Nancy finally arrived after an agonizing 2-day delay in transit (Argh!) and we met up with Mark, Kirsten, John and Annette to begin our journey – the first leg of this year’s overland for me. Our first destination was Cape Point and Table Mountain National Park, with a brief visit to the African Penguin colony at Boulder Beach.
Does this portion of the trip sound familar? It should, as this is identical to what Nancy and I and Steve and Ki did last year at the end of our trip. Here’s a link to the post from last year that covers things pretty well and includes lots of pictures.
http://overlandwithkmcgee.com/september-22-24-cape-point-and-table-mountain-national-park/
The penguin colony at Boulder Beach is a must stop, because penguins are really cool, but the viewing is quite commercial – one of those places you have to stop at and simply accept that it is not going to be an intimate wildlife experience, kind of like stopping at the south rim of the Grand Canyon and looking over the edge with the throngs of other tourists. I have no new photo to offer this year as I was busy picking up Nancy from the airport while the rest of the gang visited the penguins, so check out last year’s post if you want see penguin photos again.
We stayed two nights at Smitswinkel out on the Cape next to the entry to the Park at Cape of Good Hope. You may recall that this is a really nice site in the trees, with beds in tents for each couple and a full kitchen and louge area – pretty easy living, and an easy transition into the campground camping coming up next. Here’s a reminder of what this site is like:
Next, of course, were the hikes out on Cape Point. Spectacular setting, of course, and some wildlife and Fall flowers to boot. Here’s a few shots:
OK, that’s it for the Cape. Next stop, Stellenbosch and the Spier winery for a very “soft” segway into the Wild country ahead! This was a bit of overlanding South African style (i.e., spare no expense at comfort):
Are you now rethinking doing some overlanding yourself? OK, enough of the easy life; we are off to the Tankwa Karoo to experience some real remote and wild country. Try See you there!