Cruisin the Cape

Today I decided at take an all day long Cape Tour.  There was a French guy, a Japanese lady and two Pakistani guys on our small bus.

First stop Clifton Bay...I think.

At Hout Bay, we opted to take a boat ride out to see the Cape Fur Seals on Duiker Island.

Chapman's Peak Drive.

Noordhoek or North Corner Beach

You can buy any one of these massive stone sculptures here and have it shipped anywhere in the world.

Ostrich Farm! Ostriches are the world's largest bird. are the fast runners of any birds or other two-legged animal and can sprint at over 70 km/hr, covering up to 5m in a single stride.  They have three stomachs and the largest eye of any land animal, measuring almost 5 cm across, allowing predators such as lions to be seen at long distances.

Hunter-gatherers in the Kalahari use ostrich eggshells as water containers, punching a hole in them. 

When attacking a person, ostriches deliver slashing kicks with their powerful feet, armed with long claws, with which they can disembowel or kill a person with a single blow. Yikes!

Beautiful eagle.

The Cape of Good Hope was a stopping point for trading ships sailing between Europe and European colonies in the east. Initially the Europeans bartered with the local Khoikhoi people for food and water but in 1652 the Dutch East India Company established a small provision station in the sheltered bay behind the Cape peninsula, forming the first European settlement in the region.  

The Cape of Good Hope is the legendary home of The Flying Dutchman. Crewed by tormented and damned ghostly sailors, it is doomed forever to beat its way through the adjacent waters without ever succeeding in rounding the headland.

The Beacon of Good Hope up above the Cape.

I was super excited about our stop at Boulder's Beach to see the African penguins.  

African penguins also called the jackass penguin, as the penguins’ call sounds similar to a braying donkey. African Penguins are medium sized penguins and they reach up to 27 inches in height and weigh up to 3.5 kg.

African Penguins live around 10-15  years. They start breeding when they are around 4 years of age. These penguins are monogamous, the penguin pair stays together usually for many years and often move back to their old nesting sites too.

Penguin nests.

They are very social.  This penguin is helping his friend shed his molting feathers.

Chillin' on the beach.

After Boulders Beach, our last stop would be the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens established in 1913.  We only had about 30 minutes to walk around since it was getting late. 

What makes the Gardens so famous worldwide is that (with minor exceptions) only indigenous plants are cultivated.

Guinea Fowl

I was excited for the day to be over.  I was excited to get back to the hotel.  Someone special was waiting there for me.  :)