Friday November 9th
We were up bright and early for a great breakfast, then on the bus around 8 AM headed for our first stop at the Rhodes Memorial. The view of the Cape Flats was magnificent despite the rain. From there we headed out to the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens. Sabon our driver dropped us off at the top of the gardens and we walked down through the gardens enjoying the many varieties of Protea (the national flower of South Africa) and many other varieties of plants and trees.
From there we drove along the coast of False Bay to Simon’s town, spotting some humpback whales along the way. At Simon’s town in the Boulders we spent a good time with the Penguins as the sunned themselves on the sandy beach and amongst the rocks.
From there we journeyed to the Black Marlin Restaurant for a wonderful Swordfish Lunch. Then it was time fora little more walking, so away we drove to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve where we wandered out to the edge of the water, taking pictures of the waves crashing on the shoreline. Then it was up to the light house. Some walked up and back, while others rode the Funicular. The walk was about 15 minutes long and was a good cardio workout. The Funicular took about 3 minutes a brief climb to the lighthouse. A few of us got a touch drenched when the clouds opened up and poured down upon us.
This wet motley group then headed back to the hotel to get warmed and cleaned up in time for a great dinner at the Africa Café. There we were extremely well fed on a variety of African dishes – I don’t think anyone left hungry.