Cape Point

That's our tour! 25% off with the city pass :)

We walked 16000 steps on what was supposed to be a relaxing bus day! It started off as a relaxing day with a great spot on an air-conditioned coach complete with wifi, USB charging ports and the slowest speaking tour guide in the world. Not one to usually partake in big bus tours, we relented as we received a 25% discount with our city pass! The tour was good value and enjoyable with crowds lower than other major tourist spots. The scenic drive to Cape Point started at 0930 and took just under 2 hours. We opted for a lazy lunch overlooking False Bay, so named due to the number of captains who thought they were turning north to head up the western coast of Africa only to have to make an embarrassing U-turn or wreck their ship. The food at a tourist attraction restaurant was again surprisingly good! What we should have done was walk first and eat later...

On the bus, let's go

Baboon and baby just outside the bus

The start of the lighthouse walk that only less than half the family completed...

Lunch overlooking False Bay

Fish of the day! Kingsklip in corn chowder

The tour included a trek to the Cape of Good Hope scenic view point with our tour guide. Tourist attraction walk times are usually based on the speed of an arthritic retiree stopping every 50m to rub some more tiger balm into their knees or take a toilet break. Not so at the Cape. An ambitious attempt to do the "10 minutes" to the lighthouse at the top of Cape Point was meant to be a light entree before the real 45 minute trek to the Cape of Good Hope. Only two out of five made it to the lighthouse and returned sweaty and puffing with seconds to spare before the main course was served. What we were thinking!?! We should have paid for the funicular to the top...

Fortunately the trek to the Cape of Good Hope was much less physical (with the exception of one section with an extremely rocky and steep uphill climb followed by an extremely steep downhill walk), but still full of enough rocks, cliffs and lizards to keep the kids amused. It was also spectacular! Malcolm thought that it would make a wonderful golf course with views down the cliff face to scenes that could be straight out of a David Attenborough doco - rocks teeming with birds diving into waters teeming with fish dining on the foam teeming with the ingredients of the biological fishfood smoothie created when the currents of two oceans meet. A pulled tee shot would definitely be a lost ball.

The start of the trek to the Cape of Good Hope

Stunningly beautiful beach. Pity about the multitude of steps needed to get down there...

Channeling our inner mountain goat to get to the top. It was hard work!!!

Made it! The top of Cape of Good Hope

The steep walk down to our red bus waiting in the car park

Amazing views from the bus

We drove through some of the old British Navy towns from yesteryear before stopping to see the penguins. We played hooky as the tour group meandered down to see the African penguins. A shady spot consuming ice-cream and iced coffees seemed more civilised. Besides we could see the penguins for free from the public beach! The family succumbed to slumber on the way back to Cape Town. We arrived back at the V&A waterfront just past 5pm.

Somehow we found ourselves in a situation where we needed to buy shoes, socks and underwear! Tiredness made for a cranky shopping expedition which was worse than any mountain trek! We got through it somehow and caved to McDonald's as it was the closest food outlet...

Ice cream and ice coffee. Bliss

Wild penguins on the beach!

Suddenly everything didn't seem so bad with food in the belly