After our week of rain, we had a beautiful weekend to go exploring the Western Cape region! On Saturday, we did a wine tour in Stellenbosch- some of us rented a VW Rabbit, and everyone else rode with our trusted taxi driver. Driving was an adventure, and Alex even got to learn how to drive stick shift. The area was gorgeous- vineyards within mountains- and we visited Ernie Els’ winery (he owns a lot of land in the Stellenbosch area), as well as several others.  The day ended with dinner in town at a game restaurant where we sampled several types of antelope (including kadu) and buffalo (Alex fulfilled his dreams of eating one of the “big 5″).

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A little trouble with the Rabbit- Russell and Alex pushing it up a hill.

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At one of the wineries

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A view of the winelands

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Hannah and Ainslie at the Cape of Good Hope

On Sunday we took the Rabbit down to Cape Point and Simon’s Town. The National Park at Cape Point is unbelievable. We stopped at the Cape of Good Hope (the southwest most point of Africa), and were able to explore in order to see some amazing views. The ocean break there is incredible and the water is a beautiful green, and the view is of mountains surrounded by ocean- incredible. Cape Point is farther south than the Cape of Good Hope, but much more touristy and not as scenic- but it is where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet. We were able to see some wildlife in and around the park- including wild ostriches and LOTS of baboons (baboons are angry and feisty- you don’t want to mess with them. We saw one sit on a car so that the people couldn’t drive away.)

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All of us at Cape of Good Hope

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The amazing wave break at Cape of Good Hopeh

After reaching the end of South Africa, we turned around and headed for Simon’s Town- well known for its penguin colony. We didn’t see any jackass penguins (called that because they smell and make noises like donkeys)- but did get to explore the downtown area for a little bit. The weekend ended with a seafood dinner and a scenic drive back- the full moon was up over the ocean and the reflection of the moon in the water was absolutely stunning.

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View around the Cape

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Simon's Town harbor

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Alex finally found a waterfall

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UNC on top of Table Mountain

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Ainslie, Hannah, and Hannah at the top

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Sunset from the Mountain

Yesterday was the warmest day we’ve had so far in Cape Town and very clear, so we decided to take the afternoon to hike Table Mountain. The mountain sits in the middle of the city and is a constant reference point for directions (“go towards the mountain”, “go away from the mountain”), and catches the clouds as they pass through Cape Town.  It has to be a completely clear day in order to climb Table Mountain, otherwise you won’t be able to see anything through the clouds. And, as one of our housemates put it, yesterday was the perfect day to climb Table Mountain. The hike was like the most intense 1 1/2 hour stair stepper you could go on, and included a lot of climbing on rocks. The views from the top were unbelievable, you can see the entire city, as well as all the other moutains (which look quite small in comparison). We stayed on the top of the mountain for sunset and took the funicular down.

All in all, pretty incredible.

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