We have breakfast and meet Omar for our tour this morning- I’ve had the my first restful sleep of the trip! Jet lag is gone and I’m having a solid deep sleep now.

We start driving along the coast- east towards the area we were in Shark Diving yesterday although we won’t be going that far. We stop at a few beaches for pictures.  We are on the back side of table mountain and the waves over here are different- much higher!  We drive along and come to the range of peaks they call the 12 Apostles- and you can see all 12 separate peaks quite clearly.

As we drive Omar tells us a little about segregation- we are fascinated to hear he remembers very clearly not being allowed in these areas as a kid.  It was Whites only until Mandela was released and Apartheid ended 1994. Absolutely. Unthinkable. Omar is a Cape-Malay.  So he is South African by birth- a Caper, born right here in the city- but his Father is Malaysian and mother Indian/Malaysian. He would be considered a non-white, and as offensive of a term as that is back in Canada, here it is acceptable for anyone that isn’t white. As is the term Coloured. -I bristle even typing that- makes me feel uncomfortable to think about it, but he says it is very much an accepted term here. We tell him that it would be considered un-correct at home- so we find it hard to hear…and He says that calling people “Black” in this area isn’t acceptable- or at least for a white person to call someone black would be frowned upon. He doesn’t seem to thrilled with the term African American or African Canadian either. 

We drive along, seeing the turquoise water and the impressive mountain range on the horizon.  We start the Chapmens Peak Drive which is part of the table mountain national park.  It reminds me very much of Gros Morne or Algonquin- the way it is kept and clean.  You have to pay to go on this drive or have a yearly membership for passage, and it is closed every Wednesday for road repair and clean up.  And speaking of roads, one thing we have all noticed is how well kept the roads are.  Perfect with no potholes, and you can actually see the street lines- bright like they are newly painted, except that is all over the entire city.  They are just very well cared for.  This route was proudly opened to the public in 1922 as a way to get from the western to eastern Capes quicker, and it took 7 years and 4000 slaves to build.  We stop here and there for photo ops, and bathroom breaks. Although Nicole and I attempt many times to pee, the bathrooms are typical national park bathrooms- dirty compost toilets- and every time we try we spend so long doing snake checks that it becomes a nope real quick and we leave.

We ask Omar what the main source of income is in this area and he says fishing- and fishing Is a huge underground market here too- kind of the same as our lobster fisheries their crawfish have to be a certain size and season to catch, but the poaching is a real problem.  In fact, there is a huge industry here for this and the biggest players are known in the area as the fish cartel.  I’m not sure why but this makes me laugh so hard.

We continue on to Houte Bay (translates to Wood Bay) and then on to False bay where “My Octopus Techer” was filmed…if you’ve never seen it-it’s a 100% recommendation.  Incredible story of a man who retires from photography with National Geographic and takes up scuba diving- and meets an octopus and becomes friends with the gentle puppy of the sea. And I can see why this would be his area of choice. Its beauty is unbelievable….the mountains in the distance over the water seem to float, today you can just see their peaks above the clouds but can’t tell where they begin because of the mist at the bottom.  Table mountain’s back end is behind you, the waves are epic; high and dramatic.

We dive forward in the national park and finally take the road towards the Cape of Good Hope…probably the thing I recognize most about South Africa is this feature. Its on the southern most tip of the Cape Peninsula- and offers stunning views at the top of the Cape.  We begin by driving to the shore line- it is a tundra landscape, reminds me of Newfoundland’s east coast.  All short trees and vast fields.  Off in the distance as we drive, I see a poof of fur…a large ball like poof…..and Omar says oh yes. Those are Ostriches….wait what? There are Ostriches everywhere.  Just roaming. ROAMING.  They are flightless birds which is pretty sad if you think about it….but when you look around and see where they live-all feeling bad for them is out the window. They are just pecking away at the rocks and grass…Omar says that they are vicious-they have HUGE talons and they will kick you, scratch you, claw you, and peck you to death with their insanely strong beaks.  As long as you are not in a battle of wits with these things you will die..(they are not the smartest of the birds….i mean have you ever really looked at one? Their pecky little faces scream “small brain big butt”) So when I ask Omar If we can ride them he quickly says no.  He doesn’t even think about it. Just NO.  I say, “wait, so we can’t? or you THINK we can’t? Cause I’ll try……” , already starting here hold my beer stance with Nicole.   He laughs briefly – I’m sure he is thinking…of all the things I thought I would have to contend with, keeping 4 Canadian’s off the ostriches was not one I prepared for….

