Cape Town Post 1

Cape Town, South Africa Post 1

First off, let me apologize it has taken so long to get a blog post up.  When we left South Africa we hit the worst seas that we have had for the entire voyage. Around the southernmost part of Africa, around the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point, we hit huge waves! The drawers in my cabin were opening and shutting and things were sliding off the table and desk onto the floor.  The seas have calmed considerably since then and are much more enjoyable now.  But anyways, we are back at sea now. We are en route to Mauritius. We will arrive to Mauritius on the 15th of October.

While in Cape Town I REALLY wanted to go Shark Cage Diving, but due to rough weather, did not get an opportunity. I had booked 2 different days, and unfortunately, both were canceled. Even so, the entire experience in South Africa was awesome, and I cannot wait to return!



Cape Town Day 1:

This morning was the most beautiful arrival into the port. We all woke up early and headed up to the top deck to see the sunrise over the Waterfront and Table Mountain.  It was a gorgeous site!  It was very cold though, so after our hands began to go numb we had to go back inside!  As the ship pulled into the port we realized how lucky we were to be right in the middle of a commercial area in the harbor. So far, some of our other ports were in a very industrial area requiring a shuttle even just to get out of the port area. In Cape Town, we dock right in the middle of the Waterfront Area. There is a five star hotel just feet from the front of the ship and within walking distance we found tons of great restaurants, shops, tour agents, and a mall.  We disembarked the ship and just began to explore the waterfront area. Within a half hour of leaving the ship we chatted with a tour agent to see what they would suggest for us to try while we were in Cape Town.

The tour company suggested that we go for a helicopter ride over Cape Town, instantly we decided that we would go ahead and splurge for a helicopter ride. Some friends and I booked a short helicopter ride over the harbor and 15 minutes later we were being loaded into a go-kart and heading across the waterfront to the helicopter landing area!  We were fitted with lifejackets and then boarded the helicopter. We were all fitted with the headphones and microphones so that we could communicate over the noise of the helicopter.  Before we knew it, our helicopter was rising over the waterfront for our tour! The pilot took us right over our ship, which was really cool and then up the coast from the Waterfront Area.  We flew over beautiful beaches with coral reefs and over the new stadium being built for the 2010 World Cup! Then the helicopter neared the ‘12 apostles’, which is part of the mountain range surrounding Cape Town. He brought us back over the city centre near Table Mountain and the Cable Car to Table Mountain. It was an awesome ride. I took awesome pictures!  We only paid for a 15-minute flight, but were in the helicopter longer than that. It was a great experience, what a cool way to check out the city!!!!

Our next adventure was to take a trip up the coast to Cape Point. We hired a car and driver to take us up the coast.  First we headed up the coast to a little town called Kemps Bay that our driver thought we should check out.   We stopped there and he gave us time to explore and shop and then return to the car to continue on.  The next stop was Boulders Beach. I had really wanted to go to Boulders Beach, so I was glad that we were able to make it. Boulders Beach is a beach that is one of the only mainland breeding areas of African Penguins. They were so cute!  They were everywhere too. Our guide gave us time to go swimming at the beach, but my friends thought it was too cold (they aren’t from Wisconsin!).  We walked the boardwalk to see the whole colony of penguins!  The whole area was just gorgeous. Since the tide was in though, there was barely any beach left so people had laid out their towels on top of these huge boulders that stuck out of the water and were having picnics on top of the huge boulders. It was pretty cool.

After our time at Boulders Beach our Cape Point Tour continued. We drove further along the coast and came across baboons along the side of the road. They were adorable. We had been warned that the baboons could be a problem because they have been known to climb on top of cars or steal food or handbags from unsuspecting walkers. Our taxi driver pulled over next to the baboons and allowed us to get out of the car to take pictures.  That was a big mistake!  Shortly after we got out of the car a baby baboon wandered our way. Since we were less than 10 feet from the baboons to start with, the baby coming closer was not a good thing.  We decided to back up, but then realized that daddy baboon was walking around the other side of the car, we had no choice but to walk between the daddy and baby baboon towards our vehicle and tour guide. As we ran towards the tour guide he was yelling “don’t run, don’t run”. Of course when you are scared you run, even if you are not supposed to! We then realized our tour guide had taken his leather belt off and was holding it at his side in case the baboons got too close to any of us. We wanted him to open the doors so we could get in, but he did not want to risk any of the baboons getting into the vehicle because he knew it would be much more dangerous to have a baboon and a person in an enclosed area, than outside the car. Only when he thought there was time for all 4 of us to get in before the baboon circled the car did he let us quickly get in!  We were not seriously at risk, just scared because we did not know what to expect from the baboons. Even so, it made quite the memory for me!  We came across a few more baboon groups along the drive, but were not silly enough to get out at any of the other groups. From then on we just enjoyed the baboons from the car windows!!

As we approached Cape Point, the tip where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet, we were lucky enough to see whales very close to shore breaching!  On our route back towards Cape Town we passed through some of the Winelands of the surrounding Cape Town area. These Winelands are probably the most famous part of Cape Town. They were as gorgeous as I had imagined.  They were big rolling vineyards overlooking the ocean! How pretty! 

As we got closer to Cape Town we entered into an area where the townships are. The townships surround the cities and they are large areas where shanties and makeshift houses from wood scraps sit. They did not have running water, most did not have electricity, and they certainly did not have beds, toilets, or kitchens. Just seeing these townships made me realize how lucky I am, and each of you as well, to have a home you return to in the evening that is comfortable and safe.  Each and everyone one of us has the opportunity to go to school, which many of the children in the townships never get to do.  Many of the children are horribly malnourished because their families cannot afford food for the family. It was terribly sad to see the townships and their problems from the outside, and feel unable to help. We did see one township that is making huge strides though. Through programs like Habitat for Humanity, small homes are being built of cement instead of scrap.  These homes will not be anything fancy, but most will have electricity and a solid roof.  Some day I hope to return to work with a program like habitat to make a difference in the lives of these families. 

Our last stop on our Cape Point tour was in an adorable beach town that had surfers galore. Our guide explained how some people are employed to stand on the top of the hill overlooking the beach and watch for sharks. When they spot a shark they radio down to the guards at the beach. The guards then raise a black flag and all the surfers and swimmers are expected to exit the water. When the water has been cleared a green flag is raised and the surfers are allowed to re-enter. That sounds pretty dangerous, I sure am glad Lake Superior doesn’t have any sharks!


More soon…