Exploring Cape Town

After two beautiful, yet jet-lagged, days in Hermanus, we headed back to Cape Town, stopping off at more cute vineyards along the way. On our way into Cape Town, we stopped at a small country store in the hills of Grabouw, to get rusks and (much needed) coffee. The country store was adorable and had a very cute bookstore made out of an old fire truck. In order to buy a book, you just needed to donate what you can, not pay for them.

This was my first time trying this South African staple, and I really liked them! Rusks are like dried sweet bread, very similar to biscotti, and they go great with coffee, or traditional South African Rooibos tea.

Our next stop was the Groot Constantia winery. South Africa is known for having great wineries, and we got to tour the oldest one in SA! Groot Constantia started in 1685, but only became famous worldwide in 1815 when Napoleon declared it his favorite. We had lunch in a beautiful courtyard in the original manor house, and then went on a tour of the current production center. The vineyard was so pretty with amazing views of Table Mountain, the ocean, and downtown Cape Town. All of the old and original buildings are done in Cape Dutch style, and some even have thatch roofs. The wine tour was interesting because before it I knew very little about wine and I learned all about the differences between white and red, and how different burn levels on the inside of wine barrels creates different flavors.

On our way to Noordhoek, we had two stops. Stop number one was at the Hout Bay market, where I saw another classic South African market. These markets are so interesting to me because they have everything. Shops sell everything from handmade African prints and trinkets, to modern clothing, and food. Stop number two was at Chapman’s Peak Drive, which is a road that goes along a cliff, and through a national park; it is considered one of the most beautiful drives in SA.

After an hour more of driving, we arrived in the suburb of Noordhoek where we were to stay with Mandy and Steve’s friends for the night. We watched the Women’s World Cup finals, and everyone was very excited for me when the USA won! I may have slightly bruised Jenna during my celebration after Rapinoe’s goal. I tried Bobotie Pie, which is a traditional SA savory pie with minced beef, mixed spice, raisins, egg, and chutney (the ingredients make it sound odd, but it was quite delicious).

The next day, we headed to Cape Point, which is a peninsula where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet. It was really beautiful, and my favorite part was the beach at the bottom. If you want to, you can walk down the side on the cliff via hundreds of stairs and camp on the beach or in caves on the cliffside, there were also surfers enjoying the waves down there.

The rest of our day was filled with wildlife! We went to Boulders Beach, and saw penguins! They were adorable, and my favorite were the baby ones because they are super fluffy and fuzzy, and some even had spots! Most of the penguins were nesting, so they didn’t do much, but some were near the water teaching the babies how to swim.

After seeing the penguins, we went to Kalk Bay to look at the seals! The seals were so large, and honestly a little scary! Some people were throwing fish into the bay, so we got to watch the seals chase them and then jump off the dock to get the fish. Jenna and I almost got run over by one, they are much quicker than one would think. I thought they were just really cute water puppies, but everyone else just thought they smelt bad. I also really loved the harbor as well, because the water was such a pretty green/blue, and all the boats were such beautiful, bright colors. Cape Town has been amazing so far, and I look forward to writing more about what we do here! Also, the Table Mountain cable car is closed for renovations, so I will not be able to go up, but we are going to go to Signal Hill and it is supposed to have an amazing view of Cape Town as well.