Next stop South Africa

My original hopes had been to go into Kenya to see a few of their national parks (like Amboseli and Mara) and then enjoy a few days exploring Stonetown and enjoying the beaches of Zanzibar before heading back to Canada. Kenya's still having some riot problems after 4 months so I've opted out of heading there. I still thought I'd head to Zanzibar but since it's rainy season, I've found out that quite a few of the hotels and restaurants close during April. I decide that I'll save Zanzibar for another time (maybe if I come back one day to climb Mt Kili) and South Africa will be a sunnier, better alternative (I hope).

I'm definitely not a morning person, especially if I have to get up at 3:30am. Unfortunately, I had to be up at that ungodly hour in order to get to the airport. Mama Lynn wasn't impressed that she had to be the one to take me to the airport at that time of day. About 10 to 4, we left with one of the guards to drive to the airport. Luckily it wasn't raining and the roads were mainly deserted so it only took about 40 min. to get to the airport. Arriving there, we found that it hadn't even opened yet. I'm on an international flight that leaves at 6am and your'e advised to arrive 2hrs early but I think 1 1/2 hrs would be plenty for Kili. I guess since it's a small airport (Kili) with only 1 plane leaving they don't think they need that much check-in time. There was a few other guys waiting for the airport to open so I said my goodbye to Mama Lynn and waited about 1/2 hour outside before the main door was unlocked to proceed to check-in.

Took off heading north from Kili airport to Nairobi Kenya, with the sun just rising. Unfortunately, I was on the west side of the plane so I only had a peek at sunrise over Mt. Kilimanjaro that the other side of the plane was enjoying. It's just a short 1hr flight to NBO before connecting to a longer flight heading south to Jo'burg. Once again on the wrong side to see Mt. Kili again but I did enjoy the view over northern Tanzania before we were high up in the clouds.

Once I arrived into Jo'burg, in order to lessen the chance of not seeing my suitcases (Jo'burg the place to loose your luggage), I claimed them, cleared customs, immigration before walking over to the domestic terminal to check in for my last flight from Jo'burg to Cape Town. Found that none of the airport currency exchange booths would take my leftover Tanzanian shillings (about $100 worth). Would have exchanged them at Kili airport but the booth wasn't open that early in the morning. Cloudy flight to Cape Town so I didn't see much of the landscape I was hoping to. The airport tourist desk helped me book a B&B since the tour company couldn't confirm the hotel I had requested a few days ago.

Took one of the airport shuttle companies into town and right away noticed how much Cape Town is a growing modern city. The country is still very poor and the highway passes by some shanty towns but the downtown area is full of skyscrapers, the road system is great and the streets appear to be clean and safe. I'm dropped off at my B&B called Nelson's Guesthouse. It's located on in the Sea Point area on High Level Rd. Barry Jones who worked and traveled many years on cruise ships now runs the B&B. It's got a beautiful view from the terrace looking over the Atlantic Ocean and Signal Hill part of the Table Mountains is just behind.

I'm told this neighbourhood is safe at night so I walk down to the ocean prommenade and enjoy the sunset along the pathway that is filled with other enjoying the warm evening breeze. I head a few blocks to Main St. and wander around before having a disappointing fish & chip take-away (too many bones). You'd think that Cape Town should have good fish & chips.

The next morning I had hoped to ride the cable car to the top of Table Moutain but it's foggy. I decide to walk down along the waterfront hoping that as I go the fog will eventually lift. I walk for a few miles and every once in a while when the fog isn't blowing in, I can see bits of the mountain top. I end up at the Victoria Wharf and spend a bit of time looking at the boats and many of the shops and craft stores before heading back to the B&B.

This afternoon I decide to take a 1/2 day tour to the Cape of Good Hope.
African Eagle Day Tours picked me up right at the B&B. We head south out of Cape Town along the coastal road through Sea Point and Clifton. Lots of million dollar seaview homes and stop for photos at Camps Bay a lovely sandy beach with huge bolders and a mountain backdrop of the Twelve Apostles. Head inland a bit to Hout Bay and stop high up on a cliff along Chapmans Peak Drive. Across the mountain range to False Bay, we stop just outside of Simonstown to see a Penquin Colony at Bolders Beach. We can get quite close to the little guys. Many of them are sitting on eggs but I do see one fuzzy little guy that doesn't have his adult black & white feathers yet. I'm too busy enjoying the penquins that the tour van just about leaves without me. Unfortunately, we didn't stop by the main view area so we didn't get to see any penquins heading out of the water along the beach.

Heading a bit south we enter Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve. We only have time to take a quick hike up to the lighthouse since the electric tram is closed due to a power outage. I try to cover all the scenic outlooks for photo stops and also get close up to the deadly puff adder snake that is just beside the trail and the usually skittish rock hyrax poses for a photo. A few photos from the lighthouse before jogging back down to the parking lot. Cape of Good Hope is situated at the junction of 2 of earth's most contrasting water masses, the cold Benguela current on the west coast and the warm Agulhas current on the east coast. It's popularly perceived as the meeting point of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans but that's at Cape Agulhas national park further east. On the drive out of the park we see a troop of baboons along the road and ostrich, eland nearby. As we head back north to Cape Town, we are on the east side of the mountains so we don't see a great ocean sunset but it's still a pretty drive back to the city.