So here we are driving along,  ocean waves and ostriches….at the end of the earth.  What gives SA? Like, could you be any more perfect? What next??? Is a Leopard going to hop out and eat an impala?

So we take some obligatory pics at the Cape Of Good Hope sign, and then hop back in and drive to the top.  You can drive up so far, and then there is a funicular that takes you the rest of the way.  I mean, you CAN walk it….but that’s a nope. So we all pile into the funicular and up we go-eyeing up the gift shop at the bottom the entire way up.  Even once you are at the top you have more walking to do- a good many steps to get to the lighthouse at the top.  So we climb those, me pretending to stop for pics every so many minutes when really I’m just trying not to die. They remind me of the Great Wall steps- all uneven and murder-y.  At the top we do what we do and take out our beer from our backpacks and enjoy a Muppet pop up bar.  Everyone is giving us “why the heck didn’t we think of that” looks.  But we’re used to that- so we enjoy those and take some pictures.  You can see where the Indian Ocean is meeting with the Atlantic at the Cape point- making visible color changes from the currents and different temps of the waters.

Down we go on the stairs again, much easier on the lungs going down, but harder on the knees.  ON the way Nicole points out some turds and says, “oh that must be Ostrich poo”.  Yes Nicole, the flightless Ostriches took a stroll up the mountain, got on the cable car, made it up the stairs with their backwards knees, all to take a dump.  I say as much out loud (actually I think I pull out the word idiot…) and then half worry she’s going to kill me with her big beak or kick me with her ostrich legs.  But then it becomes curious what the poo may be from, before we remember that the other thing that we noticed on the drive in are the “don’t feed the Baboons” signs that are posted every so many miles.  And after getting back on the funicular, we see the huge monkeys on the rocks lining the pathway.  Yet another reason not to do the walk. Not that I mind monkeys! I actually like them! But these are HUGE-and baboons are known for their aggressive and unpredictable behavior- and those teeth!!! (not to mention ostrich sized poops…). So I’m happy to be in the car and not having to walk next to one.  And as we get to the bottom we see one more- gigantic one! On top of a van. Just chilling, posing for pics and sizing up peoples bags. The warnings about how they will steal bags are everywhere- if they think there is food in there its theirs… and Omar shows us a video of one that got into a vehicle yesterday- they have figured out how to open car doors, so unless you lock your doors they may very well go in if they think it could reward them with some snacks.

We shop for a few minutes, and then back in the vehicle we go- we are headed for lunch in Simon’s town.  Dropped off at a sweet little restaurant, Omar has arranged a table for us by the marina.  We all order, getting cheeseburgers.  Except Chris.  He has decided to get an Ostrich burger.  And at first I think this is just their way of describing the meat…can’t really be ostrich can it? Like, the Dino burger at Outbacks that obviously isn’t actual Dino meat…but no, after asking the waitress, we confirm it is actual ostrich meat. So now I’m anxious to try it- and to my surprise, once it arrives it is more tender then the beef burgers, and not gamey at all-very flavorful and juicy!

After lunch we are going to a place we were all looking forward to- Boulders beach! This is where the African Penguins stay!  Somehow these lovely tuxedo’d little cuties, over many many years, have adapted to this climate, the only warm weathered penguins on earth.  Omar drops us off and away we go down the walk way towards the them, doing our own little waddle if I know us.  The walkway stops dead at the beach and there they are, mommies and babies, some swimming, some sleeping, some looking after eggs- aptly keeping the eggs out of the hands of the seagulls that roam around looking for a bite to eat.   They are so sweet, hopping instead of a regular walk most of the time- when they do walk they struggle not to step on their own awkward feets- toes pointed inward. Its just so strange to see these arctic birds on the white sandy beaches and the turquoise waters.  Chris and Nicole pretty much have to drag me away, I could have stayed there and taken pics all day long- zooming in on their little faces. This will stoke the painting fires for a while.

