A Cape Town Christmas.

Josh and I had the most amazing trip ever, to Cape Town. We were blown away by how beautiful it was and how we enjoyed everything we saw and did.

Day 1- Monday December 21^st

We started our journey of 22 hours to South Africa. We flew Qatar airways and it was my first flight on a 2 story plane! We made it to Doha after a 6.5 hour flight and were excited to get out into the city for our 7 hour layover! It was an interesting experience in the Middle East. We took a taxi into the main souq (market). There were a lot of shops in the market and a lot of hookah bars. 

The Pearl 

We then went back to the airport for our 9 hour flight to Cape Town. It wasn’t even that bad! I slept most of the way!

Day 2- Tuesday December 22^nd

After arriving at around noon, we went to rent our car and made our way to the Head South Lodge, where we were staying in Green Point. The hotel was amazing and in such a great location! We had a large room and very comfy/clean! We got freshened up after a long journey and set out to the V&A Waterfront. We had lunch and drinks at a tradition South African restaurant and explored some of the shops. We were both so exhausted that we went back to the Hotel and went to bed really early. 

First drink in Africa!

Day 3- Wednesday December 23rd

We woke up ready to take the cable car up to the top of Cable Mountain. After finding the address and putting it in our sat nav, it somehow directed us away from the mountain completely and heading back the airport! We finally found our way to the lower cable car station. It was a very steep ride up to the top. We were lucky to have booked tickets in advance because the line was very long. We spent all day up there and hiked to the highest point - Maclear's Beacon. We had amazing views of the whole city!

The cable car revolved!

At Maclear's Beacon!

After taking the cable car back down, we drove to the V&A Waterfront again for dinner! We then drove to Adderley Street to see their Christmas lights! We had another early night as we were still getting caught up on sleep.

Day 4- Thursday December 24th

We started the day by driving to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. We saw a lot of protea, types of plants that grow here and we went on the Tree Canopy Walkway. We stopped at the tea room for a lovely lunch. We also visited the fragrance gardens and were able to smell different flowers and leaves. It was the most amazing view. 

On the walk way

After spending the morning at the gardens, we drove to Camps Bay. This is an area with 20 million rand ocean front properties (About 2 million dollars). We spent the rest of the day at the beach and had a great Christmas Eve dinner there while watching the sunset. After dinner, we went back to our room and Josh surprised me with the Grinch movie (which my family always watches on Christmas eve).

Day 5- Friday December 25th 

We were both looking forward to this day! We got up early and began our mini road trip south. We were listening to Christmas music and enjoying the scenery. First stop- Boulders beach, home to African Penguins. We first viewed the penguins from the viewing platform. There were hundreds! We then started to crawl and climb over the boulders to get closer to the penguins. It was amazing how close we got to them!!! We found a spot to spread our towels and open our presents. Such a surreal experience. I never thought I would be spending Christmas on a beach with penguins!

After visiting the penguins, we drove into Simon's Town for Christmas lunch and had a lovely meal on the harbour. We celebrating by having some Champagne and found ourselves some beaded souvenirs to buy. We continued our drive to the Cape of Good Hope. This was the farthest bit of land in all of Africa. We climbed the stairs to the light house and went on a hiking trail. This was called Cape Point. It was going to be about a 2 hour walk to get to the Cape of Good Hope, so we decided to drive. On our drive there, we saw a group of baboons! One even jumped on our car!

After a long day. we drove back to our wonderful hotel, about 1.5 hours. We skyped our families and then called it a night to be ready for our safari trip!!

Day 6- Saturday December 26th 

We woke up early to pack for our safari trip! Our transfer to Inverdoorn Game Reserve picked us up at about 9:30. We picked up another family and made the 2.5 hour journey to Inverdoorn, stopping at a town called Ceres on the way.  We were welcomed with cocktails and explained how the 2 days would work. We ate our lunch and had a few hours by the pool before our first safari at 5:00 pm. I have always wanted to go on safari, so I was very excited!! The safari lasted about 2 hours and we saw lions, giraffes, wildebeests, zebra, rhinos, spring bok, kudu and cheetah's! They rehabilitate cheetah's at this reserve, so we were able to see how they were trained. They had a piece of meat on a pulley system. When the meat was being pulled to the other side of the enclosure, the cheetah's chased after the meat. They ran so so so fast!!! After our safari, we drank some wine and had a lovely dinner. We stopped to look at the stars before walking back to our chalet. We went to bed around 10:30 to be reading for our 6:30 am safari!

Our Chalet

Highest point of the reserve

Pool Area

Dinner at the resort

Day 7- Sunday December 27th

We woke up ready for our 6:30 am safari! This was the better safari out of the two. We saw a hippo, 2 month old baby rhino, all of the animals we saw the day before, elephants and buffalo! The baby rhino was so adorable and kept making squeaking noises. Our guide told us that poaching rhino's for their horns is popular. On this reserve, they have a rhino protect program, where there are people patrolling the reserve all hours of the day. We also got into a standoff with a herd of buffalo. We were just driving down a path and we came across 3 buffalo. They got out of our way and we drove and turned a corner. There standing in front of us was a huge male buffalo surrounded by maybe 20 other female and babies. He was not happy! Another jeep came up behind us so we were kind of trapped. The angry male was so close to our jeep! We were in at least a 10 minute stand off with this male before the herd moved. Talking to our guide afterward, he said he has never seen that before but the male was showing all the signs that he was going to charge into our jeep. Our guide said it gave him a major adrenaline rush!!! After our safari, we were served a delicious breakfast and our transfer took us back to Cape Town. 

