Photo Album: Greater Cape Town
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On the third full day in Cape Town, it was another lazy day planned, especially the weather was somewhat under the spell. After spending almost an entire day reading and catching up with family and friends on the Internet, I became more motivated later in the mid-afternoon, when the sun started to come through.
So it was decided to go for a drive into the eastern outskirts of Cape Town, a big circuit route of the small towns of Stellenbosh, Franschhoek and Paarl.
If I am not wrong, this area seems to be a winery and orchard region, and there are quite a few vineyards along the the mountainous routes and are inviting visitors.
And the mountains along the route are just breathtaking.
Its Dutch heritage can be seen by the bits and pieces of small buildings and galleries, and it is not surprising, with its first settlement in the Cape Town area nearly 400 years ago.
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| A monument for the Hugenots in Franschbosch |
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| Afrikaans Language Monument at Paarl |
The Afrikaner built this in 1975 to signify their identity and culture of which the Afrikaans Language is a major part. The fact that this and many other Afrikaner institutions have been preserved after the end of apartheid, I believe, can be credited to Nelson Mandela's great leadership and to a smaller extent, the general magnanimous attitude of the ANC, even after decades of oppressive rules by the Afrikaners.
The next morning, with good sunny weather, I was ready to do the last must do of Cape Town, to walk up to the Table Mountain top. I took the most direct, and the steepest route up, from the trail head about 1 Km from the cable car station.
And the view was ...
And the view just got even better on reaching the top, affording a total panoramic view of the city side as well as the ocean and southern views.
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| The Twelve Apostles on the southern side |
After a thrilling climb up the top, I was met with many tourists who came up on the cable car. Quite touristy for my liking, actually.
A quick descent via the cable car, it was time to bid farewell to Cape Town, but not before seeing the Rhode's Memorial at Cape Town University, which is situated just at the eastern foothill of Table Mountain. But it took a bit of reading pointing figures and helps from students of Cape Town University students, that I found the memorial.
Cecil John Rhodes was the founder of Rhodesia ( nowadays Zimbabwe ) as well as the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship, of which many international leaders and luminaries were nurtured. Here are a couple of Wikipedia links for reading if interested.
The next must see is the Cape of Good Hope and the nearby Cape Point, 65 Km to the south. Quite often Cape of Good Hope has been mistaken as the Southern Most Point of the African Continent....however, here is a better explanation.
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| Whales aplenty down at Cape Point |
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| The historic lighthouse at Cape Point |
A newcomer like me, would have easily confused Cape Point ( which is more south ) with the renowned Cape of Good Hope (click to read history), which is a small distance away by car. And I nearly missed it.
After solving that little mystery and mistake, and the sun has set. It is time to find somewhere to stay.
It was nearly 30 Km, before accommodation could be found at Simons Town, on the eastern side of the Cape Peninsula.
The next mission is to find the Southern-most Point of the African Continent.
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