Venturing to the Cape of Good Hope

We hadn't planned on taking this side trip to the Cape of Good Hope during our time in Cape Town, but I'm so glad we did.  After our heroic hike up Table Mountain, we returned to our hotel room, showered, checked out, and got on the road.   We had another national park to visit!

View of the water as we head toward Cape of Good Hope

Cape Town is not lacking in beautiful scenery!

The Cape of Good Hope is another stunning vista, in a beautifully preserved national park (confusingly named Table Mountain National Park).  This promontory was nowhere on our agenda until we heard from another couple that it is supposed to be very pretty.

Entrance to the park.  Everyone drives white or silver cars here.

It was about a 1.5 hour drive from Cape Town, which is longer than we expected.  The Cape is a bit deceptive; you keep thinking you are almost there. I guess it shouldn't be easy though, considering we were steadily progressing toward one of the most southern points of the entire world!

Some glimpses from the car as we inch closer to our destination

Baboon crossing!

The gorgeous Diaz beach, which sadly we did not get to hike down to.

Plus the Cape was a historical watershed of great explorers for hundreds of years, and its significance to this day remains, such that many people still think it is the southernmost tip of the African continent (it is not) and that it is the dividing point between the Atlantic and the Indian oceans (it is not).  Since we were so close, we figured, why not see the point that has caused so much awe and consternation among generations of sailors?

We went first to the Cape of Good Hope, where we walked up to the lighthouse and took some pictures of the view - mainly, a rocky point jutting out, surrounded by a lot of water.

We also did one of the hikes out to the point - it was very quiet, peaceful and beautiful.

Here you can see the path out to the point.

We then drove to Cape Point, another promontory within the Table Mountain National Park.  There, we got out and hiked yet again.  This was turning into the longest hiking day ever.

Along the way I spotted this little guy.

A view of the water from our car as we bid the Cape farewell.  We left in the late afternoon for the Cape winelands (specifically, Franschhoek), where we were to spend our next two (and final) nights.  Up next!