Tip of the Continent

Hi all,

Last October we finally made it down to Cape Town.  Everyone's always raving about it here and are surprised that it took us 10 months to get there, but once the summer passed (in April), people said the weather can be spontaneously cold & rainy (ah, makes me miss Seattle) so we decided to wait for Lucy's spring break.  (Still seems odd to have Spring in October, but what can I do?)

So buckle up and enjoy your flight.  Here are some Cape Town basics:

•  First, a map to give you some context:

Map courtesy of WorldAtlas

• It's the second largest city in SA, after Joburg.  Population about 3.5 million.
• It's the seat of Parliament and is considered the legislative capital of the country, whereas our fair city, Pretoria, is the executive capital, and Bloemfontein (smack in the middle of the country) is the judicial capital.  Seems like it would be hard to get everyone together for a braai.
• It's on the water, nestled below some mountains, the most famous being "Table Mountain", which is flat (like a...). 
• The city was developed by the Dutch East India Company (remember them from middle school social studies?) as a way station for Dutch ships sailing up to Eastern Africa, India, and the Far East. 

Breakfast of champions on our first full day there.   We rented an apartment in the Camps Bay area.

 It had an awesome view of the water, but the balcony was a bit rickety, so we didn't let Noah play out there.  (Their notion of "building codes" is a bit more relaxed than those State-side.)

 The kids' bedroom had a loft with futon.  The kids immediately claimed it as their castle.

 Noah named himself  king. 
(Yes, Grammies and Great-Aunts... we supervised.  It was a high drop, but they were good.)

 You can't go to Cape Town and not see its most famous fauna...  PENGUINS!  They live down along the peninsula just a few kilometers south of Cape Town in an area called Boulders.

The kids were instantly smitten.  (They are really cute.)  They live in a protected area along the water and there's a boardwalk where you can watch them waddle around the sand, swim, mug for the camera, etc.

 Who knew there were penguins in Africa?

Dog, shmog!  Noah decided he wanted a penguin instead.

The best is that he quite spontaneously blurted out "PENGY!" (Good enough for government work.)  You could hear him shouting it as the kids darted up and down the boardwalk looking for them.

The penguins have a really nice view.
  (They were smart and bought before the real-estate developers descended.)

 Noah on a penguin hunt.
(Hunt in a pacifistic, Whole Earth Catalog kind of way.)

All Pengy-ed out, we headed for a nearby beach.

 Noah tried to keep up with his big sister.  Our favorite moment of the day was when a penguin waddled down the sand right in front of us, plopped into the water and swam off (quite gracefully). 
Don't see that everyday.

 Dad, this is, like, so not the Africa I imagined.

 Boulders Beach is a very small beach, surrounded by giant boulders (to go with the name).  With the penguin off swimming (and Lucy likely chasing after him), Noah got down to business.

As we prepared to go home, Noah spotted a few penguins on the boulders and tried to go after them.

Lucy took this as an opportunity to run around the parking lot looking for penguins.

On our drove back to Cape Town from the peninsula (about an hour away), we took an amazing, cliff-hugging, windy road called  Chapman's Peak Drive.  The views were spectacular.  (Apparently the road was closed in the '90s to deal with some pesky falling rocks, but was re-engineered and is open again. Nothing to worry about, kids.)

Another day we visited the "Victoria and Albert" waterfront.

Apparently Queen Victoria's son pushed for the development of the harbor in 1860 and then named it after his parents.  (What a mensch.)  The kids (look right) checked out the statues of South Africa's four Nobel Peach Prize winners (L to R: Albert Luthuli, Desmond Tutu, F. W. de Klerk and, of course, Nelson Mandela.)

Lucy wants to take after her 2nd cousin (got that right?), Zach, the helicopter pilot instructor.  

On the waterfront, we came upon a group of singers who sounded a lot like Ladysmith Black Mambazo and who quickly befriended the kids.  (And yes, it got me to buy their CD.  "Works every time!"  But, for the record, I do love this kind of music and a lot of passersby weren't giving them the time of day.)

 I'll take "Sunsets" for two hundred, Jack. 
(The view from the not-safe-for-toddlers-but-pretty-to-look-out-on balcony of our apartment.)

 Calisthenics!

The next day we headed out to Hermanus, a small town along the coast known for great whale watching.  At this time of year, the Southern Right (not to be confused with the Christian Right) whales swim around this area.  Supposedly you can often see them right along the cliffs behind Lucy, at this time of year, but, alas, not on the day we were there.

Noah tried to keep up with Lucy, while showcasing Gap's Southern Hemisphere Fall collection.
(Total lie. Clothes are likely from Target.)

We finally got to see some whales, but had to take a boat ride about an hour out to sea.

 Whale-ward ho!

Noah was not convinced about the boat ride at first. ("I'm not even freakin' two yet, guys!  Give me some solid ground."*)  But he perked up immensely once we stopped moving to look at some giant mammals.

* His 2nd birthday is in just 8 days!  Our human Valentine.

 We came upon a mommy and baby whale, who literally swam around our boat for 30 minutes. 
Noah loved looking out at the water through a tiny hole in the floor. (See another at top-right.)

Everyone on board was given a snack.  Whales and potato chips.. two of Lucy's favorite things.

Apparently whale watching is tiring.  

(The drive back from Hermanus.)

 The weather was beautiful the next day, so we took a hike up Lion's Head peak to get a view of the city.

At first, Lucy wasn't so excited to take a hike ("Enough with all the walking, dads!  Can I watch a movie?"), but after lunch along the trail (where we watched para-gliders whoosh by), she suddenly was leading the pack.

 We decided we probably won't take the grandparents on this walk.  It got a bit tight, but they had these lovely chains  to help us out.  Nothing our Pretty In Pink couldn't handle.

 Did I mention we had to climb a ladder, too?

 We met a friend along the way who gave us some tips on hiking (and on how to blend in).

 End of the trail for us.  There was a bit more to go, but it was very steep, so Ad went it alone. 

 The kids and I enjoyed a drink and the view of the city while we waited for Dr Mountain Goat to reach the summit.

 The girl with the dragon(fruit) juicebox.

The morning before we flew home, we hung out at a playground near the water.  It has a nice boardwalk, though the area (SeaPoint) seemed a bit like Sarasota.  (Not that there's anything wrong with Sarasota, Aunt Roz et al.!)

Back in Pretoria (and at work), Adam welcomed folks to a sneak-preview screening of Contagion, which the CDC sponsored for public health officials in Pretoria.  If you haven't seen the movie, I'd recommend it. While it will freak you out a bit (I'm washing my hands as I type this), it did give me a greater appreciation for what Adam does. Or was this a ploy so I wouldn't get mad when he later told me he had to go on a work trip for a week?  ("Works every time!")

This post was officially part of the 2012 "Get our family and friends to come to South Africa" campaign.  Book your tickets today!*  (Did I mention our guest bedroom is en-suite?)  

The Safari went back to school/work/napping on a schedule.  xo,

Glenn

* Cousins Nina and Marc are coming on Saturday(!) and then Grandma Marcia & Grandpa Marvin (of the Buffalo Frankels) arrive on March 2nd.  We're counting down the days!