Cape Town/Kirstenbosch Gardens/Cape Peninsula

Our wake up call was at 6:30 a.m. (which was late as for most of the remainder of the trip, it was at 6:00 a.m.!) We had a great breakfast at the hotel, and were on the bus at 8:00 a.m. heading for the Rhodes Memorial.

Cecil Rhodes was born in 1853 and came to South Africa at the age of 17. He quickly made a fortune in diamonds. In 1890, he became prime minister and died in 1902. The Rhodes scholarships are part of his legacy. The view of the Cape Flats was magnificent, despite the rain. We headed to the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens where we saw a variety of Protea (the national flower of South Africa) and a variety of plants and trees. Kirstenbosch is one of eight National Botanical Gardens in South Africa. It was founded in 1913 and was the first botanical garden in the world intended to preserve indigenous plants. It has a magnificent setting against Table Mountain and is one of the most impressive garden spots in Africa. From there we drove along the coast of False Bay to Simon’s town, spotting some humpback whales along the way. At Simon’s town, we visited the Boulders Penguin Colony where we saw hundreds of Penguins as they sunned themselves on the sandy beach amongst the rocks. The Colony began with one pair of penguins in 1983. Now there are thousands of African penguins there attracted by the good fishing. It is possible to swim amongst them but they do have a vicious bite! We had a great lunch at the Black Marlin Restaurant where we had Swordfish. Drove on to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve where we saw the huge waves crashing on the rocks. It was a very rainy experience. Between Cape Point and Cape Agulhas the cold Benguela Current of the Atlantic Ocean and the warm Agulhas Current of the Indian Ocean collide. The two intermingling currents help to create the micro-climate of Cape Town. When we left the park we witnessed a family of baboons on the road. Back to the hotel for a clean up and on to the Africa Café where we tried a large variety of African dishes. Bruce and I sat with Joan Michalchuk and Kay Oldman and got to know them a bit better.