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Finally we arrived in Cape Town to enjoy some time near a beach / by a pool and generally exploring this lovely city. |
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We stayed at the Bay Hotel on Camps Bay and very nice it was too. We'd treated ourselves to a luxury room so had lots of space - seating area, dining area, beds (obviously), huge bathroom and balcony area with our own Hydro Spa bath. The view on the left is from our balcony, the photo on the right is our balcony! Breakfast was yummy with lots of choice and massage was booked for Friday. |
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We couldn't visit Cape Town without going down to Boulders to see the African Penguins so off we went. It was good to see that they've also got penguin houses like Dyer Island has.
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As you can see from the Penguin on the right, it was moulting season for some of them. This process takes 21 days during which they are land bound and don't eat. Not very nice if you ask me. |
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African Penguins mate for life and this mutual grooming is all part of the bonding process. |
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From Boulders we travelled down the coast to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. It's all part of the Table Mountain National Park and is quite beautiful. There were lots of wild flowers and birds around the place, not to mention lovely scenery. Jonathon announced that the Cape of Good Hope was somewhere he'd always wanted to visit, ever since he'd read Francis Chichester's story about Gypsy Moth. Wonder why he'd never said anything before?
I've blended the birds from Boulders (except the Penguins) and the Cape so they are all together at the end of this section.
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The two photos above are from the Cape of Good Hope whereas the one on the right is of Cape Point. The Cape of Good Hope is 18.28'26" East and 34.21'25" South. It is often mistakely thought that it is the most Southerly point of Africa and the place where the Atlantic meets the Indian Ocean. Both these are actually at Cape Aghula - just to the East of Hermanus. |
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We were surprised to see a family of Ostriches at the Cape of Good Hope. There was a male, 2 females and a couple of chicks. Jonathon seemed to be quite good friends with one of the females! |
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I think Dad was supposed to be babysitting but he decided to have a dust bath instead. Not sure Mum was that impressed. |
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There were a couple of crosses in the park. One - the Dias Cross (left) and the other - the Da Gama Cross (right)
Strictly speaking they are padraos - limestone pillars bearing the Portuguese coat of arms and an inscription stating when and by whom they were raised. The cross signifies Portuguese sovereignity and Christianity.
These are not the original padraos but were built in 1965 as monuments to Dias and Da Gama. They also serve as beacons to help ships avoid the dangerous Whittle Rock. They are painted black on the seaward side so they are silhouetted against the sky for navigators.
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In case you were wondering, I was there!
We travelled around for the 2 weeks in Minty, a VW Polo Classic. It was a nice car, bit cramped for Jonathon, but served us very well and had a bit of oomph under the bonnet apparently.
We only saw one tortoise and he was disgruntled because we interrupted his dinner (grass) to take a photo of him so he trundled into the undergrowth.
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The wild flowers were lovely - so much colour everywhere. |
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Finally for Wednesday, the birdlife (other than Ostrich and Penguin) |
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The blackbirds on the right have lovely orange wings when the fly - they are Red-Winged Starlings |
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We pulled in at the side of the road on the way home from the Cape and watched the sun set over the sea. Stunning. |
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We spent the whole of the next day at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens with Gigi and Dennis. We had a great time. Gigi and Dennis are amazingly knowledgeable about the gardens and both the flora and fauna to be found there. Our heads were spinning with new information by the end of the day. It was wonderful. As you would expect, this means lots of flower pictures and a few more photos of birds and insects but first a few general views to show you the variety of landscapes in the garden.
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The cityscape in the distance is part of Cape Town - we were fairly high up at this point! |
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The picture below is Camphor Avenue. The camphor trees were planted (along with others) in anticipation of a visit from Queen Victoria. She didn't come in the end! |
Cecil John Rhodes purchased the Kirstenbosch estate in 1895 for £9,000. On his death in 1902 he left it to the people of South Africa. The estate covers 532 hectares extending from Cecilia Forest to Newlands Forest and to the top of Table Mountain. It is mostly covered with natural vegetation including scrub forest, fynbos and evergreen forest in moist sheltered kloofs.
Kirstenbosch is managed for conservation with minimum intervention. It spcialises in Bio-diversity and is a World Heritage Site.
As you wander around there are quite a few info boards, there is an area with braille backs to the boards and a fragrance area for those people who can't see the plants. There is also an education programme to encourage youngsters to learn about bio-diversity, nature, recycling etc.
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There were loads of pelargoniums - all different colours, sizes and scents. I think most of the commercially sold pelargoniums must originate from South Africa. |
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There were quite a few different geraniums as well - lovely little flowers that cover the ground well. |
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There were quite a few of these orange / yellow swathes of colour. There is an area in South Africa where you can find acres and acres of these flowers (at the right time of year). They open only if the temperature is above 16C and for the best view you need the sun behind you as you approach them! |
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The 4 photos before here show the opening of a King Protea (aka a Giant Protea) - the buds are beautfully formed and then they explode into a huge brightly coloured flower. |
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Kirstenbosch also has a conservatory, split into different zones with lots of cacti and succulent type plants inside. |
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There were quite a few spiky, viscious looking plants as well as the pretty ones - both inside the conservatory and in the garden in general. |
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The butterflies and insects seemed to like the garden and there were a few spiders webs around as well. |
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The birdsong was lovely to hear and we caught a glimpse of one or two of a few of the birds that were singing happily. |
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We all spent a long time admiring / taking photos of the Sugarbird on the protea |
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The family of Egyptian Geese were a special treat for the day. Although called geese, they are technically ducks but they've been called geese for so long that the name has stuck. We had a lovely day with Gigi and Dennis and have promised to do it all again next time we're in Cape Town. |
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A couple of "chilling out" days later and we were on our way back to England. Not before we'd enjoyed plenty of time in the spa on the balcony (both of us) and had a nice long body massage, facial etc (Jonathon went shopping while I did all that stuff!). We had dinner at the Bay Hotel's sister hotel - the Retreat. It was lovely. Jonathon reckons it's the best fillet steak he's ever tasted - praise indeed.
The weather changed for the worse on our final day - cold, wet, cloudy etc. - which always makes coming home easier and that's it for another great holiday.
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As usual, our final photo for this holiday is a sunset. |
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