On this trip, we’re all about Carpe Diem. So look out- we’ve rented a car, and we’re driving on the other side of the road…

Luckily, the streets here aren’t nearly as scary (or narrow) as those you experience in Ireland. That was my last white-knuckled adventure in renting cars that force you to rewire your motoring orientation.

And much like driving the twisty coasts of Slea Head, the view on this coast is just as magnificent- but of course in its own unique way. The ability to explore this one-time landmass known as Gondwanaland really gives you a profound appreciation for how incredible our planet really is (and yes, I’ve been dying to use the word Gondwanaland since I learnt it back in my college Dynamic Earth class).



Only people from California drive barefoot. Stick shift. First time driving on the other side of the street.

A bit reminiscent of driving the glorious Pacific Coast Highway, there are many sweeping views that make it hard to keep your eyes trained on the road.

 Here we reach just about the last town before our destination- and this place looks like a real winner. I mean come on, instead of a welcome sign they’ve got one warning visitors of their cannon! Doesn’t get more hospitable than that.

And of course Simon’s Town is a sailor locale, and as we sit and eat our lunch at the harbor we’ve got a fine view of some warship masts. The word is that the South African government spent a bundle on stealthy new ships that will protect their country from security threats like….penguins? Baboons?  I’m not quite sure (but I saw some lovely shanty towns outside of Cape Town proper that could use some attention).

As I walk inside our restaurant, I spy a ship’s crest posted up on the wall. Leave it to the U.S. Navy- we really do go everywhere.

Just after Simon’s Town is Boulder Beach- a place where you can check out a colony of African Penguins that seem to lounge about and stare at the tourists as much as we stare at them. Except it’s only the human suckers who have to pay to get in.

This guy and I had a staring contest for awhile- but eventually I got bored first and shuffled off to read the informative penguin signs posted along the walkway.

I’m always mortified when I see that I’ve committed basic grammatical errors in my blog entries- but it really grates on me when I spot stupid grammatical mistakes that are printed on public signs. I have no idea what this sign actually says, because now all I can see is that one improperly placed apostrophe. And now I will await your copious blog comments that are sure to point out each and every orthographic error that resides within my most scrupulous website.

No matter that the apostrophe has killed any hope of me learning more about penguins- I don’t really find that they do much in the way of anything interesting. I mean, just look at how these slackers sun themselves….

…it takes one to know one.

Soon enough we bid goodbye to the lovely penguin boardwalk and press on toward the Cape. We’re getting close- and the reason why we know this is because the baboon signs start to become way too common.

And with good reason! These a-holes are everywhere, and I am no great lover of simian anything. They’re thieves- plain and simple.

Dodging baboons, we continue to admire the incredble view. It’s pretty neat when you can pretty much envision exactly where on the planet you are driving. 

Soon enough we arrive at the park and pay our 85 rand entrance fee.  As we make our way inside, I am happy to see that there are more cannons protecting the Cape! I am growing more and more certain that these things are used for baboon warfare.

Dangerous and attracted by food, eh? Well, you could say the same thing about me….

Again, the drive is beautiful, but clearly we’re running out of land. That far away pointy top is Cape Point.

And just in case the shrinking landmass wasn’t obvious enough (maybe this sign was for the baboons)…

I am so fortunate to have made it down here, because the ocean scene is undeniably breathtaking. Plus, it’s the closest I can get to being at sea- and as a sailor I do love being underway. Especially when I’m not on watch.

Forget the summer traffic that holds up access to that other famous Cape (you know- Cape Cod?). We’ve only got some wild animals who are clearly misdirected and not particularly caring that they are in grazing in a most impressive locale.

I loved the name of this place- so aptly named for such a very turbulent coastline.

I tried to take a video some of the beach, but I’m afraid that it doesn’t do this place any justice. Isn’t that always the way?

Okay, carrying on- at least we reach the end of the road. This fancy sign lets us know that we can go no further.  Dakar may be the westernmost point of the African continent, but I kinda like it here better. No one is walking up to me with armfuls of necklaces while I try to enjoy the view in relative tranquility.

There’s no such thing as a bad view around these parts, but we still opt climb a footpath in order to get a better sense of our surroundings.

This is my “Look! I was at the Cape of Good Hope, and I didn’t have to do it on a navy ship!” pose.

Before this day I did not know what a hyrax was, but we were clearly disturbing his afternoon sunshine repose activities as we climbed up the boulders.

Victorious in our adventure southward, I now am really keen to see Cape Horn. I think the odds are 50-50 on whether I’ll get there via land or sea.

And as easily as we arrived, soon we are headed on a northerly course and back to Cape Town for a different type of exploration in the morning.