Over the weekend, seven of us piled into one of the smallest cars I've ever seen and braved the 4-hr drive to spend a long weekend in Cape town. We spent a beautiful, blue-bird sky Saturday morning having brunch on the beach at Camp's Bay, where we rubbed elbows with rugby players and early surfers. After brunch, we headed to the top of Cape town and enjoyed the views from Table Mountain. It was officially one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, and we were so lucky to be up there on a perfectly clear day. We had perfect views of the new stadium by Cape town's waterfront for the World Cup, and then of Camp's Bay where we had just eaten. I think I must have taken about a thousand photos from every angle on top of the mountain.
After Table mountain, we headed to the waterfront and went to the Two Oceans Aquarium. The aquarium was also amazing, with the most beautiful 360 degree tank filled to the brim with clownfish, and a predator tank with fat raggy-toothed sharks and eagle rays. We followed the aquarium visit with a drive along the coast to Fishhoek, Simon's town, and Muizenberg where we spent the night in a quiet surfer town. The next morning we drove very early to Boulder Beach where we saw wild colonies of African penguins on an absolutely pristine white sand beach. The penguins were adorable and it was incredible to see them playing on a beach instead of around glaciers and ice caps. Again, I took way more photos than ever before and it was very hard picking just one to post on the blog.
We ended the weekend with a tour of Robben Island. The weather turned appropriately cloudy and cold for our trip around the prison, although it was amazing to listen to our tour guide (a former prisoner for 7 years) tell of his former life. The prison was covered with photos of it's most famous prisoner, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, who spent 18 years on the island. It was a very sobering end to the weekend, but it felt right to spend 3 hours learning about Cape town's history before heading back to Mossel Bay. I absolutely loved my weekend in Cape town, and sometime in the future I would love to call Camp's Bay or Simon's town, "home." They have the perfect mix of beautiful beaches, green mountains to hike, waves to surf, small restaurants and cafes, and most importantly......... white sharks in the waters.
