A Magnificent Loop in the Southern Rainbow Nation (page 4 of 14)

Monday, December 24: Robben Island

We pick up the car again and park in a large parking lot at the Waterfront, right across from the aquarium. The view of the docks is really nice—Table Mountain is completely clear, and you can see the paragliders taking off from Signal Hill.



We take the time to stop at the food court on the docks before heading to the ferry at Nelson Mandela Quay. That rotating bridge is so cool!







We booked our tickets for Robben Island a month in advance because when I started looking into the schedule we’d be following, well, there weren’t many options left. If we’d decided last minute, we probably wouldn’t have been able to go.

It’s 1 PM, and the ferry leaves the quay to head to Robben Island, just a few miles away. The crossing takes 30 minutes and is really pleasant. As we leave the docks, we get a great view of Cape Town, as well as Signal Hill and Table Mountain.





We arrive at Robben Island, which looks like a flat, oval-shaped pancake.

A must-visit for its historical and emotional significance: Robben Island was the prison island where Nelson Mandela spent nearly 17 of his 27 years of imprisonment. The island stopped being a prison shortly after the end of apartheid and was opened to visitors in 1999 after being declared a World Heritage Site.





The tour of the prison island includes a one-hour bus ride around the island, which is 3.3 km long and 2 km wide.





We pass by the quarry where the prisoners worked.



A village of about 150 people lived there, housing the families of those who managed the site. There was even a church and a primary school.





A quick stop at the tip of the island—it’s pretty windy here. Our first penguin! 😛

Next, we get off the bus to visit the prison. The guides are former prisoners; ours was imprisoned in 1985 and spent 7 years there 🙁.



The solitary confinement quarters and the barracks,





The cells,







It’s heartbreaking to realize the detention conditions and, above all, to think it wasn’t that long ago. Every time I visit a place like this, I come out shaken but I tell myself it’s still important to go for the sake of memory.

We take the 4 PM ferry back to Cape Town.







We’re back at the Waterfront by 5 PM. On the way there, it took just over half an hour, but on the way back, it took almost an hour—the ferries aren’t the same. We’re greeted by a few sea lions 🙂.



Originally, after returning from Robben Island, I’d planned to hike up Lion’s Head to watch the sunset, but the painful descent from Table Mountain got the better of us. So, with great sadness, we gave up on going—we’ll just have to come back, right, Michel 🙁 😮 😊!

We wander around the Waterfront for a while; it’s really nice, and there are still quite a few people.





Then we sit down at the food court: bobotie, chakalaka, and ostrich kappa for us. Well! For a Christmas Eve dinner, it’s a far cry from salmon, foie gras, and stuffed capon 😛.







Afterward, we head to the beach to watch the sunset.







Quick aside about parking: At the Waterfront, we used a regular underground parking lot, and for 7 hours of parking, we only paid R50. It’s the only paid parking we encountered during our entire trip. For all the other times we parked, there were people directing traffic or helping us park who showed us a card with their photo. We had to give them a bill, but the question is: how much? If anyone can answer, I’d love to know because, out of fear of not giving enough, we based it on the R50 from the Waterfront parking. The problem? Always having bills on hand—sometimes it was only R20 🙁.

To be continued here

Generally, 5 to 10 rands...

Usually, 5 to 10 rands...

Yeah, but Isabelle is like that: generous! ;)

Anyway, saved for Lions Head—the photo battle won’t happen after all... That said, I still need to go back for Table Mountain, since the wind and weather cheated us out of it :(. So, 1-1, back to square one...

Usually, 5 to 10 rands...

Well, we made some people happy 😊 I prefer that to not giving enough 😄

Tuesday, December 25: The Cape Peninsula

The entire peninsula is part of Table Mountain National Park. A month before leaving, we bought the Wild Card even though financially it wasn’t really worth it—especially since there was a significant price increase in November. I had planned to buy it in September but unfortunately forgot, so we ended up paying R4530 instead of R3800. On top of that, when we left, we still hadn’t received it, and to this day, we still don’t have it. We printed the document, and that was more than enough.

