Notes from Yesterday.

It’s early morning here in Cape town and the day is going to be busy. The mountain is grey still and when I finish this, it will be in bright sunshine.

We drive on a very narrow road where hills rise to huge heights on the left. The ground drops hundreds of feet on the other side of the road to meet the foaming  turquoise ocean.

Along the way we come upon beaches fringed with white houses, they  present a universal affluence.

Ocean views give way to lush green pastures and small towns are nestled in tree lined valleys. Many of the houses in the more remote areas are very modest.  Towns with interesting names like Fish Hoek and Noordhoek.

This area is unique, the mountains and prevailing ocean winds cause cloud vacuums and clouds burst through  the mountain cuttings like grey rolling blankets.

Sometimes when we stop at a stop light, women approach the bus with white paper in the hand. I’m led to believe that it has their name and address and their career expertise. House keeping, child care, etc.  I’ve never been exposed to that before, It’s sad, they are often refugees from Zimbabwe and these are desperate times.

An Ostrich stands at the edge of the water looking very much out of place as she walks delicately on on backward legs.

By that I mean her knees are under her skirt of feathers and the joint what we see at knee height is actually her ankle.

We stopped at the sign to tell us we were at the The Cape of Good Hope, I was more interested in the wildlife rather than the life behind the sign.

We drove through majesty to Cape Point Light House.

Cape Point is in the Cape of Good Hope nature reserve within Table Mountain National Park, which forms part of the Cape Floral Region, a World Heritage Site. It includes the majestic Table Mountain chain, which stretches from Signal Hill to Cape Point, and the coastlines of the Cape Peninsula. This narrow stretch of land, dotted with beautiful valleys, bays and beaches, contains a mix of extraordinarily diverse and unique fauna and flora.

Named the ‘Cape of Storms’ by Bartolomeu Dias in 1488; the ‘Point’ was treated with respect by sailors for centuries. By day, it was a navigational landmark and by night, and in fog, it was a menace beset by violent storms and dangerous rocks that over the centuries littered shipwrecks around the coastline.
In 1859 the first lighthouse was completed; it still stands at 238 metres above sea-level on the highest section of the peak and is now used as the centralised monitoring point for all the lighthouses on the coast of South Africa. Access to this historical building is by an exhilarating three-minute ride in the wheelchair-accessible Flying Dutchman funicular that transfers visitors from the lower station at 127 metres above sea-level, to the upper station.

Last time we were here, Keith and I walked to the light house, this time with a damaged fetlock, I took the Funicular.

 

 

I walked out on this rock too last time. The scenery was spectacular and I just loved that turquoise ocean.

Lunch was at a local restaurant overlooking the Ocean,  Spectacular views and great food.

It’s the first timeI’ve ever been to a ladies loo and serenaded by an attendant singing hymns.  “Thank you” I said, “what is the song  about” “Jesus” she said with a smile.

We were entertained by the antics of the Baboons in the carpark. There is a dedicated ranger with a big stick to frighten them off, but they are determined to add junk food to their diet.

He ran and hid under a bus, then his buddy jumped on a car and whipped the goodies out of the hands of one of the passengers.

A short drive found us at the Penguin Sanctuary, so I will let the photos tell the story.