I had read that Cape Town (or Kaapstad) is a lovely city at the southern tip of South Africa. On the other hand, preconceived notions of Africa – i.e. dry deserts, yellow grasslands, lions, etc – didn’t quite gel with the green lush sparkling city that greeted me, with its dominant Table Mountain, the Cape Peninsula’s ‘surf-haven’ coastlines, and some unusual wildlife which one least expects to meet in a non-icy region…

My initial reservations, being a lone female traveler in a country with an unsavoury reputation for crime, were dispelled fairly quickly once I made my way out of the hostel into the well-kept streets and gardens, soaking in the relaxed atmosphere.

Browsing and haggling at the flea market in pleasant Green Market Square certainly helped to make me feel at home, having come from one country where shopping is actually a national pastime. The Victoria & Alfred Waterfront is another popular place with lots of interesting outlets and cool places to hangout. Touristy but charming nevertheless.

By the end of this
jetlagged day – my first in South Africa after 18 hours of flying and stopovers all the way from Singapore – I came to fully appreciate why Cape Town is considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and why fellow travelers that I was to meet subsequently simply raved about it.

My only regret was my limited time here, although I did manage to visit the ubiquitous Table Mountain (which the locals somehow manage to be oblivious to) and the famed Cape of Good Hope “where the two oceans meet”, or so I thought...

Table Mountain, literally so-shaped, provides a dramatic setting for the sprawling city. After checking that it was not “covered by a table cloth” (i.e. shrouded in clouds at the top), I decided to venture up despite the gloomy weather.

The cablecar ride up the 1,000m high mountain was quick but exhilarating, for the practically vertical climb up the sheer cliff face.

Once at the top and past the restaurant and shop, the mountain plateaus out expansively. Grey boulders of all manner and sizes, peppered by bleached spots, decorate the various paths. Despite the drizzle, I had
a good time wandering about the trails and exploring the various vantage viewpoints of the city and pretty coastlines below.

En route, I was also entertained by the showmanship of a crowing pheasant perched proudly on a rock, as well as the mysterious marmot-like rock dassie whose closest relation is apparently the elephant!

There is no doubt about it. The Cape Peninsula is simply gorgeous. Although there was no hint of it when we sat out on a morning of fog that completely obliterated Table Mountain from view.

In fact, it was freezing when we arrived at Hout Bay on the Atlantic Coast, our first stop on the Cape Peninsula Day Tour run by the Baz Bus. A typical South African breakfast of rusks dunked in coffee (they dunk everything here) helped to ‘defrost’ us temporarily before we embarked on the tourist-filled boat ride out to Duiker Island.

Just a few kilometres from shore, the waters turned rough. We were busy balancing ourselves when, lo and behold, we were greeted by the amazing sight of hundreds of seals basking on the rocky island. Incredible.

Apparently, these were mostly male pups waiting out their time until they reach the right breeding age between eight to twelve years.

Besides the Cape Fur Seal,
the island is also a bird sanctuary with feathered species such as the Cape Cormorant, Bank Cormorant, Black Back Gull, Kelp Gull and Hartlaub Gull.

By the time we returned to
the harbour, everybody was suitably perked up and in a merry, and generous, mood, which the street performers shrewdly picked as the best time to entertain the folks disembarking from the boat. They were excellent though and thoroughly deserved the bountiful takings.

The mist had lifted when we moved on and drove across the other side of the Cape for a view of Muizenberg on False Bay. With its broad shores and gentle wave lines, this is definitely ‘surf land’ for the beginners.

The undulating coastline became more and more spectacular as we drove on – the most stunning I have witnessed since the Great Ocean Road in Australia – especially when the sun finally emerged and lit the clear azure seas.

Then we arrived at Simon’s Town where we spotted two black oystercatchers, which got our guide very excited as it is a rare Cape bird. The town, a naval base, is named after an early governor, Simon van der Stel.

