After a very tiring journey of 30+ hours, we found ourselves in Cape Town.  We met our tour guide who took us to our hotel.  The weather was nice, so our guide suggested we take advantage of it and head to the top of Table Mountain.  When talking of Cape Town, Table Mountain has to be mentioned.  The four of us tried to grab a taxi, but the hotel driver offered to take us, so we agreed.  Unfortunately, we were in a hurry to get there before the cable ride closed.  Instead of taking us right to the mountain, he took us on his hotel route.  This was frustrating and we missed our opportunity.  We gave up on him and got out of his van.  Instead of going to Table Mountain, we went down to the Waterfront area.

South Africa is a beautiful country with a varied landscape.  Much to my surprise, the water is drinkable and the food is very good and safe to eat.  Unfortunately, crime is a serious problem.  Our guide was careful to tell us where we can and cannot go for safety reasons.  As a general rule, we did not go out at night.  However, the Waterfront was an exception.  We went down to the Waterfront every night while in Cape Town for dinner and drinks.  The money in South Africa is the Rand (conversion at this time was $1 US = 6 Rand).  I have transformers and adapters, but lower Africa uses this ridiculously large three round prong plug, so I had to buy a new adapter.

The first evening, we met our tour group for a welcome dinner.  Lamb was served which I normally dislike, but beggars can't be choosers.  We had a serious case of jet lag the first night.  Lisa and I gave up on sleeping and got up from 1-3 am.

The next day, we started bright and early as we toured the coastline by Cape Town.  We made photo stops at Clifton and Hout Bays.  We then went to the Cape of Good Hope.  It was originally called the Cape of Storms, but they changed the name to make it more PC.  This is not the actual tip of Southern Africa, but it feels that way.  I forget the true significance of the Cape of Good Hope.  I think there was a sailing ship trying to find a route to India.  This ship got hit by storms and were forced out to sea.  On their return journey, they realized they were the first ones to circumnavigate around Africa, which eventually led to a new shipping route.

At Cape Point, the power was out which meant the cable car that goes up the mountain to the lighthouse was not working.  A few people in our group, including Lisa and I, hiked all the way up to the lighthouse and discovered a wonderful view of the coastline.

Lisa and I hiked up to that lighthouse which you can see in the upper right hand corner of this photo