Part 2 – Cape Town, South Africa

After our amazing journey to the east side of South Africa, we trekked back to Hoedspruit airport in our rental car. From Hoedspruit (HDS), we took a short 2 1/2 hour flight to Cape Town International Airport (CPT). Because Cape Town has Uber, we took full advantage during our stay. Once we arrived at CPT, we took an Uber to our stunning, very reasonably-priced AirBNB located in Tamboerskloof: Quiet, central garden apartment. If you decide to visit this AirBNB location, please be sure to let the owners know who recommended you!

Unfortunately, during our time in South Africa, the impending ‘Day Zero’ was weeks away. In January 2018, South African officials announced that Cape Town was three months away from running out of municipal water. The majority of Cape Town residents were taking extreme precautionary measures to prolong the water storage. By the time we made it to Cape Town in April, the residents had done a great job and had extended ‘Day Zero’ to June of that year.

To continue water conservation, our AirBNB owners requested we limit the number of showers we took and if we were to shower, to limit the showers to 2 minutes or less. We used buckets during our showers to collect the runoff water which was then used to water the outdoor plants. Additionally, we only flushed the toilet when absolutely necessary. Today, Cape Town has yet to reach ‘Day Zero’. However, residents still practice water restrictions; although, they are much less strict than before. To learn more about the city’s current state as of April 2019, visit CityLab: Cape Town’s ‘Day Zero’ Water Crisis, One Year Later. To learn more about ‘Day Zero’ in 2018, see Time Magazine’s article, “Cape Town is 90 Days Away From Running Out of Water”.

A short distance from our AirBNB, you will find The Blue Cafe which is a quaint little breakfast spot. The food hit the spot and the views of Lion’s Head and Table Mountain were indescribable.

After breakfast, we decided to hike Table Mountain by daringly “winging it”. 11 1/2 hours later (yes, you read that correctly), we finally found ourselves on the other side of the mountain. Our advice, don’t “wing it” when climbing Table Mountain. There are a large number of trail options and you don’t want to find yourselves in the position we did, as beautiful as the hike was. We each had a small backpack (Outlander Ultra Lightweight Packable Water Resistant Travel Hiking Backpack) and stupidly, one water bottle each. Fortunately, we did bring our LifeStraw Go Water Filter Bottle which honestly, probably saved our lives.

By the time we got to the top of the mountain, we were desperate for water. Remember ‘Day Zero’? Water was scarce and the only accessible water we found was out of a spigot with a sign reading “Non-potable water. Drink at your own risk.” Settling. We were so parched that if the LifeStraw didn’t do its job, we were both willing to accept Montezuma’s revenge. Guess what? We not only survived with no stomach ailments, but we each chugged about 2 full bottles worth, filled the water bottles back up again, and were able to continue the remaining 6 hour trek down the other side of the mountain!

The exact route we took was Kasteelspoort trail around Camps Bay to Constantia Nek trail around Constantia. However, you can view other hiking route options via AllTrails: Best Trails in Table Mountain National Park.

At the end of our hike, we found ourselves directly in front of La Parada Constania Nek which is a semi-formal tapas restaurant. Our extremely sweaty, exhausted selves were past the point of caring and waltzed our way up to the hostess to be seated. We enjoyed several, pricey tapas and lots and lots of wine. After dinner, we took an Uber back to our AirBNB and deservingly, passed out until the next morning.

The following morning, we were picked up by a shuttle to start a Cape Peninsula Tour. This tour was booked directly through Viator.com. At the start of our tour, we took a scenic route around 12 Apostles and Table Mountain which we were all too familiar with from the day before. After the short stop to get pictures in front of the picturesque mountain, we made our way to Hout Bay for another photo-op. The Sentinel, or Hangberg, is the peak marking the western end of the mouth of Hout Bay and is said to be watching over the bay.

Following Hout Bay, we took a boat around Duiker Island, also known as Seal Island which is inhabited by hundreds of fur seals. After returning from the short boat tour, we hopped back in our tour van and went to Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope where we stood on the most southwestern point of the African continent.

Next, we went to the much anticipated Boulders Beach where we got up close and personal (as personal as we could get without touching!) to African penguins. Penguins are Kristen’s spirit animal so she was in heaven during this point of the tour.

To finish our tour, we stopped at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. All and all, we highly recommend this tour but make sure you plan on accounting for a full day (8 1/2 hours) to take this tour.

After our trip around the Cape, we ventured out to Cafe Caprice in Camps Bay where we enjoyed drinks and dinner in front of a beautiful sunset.

During our last day in Cape Town, we went on the “excursion” we were most looking forward to: Full-Day South African Wine Tour. This tour was also booked through Viator.com and we highly recommend it. During our tour, we visited four vineyards in the Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, and Paarl wine regions: Villiera Wines, Remhoogte Wine Estates, Fairview Wine Range, Backsberg Estate Cellars. Remhoogte was one of our favorites due to the zebras, black wildebeests, springbok, and farm dogs throughout the estate. Additionally, the owners were extremely friendly and provided an excellent lunch. Overall, our favorite wines/champagne of the tour were Villiera Monro (champagne), Villiera Barrell Fermented Chenin Blanc (white), Remhoogte Honeybunch Chenin Blanc (white), and our new favorite type of wine: ANY brand of Pinotage but specifically Muratie Pinotage 2016.

Since we enjoyed the group of people we met during our wine tour so much, we made dinner reservations with them later that night at Mama Africa. There, we expanded our palate by eating crocodile, ostrich, springbok, kudu, and warthog; all of which were delicious!

Our few days in Cape Town topped the charts in being one of the coolest places we’ve visited on earth. Not only was the weather perfect during our visit but you get the best of all worlds: ocean, mountains, and vineyards all within a short distance. Oh, and penguins. In Africa.

Don’t hesitate to let us know if you have any questions or comments about booking your trip to Cape Town! Be sure to read more about the final leg of our trip by going to Kristen’s Bucket List Trip Pt. 3 – Visit a Natural Wonder of the World.