West Coast National Park

A beautiful trip to take from Cape Town is to drive north through the West Coast National Park.  It is only a short distance, an hour or so, and then you get to the park entrance.  You pay a nominal fee, then you drive yourself through the park.  At first it is a series of rolling hills, much like the road leading up to it.  We saw impala and nyala, as well as ostrich, in the shrub near the road.  Then suddenly, the scenery opens up, and you’re by the ocean.  It’s very lovely.  People have told us to drive this way in the spring, when the wild flowers are blooming, and we will.  This first time though, we went in the heat of summer.  Chris’ parents, Dave and Luci, his brother Andrew, and friend Kenzie were visiting.  We even saw a film crew filming a commercial in the park!  We enjoyed the warm day and the beauty together.

A hike on Lion’s Head

Above the city

Sea Point (and Robben Island) view

The Labia Movie Theaters

We love the movies, and our favorite movie theaters in Cape Town are the Labia.  We may mispronounce it, but we never miss a chance to see a movie there.  They show all kinds of movies – new, old, independent, foreign, documentaries – everything.  They also have a full bar, so you can sip a glass of wine while enjoying the show.  It’s a great place to pass a rainy afternoon.

Tiffany at the Labia Theatre

Here’s Tiffany at the Labia, we sure did enjoy visiting with her here!

Hermanus

We had wanted to visit Hermanus for quite a while, because some of our very favorite wineries are in that area (Bouchard Finlayson, Ataraxia, and Hamilton Russell).  We finally made it down there, and it did not disappoint.

Hermanus is a small town, about 90 minutes east of Cape Town.  It’s famous for its beaches and champagne, and also for whale watching.  Beginning every July, the Southern Right Whales come back to Walker Bay to breed.

We did not visit during whale season this year, but we had a wonderful visit.  We stayed in a small bed & breakfast by a river that come off of the ocean.  In the tall grasses between our place and the water, birds and crickets chirped as we watched a beautiful sunset.  Later that evening we braaied (barbecued) up some delicious food in our kitchenette, and relaxed in the warm evening.

We’ll definitely return to see the whales in a few months.

Hermanus Valley

Hermanus Sunset

Lisa Trying to Braai

De Hoop Nature Reserve

A beautiful spot to visit in the Western Province is the De Hoop Nature Reserve.  It’s a broad length of coastline including the coastal plains and the actual sea coast near the furthest point south on the continent, and it’s one of the largest natural areas managed by Cape Nature Conservation.  It’s made up of clear blue ocean with huge white sand dunes, alongside miles of scrub-brushed plains.    We went there for an afternoon, but it definitely deserved more time.  There is great snorkling, biking, swimming, and bird watching.

We saw beautiful little houses that people can rent to stay in the park, probably some of the same that those on the Whale Trail hike along the coast later in the year, will stay in on their journey.  We really enjoyed it, and plan to make it back there.

De Hoop

De Hoop Ocean View

Tiffany with Bonteboks

Chris on the Dunes

Penguins at Boulders Beach

A classic Cape Town weekend for us is visiting Boulders Beach. It’s just down the road from Simon’s Town, on the False Bay coast.  We love going there to see the penguins.

Penguin at Boulders Beach

This is one of the spots in the Cape where you can go to see African Penguins.  The penguins are everywhere, it is truly their beach, and we are all  just visitors.  They nest in every nook and cranny on the beach, along the boardwalk, even in the storm drains.  The are adorable and amazing to watch.

Jumping for Joy at the Site of Penguins

Penguins on the Rocks

Tiffany and the Penguins

South African Open

We were fortunate enough to attend the South African Open at Pearl Valley Golf Estates, which is in Paarl (about 40 minutes away from Cape Town).

Tiffany, Lisa & Chris at the South African Open

We were ever luckier to be joined by our sister, Tiffany.  She came to surprise us for the Christmas holiday, and it was a WONDERFUL surprise.  So the three of us went to the South African Open

While there, we made it our quest to watch Ernie Els, the world famous golfer.  This was our first time at a professional golf tournament, and it was much more active that watching Tiger on television.  We were with a pack of more than 50 people who ran from hole to hole to try and see Els shoot.  It was a lot of fun.  We ran miles that day to stand close by the “Lion” (as we called him, because of his golf club cover) at each hole.

Ernie Els at the South African Open

His swing was lovely.  Our Pappy was an avid golfer, and we thought of him often watching those effortless and smooth swings.

Els Swinging

Els started way behind, but by the final hole, he was in reach of finishing 2 under the leader.  A score, we found out later, would have won the tournament.  Unfortunately, his putting fell apart on the last hole.  I guess it really is all about your short game.

Ernie Els Putting

Ernie walked away from the course a little down,

Ernie Els Walking Off the Course

and this was made even worse his grabby fans (not us).

This was a really fun day of golf in the sunshine.   The event was well organized, and the location was beautiful.  We had a great time.

Chris & Tiffany with the South African Open mascot

Africa Cafe

A very nice place to get African food in Cape Town is the Africa Cafe.  It has wonderful ambiance, and great art all over the walls to enjoy while eating.  The food is served family style, and there is only one choice, the menu of the day.  Within that though, they are really flexible.  We are both vegetarian, and the fantastic staff at the restaurant gave us many other choices, and numerous helpings of the non-meat options.  We ate and ate – we were so full!  We particularly loved the cassava bread, the Ethiopian black bean stew, the delicious fish, and the Mozambican piri piri sauce.

It’s right in town, and frequented by tour buses, but don’t let that stop you from enjoying African food, very nice service, and a lovely atmosphere at Africa Cafe.

Green Point Soccer Stadium

Cape Town is gearing up for World Cup 2010!  In preparation, Cape Town is building a new stadium right down by the harbor in Green Point.  It’s a lovely location, with a background of Table Mountain on one side and the Atlantic on the other.  We went on a tour of the site, and got to see the building so far.

Green Point Stadium

The new soccer stadium in Cape Town

We even got to pretend we were a part of the construction team!  Well, we just tried on the hat, but we did see a nice show about the history of the site.  It was fun.

Lisa at the Green Point construction site

Kitima

There’s a great brunch to be had at Kitima.  This restaurant in Hout Bay is owned by a Thai family, and serves Thai food, as well as sushi and dim sum.

Chris, Lisa and Jenne at Kitima

We ate here for the first time in October, and we were so impressed with the food and the service.  We always leave incredibly full!