Our first stop was Muizenberg Beach. It wasn’t even 9 a.m. yet, and there were already a lot of people on the beach. On Christmas Day, we thought everyone would still be sleeping to recover from the night’s feasting, but apparently, Christmas isn’t celebrated much here. We stopped at the surfers’ beach, where there are just a few colorful huts.





The main beach is to the left, behind the aquatic center, and there’s almost no one there. The main attraction is the colorful huts along the beach. They’re fun because they contrast with the white sand 🙂.









A seal strikes a pose. We end up spending an hour and a half wandering around—it’s really beautiful.





We continue to Simon’s Town, about a half-hour drive away.

The hardest part was finding a parking spot. At the two indicated spots, everything was full. We had to turn around, and after looking from a distance, we spotted a large parking lot. It wasn’t marked, but after driving 400 meters along the packed beach, we found ourselves at the park entrance.

By the way, how did you manage to miss Boulders Beach, Guillaume (Marati)? There are signs for these two parking lots along the road—you really can’t miss them! I promise I won’t tell your kids! 😛





We arrive at Boulders Beach (entry included with the Wild Card; otherwise, it’s R152 per person) to see if the penguin colony had a good Christmas, and sure enough, they’re all there.

We can’t go onto the beach—the path is completely set up, and like everywhere else, it’s crowded. The setting is really beautiful.





On the side, females are laying eggs in holes in the sand.





But the main attraction is this colony of penguins on the beach and in the water. Some of the young ones still haven’t finished shedding their fluff.

A few more close-up photos,





We then go to observe them from the other side of the beach—there are already fewer people there.





But where did you go, Bruno, to end up alone on the beach near them? 😲

We stay there for a good hour—it’s truly stunning. It’s already 1 p.m. when we leave the site.

There are only 20 km left to reach our next stop at the tip of the peninsula: Cape of Good Hope.

But 15 km before arriving, the park entrance caused a huge 2 km traffic jam. We’re moving *very* slowly, as the sign indicates, and it takes over 2 hours just to get into the park (entry included with the Wild Card—otherwise it’s R303 per person).





After a quick lunch, we finally make it to the funicular at 4 PM—R80 per person—to head up to the Cape Point lighthouse. Watch out! The last one leaves at 5:30 PM. Otherwise, you can climb the stairs, but after all the time we lost, we really didn’t have the energy. One last little climb before reaching the lighthouse—ouch, my legs are *still* killing me! 🤪😮

From the top, there’s a beautiful view, but the wind is blowing hard, so we don’t stay long.









The 3 km walk along the coast to Cape of Good Hope looks really pretty, but it takes 1.5 hours round-trip, and unfortunately, we don’t have the time. Plus, the clouds are rolling in 😞.

It’s already 5 PM when we arrive for the photo.





A few photos of seals on a distant rock, and we head back as a light rain starts to fall 🤪.





The baboons are making their late-afternoon appearance.

For the return trip, we take the road along the west coast of the peninsula. Before reaching the scenic route, we can admire Nordhoek Beach, which stretches for 10 km. On this side, we’re on the Atlantic Ocean, no longer the Indian Ocean.

Chapman’s Peak Drive (toll fee of R47) is a cliffside road spanning about ten kilometers and is considered one of the most beautiful roads in the world. We’re there around 6:30 PM, and despite the clouds, the sun breaks through, casting beautiful colors 🙂.









We stop for a short while at Chapman’s Peak, but the clouds are still very present.





At the end of the road, we arrive in Hout Bay, a touristy seaside town, but the bay isn’t stunning with the gray clouds piled above. We won’t get to see the sunset tonight, oh well—we still had a wonderful Christmas day!

To be continued here

A few more close-up photos,





We then go to observe them from the other side of the beach—there are already fewer people there.





But where did you go, Bruno, to end up alone on the beach near them? 😲

We stayed there for a good hour—it’s really stunning. It was already 1 p.m. when we left the site.

Good evening, we got back on Sunday and did a somewhat similar route in the Cape region. In Simon's Town, there are two sites for the penguins, both managed by Sanparks and accessible for free with the Wild Card. The first one, near the entrance to the town, is the one you saw, with the wooden walkways, and the second, on the way out of town, gives direct access to a beach where you can even swim among the penguins if you feel like it...