Not even zoomed in!

Picture of our jeep!

Up early!

Little baby rhino!!!!

After freshening up at our hotel, we drove to Kirstenbosch for one of their outdoor summer concerts.We saw a man called Jimmy Nevis, who is really famous in Cape Town. He actually has some good songs! The view was amazing and it is a night I will never forget. Everybody just brings blankets and picnic baskets and enjoys the sunset concert! After the concert, we went to the waterfront for dinner, we went their a lot!

Day 8- Monday December 28th

This was the day we had tickets booked to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was kept for many years. It started with a 25 minute boat ride to the island. We then had a tour and heard stories about the prison from an ex-political prisoner. It was horrible to hear and read the stories of what happened there. After the tour of the prison, a bus and guide took us around the rest of the island. People actually live on the island, which I didn't know before! They had a school up until a year ago. There were only 7 children and 2 teachers. It was costing too much money so they go to school in Cape Town now. 

Table Mountain in the distance.

Inside his cell where they fit 60 people. This is what they ate. 

Our guide's cell. 

Nelson Mandela's Cell

Gate to the prison

Nelson's cell

Once we took the boat back to Cape Town, we had a delicious sushi lunch and stopped to take some picture at the Waterfront. After that, we drove to Hout Bay, about a 30 minute drive. We sat at the beach for a bit but it was too windy. We then drove to Camps Bay again , and were nearly blown away by the wind! I have never seen waves so big!! We stayed at Camps bay to about 7 pm and then went back to our hotel .

 Day 9- Tuesday December 29th

We decided that instead of spending all day in the city (like we originally planned) that we would have a beach day! First we did go into town though to the area called Bo-Kaap. They are streets filled with the most colourful houses ever! This was the hottest day of our trip. We were in a shop buying water and heard music. I said to Josh that must be an ice cream truck! Sure enough it was, well it was more like an ice cream van. Anyways, I had a cone for the drive to Camps Bay. We rented an umbrella and loungers and spent the day at the beach tanning! The water was freezing! The coldest water I have ever felt.. needless to say we did not go swimming! Camps bay reminds me of Laguna Beach. There are numerous shops and restaurants right next to the beach.

Day 10- Wednesday December 30th

Shark Diving today. I was worried about this day for 2 reasons: that the sharks would attack and that I would get sea sick! Our transfer to Gansbaai (where the boat launched) picked us up at 6:30. It was about a 2 hour drive. We had breakfast when we got the there and were given a safety briefing and how to properly stand in the cage. I had taken my sea sickness tablets and had a patch behind my ear as well. There were 22 divers on board and 5 staff. It was about a 20 minute boat ride to the diving site. I started to feel really sea sick so I was regretting coming. We all got our wet suits on , waiting for the staff to attract the sharks with chum (some fish liquid+ fish pieces) and a massive tuna head. The staff suggested that I would feel better in the water so Josh and I were in the first group of divers. There were 8 of us in a cage. Once the lid was closed, we were waiting for our instruction to go under. We had goggles on but needed to hold our breath when we went under. The visibility wasn't great and it was hard to pull yourself deeper with a wet suit on. I didn't see the shark the first time I put my head under, as I couldn't get deep enough. The second time they told us to go under I saw the shark's body really close up! I didn't really like the feeling of being trapped in the cage so I was excited to get out. The next group of divers went in the cage. They were in their for at least 30 minutes while waiting for a shark. We did however see a seal catch a baby shark and thrash him around in the water!  More sharks finally came and smashed into the cage. I was glad to not be in that group! The final group went and they still have 3 spots to fill in the cage. Josh was lucky and got to go twice! We didn't used our phones to take pictures in case they got wet. We rented an underwater camera to take pictures. We haven't looked at them yet, but I will add them when I do! The visibility wasn't good enough to take actual underwater pictures. I do have a good one of Josh in the cage though!! 

After making it back to land, we were fed lunch and watched the DVD from the day, which we bought. Our transfer took us back into Cape Town and we arrived around 4:30. We made out way to the V&A Waterfront for our last dinner! 

He loved it!

They were getting ready for their New Year's Carnival

Day 11- Thursday December 31st

We were so sad having to leave our favourite place!! We dropped our car back and found some last souvenirs to buy before the 22 hour journey home. We celebrated New Years in Doha airport, waiting for our last flight. On the flight from Doha to Heathrow, we were on the second floor of the plane! I have never sat up their before! We were still in economy, but it was like our own private plane! In front of us, we saw the bar area (for first class passengers) and the first class seats! Cape Town is a place I hope to go back and visit. Josh loved it as well. I recommend it to anyone looking to book a trip! So worth the money and the distance!!! There was just such an amazing feel to it. 

A Giraffe and tree made completely out of bead and wire!