Weekend in the Western Cape

A few weeks ago I was hosted by Nic's family in Cape Town. Cape Town feels a lot like the Bay Area where water and mountains define the urban area. Just like California it is also a Mediterranean climate (one of only five in the world, thank you Suzanne) and the fog comes in and out of the city at will. Furthermore, they have an island jail in their bay, a large gay community, and wine region. Home away from home!


_________________________
Cape Town

Geography: Cape Town is the second largest city in South Africa and is the capital of the Western Cape Province, as well as being the legislative capital of South Africa (the Houses of Parliament are here but the capital is Pretoria). It is located in the south-west corner of the country near the Cape of Good Hope, at the base of Table Mountain and is the most southern city in Africa.


History: The Western Cape was originally inhabited by the Strandloper (an ancestor of Kalahari Bushmen). Cape Town's European history began in 1652, when the dutch set up a trading post (origin of the Afrikaans people). Following the Dutch were some French fleeing from religious persecution and the English. Cape Town was the launching point in which the Europeans being exploring and settling southern Africa.


Interesting Fact: The first human heart transplant was performed on the 3^rd December 1967 by Dr. Christiaan Barnard at the Groote Schuur hospital in Cape Town.

________________________


I flew down after work on Thursday and enjoyed an amazing weekend. On Thursday morning Harriet and I (Nic went to work) woke up and went for a hike up Lion's Head. Table Mountain is the icon of Cape Town and has a amazing gondola that takes you right to the top... which is exactly why we didn't go there.


View of Table Mountain from Lion's Head

View over downtown Cape Town and Robben Island

View from Lion's Head south toward Camps Bay

Flowers on Lion's Head

Tree on Lion's Head hike with Table Mountain in background


Dad? Suzanne? Kyle? I am not putting plants on my website for my own good... what the heck are they?


After the hike we drove south along the coast to the southern tip of Africa. The coastline has some very impressive cliffs and quaint bay communities. We even saw a whale! The afternoon's plan was to head out to Robben Island (where Nelson Mandela was jailed for 27 years) but it got too late.


Friday night we hit the town and I watched my first cricket match on TV. Let me tell you, it was a real nail bitter!!! South Africa went 274 for 6 in 49.6 overs while Pakistan 275 for 9 in 49.5 overs and won by 1 wicket! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT??


On Saturday morning we were recovering from a long night and had a refreshing swim and big brunch. Go America!

Capitan America

Nandos cooking brunch

Around mid-day we headed out to the wine region called Stellenbosch where Nando's brother is at University. We met up with a bunch of their friends at a wine farm and enjoyed the afternoon.

Waterford Winery

Wine tasting

Nandos (Nic) and Prawn (Sean)

After the winery we went back to Nic's brother's place for a BBQ. On Sunday we headed back to Cape Town for a relaxing day...pretending to be in college again is not so easy on the body. Nic and I went to his dad's club for a quick gym and sauna. In the afternoon we attended a potjie (everything in the pot) type of cookout with a few families and there were oxtail, lamb, and seafood stews.


On Sunday night I jumped a plane back to Joburg.