s/v Nine of Cups South Africa

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December 2006 - February 2007

Republic of South Africa Capital Cities:   Cape Town (Legislative), Pretoria (Administrative),                           Bloemfontein (Judicial) Land area:       432,000 sq miles...about 3x California Population:         ~48,000 (est. 2006) Language:           There are 11 official languages. Afrikaans, English,                             Ndebele, Sepedi, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana,                             Tshivenda, Xhosa and Zulu. Currency:           Rand (~R7 = $1 US) Highest Point:     Champagne (Njesothi) 11,076' Government:       Parliamentary republic headed by a President Political Units:   9 Provinces Chief products:    Gold, diamonds, platinum, citrus, wine In 1994 when South Africa's new non-racial constitution was inaugurated, its colorful flag was hoisted for the first time. The multi colors represent the diversity of the country's people.

We arrived at the Royal Cape Yacht Club (RCYC) early on the morning of 21 December 2006...just in time for Christmas. Sailing into the Table Bay was stunning. The RCYC is a lovely club...very friendly with lots of amenities we hadn't enjoyed in a long time... like REALLY clean, nice, hot showers and free email/internet. Not to mention the view above!!!

We began our exploration in Cape Town proper. Our first excursion was to the Castle of Good Hope, reputedly the oldest building in South Africa built by the VOC (Dutch East India Company) between 1666-1679. During the course of our stay, we visited lots of the many museums the city has to offer.

Table Mountain seems to be the dominant backdrop of the city. Above the colorful V&A (Victoria & Alfred) Waterfront...a restored port area and a busy working harbor in Table Bay. It boasts boutiques and shops of all sorts, hotels, restaurants, bars and every imaginable tourist service.

We walked past the stately Parliament buildings on our way to the Company's Gardens.

We took the cable car up to the top of Table Mountain for the glorious view of the bay and Lions Head below. Once up, we decided we'd hike down. Mistake...our knees, ankles and feet took a week to recover. Next time, we walk up and take the car down.

We rented a car and drove along the picturesque Chapman's Peak Drive and stopped to visit Hout Bay and Simons Town (shown above). The scenery is phenomenal. It took us awhile to remember to drive on the left side of the road, but otherwise we posed no major threats.

The drive from Cape Town down the peninsula to Cape Point Nature Reserve part of Table Mountain National Park is stunning. The scenery again was awesome along the rugged Atlantic coast culminating in Cape Point and the historic Cape of Good Hope. But quite honestly we are always most taken by the animals and the baboons, though considered quite pesky, were quite the novelty for us and were a highlight of the day. We saw lots of them and were fascinated watching them in groups interact with humans and each other.

Above, a Chacma baboon directs traffic at the roundabout.

That's OUR rental car the baboon is sitting upon. We waited patiently for him to leave then wiped the footprints off the windshield.

Of the  two lighthouses at Cape Point, the one shown is the more picturesque and is sometimes accessible, but the trail was closed when we were there. We were still recuperating from the  painful trek down Table Mountain so it was just as well.

The Cape of Good Hope was exciting, but crowded. One of the 5 great capes of the world, it was originally named the Cape of Storms by Bartholomew Dias in 1488, the first European to round the cape. It was later renamed Cape of Good Hope because of the prospect of opening a trade route to India and the east.

On the same trip, we visited Boulders Beach near Simons Town to view the African (aka jackass penguins because of their distinctive "bray") penguin colony. Hundreds (maybe thousands) of penguins were in residence. A relatively new colony, there have only been penguins here since the mid-1980s.

The penguin couples stay together for many years, producing one to two eggs per year.

We saw them in all phases it seems from the courting process and the mating process as well as eggs and newly hatched chicks. Despite the crowds on the beach, the penguins seemed quite content to go on with life as usual on "their beach" swimming and intermingling with the locals. The award-winning film "City Slickers" documents the life and habits of these interesting aquatic birds.

On a separate trip, we ventured along the southern coast of the Western Cape province and inland for a week. Far too short a period to see everything, but it gave us a taste for more of  South Africa. Above, a Cape Fur seal sleeps on the beach at Cape Agulhas.

At Stony Point near Betty's Bay, a rock hyrax or "dassie" is quite aggravated by our intrusion.

Above, an example of Dutch colonial architecture which is prevalent throughout the Western Cape.

Cape Agulhas is most southern point of the African continent and the point at which the Atlantic and Indian Oceans converge.

We visited Oudtshorn (Oats-horn, we were helped with the pronunciation), the ostrich capital of the world. Acres and acres of ostrich farms, bred and grown for their eggs, meat, feathers, etc. We did not have an omelette, but we had ostrich meat regularly while in South Africa and it was excellent.

From the coast, we headed north into the Karoo. Dry and reminiscent of the U.S. southwest terrain, the temperature rose to an astounding 47C (almost 117F)!!!

We saw colorful guinea fowl in great numbers and though quite articulate, they were shy and constantly scurrying away from the camera.

We had every intention of heading back to Cape Town after Oudtshorn, but the Addo Elephant National Park beckoned us further into the Eastern Cape. The elephants were incredible. These photos do little justice to the enormity of the animals and the thrill of seeing them in such numbers and up so close.

The second of the Big 5, the Cape Buffalo, was also spotted at Addo. The waterhole was a big draw on such hot days.

At Bontebok NP, we saw lots of "boks" including steenboks (above), springboks and gemsboks (oryx). At left, a kudu stops for a drink.

We visited both Bontebok National Park and the Karoo Nature Reserve and couldn't get enough of the animals. Above, a group of meerkats check us out as we check them out.

Even thirsty warthogs can be cute and photogenic.

Head on look at a red hartebeest.

Though we saw vervet monkeys in the parks, we were just as likely to see them on the side of the road, playing in trees.

We saw so little of South Africa and we saw so very much. We would have liked to venture into the other provinces and national parks on the east coast and further north which our schedule didn't allow...this time around. This is a "must return" country.  Apart from the flora and fauna, we feel we missed out on the cultural diversity the country has to offer and this is an area we would like to explore further on the next trip. We took hundreds and hundreds of photos and choosing the ones most representative of what we saw was difficult to say the least. We hope you enjoy sharing some of what we saw and it whets your interest for a visit here yourself. It's incredible!

The variety and quantity of bird life was fantastic.Above, a white stork. With all the fauna, we barely mentioned the flora which was abundant. Fynbos (fine bush) are a major vegetation type found specifically within the Cape Floral Kingdom. There are more than 7,700 different plant species that fall within the fynbos category and though it wasn't the season for full bloom, we were delighted with what we saw.

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