Weekend in Cape Town

June 19, 2013

Thanks to National Youth Day this past Monday in South Africa, I got to spend three days exploring Cape Town.  Even though I live only about 20 minutes from the city center, this past weekend was really the first time I got to venture out into Cape Town, since last weekend was spent along the Garden Route.  The scenery along the Garden Route was unbelievable and I didn’t think that anything else would be able to top it, but the beauty of South Africa continues to amaze me. 

Cape Town has so much more to offer than just beautiful scenery.  Cape Town is also well-known for its wine and its endless variety of foods due to the diversity of the population.  We spent Saturday morning at the Old Biscuit Mill, a huge market that really has something to offer everyone.  There are booths selling clothes, jewelry, arts and crafts, beer and wine, and every type of food under the sun.  There was also a tent for live music.  The atmosphere of the market was amazing and I’m pretty sure I left there about 5 pounds heavier.  After spending way too much money on souvenirs and eating a week’s worth of food, we spent the evening relaxing at the Asara winery in Stellenbosch.  The winery was beautiful and the perfect way to end the day!

 Old Biscuit Mill

 

 Asara Winery in Stellenbosch

On Sunday, we left early in the morning and spent the day touring the Cape Peninsula.  We started off the day with breakfast at Casa Labia in Muizenberg, a popular surfing town.  Casa Labia is a Venetian style mansion that was once home to Prince Natale Labia, the first Italian ambassador in South Africa, and we enjoyed a fancy breakfast overlooking the ocean.  After Muizenberg, we stopped at Boulder’s Beach to visit the African penguin colony.  From Boulder’s Beach, we drove down to the Table Mountain National Park to see Cape Point (the point where the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet) and the Cape of Good Hope (the most south-western point of the African continent).  The national park was beautiful and we even had an encounter with a baboon.  Within the park we kept seeing signs warning us about the baboons (apparently they are very dangerous and they will jump inside your car window and they will pick-pocket you) and it wasn’t until we were leaving the Cape of Good Hope that we saw one.  It was sitting on top of a Land Rover and we got out to take pictures, and it really did not like the attention so he jumped off the car and started chasing us!!  I really wish we could have had that moment on video because I’m sure we all looked ridiculous as we sprinted back to our car screaming…

Muizenberg

Boulder's Beach

 Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope

After we left the park, we drove up the Atlantic coastline along the famous Chapman’s Peak Drive.  The drive was stunning.  We were surrounded by beaches and mountains and we stopped at Hout Bay to watch the sunset.  The night ended with dinner on the beach in Camp’s Bay.  It was a long day and there was a lot of driving involved, but I can’t complain about driving alongside mountains and coastline all day.  

Chapman's Peak Drive

  

Monday was a national holiday so we got the day off work and decided to spend it climbing Table Mountain.   We could not have asked for a more perfect day to hike.  The sun was out with no clouds in the sky and it was about 80 degrees, all of which is a little rare for this time of the year since it is winter in South Africa right now.  The hike took about 2 hours and was actually a lot more difficult than I expected.  There were tons of stairs and really no flat areas, but the view made up for the fact that I’m in terrible shape.  We overlooked the city and the ocean as we were climbing, and once we got to the top of the mountain, I truly felt like I was on another planet!

Table Mountain

This weekend we were able to cram in the majority of the big tourist attractions that Cape Town has to offer!!  The time has flown by since I’ve been here and my days are numbered, but we still have one more weekend to enjoy the city!