South Africa: Cape of Good Hope & Boulder Beach

Cape Town is blessed by the natural beauty of the mountains and the sea. At some point, we hope, my parents will be able to sail there. The western coast of the Cape offers beautiful beaches and clouds rolling off Table Mountain into the sea. The road twists and turns as it goes further south, offering glimpses of a verdant coast and hidden harbors here and there. It even overlooks a town that can only be accessed by foot.  At the very southern tip of this African Peninsula sits Cape Point.

It is this point that mariners, for centuries, marked their way as they rounded the Cape and headed east to Asia.  At the top of the Cape sits a lighthouse that watches over the ships and whales passing by while warning them to stay away from the dramatic cliffs and rocky shoreline. The azure waves crashing on the rocks added a beautiful sound to the sea air.  As beautiful as this place was to  Maggie, Jen, Jon, Emily, and  me, it will never be forgotten by our friends Christine and Cesar when two months later Cesar proposed to Christine at this spectacular site. We wish them all the best!!!

As beautiful as the Cape is, it is also known for its wildlife. The baboons and ostriches greeted us along the road, but the penguins hid themselves away at Boulder Beach in a private, protected rookery. As our guide explained about the penguins Jennifer and Emily literally ran down the boardwalk to see the tuxedoed waddlers on their “happy feet.”  We spent a good hour watching  them torpedo through the water, nurse their young, and bask in the beautiful weather.  The penguins were a spectacular sight, and I was very surprised we didn’t need to talk to our landlords about a new pet.

We hope to get back to the Cape someday and enjoy some of the outdoor activities such as kayaking with the penguins and exploring some of the smaller towns such as Simon’s Town. Until then we’ll just savor the memories!

Christine & Cesar get engaged!

~ by Rob Page III on July 8, 2010.