Cape Town, South Africa, Africa
Airplane

We got up early this morning so we could repack everything for the last time on this trip. We loaded up the car and then had another really nice breakfast at Wedgeview before heading out. We sat outside on the patio and had breakfast, so we could enjoy as much of the nice weather as possible before heading back to Scotland tonight.

We drove straight down from Stellenbosch to the Cape of Good Hope, which is on the peninsula just south of Cape Town. We couldn’t have picked a more beautiful day for our last day in South Africa, and the drive down the coast was stunning. We saw the Cape of Good Hope, and managed to get out of there just as the busses full of tourists showed up. We drove over to Cape Point and took the funicular up to the top and then walked up to the lighthouse at the top. The view was amazing, and we spent a little bit of time just taking it all in.

We headed back down to the car and drove out of the national park. We stopped at Boulder’s Bay and visited the penguin colony. It was really cool to see all these little penguins chilling on the beach in such a beautiful area. There were quite a few people there, but the rangers made sure that people weren’t aggravating the penguins, so it was okay.

We headed west from Boulder’s Bay and drove up Chapman’s Peak for a wonderful view of Hout’s Bay. It was a long winding road up a mountain and down the other side where you had to pay a toll, but it was well worth it. We drove down to Hout Bay and visited the Bay Harbour Market. It was a bit hipsterish for us, but it was nice to see the different stuff people were making and selling. We grabbed a quick bite to eat in the cafeteria section and then headed off for our next stop on today’s tour.

We arrived at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, paid our entry fee, and wandered around the park for a couple of hours. It’s really pretty and peaceful in here, and you get a great view from the bottom of Table Mountain. We hung around for a couple of hours and then had to head out. We wanted to catch the sunset from the top of Signal Hill. Unfortunately, we weren’t the only ones who had that idea. The road to the top of the hill was packed full of people. Luckily we got up there just in time to turn around at the end of the road and get a spot to park on the side of the road. We watched the sunset and then headed down the hill before traffic got too bad.

We drove back down to the V&A Waterfront and went to Karibu for dinner. It was the first restaurant we went to for dinner when we got to South Africa, so it seemed fitting that we would finish our trip the same way. We were happy to be greeted by Nigel, the same waiter we had on the first night, and he showed us to a table so we could have a nice last dinner. We weren’t disappointed at all in the meal yet again, and they were nice and quick for us.

We drove out to the airport and had to find a place to fill up the gas tank and the only one we could find on a map was past the airport, right next to a township. Luckily the gas station was exactly where the map showed that it should be (sometimes you don’t know how accurate the maps are). We filled up the tank, got back on the highway, and got right over to the airport. We dropped off our car at the Avis lot, had no issues there, and walked over to the airport. We checked in for our flight, and had a little time to walk around the airport and check out some souvenirs.

We’re now on the flight back from Cape Town to Amsterdam, and then we have a flight to catch back to Edinburgh. This has been one of the best trips of my life! Everything worked out perfectly, we got amazing weather, we saw some incredible sights, and did some awesome excursions. Even when it looked like things could take a turn for the worse (e.g. Avis rental car lady, hiking in the monsoon, etc.), it all turned out in the best possible way! If I had a chance to redo this trip now, I wouldn’t change absolutely anything. South Africa is right up there in my top five favourite countries in the world to visit, and I can’t wait to come back someday and see what else it has to offer. Thanks for everything South Africa!!