Our Holiday Part 2

Cape Town is around five hours from Knysna give or take depending on speed and other traffic. With that in mind, we decided to push through only stopping for gasoline early on. Taryn had warned us that the drive after Mossel Bay would be very boring, but we actually found it quite beautiful. From Port Elizabeth to Mossel Bay we drove along the ocean, so when it was time to turn inland and drive among the mountainous region between Mossel Bay and Cape Town we were ready for the change. All of the beauty in the world, however, could not prevent it from being a five hour drive so needless to say (therefore I will say it anyway) it was long and arduous.

I was very excited because we were making great time as we passed through the last town before Cape Town. It was beginning to get dark and the roads were curving up into the mountains. These are not what I would describe as ideal driving conditions. My excitement dimmed slightly as the lights of Cape Town came into view. The city itself is beautiful (and it was night, so we were in for a real treat in the morning), but what was not particularly pleasing was the line of traffic that was backed up along the mountain and was seemingly endless.
I must say here that this was the lowest point of the trip…which speaks volumes of our holiday!

Anyway, I was hungry, cranky and tired of driving…in this aspect Gretchen performed splendidly as a traveling companion. Patience with my grumblings and continued optimism and positive comments about the city prevented a meltdown. The next hour of waiting (it actually moved fairly quickly) surrounded two topics of diversion. First, the radio stations; more specifically their choice in music and our selection. There were only a few stations to choose from, but what Gretchen and I were amazed about was the fact that they were the same stations we could get in Port Elizabeth! We were able to get signals throughout our trip, even in the mountains…barring any tunnel or bridge interference of course. The radio station that brought us the most amusement was one that had a romance theme that evening. It was all older music and many of the songs had questionable lyrics. (a lack of swear words was replaced by saturation of suggestive ones).

The second way to bide our time was to ensure we were not following a ‘stinky car’, as we called them. The diversity of vehicle makes, models and years truly made this game worth playing…after all, what else did we have to do. The goal was to avoid cars that we judged would spew suffocating exhaust at us and to attempt to follow only cars which would supply us with an atmosphere more conducive to breathing.

Our game ended and we were allowed to proceed onward to our destination: the Best Western. My navigator once again shined as she guided us straight to the hotel. We checked in and ran into a slight road block. The next section is more of a report on the hotel than anything else, I will try and keep it brief.
We only chose Best Western because of their promise of free, unlimited internet. Gretchen and I had planned on doing a lot of internet-related things and were excited about the opportunity of not using our pre-paid data. I suppose they fulfilled their end of that, but ‘sketchy’ is the kindest word I can think of to describe how they went about it. Upon arrival the staff informed us that we were given a 50 megabyte voucher to log into their internet…50 megabytes. This would have been plenty if all we had wanted to do is check our e-mail and do a little browsing. However, because we were planning to, among other things, upload pictures and videos, 50 megabytes was simply not enough. They warily gave us more, and we worked things out, but it was still an interesting (and misleading) situation.

Internet issues aside, the Best Western was safe, comfortable and the breakfast buffet (which was included) was amazing. We were actually able to only eat light lunches because of the copious amount of food we consumed in the mornings.

My professor said that Cape Town is the most beautiful city in the world. I must say we were not disappointed. It is set between a mountain and the ocean. As one looks out from Table Mountain the view is incredible. Unfortunately, due to weather conditions, the cable car was not running during our visit, so we were only able to go as high as one can drive…still pretty high. The comical part is that every day we would call in the morning and were told the cable car was running. However, by the time we got up there, they had closed it down! As usual, it is difficult to capture the majesty of a scenic view, but here is our attempt.

The People of Cape Town are able to enjoy this view every day

On our way up Table Mountain

Our view from Table Mountain

The other experience that Mother Nature decided to deprive us of was a tour of Robben Island…tours were cancelled until after we would be leaving Cape Town. Robben Island is the island where Nelson Mandela was prisoner. The tours are full of history, thorough and are led by former inmates! It was disappointing to miss, but one cannot control nature so we did not dwell on it. Instead, we looked around the exhibit they had displayed for a bit, then headed to lunch.

We ate at a restaurant called Quay 4. It is part of the V and A waterfront and provided free wifi…so I ran back to the car to get the laptop. The meal was adequate, but Gretchen and I laughed a bit about me running back just for the internet!

The two of us at Quay 4

The V and A waterfront is an area full of shops, restaurants and street performers. It includes several malls and activities to do in the harbor. Gretchen and I walked through the malls and enjoyed the musicians for the afternoon.

Gretchen posing at the V and A waterfront

Our destination the following morning was in Simon’s Town about 45 minutes from the Best Western. We ate our hearty breakfast and hit the road (though not too hard). Boulder’s Beach was the specific place of interest, though we had planned on seeing what kind of shops and cafés Simon’s Town had to offer. Boulder’s Beach was part of a national park that contained South African penguins! Never in our lives have we been so close to penguins nor will we likely encounter penguins so closely again in the wild. I actually had a slight brush with danger as I walked up stairs and a penguin stuck its beak through (no doubt trying to munch off my toes!). There were two different sections Gretchen and I went to and we more than likely took way too many photographs and videos…but they’re penguins! Here are some photos from there.

There were also signs warning us of the biting penguins!

There were two groups of penguins this size on the boulders (the other was larger, I believe)

We were able to get very close to the penguins

I am not sure we had our fill of the penguin experience, but we needed to head back nonetheless. Before getting back on the road, we looked through the different shops and street venders. It was largely the same as we have seen in other areas, though prices varied a little.

That afternoon we had High Tea at the Mount Nelson Hotel. Actually staying there was a bit (try $400 US per person per night!), but we think we got the long end of the stick. We arrived with a bit of trouble actually finding the place and were welcomed by a friendly staff. I cannot recall exactly what they said to us as I was distracted by decadence so enticing and in such a large quantity that resistance was futile. The actual tea was very good. Gretchen got ‘Forrestberry’ and I got the Mount Nelson Hotel’s personal brand. However, the chocolate cake, chocolate eclaires and other things…chocolate…made the experience for me. There were other, non-chocolate, sweets and some substantial food but my course was not deviated. Apparently the other food was very good as well (and I would assume so), but I allowed Gretchen to test that! I must not forget to mention the actual hotel. It was very pretty and the atmosphere was wonderful. We took some pictures by a fountain we looked out over during our tea. Taryn said it was a ‘must do’, and it also has our stamp of approval!

This picture is dedicated to all of the chocolate lovers...what an incredible spread

Gretchen preparing her Forrestberry tea

Gretchen and me by the Mount Nelson Hotel fountain

Despite full stomaches your favorite South African adventurers pushed onward. It was getting late in the afternoon, but Gretchen had one more idea. We decided to drive to the Green Square. Due to construction it was a bit hard to get to, but once there it was a fun little bazaar where we shopped around.

Our time in Cape Town was over. We checked out of the hotel the next morning and headed for our next destination...

Also, with the help of Rob Ghosh, I have digitally enhanced the first part of our holiday. Big hitters those ewoks!