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Cape Town - November 2007

This is a great place to start a visit to southern Africa.  We stayed at the Victoria and Alfred waterfront which is a lot like the wharf area of San Francisco.  There are many good restaurants and shops, as well as a host of interesting sites to visit.  A short ride south brings you to the Cape of Good Hope, where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet.  The Cape is located in a game reserve where baboons, ostriches and zebras are plentiful.  South Africa is noted for its abundance of flowers.  Kirstenbosch Gardens, a short drive from the waterfront has spectacular scenery and a great collection of native protea.

No visit to Cape Town is complete without a visit to Table Mountain.  We went on a beautiful day so the queues were long, but it was well worth the wait.  The cable car ride to the top is worth the price of admission.  It rotates 360 degrees so all passengers get equally good views.

Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens features an outstanding  display of native protea in a scenic area just under the mountains.  Click here to see a collage of colorful flora from the Gardens.  Look closely and you will spot an owl.

Table Mountain is to Cape Town as the Golden Gate bridge is to San Francisco - a symbol of the city.	The ride to the top takes 10 minutes.  The elevation is more than 3,000 feet.	Each car holds 65 passengers.  On nice days the wait is substantial.	This shot was taken from the cable car.  The water looks very blue from here.	Here is a look at the central business district.

We were told that we visited the Cape on a relatively calm day.  It was windy enough for us.	Baboons roam freely at the Cape.  They have learned how to open car doors to steal food.	This zebra looks lonely but was soon joined by a couple of his striped brethren.	The ostriches at the Cape turned out to be the only ones we saw on the entire trip.	Our guide pointed out that when male ostriches are hot to trot their front legs turn red.

Back to Table Mountain.  This view is straight south to the Cape.	Robben Island is Cape Town's answer to Alcatraz.  Nelson Mandela was imprisoned here for nearly twenty years.	There is a penguin colony on the Indian Ocean side of the peninsula.  This little fellow is getting ready for summer.	The waterfront area is very lively.  Bands play night and day. This outfit was very talented.	Clouds on the mountain are called the tablecloth.  They make for interesting sunsets.