The very bottom of Africa.......

After Cape Town we hired a car for 3 days and drove down the Cape Peninsula.  We stayed at a nice a quiet backpackers hostel in a small town called Kommetjie.  It was a nice place owned by a Dutch couple, it had a lovely pool and a nice view of Chapmans Peak.  It was also a good place for us to up the running training for the Kilimanjaro Half Marathon in a couple of weeks time.

We went down to Kalk Bay which is a little harbour and watched the local fishermen bring in their catch.  The local fish catch in these waters is called Snook and is similar to a Barracuda.

 Bringing home the catch. 

Buying some fish. 

Gutted !!.....

....and on the plate !!!! 

 Ready for a swim. 

 Changing huts at Kalk Bay. 

We visited Boulders beach which is famous for African Penguins.  We went in the evening when the penguins had come ashore for the night, and there was a quite a few of them.

 Gillian an some African Penguins. 

Up close. 

 Down the beach. 

Next day we drove all the way down to the most South Western corner of Africa : The Cape of Good Hope and done a nice walk along the Cliffs to Cape Point and back.

Raising the Standard at the Cape of Good Hope. 

Hiking the bottom of Africa. 

 Gillian in the stocks !!  

 GIllian's new friend.

 Rock Hydrax or Dassie. 

 Looking toward Cape Point. 

A scaley friend. 

Cape Point. 

Cape Point Light House.

Cape Point.

Close up of the Light House.

On the drive back we bumped in to some more wildlife !!!

 Baboons !!!! 

Gillian found a tortoise. 

Tortoise .

We took another really good point at a park called Silvermine.  It was close to our hostel at Kommetjie.  Its overlooked by lots of tourists on their way down to Cape Point.  A great walk with some fantastic views of Chapmans Peak and Houts Bay.

View along the peninsula. 

Deano !!

Looking down toward Cape Point from Silvermine. 

Another stunning view. 

 View from our Hostel. 

A great end to our Cape Peninsula Tour, Wine and Biltong watching the sunset. 

On our drive back to Cape Town we got caught in in the Saturday morning cycle on Chapmans Peak Drive.  Looks like a great route for the bikes.

Cyclists climbing. 

Cape Town and the Peninsula are a really great part of South Africa to visit, loads to do.  We had planned to fly up to Tanzania from here, but we decided to "pop in" back at Durban to visit Alex and some of his volunteers and see how they were getting on, so one more blog from South Africa !!!!

Down town in Cape Town.

Finally we made it to Cape Town, the jewel in the crown of South Africa.  It certainly lives upto that title lots to do and see.  The main part of the city is actually quite small it is known as the city bowl and is sandwiched between Table Mountain, The Lion's Head (another big hill in the city), Signal Hill (from where they fire the noon day gun) and the sea.  The first think we decided to do was stretch out legs and climb up Table Mountain, we looms up behind the city to 1080 Metres.  You can take the cable car up and down but we decided to climb up one of the many walking paths.  You may think its a nice easy walk to the top, but its pretty much the equivelent of climbing a Munro and the path we took (The Platteklip Gorge route) was the most direct, but the toughest and was pretty much straight up !!!!

Start of the climb.

Gillian at the bottom of the Patteklip gorge.

 Looking back down the gorge.

 Gillian on the summit at Maclears Peak.

 Cape Town in the background (Lions Head on the left and Signal Hill on Dean's right). 

 Gillian and Cape Town (you can see Green Point Stadium above Gillians Head). 

At the cable car station.

 Table Mountain cable cars (note we are walking !!!).

 In the evening the table cloth covers the mountain.

The next day we got the Cape Town city bus tour which was great as it took us to some of the nice beaches around the city.  We also went to some museums on the route.

A nice start to the bus trip : Table Mountain.

On the bus !!

 Camps Bay.

Victoria and Alfred Waterfront.

 Down the waterfront with Table Mountain in the background.

Downtown Cape Town.

Gillian selects her valentines muffin at Charlies bakery.

  District 6 was a vibrant part of Cape Town where many different people from different backgrounds worked and lived together. In 1966  the apartheid government decided to declare the area "White Only" area and force removed the whole community and demolished their homes.  There was much international condemnation of this and the area was been left deserted since then.

 District 6 Museum.

District 6 as it is now.

View from our hostel.

 Some of the rich residents of Cape Town.

Cape Town city hall, where Nelson Mandela made his first public appearance after his release. 

 Time to get fit at the open air gym on Sea Point.

 Cape Town Victoria and Alfred waterfront.

No trip to Cape Town would be complete without a trip to visit Robben Island, a maximum security prison for politican prisoners during apartheid.  This is where many leaders and members of the African National Congress (ANC), including Nelson Mandela were imprisoned.  The tour is very interesting especially as the tour is conducted by a former inmate called "Sepo".

On the ferry out to Robben Island.

 Gateway to the prison.

 Prison Football pitch.

 Former inmate "Sepo" telling us about life in the prison. 

Prisoners slept on the floor until 1970's when they successfully managed to protest for proper beds. 

Prison corridor.

Nelson Mandela's Cell.

Nelson Mandela's Cell.

Watch tower.

Lime quarry where prisoners were forced to do hard labour.  The prisoners quarried the lime for 15 years.  The first 6 months the lime was used to surface the roads on the Island, afterwards they did it for no reason at all.  Many of the prisoners suffered eye damage from the brightness of the light in the quarry (Nelson Mandela now has  to wear sunglasses due to this).

Looking back from Robben Island to Cape Town.

The last area we visited is called Bo-Kaap. It is a colourful quarter of the city where many of the Malaysian communities live.

 Gillian in the Bo-Kaap.

Colourful Houses.

 Bo-Kaap Street.

Last sunset in Cape Town.

Cape Town was a very interesting city to visit and there is plenty to do here for everyone hiking, museums, nice bars and cafes.  After our little city break we hired a car for a few days and packed out bags and headed down the Cape Peninsula to visit the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point.