The flight from Dubai to Cape Town was long (10 hours) but relatively painless. Our flight was operated by Emirates and we quickly learned that its world-class reputation for in-flight services and entertainment is well deserved. We were able to spread out – only Sarah and I occupied a three-seat bench – and pass the time catching up on movies (they had all the Oscar nominees!) until we began our descent into Cape Town.
We met our friend Dana at the airport and headed to the Gardens district to find our guest house. (By the way, Dana had almost a 24-hour journey from NYC so we really had nothing to complain about!) After we settled in, we set out to explore the neighborhood and find some dinner: Chalk & Cork caught the ladies’ eyes so we stopped there for tapas and wine before heading home to get some sleep.
We budgeted our time so that we’d have two full days in Cape Town before heading north for a safari. Our first day was earmarked for the city’s historical and cultural sights; our second day was planned around a hike to see Table Mountain. So, after filling up on breakfast at our guest house on Friday, we walked over to the District Six Museum to learn more about the atrocities of apartheid.
One of the many artifacts in the museum from the apartheid times.
The District Six Museum provided us with a massive amount of information on the history of Cape Town and the apartheid regime. Though we thought we had a sense for the tragedies that unfolded in South Africa, we left feeling sad and devastated by the impact the social regime had on the country's citizens. After about an hour in the Museum we decided to walk further down toward the waterfront and made a quick stop at the Castle of Good Hope. We arrived just as a group of men in uniform marched in step around the castle grounds – we missed the intro so it was probably more interesting for the hundreds of school children lined up to watch!
The demonstration mostly consisted of these guys marching in formation across the castle...
...so we made our way to the top level to check out the views of the rest of the city.
After a quick lunch at Nando’s – a spicy chicken place we discovered in Singapore – we headed over to the Bo Kaap neighborhood. This area is known for its brightly colored houses so it didn’t take us long to find! The bright colors reminded us of some of the smaller island villages we’ve been to; we had to remember that we were actually in the middle of a big city.
Sarah snapped a picture of me and Dana in Bo Kaap.
A rainbow of colors in Bo Kaap.
We finished our meandering route to the waterfront in time for our ferry to Robben Island, our last stop for the day. This island is home to the prison that housed Nelson Mandela and thousands of other political prisoners during apartheid, and is accessible only by boat. Like the District Six Museum we all learned a lot here…but it was difficult to listen to the conditions the prisoners had to survive from a former prisoner himself. The visit was very worthwhile even though we all left in a very melancholy mood.
The ladies on the pier before boarding the ferry.
Looking back on Cape Town from the ferry to Robben Island.
In addition to political prisoners, lepers were sent to Robben Island because no one knew what to do with them. Here is the graveyard where all deceased lepers were buried.
Our tour stopped for a photo op so we convinced another tourist to take a picture of the three of us (in descending height order, of course).
Sparks, our guide, explained the identification cards the prisoners were required to carry...as we listened in the group cell he spent 7 years in.
Nelson Mandela's cell.
By the time our ferry returned to the V&A Waterfront, a thick fog had set in and we could barely see the dock. Rather than trying to find a place to eat with a view (which was completely obscured at that point), we headed to Belthazar and had steaks at the bar – a great way to end a long day exploring Cape Town.
We woke up on Saturday happy to see clear skies for hiking. Rather than taking one of the trails that leads to Table Mountain – which are apparently very hard – we decided to hike up Lion’s Head. This smaller peak adjacent to Table Mountain provides great views of Cape Town and Table Mountain with a slightly less strenuous route to the top. Feeling ambitious, we walked from our guest house to the trail head…which we probably wouldn’t recommend because that in itself is quite a climb!
Looking up at Lion's Head...after about an hour walking uphill on the road to get to the trailhead!
Almost to the top - pretty steep climb!
The reward for our hike: this view of Table Mountain.
This view of Cape Town isn't bad either.
Three amigos after a long hike.
After resting at the top of Lion's Head for half an hour or so we headed down to find some lunch. Fortunately, Sarah had already scouted out Liquorice & Lime - a great place not far from the trailhead. We all ate well and rehydrated before returning to our guest house for a siesta (well, Dana and I had a siesta; Sarah went shopping!). We returned to the waterfront for an early dinner and headed to bed to rest up before driving up to Inverdoorn Game Reserve for day one of our safari tomorrow!