Monday, January 25, 2010

CAPE POINT TOUR

Today we had arranged for a guided tour of Cape Point. The Cape of Good Hope is the most southwesterly point in South Africa, and it is here that the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic Ocean. Our guide drove us along Chapmans Peak Drive, one of the worlds most scenic drives that is 9 km long with 114 curves and I felt every one of them! First stop was at Hout Bay, a fishing harbor where we boarded a boat to go out to Seal Island. I was so excited to see the Cape Fur Seals until we actually got close to the island and the smell was absolutely unbearable. Who would have thought that those cute little seals could smell so disgusting? Once I was able to take my hands off my nose I took a lot of photos. The seals were so playful and would jump clear of the water and dive back down. There were thousands of them sunning themselves on rocks. At the docks there was an old man with a seal named "Pretty Boy" that he has been feeding for 15 years. The man would hold a fish between his teeth, lean over the seal, and the seal would take it from his mouth! There was a jazz band that greeted us at the dock, made up of Cape Malays which reminded us of New Orleans. The Cape Malays are called "coloreds" and not to be confused with "blacks". The blacks in South Africa want to be called black and not colored - colored referring to those of mixed ethnicity, such as Indians or Malaysians or what we would call Afro-Americans back home. There were lots of arts and crafts for sale, many beaded items, elephant tusks, zebra skins, and wooden animal statues. After Seal Island we continued on to Simons Town at Boulders Beach, where a South African penguin colony lives. They are called "jackass" penguins because they make sounds like a donkey. We ate lunch outdoors at the Black Marlin restaurant and saw seals in the surf as well as baboons around the beaches. After lunch we continued on down to the Cape of Good Hope where we saw a lot of baboons along the beach, climbing on top of cars, stealing peoples shoes, etc. The water was freezing! We went up to the lighthouse and the view was amazing. We could see where the Indian Ocean meets with the Atlantic Ocean, just off the point. It was a popular spot for taking pictures! Then finally winded our way back along Chapmans Peak Drive, with stops along the way. We watched the "Shark Spotters" that overlook the beaches. Shark spotters are people who keep a watch over the beach from the bluffs up above. They use binoculars to look for sharks in the water, as the waters here are known for their sightings of Great White Sharks. When one is sighted, the shark spotter radios down to the lifeguard stations and a siren is sounded to warn everyone to get out of the water. They say a shark is sighted on average about every 3 days. We finally returned to the Cape Royale, with me holding my head over a plastic bag and bolting from the van the minute we stopped. 114 curves times two roundtrip was just a bit too much for me!
Chapmans Peak Scenic Drive along the coast

Part of the road is built into the side of the mountain

This is Wes back at the safari camp but for some reason I couldn't get this to delete!



We had to wait in line to get our picture made with this sign!

Our "Eskimo Joes" picture




Just beyond this point is where the two oceans meet








This was taken from the lighthouse near the top



Despite all the warning signs, there were still people feeding the baboons, who can become very aggressive!




On our way up to the lighthouse






The baboons climbed all over the cars parked alongside the road. Our guide told us they even know how to open the car doors if unlocked and will ransack them for food!

















I wish you could have seen the look on Wesley's face when he felt that icy cold water! :)



Penguins mate for life. This one is sitting on an egg in the nest


Great view while we ate lunch. One of the things I loved most about Cape Town was eating all our meals outdoors. The weather was perfect-sunny and warm but no humidity, cool nights-the kids and I told Shelby we could move to Cape Town!!!



Shelby with the jackass penguins. If you get too close to them, they shake their heads NO to warn you to back off or they'll bite.....










Only a few of them went swimming



At Boulders Beach in Simons Town







The scenery was beautiful but the seals smelled awful!



Boat dock in Hout Bay



Jazz band who greeted us as we returned



It was fun watching the seals swim and play in the water



I can't believe we talked Wes into sitting on this seal! He was such a good sport, but drew the line at putting a fish in his mouth for the seal to get. :)










The sharks hang out around here too, to feed on the seals