The next day was dedicated to Nick showing us all around Cape Town and taking a minor road trip out to some of the various bays that make up the city and its suburbs. Despite questionable weather, the city was surprisingly gorgeous from the towering grassy mountains these cities are situated between and their proximity to the ocean. We drove around most of the Cape and stopped at a few places along the way where we had some fresh oysters and a pizza with cranberries, avocado, and feta cheese crumbles that was far better than I had expected it might be.
Clear view of Table Mountain
Cape Town suburb
That evening we went out to a local bar that is known for serving delicious cocktail milkshakes which all of us decided would be a better decision than another big night out. It was Sunday evening so not much of a surprise that we were the only people in the bar until 2 African women walked in and sat at the table behind us. Initially, it seemed a bit odd since the bar was wide open in front of us. They were there for a couple minutes before leaving because, as we learned later, they did not have cash and the bar did not accept credit cards. About 3 minutes later we decided to pay and head back, and I looked to pass Liz her purse (which was on the stool to my left and Liz was on my right) and noticed it was no longer there. We quickly checked the ground and had no luck and realized it had to have been those women who just stole it from under our noses. Liz, myself, and the servers all ran out the door to find the women ASAP before they got away. I ran down the middle of the street yelling for police and the servers were on the sidewalks scanning everything around. About 70 yards down the road we found a PT Cruiser pulling away from the curb and saw that the women were inside. We told them to get out and police began to swarm around us to see what it was all about. The car was packed with 5 people which seemed odd considering only 2 women came in for a drink…(obviously they had no intention of getting a drink). They got out angry that we stopped them and accused them of stealing and they insisted we search the car. By this time there were probably 15 cops/parking attendants all around trying to see what was going on and initially we had no luck searching the car until Liz spotted her purse, but not in the car. It was around the woman’s arm and concealed by her much larger purse on the outside. We walked up and took it, asking her what the hell she was doing with it while she did her best to act as though it was a complete surprise and a mistake that she grabbed it…likely. Cops began asking whether we wanted to press charges but we did not have time to go to trial and such because we were leaving the next morning for our road trip. Her accomplice began asking where we were from seeming irritated she had been caught red handed, and then had the nerve to say “I’ll bet you wouldn’t have made the same choice if our skin was a different color” as if provoking us to press charges for some stupid reason. We just gathered our belongings and walked off angry and disappointed that we almost let this happen and that those types of people really exist. It was the first time we had had any deliberate crime attempt on us despite various missing things from our bags a couple times, and we were glad we got to shove it in their faces before they got away with it. Also, the woman had the audacity to declare to us all that “only God knows the truth!”
At the milkshake bar right before Liz had her purse stolen
The next morning we had planned to do a hike on Lion’s Head which is a rival mountain to the infamous Table Mountain but far less touristy and has arguably better views. Unfortunately the weather did not seem to agree with our plans because it was freezing and pouring rain for quite some time. We did our basic errands and had breakfast to try and wait out the storm and sure enough it cleared up by the early afternoon and we were able to hike no problem…Cape Town is known for having all 4 seasons in 1 day and it showed that day. The hike to the top was not too difficult and a great change of pace for us. Throughout the hike you can stop and look around at the breathtaking views that extend over the entire city, into the mountains, and out to the ocean. By the time we made it to the top it was crystal clear weather and beautiful 360 degree views of all of Cape Town.
T.I.A. (This Is Africa...from Blood Diamond)
On top of Lion's Head
Stellenbosch Winery
After hiking back down we took off that afternoon for the wine country, known as Stellenbosch, where we did wine tasting at a couple local wineries and walked off with 3 bottles of wine for about $4 each…a steal considering how good they were. We made it to Hermanus that night which is a town along the Garden Route (scenic/coastal drive from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth) known for its whale watching. We had awesome burgers at a local place where some drunk guy around our age sat beside us and began talking to us. It started out friendly, asking us where we were from and where we were going on our trip until he began to bring his stupid political philosophies about the U.S. into the picture. The source he began citing was some conspiracy documentary he had just seen and at that point we realized we were done talking to this clown and went back to the hostel.
After packing up the next morning, we got a lunch to-go and headed out to the coastal walk where people stand and watch the whales that come very close to the shore. Not expecting to be too lucky, we were very surprised to see whales no more than 100 yards off shore flapping their fins and exhaling through their blow holes. It was an amazing site as we must have seen at least 5 whales within a half mile walk along the coast. We got our whale fix, and headed back on the road to our next destination, Wilderness National Park (and yes the name of the city is Wilderness). About a 4 hour drive later we arrived early evening into the small city surrounding the park to find that the tourist information places were closed. A local shop owner came out to help us and directed us exactly where we wanted to go and to the local butcher where we made sure to stock up for the night’s BBQ. We rented a small Rondavel, which is a circular 1 room cabin with a mini fridge, 2 sets of bunk beds, table and chairs, and a BBQ (South Africans refer to as a Brai). It was exactly as we imagined situated in the national park, 50 yards from the river, and we were some of the only people in the park because it is still the tail end of winter. We enjoyed our wine, BBQ, and played some cards for the rest of the night.
Hermanus
Hermanus
Our campsite
The next 2 nights were very similar to our first. We threw in some hiking during the day to a great waterfall where we did some exploring around the area and relaxed in a very peaceful setting within the park. Although it was very peaceful, I did encounter some terrifying enemies of mine that I was not expecting. The first night I looked in the cupboard for plates only to find the largest spider I had ever seen (literally as big as my palm) and nearly had a heart attack. Nick acted as the hero disposing of the thing. Also that same day I went for a shower and for some reason decided to shake the shower curtain and find a scorpion fall out which scared the hell out of me as well. Our final night of BBQ we also had an unexpected guest join us as. We were warned about wild pigs (bush pigs) in the area that come out at night and they were not lying. This pig came within about 15 feet of us creeping in the dark before we ran inside. He was around the rest of the night knocking over every single garbage can to find food. It was actually funny watching him running around the campsites but leaving us alone. It was a far different schedule than our safaris which required us to wake up at the crack of dawn and get on the road most days and we enjoyed the fact we got to stay put for 3 nights in a row.
The hike
The final day we had to head back to Cape Town because we had an early flight out the next morning heading to Durban. It was about a 5 hour drive and despite a couple minor stops we made great time. Nick’s friend let us stay at her apartment which saved us some cash and we relaxed the rest of the night waiting for our 5am wake up call.
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