Check out a few of our videos related to this post on YouTube:
Driving the Garden Route on the "other" side
More Driving footage
Local musicians at Sunday market in Sedgefield
Absailing on Table Mountain
Well, camp/tour part of trip is over and we have been been "dropped" into Cape Town. Wow, what a difference a days drive makes. The city is big, modern, bustling with people and surrounded by mountains, specifically, Table Mountain. Just beautiful. Our hostel, Once in Cape Town, is a happening place full of younger people, helpful staff and easy access to everything. One sad observation tho, is how many young (20-35ish) people smoke, everywhere and all the time. Oh well.
We start our visit by taking 2 free walking tours, one historical and one, more focused on the local muslim area and its culture. There is so much to learn, appreciate and be aware of in this city. Its come a long, long way, thankfully, yet according to our local guide, a recent editorial in the paper and some personal observation, it still has a way to go. Of course, you can say the same thing about the good ol US of A when it comes to certain diversity issues.
Pics of Table mountain are self explanatory.....looks just like a giant table top. Synagogue was beautiful with a rich history and still vibrant community of approximately 30,000 today.
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| Parliment and British Dutch Architectural influence |
Bo Kamp is a colorful area, housing mosques, the Muslim community, many who came from Indonesia. Homes were painted to tell of the owner, eg. the blue house at the top of the hill is the doctor, the red house, the tailor etc. Today, the colors bring tourists to the area and visibility to this community.
And then, there was Robben Island, home to Nelson Mandela and other political prisonors for decades. The tour starts with a guided bus ride around the island and then a personal tour of the prison, conducted by a former prisoner, and is as real as it gets. Tho some reviews suggested tour was contrived, we found it believable, incredible and well done. No complaints for boat ride or tours once you arrive. If you are so Inclined, read more here.
Robben Island info
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| Mandelas cell |
Starting to feel like a "regular" vacation vs traveling about now. We leave Cape Town by car (rental), and drive East to see much of the Garden Route. Aaron tackles driving on the other side of the road, dealing with stick shift on your left and a picky clutch while I navigate. We make a great team the next 700 miles!! Only a few wrong turns, one wrong side of the road and lots of white knuckles! We surprise ourselves at each town with the beautiful rooms we reserved, the fabulous views and great food we are treated to each meal. The internet, Trip Advisor and Lonely Planet for planning don't let us down. As a side note, we actually met one of the authors of the Lonely Planet book on Cape Town that we were using. She was updating the next edition. What a neat job!
Brenton on the Sea, near Knysna, the furtherest point on Garden Route for us, on the Indian Ocean. The Heads, East and West cliffs are supposedly one of the most dangerous harbors to navigate due to rocks, depth and width of entrance.
Mossel Bay was next, known for sand beaches, surf, cliff walk and great seafood. Another, probably our best, room with a view.
Finally, Hermanus, known for one of few places in world you can see whales from land. And we did! Drove the scenic coastal way back to Cape Town before rush hour to drop off car. We were happy to walk our final days, including a few miles down from Table Mountain, after a cable car ride up, walk around and ride down. A couple absailed (rock climbing) down about 340 feet. Crazy rush just watching!
Our last day, we were happy to stay on our feet, out of the car. We lucked out with a perfect day to take the cable car up and down Table Mountain. Winds and cloud cover kept it closed over the weekend, so lucky us! Had nice walk along the top, watched absailers (rock climbing and descenting using ropes) and caught a rush just watching! Walked a few miles back to town before lunch at our favorite local spot and taking our taxi to airport.
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| Table Mt. - we were first in line for 8am cable. The clouds seemed to part for a fabulous visit! |
Then, home it is. 10 our layover in London again. Thank you United and Chase credit card partnership, for use of the United club, its showers and conveniences all day. Well, this is the End of this blog. Hope you have enjoyed as much as we have liked writing? We are open to feedback and suggestions for improvement before our next trip. Will work on email link alternative! Asia, we look forward to returning..... January 2015! Until then, see some of you back in the USA.
Susan and Aaron
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