Anne-Marie

Oh no, so gutted! 🤪😕 Plus, we looked around the town for another spot since we couldn’t find anywhere to park 🙂 Thanks for the info—next time for sure! 😉

It was completely by chance that we "discovered" this second entrance after missing the first and turning back... Okay, here’s a little breakdown with a map for those following along who haven’t been yet...



The access road is the M4, Queens Road, and you arrive from the top of the map if you're coming from Simon's Town city center.

In red, the main parking lot and the main visitor center, on the left if you're coming from Simon's Town city center. In green, the second parking lot and access to the "secret" beach, with no boardwalks or fences, where you can get close to the penguins... Access via Bellevue Road, at the bottom of the map. In yellow, the different boardwalks where you can walk. On the long boardwalk along the beach, you can see the penguin nesting sites.

But Isabelle, I already explained all this in my travel journal at the time, and I realize you didn’t memorize it... 😛 By the way, be nice and give me back my photos!! 😄

Okay, sorry for posting a photo of you, but you dared to put the link to YOUR travel journal on mine 😛 Tie game Anyway, thanks so much for the explanation—especially with the map. Now I see how to get there because when leaving the park, there was a path on the left, and that’s the one leading to this secret beach 😎 Alright, no more risk of missing the penguins at Boulders or the secret beach now 🙂

Okay, sorry for posting a photo of you, but you dared to put the link to YOUR travel journal on mine 😛 Tie game Anyway, thanks a ton for the explanation—especially with the map. Now I see how to get there because when leaving the park, there was a path on the left, and that’s the one leading to that secret beach 😎 Alright, now there’s no way we’ll miss the Boulders penguins or the secret beach 🙂

Yeah, you can definitely walk there via the yellow route. We grabbed a bite in the meantime... and waited for the sun to come back... But even on foot, you have to go back through a paid entrance—access via the trail is closed.

Anne-Marie

Okay, sorry for posting a photo of you, but you dared to put the link to YOUR travel journal on mine 😛 Tie game 🙂

No worries 😉 Anyway, once you post on VF, the photo isn’t yours anymore...

And about my travel journal, you were the one who brought it up first! 😛

Seeing those penguins still gives me chills, more than 3 years later...

By the way, how did you manage to miss Boulders Beach, Guillaume (Marati)? There are signs pointing to those two parking lots along the road—you really can’t miss them!

You *had* to drop my username like that 😏, now I’m even more embarrassed!! When I see Bruno’s map, I’m even more bummed I missed the obvious! 🤪 I pulled up the GPS point I’d saved, and it turns out we *did* park in the main lot (red square). But for us, the first beach we found was just northeast of the parking lot where it’s marked "window" (from The Magic Window) on the map. Since there were 10 penguins wandering around, we thought we were in the right spot. We had no idea those 10 were lost and couldn’t find the rest of the whole colony!! And we didn’t see a single sign pointing the way to the yellow footprints 🏴‍☠️.

What makes me feel a little better is that even though you knew what to look for, you still missed half of it too 😏! Anyway, thanks to Bruno for the explanations. Next time I go back, I’ll read his travel journal first!

Yeah, no more excuses for not finding it now 😛 And when I see how close the penguin at Caperam is, I’m so gutted 🙁. Little tip for next time—make sure to print out the map Bruno kindly made for us, because the one in his travel journal is pretty basic. I suspect he’s trying to keep his beach a secret 😮!

Make sure to print the map Bruno kindly made for us because in his travel journal it’s pretty brief. I suspect he wants to keep his beach a secret 😮!

The rascal! That’s not what he was saying earlier...[;]

Thanks Bruno for the map (and thanks to Caperam too for sharing the info)... oh well, if the beach becomes a little less "secret" 😉. I’ll keep the info safe. Muriel

Thanks Bruno for the map (and thanks also to Caperam for sharing the info)... oh well, if the beach becomes a little less "secret" 😉. I’ll keep the info safe. Muriel

It didn’t seem super secret to me—I think I found the info in the Lonely Planet... 🙂 What’s certain is we didn’t see the crowds we ran into on the other side...

Anne-Marie