January 22, 2020
After two days of arduous travel, an overnight flight from Chicago to London on Sunday and an overnight flight from London to Cape Town on Monday, we arrived in Cape Town on Tuesday morning at 7:30 a.m. On our bus trip from the airport to our hotel we were immediately struck by the physical beauty of the country side. Our excitement level which was high before leaving Mason jumped even higher during that bus ride. At the hotel we went through the check in process and stored our luggage as our room was not ready yet. We knew this would be the situation so had a plan in place already. After a refreshing welcoming drink we set out for our first stop: The Company's Garden. This is a park like area very much like Central Park in New York City only on a much smaller scale. It's name is derived from the fact that the park was created by the Dutch East Indies Company several hundred years ago. "The Company's Garden" seemed to roll off the tongue easier then "The Dutch East Indies Company Garden". It was a lovely green space that included a rather formal garden as well as a vegatable garden. The formal garden pailed in comparison to like gardens we have seen in other countries but the veg garden was interesting because of the mix of recognizable plants next to those we never did figure out. Tim went on his regular rant about gardens that do not take the time to label everything. We had a wonderful walk through the garden on a bucolic summer day. On the opposite end of the garden we visited the Cathedral of St. George, an Anglican Cathedral that is the oldest cathedral in Africa. We relaxed in the splendor of the cathedral as we listened to the cathedral's organ being tuned. We walked back to our hotel by way of an ATM machine and a bar for adult liquid refreshment. Arriving back at the hotel around 11:30 the plan was to take a hotel shuttle to the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront Center to find lunch and explore the different shops we had read about in preparation for this trip. That plan was nixed when we found out we could get into our room. Our hotel, the Belmond Mount Nelson, is an old style luxury hotel. Our room is beautiful with the prerequisite bed that also includes a large sitting area with a sofa and two side chairs. We spent the rest of the day unpacking and napping. Tuesday evening there was a welcoming reception where we met most of the other 26 members of our tour, our tour director as well as the MSU faculty member also on the trip. The faculty member, Dr. Isaac Kalumbu, is a member of the music faculty who specializes in African music and is originally from Zimbabwe .
This morning, Wednesday, we were on our bus at 8:00 for the days excursion. We started the excursion with a three hour bus ride down the west coast of the Cape peninsula, our ultimate destination being the Cape of Good Hope. We passed through some spectacular scenery with stark mountains on one side and sheer drop offs to the Atlantic Ocean on the other. On some of the three hour trip the landscape was shrouded in fog which only added to the beauty. The drive took us through the only national park that protects the flora of SA, rather than wild life. Many of the plants in our gardens in the US originated here, including geraniums. The park has over 600 species of heathers, while Scotland has 6.
When we arrived at the Cape of Good Hope we were treated to an unscheduled photo opp.....5 wild ostrich were grazing between the road and the ocean, just yards away. We then took a funicular up to the light house overlooking the Cape. This light house is no longer in use as it sits so high above the Cape that there are many foggy days when passing ships cannot see the light. Unfortunately, in 1907, on one of those days a passing ship hit a rock with the death of three people. The South African government built a new light house down closer to the water. The views from the old light house were spectacular as was the wind. It was probably blowing at least 30 mph, enough to make climbing up and down stairs a challenge.
While we waited to leave we were entertained by baboons that are aboundant in this area of South Africa. They have no fear of humans and wander around the parking lot at their leisure. Those of us who returned to the bus before our meeting time discovered that our driver would only open the door to the bus when we wanted to get on. If he left it open there was the danger of a baboon climbing on board.
Leaving the Cape of Good Hope we drove along up the eastern coast of the peninsula to Simon Town where we had a delicious fish (hake) lunch. Nearby the restaurant was Boulder Beach, the home of a colony of Africa Penguins. This beach was originally a very popular beach for humans until the late 1990s when the penguins arrived. When the penguins showed signs of being permanent residents, the powers that be decided to close the beach to humans. The African Penguin is one of the smallest species of the penguin family and is often called the Jackass Penguin by the locals because its cry sounds very much like a donkey braying. We can confirm this. We walked along boardwalks through the sand so we were right among these fascinating creatures. We had abundant sunshine but still had a blustery wind that made the walk difficult and the sand airborne. We noticed all the penquins stood with their backs to the wind.. The Penguin Colony was our last stop of the day.
At 6:00 we had a lecture presented by a South African farmer/historian. His lecture was about the history of South Africa with special attention focused on the effects of apartheid and how it ended. It was an interesting as well as entertaining lecture. After the lecture we joined several of our fellow tourists for dinner. We mention this only because Tim had ostrich medallions for dinner. Suprisingly they looked and tasted like beef.
Until next time, Cheers!
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