Tuesday, March 09, 2010
The Capeman
It's actually a peninsula.
So I actually got into some amazing local sights the day before going up Table Mountain--Friday afternoon, we cut work early and took a drive down the ridiculously scenic Cape Peninsula, down to the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point itself--the very southernmost tip of the African continent. Standing there, one is directly between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and can theoretically swim from one to the other, if the whole "instantly getting smashed to bits against the rocks" thing didn't get in the way. That aside, the whole area is spectacular, and the megafauna were much more in evidence down in the national park here than up on the mountain. Right down by the beach, I saw eland (the largest antelope species), ostriches, and chacma baboons (there are tons of signs everywhere in the park saying that they are very dangerous and must be avoided, but I think they're really quite harmless, albeit prone to theft.) Although the ultimate reaches of the Cape itself was definitely the highlight, the whole drive down the peninsula was very picturesque, somewhat similar (I've been told) to northern California, with twisty roads going along cliffsides over gorgeous white sand beaches. The further down the Cape you go, the smaller the harbors between the rocks get--and the more exclusive the communities situated therein--until you finally get to a tiny little set of only 11 houses wedged between the rocks, with no road leading down, nestled in a gleaming, turquoise bay. Got to say, lots of worse places to while away one's days.
It's actually a peninsula.So I actually got into some amazing local sights the day before going up Table Mountain--Friday afternoon, we cut work early and took a drive down the ridiculously scenic Cape Peninsula, down to the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point itself--the very southernmost tip of the African continent. Standing there, one is directly between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and can theoretically swim from one to the other, if the whole "instantly getting smashed to bits against the rocks" thing didn't get in the way. That aside, the whole area is spectacular, and the megafauna were much more in evidence down in the national park here than up on the mountain. Right down by the beach, I saw eland (the largest antelope species), ostriches, and chacma baboons (there are tons of signs everywhere in the park saying that they are very dangerous and must be avoided, but I think they're really quite harmless, albeit prone to theft.) Although the ultimate reaches of the Cape itself was definitely the highlight, the whole drive down the peninsula was very picturesque, somewhat similar (I've been told) to northern California, with twisty roads going along cliffsides over gorgeous white sand beaches. The further down the Cape you go, the smaller the harbors between the rocks get--and the more exclusive the communities situated therein--until you finally get to a tiny little set of only 11 houses wedged between the rocks, with no road leading down, nestled in a gleaming, turquoise bay. Got to say, lots of worse places to while away one's days.
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