Cape Town and Peninsula Tour

After leaving Victoria Falls, we drove to the airport and after a 3 hour flight, we arrived into Cape Town. Our pickup was waiting for us, and off we set for our accomodation to Winchester Mansions.
A beautifully restored historical building situated between the famous Table Mountain and V& A waterfront.
Our driver was very friendly and as I was on a mission to take a little piece of Africa home with me, I discussed with him the best place to shop and he was kind enough to take me to a reputable curio shop. I might add that some heavy negotiation was done by me to get the best price for my purchase.
But I am now the proud owner of a Zebra skin floor mat.

On to our hotel, booked in, a light meal and a walk down to the shops to have a look around, then an early night for our peninsula tour tomorrow. After breakfast and orientation, we departed

at 9am and drove along the Atlantic coast. We stopped at Camps Bay for a photo opportunity, then 

onto the fishing village of Hout Bay. Here we board a boat to be taken to seal island, where hundreds 

of seals live.

A beautiful part of the coast and a photo opportunity 

Seals on the rocks

A group of musicians entertaining us 

Where we board the boat.

Gorgeous coastline

Painting of houses and the use of metal is also 

incorporated into the painting.

 When we stopped for a photo opportunity of the gorgeous coastline, the local people were selling their wares, I had to support the locals, so a couple of birds made out of beads, made it into my bag.

This young man was making a flamingo out of wire and beads.

We had a wonderful seafood lunch at the Two Oceans restaurant at Cape Point nature reserve

Another photo

 opportunity, at the union of the Atlantic and Indian oceans, we are at the most south western tip of the African continent 

Our restaurant view.

Great rock formation along the coastline.

We continue to Cape Point Nature Reserve, comprising of 17,300 acres of indigenous flora and fauna.

We saw baboons and ostrich. After lunch we continued on to Smithtown and visited Boulders.

Boulders Beach is where there is an African penguin colony.

Explanation of the life cycle of the African penguin

Penguins sitting on their young

Entry point to penguins.

Colony of African penguins.

After this visit to the penguins, we made our way to The Kirstenbosch botanical garden, where we spent some time exploring, DH and I walked over the tree canopy and saw some rare and amazing plants as well as as great art work.

Sculptures in the park 

Lovely setting

Cycads with large flowers 

More sculptures 

Bonsai

Sculptures 

Garden area

Tree canopy

A good view of the gardens from the tree canopy.

A very packed day full of sightseeing, back to our hotel for a light meal, drinks and get ready for our tour to the wine country tomorrow.

Victoria Falls and sunset cruise

Our next two nights will be in Zambezi, where we will do a tour at sunset on the Zambezi River, We were picked up and driven to the river, where we board our boat for  the cruise.
An enjoyable three hours was spent cruising along the Zambezi River, drinking wine, beer and having canapés.
Along the river was plenty of hippopotamuses, crocodiles, elephants and an assortment of bird life.
We met a lovely couple from USA, on their honeymoon and had a great evening chatting and swapping travel stories.

 Hippopotamus

Hippo

Boats on the Zambezi

Hippopotamus yawning

Hippo and baby

Another amazing African sunset.

Hippo yawning

Boats on the Zambezi.

The next morning we did the three hour tour of the Falls. Aptly named “The Smoke that thunders”

David Livingston first saw the clouds of the thundering spray from 10km upstream. Having landed on an island above them, that now bears his name he walked to the lip and peered over to see what he later described as the most wonderful sight I have witnessed in Africa.

Entry to the falls

Yes we got quite wet from all the spray

Some characters at the entry to The Falls

Yes we did witness a double rainbow, which is very common at the falls

Horseshoe Falls

The rocks can be quite slippery, so a warning not to go on them, we did heed that warning, still a bit of travelling to do!

Me at the start of the falls

Decorative bridge, all carved.

The Devils cataract, this is lower than the falls

Poor visibility with the spray

Some information

Monkeys in trees near the falls

The famous Victoria Falls bridge, completed in 1905, only two lives were lost in the construction of the bridge. The architect never saw it completed, as he died in 1902.

Marker points on the 3km walk.

More falls

Devils cataract

Horseshoe falls

Video depicting the roar of the falls 

A little fabric shopping.

Monkeys in the park, near the falls

Dr Livingston, I presume!

The spray.

Another view of The Devils cataract

Sign

Point checks, in summer this point cannot be passed we were lucky as we walked all the way to the bridge, water levels are high in May

The spray

After our visit we explored the town.

Carved statues

Our wildlife lunch at The Three. Monkeys, the most popular restaurant in The township. We dined on Cudu and crocodile.

A helicopter, made out of drink cans

Inspiration for my African fabric collection.

Inside, a restored tram carriage.

Stone carvings

More stone carvings

Crocodile skewers 

 Our meal at the three monkeys was

wildlife, we had Cudu capparccio
, crocodile skewers and vegetable spring rolls.

The stores have an array of animal carvings and everything is priced in US$

After I bought quite a bit of African fabric, we caught the shuttle bus back to our hotel, had a rest, then we got dressed for our evening of culture and to have dinner around a boma.

Tomorrow ends our time in Victoria Falls, as we fly to Capetown for 4 days.

We did not eat this grub. Passed!

We had face painting, I did want a hyena, but settled for Punbar, koonamattta

Some wood masks

Our Boma was a fun evening, we tried, guinea fowl, buffalo, Cudu, warthog and lamb

Cultural dancing

Dancing

DH and I in traditional dress

Lamb rotisserie 

A lovely night of entertainment and culture, Victoria Falls is in a national park and there are plenty of wild animals roaming the streets so one must take care. We enjoyed our stay, now we are off to Cape Town, stay tuned for more adventures