tour we walked around the colourful old Malay quarter. Our guide said the Bo-Kaap area was originally where early Muslim settlers lived. They tended to be skilled tradespeople such as tailors, shoe makers and so on. Apparently their houses had to all be painted white. After apartheid forced changes, the occupants decided to paint their homes bright colours. 

Albino Squirrel in Company's Gardens