We had difficulty cramming everything we wanted to do into 4 days so after the initial day of sightseeing around the town it was non-stop fun. I really wanted to walk up the mountain rather than get the cable car, couldn’t talk Kelly into it but managed to persuade Martin that a 5am start meant we could get up there and still have the rest of the day to do other things...sounded a good idea at the time. Come 5am still dark and in a taxi to the base of the mountain, head still fuzzy from the cocktails the night before, i was having second thoughts! It was incredible windy and the cloud was over the top of the mountain which means you shouldn’t go up there really, however we had convinced ourselves it would clear by the time we got up there. It was bloody hard work to say the least, like two hours on a stepper but with wind and no oxygen..ok some oxygen but I’m so unfit I thought I'd never make it. Hooray we got to the top...so worth it amazing views in between the cloud passing by. It was 8am and we had to check out of our hostel at 10am so we had planned to get the cable car down...then it dawned ..doh!!! the cable car wasn’t running due the high winds. I rang the mountain office hoping they may take pity on the two fools who had decided to walk up despite advice..but to no avail..F**k we had to walk down. I could have cried, but we set to it as we were facing a deadline....which wasn’t funny as we couldn’t find our way off the bloody mountain, it was so cloudy we lost the right path and walked around the top for 30mins before we found it. So word of advice when they say don’t go up when the cloud is there...don’t go up!
We eventually got back to base and picked up our hire car. I drove us to Cape Point...again more walking when we got there, I don’t recommend doing both in day if you want to be able to walk normally without looking like you've just stepped of a horse. Finished Cape Point and drove along the costal route onto Hermanus, overnight stay for the next morning shark diving.
Yep that’s right the shark diving where you sit in cage and the sharks cash into you. Early morning start on the boat and taken out to shark area...I'd been on the boat about 5mins when I started turning green, I'd forgot I'm crap on boats. So what should have been a fantastic adventure of cage shark diving actually involved me with my head over the side of the boat puking for the entire day! I did have a great view of the sharks from there though and at least I hit the water with my puke unlike Kelly who fell on the boat and puked all over the top of it..shame! Martin managed to keep his sea legs and enter the cage...so we experienced it vicariously through him. Back on dry land drive back to Cape Town for next day wine tasting...hmm.
When we got back to the backpacker one of the other guys from our volunteer course had turned up - Tobias, German doctor and a wonderful person and great laugh so we knew the wine tasting would be fun. Highly recommend anyone who goes to Cape Town to do the wine tasting tour, you visit six wineries and spend a decent amount of time at each to get a good appreciation of the wine (i.e. you drink from 10 in the morning until six). Great day, back to Cape Town for our last night there...more drinking (bit of a theme here), ended night in Mamma Africa's a must for everyone, great live music.
Next morning 4.30am start for airport, Martin and I flying to J'burg...however no Martin in room...oops! He did eventually show having just put his last pint of Guinness down 10mins before, hence another flight of him still being pissed and no surprise he fainted on the plane..luckily I was asleep so didn’t have the shame of anyone knowing I was with him (sorry Marty ;)). Said our goodbyes at airport, him heading back to Brighton and me onto Singapore.
I love Africa it just has an amazing feel to it... miss it :(
