Cape Peninsula: Penguins, Where Oceans Meet, and Gorgeous Views!

So I left off with promises of the dorm and other fun stuff, but I'll fill you all in on the Cape Peninsula tour and save the less than exciting news on the res for another post in the very near future.

We were fortunate yesterday to have the opportunity to get up early and take a bus tour of the Cape Peninsula, the farthest southwest point of the African continent and scant miles from where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Indian Ocean. Famous for its spectacular scenery and gorgeous beaches, the Cape Peninsula runs directly south of the city of Cape Town, with a string of mountains that runs from Table Mountain all the way to the tip of the peninsula. The waters around here are famous for shipwrecks because of the hidden rocks and dangerous tides, with something like 600 recorded shipwrecks from the time the Europeans began exploring the area. If you visit during the right time of the year, I'm told you can also see a few species of whales nearby off the coast (this is a prime breeding area due to the two currents meeting, bringing lots of marine life). We didn't get to see any whales yesterday though.


However, after we took a quick tour of the city (I literally can't wait to explore; there's so much to do here and I haven't even seen most of the city!) the bus moved out of the city and into the next part of town, where we found what I'm calling the most beautiful beach in the world. Unfortunately the name escapes me at the moment, but it's within a public bus ride from campus, and lies directly beneath the famous Twelve Apostles, or the twelve peaks running from Table Mountain along the coast to the south. I'm told seeing the sun set along the limestone and granite is one of the most beautiful sights in the world. We quickly got back on the bus and headed across the peninisula to Simon's Town, the former headquarters of the British Royal Navy back before South Africa declared independence, and now the home of the South African Navy. However, the town is currently more famous for its colony of African Penguins, also known as Jackass Penguins due to the braying sound they make, and we all got some great up-close and personal shots of the adorable little guys from the boardwalk that runs along the beach. Although I was tempted to try and put one in my backpack, I decided the rank smell would probably give me away, and they're monogamous animals so I didn't want to separate two love birds:)

Our next stop was a small town called Oceanview, where back in the sixties during apartheid Coloured people were forced from their homes in the surrounding areas and moved to this designated town. Needless to say the people were not happy about leaving their ancestral homelands, and many lost jobs due to increased travel distances, and the community was thrown deep into despair and poverty. While things aren't perfect their yet, the community is coming together to overcome their struggles, and they were gracious enough to host all of the UCT International Students (around five hundred of us!) for a braai (a traditional African barbeque) and some entertainment in the form of music, dance, and poetry. The enthusiasm and talent of these people is incredible, and their hope is absolutely infectious. I was particularly struck by the little boy who could only have been maybe thirteen who was the best break dancer I've ever seen, as well as a ten-year-old Michael Jackson impersonator who could literally have passed for the pop star. Seriously, he was that good.

But soon enough we were back on the road heading to the farther southwest point of the African continent, Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. Table Mountain National Park is open to the public and allows people to bus in and climb up to the Historic Lighthouse, which looks out over the Atlantic Ocean and False Bay. To say the view was spectacular would be underselling this magnificent spot: from the base of the lighthouse you can look out over the Atlantic and know that the next piece of land is Antarctica, and the cliffs down to the water are steep but the water below so blue that it looks surreal. Across is False Bay, so named because Portuguese sailors back in the day mistook the Cape Peninsula for Cape Agulhas, the southernmost point of Africa, because of the low clouds and fog, so they would sail into the bay thinking they were rounding the southern point of Africa, only to find themselves stuck in the bay. The mountains along the Cape of Agulhas are hazy from Cape Point, but still breathtaking. We hiked up the Cape of Good Hope to look out of the ocean one more time, and then re-loaded the bus to head back to campus (along the way we saw a troop of baboons resting on some cars along the road!) and a good night's rest.

The rest of the week looks to be pretty low-key, as we started UCT orientation today, and tomorrow we pre-register for classes (why we have to pre-register I'm not sure, but I'm told it has little to do with actually registering and is mostly a waste of time) and Wednesday Juliana, Kat and I are scheduled to go to a local cafe for some wine and chocolate tasting:) I've also signed up for a day hike up Devil's Peak, the mountain that overlooks campus, as well as a shark cage diving tour next week (where you put on scuba gear, get into a very safe steel cage, and get lowered into the water as great white sharks swim by)! I'm so excited, I literally can't wait! Stay tuned for updates on the res and a trip to the beach on Thursday! Cheers!