We were picked up from our hotel at 9.30am. That was the fantastic thing about being on a personal tour, it meant we might be picked up at a time which suited us.
First stop was Signal Hill. The number 1 place to start our tour, as we had just arrived and straight away we could get an overall view of the town. Wow, was my initial impression. What an excellent place to live! I could see the sea on one side, and Table Mountain on the other, and I began to go insane with my camera. We also had a full view of Robben Island and I was happy we had tickets for one or two days time.
Our guide drove us toward Cape Point along the Indian Sea side. We passed through Muizenberg and did a fast photograph stop at St James as I needed an image of the brightly contrasting beach sheds. The sea pool was empty as this was a college day but can imagine it being busy with kids on the end of the week.
I had been anticipating visiting the penguin colony all year and the experience was above my expectancies. Loads of penguins were scattered in couples all over the beach and fynbos. At the base of the ramp 'the motherhood wing' kept us entertained with their new chicks. How fortunate that a breeding pair made a decision to make Boulders beach their home, and today there's a colony of about three thousand penguins living in their natural environment. It was tough to tear myself away but after taking enough pictures to fill a few albums we set off to the Cape of Good Hope.
Standing by the sign indicating the most South-Westerly part of Africa we began to take in the sheer size of the first journey around Cape Point by the Portuguese explorer Diaz. Our guide escorted us on some short walks in the nature reserve so we could make the best out of visit. By this time we were prepared for a break and our guide took us to a tiny restaurant found just outside of the reserve.
The food in the deli was succulent and we were the sole visitors eating. The cafe was stuffed with locals - always a sign that the food will be glorious. Our guide did debate with us all of the lunch options available, but we went for the mouth watering, lighter option as we needed to maximise our day and had special dinner arrangements for the evening. Though we were now heading back to Cape Town I did not realize that some of the finest views were still to come.
Chapman's Peak Drive takes your breath away and it was great that we could stop along the path when we were happy to take pictures. Opened in 1922, this road was carved in the promontory cliff and must have been an amazing engineering project at that point. Today we could see all of the netting engineered to capture any falling rocks.
As we still had lots of energy we basically made a fast stop at the Groot Constantia wine estate prior to returning to the hotel. I was so pleased that we were able to visit there as the estate house reflected the ideal example of Cape Dutch design: thatched roofs and gables. We basically made a fast stop at the wine-tasting centre which was the easiest way to finish the day.
We found 2 benefits to having our own guide. First she managed to share tales about the history of the Cape and second she was able to keep clear of the local crowds as we travelled in reverse to the coaches and managed to enjoy some of the special locations with minimum folks around.
First stop was Signal Hill. The number 1 place to start our tour, as we had just arrived and straight away we could get an overall view of the town. Wow, was my initial impression. What an excellent place to live! I could see the sea on one side, and Table Mountain on the other, and I began to go insane with my camera. We also had a full view of Robben Island and I was happy we had tickets for one or two days time.
Our guide drove us toward Cape Point along the Indian Sea side. We passed through Muizenberg and did a fast photograph stop at St James as I needed an image of the brightly contrasting beach sheds. The sea pool was empty as this was a college day but can imagine it being busy with kids on the end of the week.
I had been anticipating visiting the penguin colony all year and the experience was above my expectancies. Loads of penguins were scattered in couples all over the beach and fynbos. At the base of the ramp 'the motherhood wing' kept us entertained with their new chicks. How fortunate that a breeding pair made a decision to make Boulders beach their home, and today there's a colony of about three thousand penguins living in their natural environment. It was tough to tear myself away but after taking enough pictures to fill a few albums we set off to the Cape of Good Hope.
Standing by the sign indicating the most South-Westerly part of Africa we began to take in the sheer size of the first journey around Cape Point by the Portuguese explorer Diaz. Our guide escorted us on some short walks in the nature reserve so we could make the best out of visit. By this time we were prepared for a break and our guide took us to a tiny restaurant found just outside of the reserve.
The food in the deli was succulent and we were the sole visitors eating. The cafe was stuffed with locals - always a sign that the food will be glorious. Our guide did debate with us all of the lunch options available, but we went for the mouth watering, lighter option as we needed to maximise our day and had special dinner arrangements for the evening. Though we were now heading back to Cape Town I did not realize that some of the finest views were still to come.
Chapman's Peak Drive takes your breath away and it was great that we could stop along the path when we were happy to take pictures. Opened in 1922, this road was carved in the promontory cliff and must have been an amazing engineering project at that point. Today we could see all of the netting engineered to capture any falling rocks.
As we still had lots of energy we basically made a fast stop at the Groot Constantia wine estate prior to returning to the hotel. I was so pleased that we were able to visit there as the estate house reflected the ideal example of Cape Dutch design: thatched roofs and gables. We basically made a fast stop at the wine-tasting centre which was the easiest way to finish the day.
We found 2 benefits to having our own guide. First she managed to share tales about the history of the Cape and second she was able to keep clear of the local crowds as we travelled in reverse to the coaches and managed to enjoy some of the special locations with minimum folks around.
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South Africa tours have never been so simple to put together, or so affordable! Cape Tours assures a superb African tour that's at least ten to fifteen percent cheaper than if you were to book your tour directly. Visit us at http://www.capetours.co.uk
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