Cape Town - Penguins, Climbing, & Diving

Now in our last 4 days in South Africa, we moved onto our final destination: Cape Town. Our first day there we were fortunate to have perfect, sunny weather- so we took the opportunity to climb Table Mountain. As we arrived at the trailhead, helicopters flew overhead and emergency rescue vehicles rushed in- apparently there were two accidents at the mountain that day. Not being superstitious, we started our climb anyway and made our way up the most direct (yet very steep) route to the top up Platteklip Gorge. The rigorous hike was refreshing and made us feel good- especially because we made it to the top in less time than the parks department suggested for "reasonably fit" hikers! We were stoked to be more than "reasonably fit"! No, really, the best thing about the hike was the amazing view of the cape from the top of Table Mountain. The Atlantic Ocean was so blue, the city of Cape Town shining between the mountain and sea. We could see out to Robben Island and down south through the cape. We took the cable car down for the experience and were loaded in with the type of tourists we usually try and avoid. I overheard one conversation in the rotating cable car, by a Texan man with a strong drawl talking about how he'd, "bagged himself a kudu." We spent the evening at a braai (BBQ) hosted by our friend, Kia, at her home in the suburbs of Cape Town.

The next day, I was eager to get some SCUBA diving in to be able to compare the kelp forests of temperate Cape Town to the kelp forests of California. Bryan's perforated eardrum still wasn't healed, so he headed to the aquarium so we could see the same things. The local dive shop took me to a spot on the eastern coast of the cape, along False Bay, where I did a rocky-beach shore entry. Although the visibility and currents were good, the fish diversity wasn't what I expected, and the kelp was pretty unimpressive (compared to our Giant Kelp). The highlight was being followed by a playful Cape Fur Seal and I was fortunate to spot a large octopus and a vibrant cuttlefish, changing color as it swam by. After diving and visiting the aquarium, Bryan and I met back up and headed to Boulder's Beach to check out the colony of African Penguins, which were quite a delight to see in the wild! It had begun to rain as we headed to the dramatic Cape of Good Hope, but we were still able to visit the sights, even though we opted out of hiking due to the weather. For our last full day in South Africa, we took the ferry to Robben Island, where we toured the prison, talked to former prisoners, learned more about the horrors of apartheid, and took in Table Mountain from a different perspective. The next day we headed to the airport for almost 36 hours of travel time, most of it in cramped airplanes. None of our luggage was lost on the way home, our Malawi chair arrived without a scratch, and our surfboards came through safely!

We've been home for over a week now, and are just finishing up moving to Santa Barbara, Bryan's preparing for his PhD program, and I'm applying to jobs… our time in Africa was amazing, full of new experiences that have definitely given us more perspective, a greater appreciation for nature's diversity, inspiration to experience life more, and empathy for others in the world.