Abdul had organised a driver that contracts to the hotel, to pick us up at 9am for our city tour and trip to the Cape. He was called Mohammed and was a thoroughly nice chap who suggested a variety of things for the itinerary. 
First he took us to a suburb called Bokaap which has a number of streets lined with brightly coloured houses that originally housed slaves brought to Capetown from Indonesia (mainly) in the seventeenth century. They were essentially indentured servants who worked in the grand houses of Capetown. The whites at the time wouldn’t have wanted black servants in their houses! It’s a heritage area that is quite sought after to live in as is close to town and is elevated. In the early morning the light on the houses was amazing and it was also before the streets got choked with tour buses. 

After Bokaap Mohammed pointed out other buildings, churches, synagogues and so forth of interest and then suggested a visit to a factory jeweller as I was interested in getting some tanzanite (which is a rare stone with a deep blue colour). 

Well getting into Jewel Africa was like getting into Fort Knox. You ring a bell and the outside door opens into a lobby with 2 guards and tv monitors. Then they buzz open a steel door that puts you in a stairwell. Upstairs you are greeted by a very smart lady who offers a tour to show how diamonds are cut and polished. That was very interesting. Their showroom is large and has some lovely diamonds and tanzanite in all types of settings. They sell directly to local stores so are supposedly cheaper but who knows. You can claim the sales tax back at the airport. I have never been one to resist a shopping opportunity and now have a lovely tanzanite bracelet and a new diamond ring, which they were able to get resized before we left. The diamond has been etched with an identity number in some process developed by De Beers and you can read the number on this microscope. The sales lady, Ingrid, was not fazed when I said I wanted to check the number when she brought the ring to the hotel the next day. (I am relieved to report that Dion at Goldsmiths Jewellers in Hamilton has tested the ring and confirms it is actually a diamond!  Still awaiting the NZ valuation to see whether we have bought wisely as well as happily).

After shopping Mohammed took us to the botanical gardens where we had a walk for just over an hour. It is truly beautiful with the mountains behind and has fab views over the city. Being the middle of winter (although sunny and 19C) most of the plants weren’t flowering but you could get a feel for what it must be like in spring and summer. They have this treetop walk which is really great and has lovely views. There were lots of families enjoying the gardens and having picnics and we’d love to go back in summer or spring. 

One feature we didn’t get to see was the top of Table Mountain as the cable car was closed for 3 weeks for maintenance. There are two ways to the top: cable car or a strenuous 2-3 hour climb. Maybe next time. 

Mohammed drove us along the coast road through some lovely suburbs that reminded me strongly of Wellington. People were everywhere brunching and shopping and walking. Unfortunately Mike missed a lot of it as he had very little sleep the night before and the car was an instant sedative. 

We stopped at False Bay which is home to a colony of African Penguins that are endangered. You walk along the coast for about 500m and then out to walkways by the rocks and beach. All along the walk there were (very smelly) penguins just over the fence, sitting on nests. There were also a number down on the beach. They are quite big and there are signs everywhere warning that they have sharp beaks and bite. 

We had a light lunch at the restaurant near the entrance and then headed off to the Cape of Good Hope. It is the most southwestern point of the continent but not actually the most southern point, which is about 3 hours drive away at another Cape. However it is a dramatic spot with a prominent lighthouse and great views. We took the funicular both ways from the car park as didn’t fancy the uphill or downhill walk amongst heaps of tourists on a warm day. 

 

The Cape is several kilometres inside a national park that has heavy signage warning about baboon attacks. Evidently they descend on anyone carrying food and can be very aggressive. Along the road were ranger guys whose job is to fight them off back up the hill as that can block the road. We didn’t see any!

On the way we took note of the security that Southern Africans take for granted and take to extremes. 

That evening we were booked into 95 Keeram St which was one of Sophia’s recommendations. It is an Italian restaurant with very nice food though not nearly as busy as Beluga or Baia. We were glad to be able to sleep in the next day, especially in a room that didn’t smell.