Day 2: Capetown Environs

Day 2:  Capetown Environs

Woke from a dead sleep this morning to "Bell Bottom Blues", our travel alarm wakeup song.  We both staggered out of bed to meet for breakfast.  Suzanne and Rich came in late last night and got down a little late and more bleary-eyed than us.  Our guide, Clive, joined us under the pretext of having coffee, but I think he was really trying to get us moving for a big day, kayaking, penguins, Cape of Good Hope.

On the way to our kayaking stop,  Clive told us we may have to scrub our plans due to high (20mph) winds and waves.  We would go to the boat launch in Simon's Town on the east coast of the Cape Peninsula on False Bay.  Simon's Town was the home of the Royal Navy when S. Africa was under  Great Britain's rule, and now is home to the South African Navy.  There was a great story about a mascot of the British naval officers, a dog named Just Nuisance.  The dog rode the train with the officers when they went into Cape Town on leave until the conductors decided that only officers could be on the train-no dogs.  So the British gave Just Nuisance a commission in the Royal Navy.  He was treated like an officer until his death at which time he was given a funeral  with full military honors.

Back to kayaking.  Our kayaking guide, Derek, met us at the dock and informed us we were good to go if we were game.  The winds were diminishing to 10-15mph.  No worse than Lake Sunapee, so off we went.  The water was flat until we passed the breakwater, then it got pretty exciting.  Alot of wind in our face, and big swells, but we made it to our destination, a beach full of South African Penguins!  They are also called "Jack-Ass" Penguins due to the braying sounds that they make.  The ride back was pretty easy with the wind and waves to our backs.  We tried surfing the waves, but it required a bit more skill than we had.  We got back around noon, wet, and a little tired, but feeling it was well worth it.

Next stop, lunch at Harbour House.  A great restaurant on the beach with crashing waves, seals and great views. 

We continued south on the Peninsula toward Cape Point.  Along the way, we spotted our first  significant wildlife (other than the penguins and seals), baboons, wild ostriches, and elands (ruminants with long horns).



 We got to the Cape Point and hiked along the coast getting some spectacular views of the rugged coastline.  There were a huge number of rock hyraxes along the hike which seemed unfazed by humans.

Too many picures and dawdling put us a bit behind schedule, trying to get the best light we could for photos.  We hustled to a nesting site of penguins which is part of the Cape National Park.  This was the same area we had kayaked in earlier in the day, but access to the penguins was a bit better.  We saw penguin eggs, chicks, juveniles and adults.  Also spotted a blacksmith plover (that's for you, Milt) and an oystercatcher. 

Last stop was sunset at Chapman's Peak on the way back to Cape Town, and a surprise birthday party for Jeri.  Per my request, Clive had brought a bottle of wine and cupcakes and we surprised Jeri right at sunset.  It was a great birthday!


It's near midnight, so photos will have to wait until tomorrow.  Sorry