But the real attraction of the place is nearby Boulders, with its pretty coves, large (what else?) boulders and a surprising colony of penguins – the Jackass Penguin, thus named because of its donkey-like braying call. And I had thought they only live in extremely cold places of the frosty kind!

The unexpected residents
started breeding here with just two pairs in 1982 but they thrive so well that there are now some 3,000 of them. Today, they can be viewed by visitors on boardwalks that give a close view of the funny wobbly creatures.

And boy did we enjoy their antics, especially against the resplendent backdrop of fine sandy bays and translucent turquoise waters. This Cape tour was beginning to feel like an Arctic visit when I was supposed to be in Africa!

Finally, we were approaching the grand highlight of the tour – the
much-vaunted Cape of Good Hope.

The long history of the
Cape Peninsula began with prehistoric Stone Age tribes, then the San (or Bushman) hunter-gatherers and the nomadic Khoikhoi who migrated from the north with their herds of cattle and sheep. The latter was the dominant tribe when the first Europeans sailed into Table Bay. In 1487, Portuguese explorer Bartholomeu Dias arrived with a fleet of three ships in search of a sea route to the riches of the East.

It was said that he named it the Cape Cabo Tormentosa (or the Cape of Storms) after the tempest storm that drove him to shore. However, the name was later changed to Cabo de Boa Esperanca (or the Cape of Good Hope) to please the Portuguese king, as rounding the Cape could be the route to the East. It was a full ten years later before another Portuguese, Vasco de Gama, fulfilled this hope and made it to India.

The Cape is popularly
known as the junction of the cold Atlantic Ocean and the warm Indian Ocean, the meeting point of the cold Benguela current on the west coast and the warm Agulhas current on the east coast. Actually, the real intersection is supposed to be at Cape Agulhas, 150 kilometres to the east.

Geographic inaccuracy aside, I was still unprepared for the startling spectacle of the contrasting waters on either side of Cape Point, the east side a peaceful bluish green while the west, a rich blue hue with magnificent waves. The striking difference was further accentuated by the mix of heat from the brilliant sun rays with the chill of the sweeping gales.

Awed were we by the astonishing scene and the breathtaking coast on this (nearly) southern tip of South Africa. So much so that I lingered long and took my time to go back down from the lighthouse to the tourist area where a sumptuous lunch of sandwiches prepared by our guide was waiting. We had to eat in the van, lest the infamous baboons in the area came a-grabbing or stealing our food.

This was followed by a
‘cliff-hanging’ episode from the Cape Point to the Cape of Good Hope, as I had a hard time hiking on the windy path near the cliff edge, trying my best not to emulate Mary Poppins and fly off. Our guide had told us the Cape Reserve is the second windiest place on earth, which I now totally believe. That is the reason why the area, with its exotic flora and said to have the densest plant species, is devoid of trees.

A pity there was no time to go down the cliffs to the inviting white cove below. The Cape of Good Hope itself was most delightful with its colony of rock dassies ‘posing obligingly’ on the rocks.

More cheer when I descended from the other side of the Cape to the glorious beach below where thunderous waves drummed off sky-high from the rocks, often inducing a rainbow in the process. Added to this extraordinary atmosphere was the odd sight of the much-maligned human-sized baboons swaggering about the shore.

Other wildlife at the ‘party’ included the bontebok antelope and the ostrich, to add to our earlier sighting of the eland antelope. Now it was beginning to feel like Africa…

Speaking about climax, there seemed no end to this wonderful day. Although we couldn’t go biking because of the strong tailwinds, we had a swell time on the splendid beaches on the way back, rounded up by a nice hot drink at the scenic town of Scarborough and a fascinating visit to a sculpture market.

Alas, I was moving on the
next day. But the sampling I have had of the remarkable landscape here certainly warrants a repeat visit to the Western Cape. I have not seen the Cape Winelands yet. Zipping through the Garden Route - the legendary coastal plain of forests bordered by superb beaches and enticing lagoons – en route to Port Elizabeth, only serves to whet my appetite. I have learned that there is more to Africa than just safaris and lions, much much more…