Today I woke up and the air was different today. I got up early and had a delicious breakfast literally on the Atlantic Ocean. During my delicious buffet style breakfast I sat and reflected on the road trip ahead of me today. We are about to escape the cape with a road trip to Cape Point.
Soon after breakfast I received word we would head to Table Mountain first while it was open. The valuable tip about visiting Table Mountain is that when there are strong winds and/or clouds they close the visitor center to go on top of the mountain. I’ve had a friend attempt to visit four times and leave home without making it up. Knowing that made the change of plans more exciting because the weather was perfect and it wasn’t a cloud in the sky.
photo credit: @darodi
photo credit: @darodi
We leave the Radisson Blu Hotel and take a 25-minute ride to the entrance. It was pretty busy but only took about 30 minutes to ascend to the top on the cable car that rotates 360 degrees during the ride up.
Once you reach the top you see it completely flat. It was absolutely amazing to see in person. A unique fact about Cape Town is that is it has its own flora kingdom with thousands of plants indigenous to the cape.
photo credit: @Darodi
The top of Table Mountain was bustling with people running around taking pictures with Cape Town behind them, looking for various flora and admiring the various view points the mountain has to offer. My favorite part was watching the mountain smoke from devils peak. The story is that a Dutch man named Jan van Hunks lived at the foot of the mountain.
photo credit: @darodi
He smoked so much his wife kicked him out the house to smoke. He met a stranger and they had a smoking contest and they smoked so much a cloud covered the mountain. The stranger happened to be the devil and the mountain has been smoking ever since. The funny thing is it was clear as day when I arrived to the top and suddenly clouds started to form over Devil’s Peak.
Table Mountain was the perfect kick off to our road trip to Cape Point; next stop Hout Bay via Chapman’s Peak Drive. Chapman’s Peak Drive is an absolutely gorgeous road the hugs the side of a mountain that shoots in and out of beachfront neighborhoods.
photo credit: @darodi
During the 25-minute ride, our driver would explain all the details about each neighborhood on the ride to Hout Bay. Hout Bay overlook provided a panoramic view of the suburbs.
photo credit: @darodi
After taking a few photos we continue down Chapman’s Peak Drive to Simons Town to visit a Penguin colony at Boulders Beach. The African Penguins migrated to South Africa in the 1980s because of their high sardine population. Penguins living on the beach, can you believe it! I’ve always seen penguins in cold climates and to see them hanging out on the beach popping in and out of the water is pretty cool.
photo credit: @darodi
A boardwalk brings you to boulders beach and it creates a border that prevents direct access to the penguins. I was able to catch two penguins mating and it was hilarious, no inhibition at all. Here is my fair warning, South Africa has strict penalties and are very protective of their penguins. When you visit don’t get any smart ideas with trying to take one home as a souvenir.
By the time we left the colony it was time for lunch and we headed a couple blocks down the street to Seaforth restaurant. Seaforth is a charming seafood restaurant that happens to sit on the ocean, with an open-air patio that would be our dinning location.
After surveying the menu I decided to go with the Mozambican Tiger Pawns with a vegetable medley and chips. Nothing beats eating fresh seafood with the Atlantic Ocean as your vista while you dine.
My stomach is full and the grand finale awaits and we proceed for 25 minutes to drum roll…Cape Point. Cape Point is special because theoretically this location is where the chilly Atlantic Ocean and the warm Indian Ocean collide. We arrived and boarded a tram for a quick ride to the base of the look out point.
From here you can see infinite views of the Atlantic Ocean. The next step is to climb zigzagging stairs to the lighthouse. The closer you get to the top views of the Indian Ocean side are revealed.
Arrival to the lighthouse releases a feeling of accomplishment. I have made to the bottom of the map! The only place to go from here is Antarctica and I wasn’t dressed for that trip today.
photo credit: @darodi
Panoramic views of Cape Point lead me to wonder about how the Dutch found this place? Who had the guts and determination to keep sailing in this direction? So many questions with so little time and not enough answers. I came back from my daydream and enjoy the surrounds from the top.
photo credit: @darodi
There was a sign that gave the miles to cities across the world and from this point I was 7792 miles from New York City, which meant I was 8000 plus miles from Los Angeles.
The random moment of the day was when I was photo bombed by a group of tourist from Shanghai. It funny being black around Chinese tourist, they always want to take a picture with you LOL. Nevertheless it was the icing on the cake for an awesome day!
photo credit: @darodi
Oh one more thing on our way out we came across a couple of baboons that hangout near the exit. They’re cute but viciously smart and will hangout on your car while its moving. They will act harmless and approach your car only to try and open your doors or windows to enter looking for food. Check this guy out trying to get close! Now its time to escape to the hotel for some rest after an amazing road trip to Cape Point!
photo credit: @darodi