24 RTW Day 32 Capetown

By travelerdon on June 10, 2024

Day 32 Capetown Friday, April 5, 2024

Today we awaken at 6:30AM to a message from the bridge that winds have caused us to bump into a freighter while attempting to dock. The captain says we have no damage but we will be docked in a different place than originally planned. Turns out is is only a ships length from the original plan.

We have breakfast and disembark to find we have to walk through a wind tunnel to get to the Terminal. The wind is so strong that it actually blows my legs so hard that I have to fight to step where I want to! I take photos of the back corner of our ship that has sustained a dent, albeit a very small dent.

We make it into the Terminal and are told it is faster to walk another half mile than to wait for the small shuttle bus. So we walk. Not too far we find the HO HO Bus Stop (Hop On, Hop Off).

We board the bus and start our tour of Capetown. Just like several friends have told us, Capetown is a beautiful Port City! It is very modern and quite different from other African cities we have visited. The backdrop of Tabletop Mountain makes for stunning vistas! And then the bus starts to climb the hills and we get more stunning vistas of the port from above.

The winds are very strong and we are sitting in the top of the open top bus but our cameras have insisted that this is the place to be! So on we go until we get to the bus stop for the cablecar to the top of Table Mountain. As expected, though, the cablecar is not running today due to the high winds. A bit disappointed, but we also realize there is no way we’d want to be in a cablecar in these winds anyway.

So our cameras guide us as we walk around and a friendly Traffic Control guy takes us under his wing and shows us around as he describes everything to us. Thabo (pronounced Taa-Bow) is very friendly and quite knowledgeable about the area and even takes us to the beginning of a hiking trail that we climb for only a short distance on the very rough path in the strong winds before we decide ‘not today’. Our cameras get some fun views of the port below and Table Mountain above and then we head back to the bus stop. Thabo meets us again and shows us the different displays of cable cars used since 1929 and we are amazed at how tiny they are and how many people they carried!

Back on the bus, we drive over the pass between Table Top Mountain and Lion’s Head, a pointy mountain that reminds me of photos I have seen of a mountain in Iceland that I someday want to photograph. Off to the other side of Table Top is a third mountain known as ‘Devil’s Peak’. The scenery here is fantastic and soon we descend down the mountain pass to beautiful beaches with waves crashing in the high winds!

We drive through what surely must be a very expensive place to live with beautiful beach and cliffside houses, meticulously cared for, overlooking the beauty of rock strewn beaches and crashing waves. The winds are so strong that we have to strap our hats on tight! Then our bus stops and we are informed that we need to change buses as ours has got a flat tire!

After a while, we come to a bus stop where we get off and board a different bus to take us around the ‘Wine Trail Loop’. We stop at Jonkershuit Wine Estate, also known as Groot Constantia Wine Estate. This turns out to be the Oldest Winery in the Southern Hemisphere! It is so windy, we opt to go into the first building we can and it turns out to be the restaurant. We get seated and place our orders for lunch. We share an appetizer of ‘Smoked Kudu Carpachio’, a kind of African antelope. It is excellent! Then I order Ostrich Steak and am informed they are out of it. But instead they give me Springbok Steak, another kind of antelope. It is fabulous and cooked perfectly! Elee orders ‘Beef Bobotie’, a ground beef dish with egg. It was also delicious! To compliment the meal we order the ‘Governeurs Reserve Wines, White for Elee and Red for me. Both excellent choices!

We walk outside and brave the winds again and walk over to the wine tasting building. We look at the wine tasting menu and see the top choices were what we had with lunch so we move on and head back to the bus. The next stop is a walking trail down an extreme slope and we opt out and go back to the bus.

By the time the bus gets back to the start of the route, we are tired and still need to do some shopping. There is a Mall a short 10 minute walk from the bus stop and we pick up some sundries that we need. We also find the magnet for our stateroom wall. Armed with the items we need, we hire a taxi back to the ship and it costs 185 Rand, approximately $9 USD. The taxi driver comments that one of the ships had an “Oopsie” this morning. I tell him, “That’s the ship! Take us there!” The ship’s crew has painted over the dent in the back of the ship!

Back at the ship, we need to go through Immigration Passport Check and then it’s back on the ship. We grab a bite to eat in the Borough Market, aka the Buffet Restaurant. Walking around the ship, looking for music, we inadvertently miss the local Zulu Show in the theatre. Oh well, I find some other entertainment to listen to with a glass of wine.

Finally, back in our stateroom, we hear the captain come on the intercom and inform us that the winds are too strong and we can’t leave the pier tonight. We will attempt to leave in the morning!

Good Night All!