Atlantic OceanCape AgulhasCape of Good HopeCape TownFish HoekFlying DutchmanhyraxIndian OceanpenguinsSimonstadSmash and Grab
The Cape of Good Hope
For the trip to the Cape, the rental car, our little trusted Chevy, would come in handy. Depending on traffic, the trip down there can last anywhere between two and four hours. This requires a steady drive from the western to the eastern cape, from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean.
On our way there, we come across some of the neighborhoods that are less affluent, to put it mildly. Gone are the houses by the beach and the high rise condos, popping up more frequently now are run down houses and shanties. At one traffic light, a sign warns that this is a hotspot for 'Smash and Grab'. Not exactly your typical 'Kiss and Ride' at the DC Metro. Supposedly, this is where people can smash your window in and grab whatever is easy pickings - cell phones, purses, groceries, you name it. This is a place you might like to avoid, especially if you're a blissfully ignorant foreign tourist.
We cruise through Fish Hoek, a charming little seaside town spread out along a gorgeous coast, part rocky, but mainly sandy. There are hardly any buildings higher than two or three stories. Corporate chain stores, although still present, are replaced largely by mom and pop stores. A great place for a weekend beach getaway, if there ever was one.
Eventually the road curls back inland and into the National Park. Contrary to popular belief, the Cape itself is not the southernmost tip of the continent - that honor goes to Cape Agulhas, roughly a hundred miles to the southeast. What, then, is the significance of The Cape of Good Hope? This is where sea vessels cease traveling southward and begin heading east. The area between both capes is where the currents of both oceans meet, which also explains the torrid winds that are so abundant there. Allegedly, this is also where the legendary Flying Dutchman perished, the ghost ship doomed to sail the oceans for all eternity.
Once we reach the visitors' center, we take a different Flying Dutchman, a funicular railway that takes us all the way to the lighthouse and its breathtaking panoramic views. We eventually do get our workout in with the kids, as we venture out to the tip of the peninsula, a healthy half hour hike each way, with the strong winds adding to that time.
Even before we encroached upon this habitat of both wildlife and unique flora, we discovered an ostrich farm before officially entering the national park. Dozens of signs warned of troops of baboons that can terrorize the area and pickpocket as well as as the best (or worst) hoods in the city. The wildlife is abundant near the Cape as well. Near the tip of the peninsula, we encounter a family of hyraxes. A hyrax is a midsize mammal similar in shape to the guinea pig. These animals are not shy in the least and curiously check out the thousands of tourists they cross paths with every day.
The coastal route back takes us through Simonstad, another elegant little seaside town that immediately catches my attention due to two particular street signs. One of them reads 'Golfers', the other one 'Penguins'. Here we find hundreds of penguins bunched up together during shedding time. This is when the birds lose their feathers, or 'molt'. This means that the new coat is unable to protect the African penguins from the water, ensuring that the colonies of penguins, including the ones we see, must fast for the duration of the molt. Little wonder that these penguins look very healthy and fat when we visit them.
Sadly, the African Penguin population numbers roughly 50,000 today, down from an estimated four million only two centuries ago. At this rate, the African Penguin is well on its way to extinction.
Eventually, we return to Table View at sunset, unaware that this trip would take up almost an entire day. However, it did give us a great opportunity to see more of the region outside of the city. South Africa, by anybody's account, is as diverse a country as any and is justifiably mentioned as a tourist hotspot on the continent. Not the easiest place to travel to, surely, but well worth the wait.
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