| Cape Town |
| One of my first sights of Cape Town was during the ride from the airport, when we passed a large township area full of tin houses. |
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| As if I didn't have enough great sunsets already, on the stop in Jo'burg we got this gorgeous last look at the African sky. |
| Cape Town is now one my favourite cities in the world. It sits centrally within the impressive masses of Table Mountain, Lions Head, and Devils Peak, although a huge number of people live in the Cape Flats to the south, and it offers a thriving mix of many cultures. The unavoidable issue is racial tension between "black", "white", and "coloured" people here, as well as distinctions of tribal cultures, as in most of South Africa's big cities. Cape Town has approximately 3-5 million people, depending on how you define it, and there are many things to experience. It presents an interesting set of challenges and exciting possibilities to travellers. |
| I stayed at the Overseas Visitors Club on Long Street when I arrived. It has a large balcony lookiing over this very popular street, as well as a great view of Table Mountain. |
| Opposite the OVC is the Long Street Cafe where many of us would meet for breakfast. Great full English brekkie! |
| Here is an image that was repeated many times - white South Africans at play in contrast to black African misery. I'm not necessarily blaming the whites, ok? I was simply enlightened to this unique division between white and black cultures which I have never before experienced to this degree. |
| At the Green Point Market, which is a regular Sunday event with huge numbers of merchant stalls selling all things African, I saw this group of young dancers. |
| Along with a few guys I met at the OVC I climbed up to the Table Mountain cable car station, giving increasingly impressive views of the city. |
| The cable car goes swiftly up to Table Mountain, with views of the Lions Head. The car rotates as you go up so everyone gets a view. |
| Here are my travelling buddies on top of Table Mountain - one Aussie and two funny guys from Manchester. |
| Many tourisits on top of the huge flat top of Table Mountain. |
| A Rock Dassie and fellow bird beg for food from tourists. People kept feeding them scraps from their pockets while I gave them disapproving looks for doing this. It is unhealthy for animals to become dependent on human food sources. |
| The Protea is South Africa's national flower and can be found all over Table Mountain. |
| Paragliders were gracefully floating all around on this sunny day. |
| One of the classic views of the "City Bowl" from Signal Hill, with the Devils Peak and Table Mountain. |
| Devils Peak standing over the central city... |
| Harsh afternoon sunlight and many tourists on Table Mountain. |
| The beginning of sunset on one of my descents down Table Mountain. |
| The city lights from Signal Hill just after sunset... One of my favourite images. |
| Lions Head and the sea from the track down Table Mountain. I think it's one of the world's great views. |
| I think everyone who visits Cape Town should experience a sunset walk down Table Mountain. It's very steep and is hard on the knees, but if you can manage it and the weather is good you will experience one of the most beautiful views anywhere. If you are a resident of Cape Town you might take this for granted, but like many places I have experienced, it is worth doing again and appreciating that you live in a very special place. |
| Down at the Cape Town waterfront complex is the Two Oceans Aquarium, where there are tanks full of sharks and many other aquatic fish and sub-tropical life forms. |
| A sea turtle in the "predator exhibit" swims gracefully next to sharks and other big fish. |
| My friend Peter from Germany is standing bravely in front of the huge "predator" tank. |
| One of the non-aquatic inhabitants of the Two Oceans Aquarium is this happy-looking iguana. |
| This sealion was sitting proudly on the docks at the waterfront when I first arrived. |
| A very animated singing group were performing outside the Robben Island ferry terminal on my first day in Cape Town, and gave me one of my first tastes of black Africa. |
| The tour of Robben Island was conducted by a man who was imprisoned here for 15 years. Most of the guides are in fact former inmates, which gives the tour a harsh sense of reality. |
| Looking over to Cape Town from Robben Island, I tried to imagine how oppressing it must have felt to be so close to freedom and yet be unable to reach it. |
| Moody clouds were building up over Table Mountain as the Robben Island ferry returned. It is common for this to occur in the late afternoon, and the layer of clouds is referred to as the "tablecloth". |
| On the northwest side of Table Mountain are the beaches of Clifton and Camps Bay - and South Africa's most expensive real estate. It's a gorgeous setting, but the water is very cold due to the Antarctic current. |
| On a tour of the south cape, we did a bit of bike riding along the Atlantic coast and past this misty beach near Scarborough |
| There is one backpacker hostel in Simon's Town, and below it is a great African crafts shop selling masks from all over the continent. |
| Over on the False Bay side of the point is Simon's Town, a charming town in a dramatic location. I stayed a couple of nights out here and it was great to wake up with the cape point at my doorstep. |
| Of course something almost every tourist does during their cape point visit is come see the African Penguins at Boulders Beach. |
| At the beach near Muizenberg near the end of my visit to South Africa and trying to get some last-minute sun. |
| The African Penguin is also referred to as the Jackass Penguin, because of their donkey-like call. There are many paths leading around the beach where the penguins can be found nestling under bushes and behind the many large rounded boulders. There is a pervasive somewhat flowery smell of dung in the air. In the rock pools at the south end of the beach you can swim with the penguins. |
| Along the coast near Kalk Bay is this beach with beautifully colourful beach huts. Makes for good pictures with the cape point in the background. |
| The cape point in the background with the towns of Kalk Bay and Fish Hoek |
| At the start of the path leading out to the lighthouse viewpoint, is this popular spot to have your picture taken. |
| The cape point itself is inside a nature reserve, but that doesn't stop the touristic feel of the kiosk and gift shops near the car park and cable car lift. Here a group of Xosa guys in traditional costume dance for the visitors. |
| near the end of the trail to the viewpoint, you can look back at the lighthouse lookout and, in this case, an impressive sunset. |
| There is a small stone hut near the end of the point, which was a watch house during war times. |
| And here we are at the end of Africa, and you're not officially allowed to go any further, unless you can get a boat to Antarctica. |
| Back to Cape Town for the flight out, and one more magic evening along the waterfront. |
| ...and speaking of sunsets, this was the last night on the cape point, at the beach near Scarborough. Nice memories... |
| On the flight out I got one last look at the cape point and Simon's Town with the "Cape of Good Hope" in the background. Somehow I know I'll be back one day. |
| I went back to Cape Town at the end, to spend a few days doing last-minute things (mostly shopping). This time I stayed at Ashanti Lodge, and I can highly recommend it as a great place to meet people or start your South African journey. |
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