Cape Town

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We arrived in Cape Town early on the morning of 4 September and stayed at this lovely city through 9 September. Since we previously visited Cape Town in 2000, we didn’t do some of the tours we enjoyed in the past. That is, we didn’t take a tour of the nearby wine country; Robben Island (the island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned); or the cable car ride to Table Mountain. Instead we enjoyed the city itself. Highlights of this visit included:

Victoria & Albert Waterfront: The waterfront area is a bustling center filled with shopping, dining and entertainment options. From here, you can see (if the weather cooperates) Table Mountain in its full splendor. The Waterfront is definitely a place to be enjoyed for an entire day.

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	A view of Table Mountain from the Waterfront
	A look down a wooden promenade
	The colorful Clock Tower with an Elephant Statue to the left
	A sign directing one to lots of international cities

City Center: Cape Town has a thriving downtown area. There are many shops and lots of pedways. We strolled through this area numerous times enjoying the varied architecture dating from the early 1900’s. Obviously, there are modern high-rise buildings too so it’s an interesting mix. One of the pedways – St. George’s Mall – is full of vendors selling African products. These are not strictly South African products but come from many other countries as well so it’s quite a busy shopping street. We also enjoyed Strand Street primarily due to the abundance of older buildings. Only a short distance away is Somerset Street, a newer section of town, which offers very upscale shops (how about a Harley Davidson Motorcycle Shop) and restaurants. All were within in an easy walk albeit at times a bit taxing when walking back up from town to the Hilton. Nearby the Hilton and hard not to find is the Muslim quarter with its brightly painted houses standing in contrast to one another.

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	The ornate building on the right was built in 1902
	The Purple Turtle Theatre
	A lovely Methodist Church
	A nice pedway/shopping area
	The colorful Muslim neighborhood located near The Hilton
	Ed pauses at The Hilton to rest in "His Throne" (Ed does look tiny compared to that chair!)
	A bilingual sign - English & Afrikaans

Two Oceans Aquarium: This beautiful aquarium is located at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. It gets its name since Africa enjoys two coasts – one on the frigid Atlantic and the other on the warm Indian Ocean. These oceans meet somewhere between Cape Agulhas and Cape Point – roughly 90 miles to the east-southeast of Cape Town.

The Aquarium has a wide variety of exhibits and it provides a great place to spend the day. It has various display rooms – including a touch area – which you access through winding stairways themselves often home to more aquatic creatures. We happened to be at the Aquarium when it was penguin feeding time. In particular, we watched the Rock Hopper Penguins being fed and, true to their name, each penguin “hopped” to his or her favorite rock to be fed a fish which had in turn been stuffed with a squid. This ensures the penguins got lots of nutrients.

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	This ray looks like his giving us a welcoming grin!
	A starfish with an anemone
	This ferocious creature is a Honeycomb Eel that is over six feet long
	A Zebra Eel along with an Echinoid
	This colorful guy is a Longhorn Cow Fish
	Spiny Starfish
	These are Knysna Seahorses
	Two South African Penguins
	A colorful Rock Hopper Penguin

A huge hit at the Aquarium was its large predator tank which includes ragged-tooth sharks. You can actually arrange to dive with the sharks in that tank (we saw a couple taking advantage of the opportunity). One of those ragged-tooth sharks was at least ten feet long! Thank you, no thank you; there is no shark cage in this dive. The Aquarium is also one of only three (the other two being the Monterrey Aquarium and the Birch Aquarium at Scripps) which houses a living Kelp Forest. It was a great exhibit with lots of information about how the kelp is collected and subsequently transferred to the exhibit. We truly enjoyed our day here, especially as it was a typical “one day, four seasons” kind of Cape Town day with the weather alternating between limited sunshine, lots of rain and lots of wind.

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	One of the many sharks in predator tank
	Another shark in the tank
	Wow, look at those teeth!

The Company’s Garden: These beautiful public gardens were originally started by the Dutch East India Company in 1652. In addition to the beautiful plants and trees, the garden is abutted by many important buildings. The red and white South African Parliament Building sits on one side along with Tuynhuys, the office of the President (when he’s in Cape Town). It was from this building that FW de Klerk announced on March 18, 1992 that South Africa had “closed the book on apartheid.” At one end of the gardens sits the National Library of South Africa while at the far end of the gardens sits the South African Museum and Planetarium as well as the South African National Gallery. Two religious buildings – the Great Synagogue and St. George’s Cathedral, the seat of the Anglican Church in South Africa – are also nearby the gardens. It’s a great place to relax and enjoy the setting!

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	The South African Parliament Building
	The National Gallery
	A Rubber Tree in the Garden
	A collection of beautiful flowers
	A glimpse of Table Mountain from The Company Garden
	The National History Museum
	The South African National Gallery
	Tuynhuys, The Cape Town office of the President (when he's in town)