We could see the Atlantic Ocean from our unit
We could see the Atlantic Ocean from our unit
The Twelve Apostles mountain range, just south of Cape Town
We drove south down the Atlantic Coast. This is Hout Bay.
The coast is full of beautiful beaches like this one.
This is the Chapman's Peak toll road, carved out of solid rock.
But the views are worth it
They need nets to catch falling rocks.
Steve climbed all the way up to the lighthouse at Cape Point, the southwesternmost point in Africa.
A long way from home...
On the way back, we stopped at Boulders Beach. Why?
There were penguins--LOTS of penguins!
All together now, aw....
Penguins mate for life.
A male standing guard
over his mate in her nest.
There were lots of young (the brown furry ones).
On the lookout
Our next trip was out to the Wine Country (east of Cape Town).
It was winter, so many of the fields were bare.
The Taal--the monument to the Afrikaans language.
The symbols of the origins of Afrikaans
These pillars represent the European roots (Dutch, German, English).
The domes represent African origins.
The pool represents the living nature of the language.
The views from the monument are magnificent.
Looking at the town of Paarl down in the valley.
And the monument grounds are beautifully landscaped.
This is the “red-hot poker” flower.
One of the locals--a rock hyrax. It's closest relative is, believe it or not, the elephant.
A beautiful specimen of Bird of Paradise
The South African national flower, the King Protea
Then we went to the charming university town of Stellenbosch.
A classic Cape Dutch building.
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One of Stellenbosch's churches.
We visited the town museum--four period houses with appropriate gardens. This is the model in the visitor's center.
The first house.
The kitchen, with herbs hanging from the ceiling to dry. There was a costumed cultural interpreter in each house.
The fireplace was a treat on a cold winter day.
One of the bedrooms--also a workroom.
Another bedroom.
The second house, a great example of Cape Dutch architecture. Note the white gable.
And the garden.
The center hall of the H-design home.
Each home had gorgeous examples of woodwork.
A bedroom
Wouldn't this look great in YOUR house!
There were beautiful clocks in each house.
The “office”
Bedroom
The kitchen--a step up from the first house.
The third house.
The center hall, with a piano.
Another clock.
And another piano.
The sitting room.
Kitchen number three.
The bedrooms were upstairs.
Another room with room for baby
The pianos are getting fancier--this is in the fourth house.
The study/office.
This Victorian house was full of patterns.
The dining room.
And the kitchen--finally, a “real” oven.
Milady's bedroom
The children's room--note all the toys.
The bathroom even had a shower.
and tub
Famous Table Mountain--Cape Town's symbol. It's time to see the city.
Table Mountain and other mountains dominate the area--jutting up in the middle of town.
The Castle of Good Hope.
The harbor--the reason the town was founded (to supply Dutch ships).
The old and the new.
Scenes of buildings around town. (Steve took a bus tour while Judy was meeting librarians.)
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American inroads.
On the way to wine farms in the Constantia area, within the Cape Town city limits.
The most famous of the Constantia vineyards.
We didn't get a tour of the vineyard, but did get to taste seven wines.
At the center of the city is the Company's Garden which the Dutch East India Company planted with vegetables to resupply ships. It's now a green oasis used by downtowners and home to many museums.
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A giant rubber tree
Of course we had to look at a library....
The National Library--the statue is of an early governor of Cape Town
Cape Town is the legislative capital of South Africa. Here is the Parliament Building. (The other TWO capitals are Pretoria--administrative, and Bloemfontein--judicial.)
The cathedral where Archbishop Desmond Tutu presided.
Cecil Rhodes.
Rhodes made a fortune in gold and diamonds and donated a lot of it back to Africa. The country of Rhodesia and the Rhodes scholarships are named for him.
The South African Museum. It has a nice collection, but suffers from a lack of money.
These two towers are part of the Great Synagogue.
The old synagogue.
The building is now part of the beautiful Museum of South African Jewry.
The facade of the new synagogue (1930s).
We spent our last day in Africa at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, a complex of shops and restaurants.
You could spend days at the Waterfront and still not experience it all.
A weaving workshop employing only native women.
Musicians entertain the shoppers.
It's also a working port and cruise ships dock here too.
Baia restaurant, where we had a wonderful lunch. Steve had ostrich, kudu, and wildebeest steaks and Judy had duck.
Like this sunset from Camps Bay near Cape Town, all good things must come to an end.