Courtney’s Vicarious Voyage... Cape Town, South Africa

Hello from South Africa! This country is the most beautiful country I have seen to date. I was in port from February 24-February 29. The temperature was in the mid 80’s the whole week with a nice breeze. Even the locals said that we were very lucky because February is their hottest month. The sites were just absolutely breath taking. Everywhere I turned I could see majestic mountains, soft ocean ripples, and fresh flowers and fruits that could only come from a place so beautiful.

I spent one day down at the peninsula that help forms the very tip of Africa. Down there I went to see Boulders Beach which is where the people can swim with the African Penguins. It was incredible! Of course the penguins are used to humans, and I was able to get close enough to take a picture with them. While looking at the Penguins, I also saw an octopus in its natural habitat. The octopus was a burnt red color, with a head of almost 12 inches. Its eight gangly tentacles appeared to be well over two feet each. I was with a friend who is studying to be a Marine Biologist and she was telling us how rare it is to see a wild octopus. Just as she was finishing, the octopus swam right up and latched onto her foot; what a surprise.

Later that day I traveled further south to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope, where the Indian and Atlantic Ocean meet. I traveled up Cape Point in a cable car to see the lighthouse, a tall black, white, and red structure on this majestic hilltop. It stood there sturdy and proud like it had for many years. This working lighthouse helped guide ships to the harbor as a beacon of safety. I then hiked down the cape to stand at the second most southern point of Africa, The Cape of Good Hope. The hike was remarkable; full of small furry creatures called Hyrax (whose closest relative is an Elephant), the ocean crashing against the rocks, the sun beginning to set, and the view from the tip. What an afternoon. The last thing I did on the peninsula was go to an ostrich farm. This was a really cool experience because in South Africa they decorate ostrich eggs and sell them as lights. So, here we got to hear a little bit about how they do this and how they use the skin to make purses and wallets. This was a great day of outdoor activity, but the best was still yet to come.

While in Cape Town I was able to go to a reserve where I got to learn how the San tribes used to and still live today. It was very interesting to see a simpler way of life, a hunter-gatherer way of life. While on the reserve I was fortunate enough to see wild Zebras and Ostriches. It made me even more excited to go on the safari I would be going on the next day.

I went on the Aquila Game Reserve Safari. Wow, it was incredible to see almost all of the big five from South Africa: elephant, leopard, rhino, lion, and buffalo. The only one I didn’t get to see was a leopard. While on this two and a half hour driving safari I was able to get pretty close to all the animals. I mean I could count the nails on the hoofs of rhinos, and stripes on zebras. I could smell the lion’s awful breath, and was almost deafened by an elephant. I was able to also see giraffes, cheetahs, warthogs, springbok (South Africa’s national animal), Ostrich, and Hippos. This reserve is really working diligently on trying to preserve some of the most endangered animals while keeping them as wild as possible. This reserve is 7,000 hectares which is approximately 15,400 acres for the animals to roam in. It was definitely a place really trying to make a difference in the only way they know how.

On the last full day I was in Cape Town I did the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. I climbed Table Mountain. Table Mountain is a little over two miles high, but the trail my small group took was almost 4.5 miles. The trail zigzagged across and up the mountain; it took us about two hours to hike up. Of course the day I chose to hike up the mountain a giant cloud covered it. Well, that made for an interesting story. For about the first half hour to forty-five minutes it was sunny, bright and beautiful. Then we started to feel it misting, but soon we realized that it wasn’t actually mist: we were touching the cloud! I have always wanted to touch a cloud. At first it was really cool, but when it actually started pouring it was not as fun. It rained for most of the hike; needless to say we were all soaked to the bone. Once we reached the top though it was beautiful! I could not see all the way around Table Mountain because I was still standing in the cloud (at the very top of the cloud) but what I could see was majestic. It was incredible to see how beautiful nature is from so high up.

In general I loved South Africa. It reminded me a bit of San Francisco, but it was also very different. Although it was not my favorite place to date it is one that I would love to come back to with some of my family. There is so much to do here; it is impossible to do it all in one trip. My next stop is Mauritius, and I will be arriving on March 6th. Until then please follow my blog at: agirlaroundtheworld-2012.blogpot.com

Bon Voyage