Cape Town

This past year before I left the US, when I told people who’ve been here before that I was moving to South Africa, they would typically ask, “Oh, to Cape Town?” with hopeful expressions on their faces. Then I’d have to watch their face fall, when I said, “No, Johannesburg,” and then endure lectures about keeping my doors locked (…it’s really not that bad guys).

But having visited Cape Town myself this past weekend, I can really see why everyone hoped I’d land there. It. Is. Gorgeous. Set against the ocean with dramatic mountains bordering the city, it is picturesque in every sense of the word. 

Now Johannesburg and Cape Town have a little bit of a domestic rivalry – sort of like East Coast vs. West Coast in the US. Johannesburg is more of an economic hub, where everyone is on the go and time is money. Cape Town is a little slower paced, and has a bit of a hipster flare with its funky vegan-friendly coffee shops and bearded, flannel-wearing proprietors... a lot of whom have taken to wearing fanny packs over their shoulder like a satchel... I mean... c’mon.

While I’m coming around to calling Jo’burg a temporary home, my weekend in Cape Town was fantastic. There is a lot to do, both in and around the city, and Cape Town is one of the most multi-cultural cities in the world, as a major destination for immigrants and expats. The city of Cape Town was developed as a trading hub by the Dutch East India Company and thus has a very old style European feel in a lot of its architecture. All good stuff.

View from our Airbnb

But it’s really the natural beauty that make Cape Town so amazing. Table Mountain looms over the downtown area like a stationary tidal wave, threatening to rejoin the sea on the other side of the city. It’s just magnificent. Further down the peninsula, the mountains continue to impose, forcing twists and turns in the roadways that run along the crystal blue ocean, with the rocky overhangs above. And fortunately, most of the Cape Peninsula is devoted to a National Park, preserving the natural beauty and wildlife that make this area so interesting.

Driving down the Peninsula  

Now. I have to come clean. One of the reasons that I am so enamored with Cape Town is that I got to fulfill a lifelong dream about an hour after I arrived: riding a horse on the beach. Now I’ve had opportunity before this to ride on the beach, but I never wanted to do it if you’re only allowed to do nose to tail walking down the beach. Cuz that’s just lame. Fortunately my travel buddy is also an experienced rider, so we were able to find a place that would let us have free rein… pun intended.

Me and Pocket

It was just the two of us with the guide, which made it so much more fun. My horse, named Pocket, was a bit of a stick in the mud…we had a few minor disagreements, and I really had to earn my beach canters, but it was so worth it. You could not ask for a more beautiful place to ride on the beach. The sand is nearly white, and the ocean is a pearly turquoise blue, plus you have the fabulous mountains rising up in front of you. Just stunning. One bucket list item checked off and definitely a highlight of the trip.

Riding towards the beach 

Heaven on earth

The best views in life are between two ears

What a ride

The next day, we embarked on a full day tour of the Cape Peninsula, including a stop at the Cape of Good Hope, the South-Western most tip of the African continent. The name comes from the great sense of optimism it created by discovering a shipping route from the East to India, first sailed by Vasco da Gama in 1497. But another, more apt nickname, is the graveyard of ships – some 3,000 ships met their demise trying to sail around this Peninsula. (Fun fact: the Cape of Good Hope is also home to the legend of the flying Dutchmen – which is pretty cool.) But it’s a rocky, jutting coastline, and the wind is wicked strong, so I can definitely see why so many sailors met their maker trying to sail this area.

Looking back on the Peninsula

Yes, it really was that windy

Another fun excursion was visiting the penguin colony that lives at Boulder Beach, on the Eastern side of the Cape Peninsula. These penguins are everywhere, and they are so darn cute. You can also get really close to them. There were a lot of signs warning people not to try and pet the penguins, because they bite, and it took a lot of self-control not to reach out and tickle one on the back. I’ll be visiting the penguin twice more, with my parents and then with my friends/sister, so I still have time to decide if it’s worth losing part of my finger. I go back and forth. We’ll see.

Must...pet...

It's literally a penguinfestation. 

Waddle waddle waddle.

Its adorable seeing the penguins cuddle up on the beach – but I think my favorite this is watching them body surf out of the water, then stand up and waddle up beach. The way they walk is just so comical.

The last thing we fit into the weekend was taking a trip up Table Mountain. I do plan on doing the hike up the mountain on a later trip – but this time we took the cable car.

Now, Table Mountain alone is worth the visit to Cape Town. Thought to be one of the oldest mountains on Earth, Table Mountain is six times older than the Himalayas and five times older than the Rockies. The top is made up of mostly sandstone, a relatively soft rock, and the base is mostly granite. About 300 million years ago, the mountain was still at sea level during an ice age, during which the sheets of ice compressed the softer top layer, creating the flat top shape we see today. When the continents split, magma rose up and up, pushing Table Mountain to the 3,558ft it is today. (see, I learned things too.)

We waited a very long time to get on the cable car to ride to the top – over an hour I’d say. Table Mountain is obviously a big tourist draw, and the cable car can only hold about 25 people at a time. Not to mention there is only ONE cable car that goes each direction, which seems dumb and inefficient, but I’m sure there’s some reason you can’t have more than that running up and down. Be it money or physics. But it was 100% totally, completely, absolutely worth the wait.

View of Cape Town

View of the Peninsula

Can't get enough

I cannot say enough how spectacular the view is from the top of Table Mountain. You can see the whole city looking over one edge of the cliff, and on the other side you can see the rest of the mountain range, rising through the center of the Peninsula like a spine, with the beautiful waters on either side. You just can’t go wrong anywhere you look. It was a gorgeous sunny day as well, not too windy like the two previous days we had. The cable cars actually close when the wind picks up, so we were pretty lucky to have nice weather.

We spent a few hours walking around on top – sipping coffee and wine from the little café next to the cable car station, and trying to find the perfect spot to pose for a pic. But none of the pictures do it justice.

If Cape Town was not on your travel bucket list before, I highly suggest you write it in. With pen, not pencil. I promise you won’t regret it.