The new year started with a new adventure... It was our honeymoon and our plan was to go to Africa with a first stop in Cape Town to get acclimatized, before heading to the wilderness of Namibia. As this was our first trip to the continent we didn't really know what to expect. We heard the scariest stories about crimes, scams, health issues and so on and we were definitely more excited than on any of our other travels. Actually, this trip was my idea and Bastian was not so sure at all as he felt we should continue to explore Asia before doing something else.
Well, I am glad that I managed to convince him! Cape Town is beautiful and we had a wonderful time. We were on a tight schedule, barely two days to explore the city is really not enough so we were rushing from one attraction to the other. First stop was Bloubergstrand where we snapped our first picture of Table Mountain. We then headed to V&A Waterfront, Cape Town's popular working harbour.
We checked into a nice boutique hotel called Derwent House. It is located at the base of Table Mountain. The hotel is nicely decorated and was really comfortable. The owners Carol and Jo were wonderful and were a great help with our planning...
After checking in, we strolled around the center of the city. At Green Market Square, the vibrant flea market, we bought a few souvenirs.
Cape Town is also known for its good food and we had a seafood lunch at Bizerca Bistro. Bastian loves Oysters and wasn't disappointed... Yamie ;-)
In the morning of day two we went to Bo-Kaap, formerly known as the Malay Quarter. It is basically a township, situated on the slopes of Signal Hill above the city centre. The area is known for its romantic cobble stoned streets and colorful houses.
We drove down south along the coast for about one hour towards the Cape of Good Hope. Its a spectacular drive with the most amazing scenery that you can think off. If you dream of driving on California's Hwy 1, go here... Its breathtaking!!!
Off to the Cape of Good Hope, a huge Natural Reserve where we could have spent at least a full day. It was so relaxing hiking and exploring it. Its often falsely described as the southern tip of the African continent where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. In fact, the southernmost point is Cape Agulhas about 90 miles east from here.
There was a sign right up on the top of the lighthouse and we were reminded how far away from home we were... but honestly, we did not think of going back just yet!
We couldn't get enough of Cape Town. Next on the menu: Penguins on the rock! Near Simonstown is Boulders Beach, a beautiful white beach with turquoise waters which is home to a colony of African penguins.
We were already running late in our schedule and Bastian said that we could not leave without having been to the top of Table Mountain. We had to compromise our dinner plans and canceled our booking. Well, we canceled lunch already due to our time constraints and I wasn't very happy about his determination... Bastian convinced me by saying that there is a nice restaurant at the peak!
The restaurant wasn't exactly what I expected and Bastian bought a few nuts, potato chips and a coke. My face expression tells it all ;-)
But the views were amazing... and yes, it was really worth it! We enjoyed the views and took many many pictures. We could not believe that we were leaving this wonderful city the next morning already...
When we were back down at the Cable Car Station, my appetite kicked in again and I was desperate for some real food. We decided to go to a Steak House. The restaurant had lots of variety of meat: Springbok, Ostrich, Gemsbok, Kudu... wait a second... that's only game meat on the menu! Bastian tried all of it and said it was not too bad! My french fries were fine too ;-)
