This morning saw us up early to pack up our belongings, have breakfast, and begin our trip eastward. Paul,our guide yesterday, had given us great instructions on how to get out of Cape Town. We got onto the N2 highway and went to Somerset West and off at Strand, driving to Gordon's Bay where we drove along the coast to Hermanus where we stopped for lunch. Hermanus is famous for whale watching as the Southern Right Whale comes to this area to have their babies. Fr...

Today, we were picked up by our guide, Paul Hofman, to tour the Cape Peninsula. We left about 9:30am and he took us first to Bo-Kaap which is a Malay community where non-indentured slaves settled the 1760's. It is a very colorful area with brightly painted houses and old cobblestone streets. We then went to a camera store to buy Jean an additional memory card for her camera. The store has to be the best camera store I have ever been in. You need a particular came...

We decided to have a bit of a down day today. We were picked up to get the vehicle we are renting for the rest of our holiday - a brand new Ford Kuga which is the South African equivalent of the Ford Escape. It had 36 km on it when we picked it up. We won't use it until Saturday as I am a bit wary of driving in Cape Town - crazy drivers and crazy streets! After we returned to,the B&B, we walked downtown to go to the South African Museum which was quite fascin...

Today we bussed to Kirstenbosch Gardens which lie on the eastern slopes of Table Mountain. It was owned by Cecil Rhodes who purchased it in 1895 and who then presented it to the people of SA. A botanist by the name of RH Compton is responsible for its development as the premiere botanical garden in Africa. We spent about 3 hours there and then moved on to Groot Constantia, a very old winery built between 1699 and 1712. Apparently, the architecture is some of the ...

Woke up to news of a new government in Canada. Quite a resurgence for the Liberal party! Today, Jean and I decided to do,a walking tour of Capetown. As we started off, a couple from Washington State who are staying at our B&B joined us. We started by going to an area called the Company Gardens. Back in 1652, the Dutch East India Company decided to set up a halfway point for their ships going to India and the Orient so they could replenish their supplies as th...