South Africa - Peninsula Tour

I was unprepared for the searing beauty of the coastline on the south western tip of the African continent. The wild blue sea thundering in to soft white sandy beaches, the greenery and red soil around the roads, the rugged cliffs behind. It's dramatic and breathtaking and there's no better way to see it than a tour around the Peninsula. Thanks to Stephanie M for going back and forth with me via email and sharing her experiences with the trip she took last year and this drive in particular. That put it on my radar and I knew it was a must do. Not only do you see the sights, but you get a feel for all of the neighborhoods around Cape Town.

We were picked up at our hotel at 9:30 and set off. Our first stop was a little dock in Kalk Bay. We saw some lazy seals and MFD talked fishing with the fishermen. 

We spent an inordinate amount of time at Mineral World outside of Simonstown in response to me telling the driver I liked to browse on vacation. Great prices and some really cool stuff like this enormous pink quartz outside the entrance. You could also see them work with the stones in the factory. Good coffee too. There's not a ton of coffee to go in South Africa. They serve it in a cup and saucer and want you to sit down with it. 

The infamous Boulders Beach with the penguins was next. I have eleventy billion photos of these penguins. The winds were so high here that tears were running down my face and my dress blew up to display my underwear (I was not the only one, LOL), but I was lucky to see the amazing views from this area regardless of the snafus. The penguins were SO CUTE I wanted to take them all home. 

On the way to Cape Point Nature Reserve, we passed some baboons on the road. Like hello...something I never thought I'd say to my fellow passengers - oh look, baboons.

We got to Cape Point at around lunch time. Cape Point is known as Cape of Storms as many ships have wrecked around these waters through the centuries. We took the flying dutchman funicular up to the original lighthouse, built in 1859. We had great views of the treacherous coastline and Diaz Beach near the Cape of Good Hope.

Remember me mentioning the crazy winds? Look at my hair here:

We had lunch at the restaurant at the base of Cape Point, Two Oceans. The views were spectacular and so was the food and service. Top notch meal for like $30 USD. Here is where I tell you that the African sun is a very cruel mistress. My back got lit up in the 45 minutes it took to eat lunch, even with sunblock on.

Just down the road is the Cape of Good Hope, the most South Western point of the African continent. I love shit like this, especially signs. The wind was whipping and the American / other people disconnect on the concept of what a line is were both in full force here but there was no way I was skipping this photo op because I am a touron (tourist + moron) and tourons don't back down from these things even though I can tell I'm gritting my teeth in this photo. The bottom right photo is a lone ostrich meandering along the coast. Oh, Africa. I like your animals.

On the way out of the Cape of Good Hope, we stopped a few times to take photos and walk down to a beach. I really have no words to describe this scenery but I will never forget what it feels like to stand on boulders honed by the winds and water over millions of years, to feel the hot sun on my face and the punishing wind whipping around me while I'm gazing out on an ocean so energetic and blue that it seemed to pulse in time with my heart. To look down the coast onto an empty beach and see my husband contemplating the ocean, no one else around, like we were at the ends of the earth. To glance behind me and see green and rocks and earth that has seen so much through the passage of time. It was pretty fucking cool. I could wax poetic about it but pretty fucking cool sums it up.

LOL @ this video, in which I forget I'm taking video and try to restrain my panic at the prospect of MFD making his way down to the wet rocks. 

The last stop on our tour was the scenic overlook for Hout Bay on Chapman's Peak Drive. It was incredible but so windy that I didn't want to walk that close to the railing - I seriously almost fell down a few times. 

We were deposited back at our hotel at 5:30. It was a stellar day, and we felt like we had a really good grasp of the layout of the Cape at our own pace with some fabulous guidance, and we saw that we'd like to see more of Camps Bay, which we ended up doing the next day when we found out the shark excursion was cancelled. 

Private Driver
I was trolling the Trip Advisor forums as I am wont to do, and hooked up with Kestrel Services. John is the owner and answered my email promptly. He was unavailable for the day, but his partner Deanne was open and able to take us out. Private driver and Mercedes for an eight hour tour of the peninsula cost us $150USD. Deanne was funny, friendly, and knowledgeable. No contract or advance payment is required, and Deanne was there promptly at the agreed upon time.

Previous post on Cape Town: click here.