The first 24 hours we spent in Cape Town was jammed packed with adventures that have caused both of us to reevaluate our favorite cities in the world. The city is a blended mosaic of culture, filled with friendly people and home to some of the most gorgeous landscapes I've ever seen.
We started our time here yesterday by merely driving into the centre to reach our guesthouse. Here that drive includes a view of Table Mountain, Lion's Head, Signal Hill, the harbor, the CBD and the endless beaches along the Atlantic Ocean. We were in awe before we even really started.
From them we set off in the car to see Chapman's Peak Drive. This is a road along the oceanside cliffs. Stunning on its own right, we also made our way through several seaside towns before we even got to it. Each as picturesque as you could imagine.
The purpose for this whole drive was to get to Simonstown. It features a beach covered with giant rounded boulders and native penguins that live in a protected area. We got there right before the eastern side of the Cape went into the dark but with more than enough time to see hundreds of the critters.
We then starting heading back for the guesthouse when we had the idea of driving up Signal Hill to see if we could catch the sunset over the Atlantic Ocean. Thankfully the traffic wasn't too bad and we made it with enough time to stroll to the city side of the hill before seeing the sun set to the west.
Finally we made it back to our guesthouse thinking we just needed a quick dinner as we had an early morning. We wandered out into the surrounding neighbourhood only to find our first restaurant choice was full. Thankfully we found a very suitable alternative. This place was very unique with years of candle wax built up on each table. After getting some delicious food and drinks a few local artists started performing for the venue. We had to eventually drag ourselves away to go to bed.
The next morning came extremely quick. We were scheduled to be in Kleinbaai at 7am which meant we left the city at 5am. We drove safely to catch our boat and we headed off to see great white sharks. We got all our safety instructions and before we knew it, we were in wetsuits, the cage was in the water and sharks were circling the boat. The speed at which all this happened probably made people a little tentative but it worked out great for us. Christina and I were the first people in the cage and the water (16 degrees on the Indian Ocean). We waited about 15 minutes before we got the hurried directions from the crew. DOWN!!! This meant we needed to drop ourselves underwater as there were sharks immediately in the area of the cage. Down we went and sure enough, 3m long great whites wear swimming around. Just amazing to see. We had a few more run-ins before the next group's turn came. This actually was a bit of a blessing as the visibility under water was pretty short but the view from the top of the boat was outstanding. We waited for a while longer while everyone got a chance to see sharks underwater before we all went on more time. Through all of this I was shooting as many photos as possible. There are some stunners.
Anyways, after all this we returned back to the city and all the stunning views you see along the way. That concluded just our first 24 hours in the city.
Here's a rundown of the photos I've got to share.
1. Panorama of Hout Bay
2. Chapman's Peak Drive
3. Long Beach
4. Simonstown
5. Penguins on Boulders Beach
6. View of Green Point from Signal Hill
7. Sunset with Lion's Head 8. Jackal and Hide club with performers
9. Shark fin
10. Shark teeth
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