We shop again at the gift shop before we leave (there is one set up at the entrance to the beach by the government-who also restricts access to the beach without a fee paid at the ticket counter.)  Omar is waiting for us at the end and in we get.  From here we start the drive back to Cape Town and a coffee shop where we will have a little snack before heading back to the hotel.

Back at home it is off to the muppet lounge on the roof for a few night caps, then back to our room….we have decided to have dinner there for this evening- we are all exhausted and pizza and beers are all any of us are feeling like tonight, and since the hotel has a huge wood fired oven, this might be just the night to try it out.  So we do.  Its epic and we sit and stare out the window at Table mountain while we eat J

Tomorrow is wine country day!!! So its to bed early (which means nothing, its just something we always talk about-“we have to get to bed early tonight….big day tomorrow”..which ALWAYS ends up with one of us talking about their feelings and then all of us chiming in and next thing there is Muppet wet face felt for everyone.  Sigh. Tonight is no different- so bed is actually around 10:30pm.

As we wake in the morning I’m excited for the day.….but wine country is exactly what you would think about for wine country anywhere in the world.  We are taken to wine spots, and the scenery is amazing.  We do KWV as our first for a flight (more like a trip to space) of 5 wines.  I joke because its 9am. And these are full glass pours.  The lovely lady (Leslie Anne) who takes us on the wine tasting does a great job explaining the 5 wines and then leaves us to taste them on our own at a beautiful table in the middle of the wine cellar.  I see her coming towards us with the “spit bucket” about 2 mins after she leaves, and then turning around slowly like in a horror movie “…guess we won’t be needing this….”.  The Pinotage is to die for…earthly, oaky and strong- it is just like we like it- fork and knife wine.  So a bottle or two is bought there-one will be for our anniversaries on safari in a couple of days. And of course they have a gift shop.  We have trained Omar and he knows now that an extra ½ hour will be needed at each spot that has merch.  

Then we are off to the Fairview winery.  As we approach we see a pen for GOATS?  They have their own cute little walkway over the incoming road and lots of spots to walk around.  White and adorable with the chinney chin chin hair J  We are here for a wine AND cheese tasting so the goats do make sense I guess! Then we walk in and realize that we are at the GOATS DO ROAM winery!! I’m shocked when we walk in and see the familiar brand on the counter.  What are the chances?!? There are SEVERAL wineries in the area, and the fact that we are in one that we actually recognize Is astonishing to me!!   AND GOATS BE ROAMING ALL OVER THE PLACE.  Mind blown- I get it now!  We point it out to the wine tasting attendant and he is shocked that we know the name- he says its one of the very few in the area that make it overseas to market. And that it is their table wine and makes a face.  Haha. Then we taste 5 wines again- and again with the pretty full pours-each one paired with an estate made cheese. Each cheese a completely different flavor.  Then its again with the gift shop and back in the vehicle for the next. 

We do lunch next at the Nethlingshof Vineyards. Lunch is great- and comes with their handmade salts selection- I mean….they must have been preparing for Nicole and I for years! There is some kind of dust up in the bathroom when notice that the water DOES drain the other way here!!!! Coming out and realizing that we were louder then intended and everyone is staring at us…….

Then after lunch we have 5. More. Wine. Selections.  Our favorite is the Pinotage…so before we leave we pay to try the Reserve of the same- and fall in love. So then a bottle (or two…) of that needs to be bought for our anniversaries.

The plan had been for a wine picnic somewhere cute next … but we are all exhausted muppets. So, after the drive home we up to the bar for a night cap (I know right??) and decide that we deserve one last dinner at the amazing restaurant here at the hotel.  Lamb and Duck, Ribeye’s and Curry. Nice starter Greek salads all around.  We, okay just me, decide against wine. The other Muppets (the founders of the stagger) decide that the only thing they want is wine. Like how am I supposed to work with this?  Back to the room for the obligatory Muppets feelings talk- and then to pack. 

Tomorrow we leave for safari.  Not sure what to expect- but I will say that so far? This is shaping up to be something very special…this trip is starting to exceed all expectations…and I’m falling in love with Africa, her people and her land. 

Now if there are lions and giraffes and elephants to boot? ….

You may have to hook me out of here like stage Kermit…….