Wednesday February 17, 2010. We went to visit Table Mountain, so called because
it resembles amesa, or table. There is a cable car that goes all
the way up, so we rode it and were rewarded with wonderful views.
On top of the mountain there was the customary coffee shop, and from there we
could see some more awesome views, as well as a group of mountain climbers who
were going to rappel down the mountain. We could also see Robben Island in the
distance.
The higher peak has the old lighthouse on its top. However, a new lighthouse had
to be built at a lower elevation, because the old light would be seen "too
early" by ships rounding the point towards the east. Foggy conditions often
prevail at higher levels, making the older lighthouse invisible to shipping. On
April 18, 1911, the Lusitania was wrecked just south of Cape Point.
The 4th picture shows the new light house's roof on the bottom right corner.
Here's where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet. The Cape of Good Hope
is erroneously considered as the southernmost tip of Africa, because it was once
believed to be the dividing point between the two oceans, but that honor
corresponds to Cape Agulhas, about 90 miles to the east-southeast.
Our next stop was Boulders, a land based colony of African
penguins. They stand about 2 feet tall and love to live close to the ocean.
Other animals live there as well.
After we spent some time admiring the antics of the penguins, we had lunch at
the restaurant there, and as we left the area, we were treated to a display of
baboons who were intent on disturbing the traffic as much as they could.
We went back to the hotel and prepared to fly to our next adventure: Sabi-Sabi
Private Game Reserve.
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