Life in the Sun

How good it is to be in the African sunshine!  Here in the Cape it's been hot and sunny since we arrived and we're enjoying lazy days and new surroundings, torn between wanting to see everything but reminding ourselves this is impossible.

Just over a week ago we were in Horsham, closing up the suitcases and eager to get to Heathrow for the first leg of our journey.  After a short stop in Johannesburg, meeting up with long standing friends (thanks Jacqui and Les, so good to see you) we flew to Cape Town four days ago.

with Jacqui and Les

Cape Town is stunningly beautiful, with iconic Table Mountain towering over the city below.    On our first morning we walked into the city from our guest house, an easy thirty minute stroll.  The African sun beats down with much more intensity than you experience in Europe so it wasn't long before I started to wilt.  After a bit of a wander we hopped onto a sightseeing bus and spent the next few hours admiring Cape Town's surroundings from the top of a double decker bus.  Whilst a good way to see the sights, the heat and wind felt like we were in a tumble dryer.  We left the bus to spend a happy hour in Hout Bay and came across a fisherman feeding seals in the harbour.  These handsome animals rolled and played near the quayside, a wonderful sight.  Sitting on the deck of a simple harbour cafe we lunched on the freshest calamari and considered our good fortune in being here.

Table Mountain from Victoria and Alfred Waterfront

Fisherman feeding a seal in Hout Bay harbour

The views from Table Mountain are spectacular.  An early start was well rewarded and being amongst the first visitors to the top of the 1000m mountain (via cablecar, not on foot!) added to our enjoyment.  We spent a tranquil hour following paths on top of the mountain trying to capture on camera the vast landscape spread out below, visible for miles. A memorable experience.

View from Table Mountain, cloud covering the sea

Cape Town's famous Victoria and Alfred Waterfront was nicer than we'd imagined, with shops, restaurants and apartments imaginatively covering a huge waterfront area which was formerly the city's harbour. It's a big draw for tourists but did not hold huge appeal for us other than as a place to source biltong!  Our last day in Cape Town was delightful...connecting with old friends (here on holiday from London) and meeting their SA family over a long lazy lunch in their Cape Town home. Thanks for a wonderful day, Nicky and Julian and Hugh and Erna.