CAPE COASTS , MOUNTAINS AND FYNBOS

A busy few days at Jean and Ross’s lovely home in Somerset West (half an hour to the east of Cape Town) – they were relentless tourist hosts, getting their own back for busy days in the Lakes on Honeybone Tours. So, no time for blogging for a while.

This is the beach a few minutes drive from their place in the hills, a bit different to walking up Whitbarrow Scar in the morning. The coastline is just endless beaches backed up by the mountains, so we had several day trips around the area. Never actually made Cape Town but we will have a day there before we fly out. Not that we feel we have missed out as the scenery and sights we have done are probably more up our street than city streets – however beautiful the setting.

For those in the know, who have travelled the road before us – these are the places we went:

• Day 1 -over the mountain passes to Stellenbosch (bit pricey and designerish) and preferred our lunch stop at Franschoek, which was a bit more laid back. Took in a couple of wineries, just to look around, and, as in NZ, many trying to outdo each other in the upmarket restaurant stakes, with extensive views and gardens. Just how much wine are we going to have to drink to keep them all going, I wonder? If Margaret River is anything to go by – over supply is already hitting profits.

• Day 2 – Bettys Bay for more fantastic coastline
• and a visit to the wonderful Stoney Point penguin colony. Just a small shack taking a few Rand and 15 minutes of boardwalk over the rocks – but there were loads of them waddling around between the sea and their burrows – all just few yards from the holiday houses that are rapidly filling the area. Then on to the lovely Harold Porter Botanic Gardens where we did a hike up the forested gorge, via paths and ladders, to a lovely waterfall. The evening was spent at an open air jazz concert set in the bush near to home. Very different to Gawsworth Hall events and about 100th of the size of those in Kings Park, Perth with Niki. But great music in a perfect setting after another perfect day.
• Day 3 – J&R finally got rid of us for a day and we picked up the next hire car and headed out to Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope. Pretty misty a lot of the day, but that’ s what you get at the end of Africa. When we did get the views it felt very like those “end of the world” peninsulas in last years blog at the northern tips of NZ, North and South Island, and the tip of Western Australia’s large bay near Dunsborough. And I guess if you look on the atlas – there is just large Indian Ocean separating them all.

Rocky coastlines, sand dunes, amazing ocean views and just low scrubland (called fynbos over here) –trying to survive the elements.

• Day 4 – say goodbye, for a week, to Jean and Ross and let them get on with their lives – picking out new bathrooms, wood burning stoves and catching up with their many friends. Hopefully, Ross will be back on track with the golf and both with their yoga classes. Off to the Garden Route and looking out for wifi spots to download this – probably Mugg and Bean coffee shop Knysnia to those in the know!