29 March (Day 13)

Today was jam-packed! We met up early with our tour guide, Pierre. Sandy wasn’t with us because she decided to go to a baby shower instead. Pierre drove us along the coast to Hout’s Bay. We got to see where Michael Jackson’s house was (it’s hillside and shaped like a castle, but a total eyesore). There was also a brushfire on the mountain. I think I mentioned earlier that it’s been dry here, so there have been a lot of fires. It was my first time seeing one firsthand, though. There was a helicopter that was flying back and forth between the mountain and the bay dumping water. It was cool, but obviously really sad, as well.

In Hout’s Bay we got to go to a seal island! We took a glass-bottomed boat tour out to a little rock island where seals sit and sun themselves. We got to see some swimming and playing in the water, too. It’s funny that even though they’re wild, this is a tourist attraction so they’re not afraid of the boats full of people.

Back on land there was a little market. I wasn’t planning to buy anything, but I thought I would practice my bartering skills anyway. I set my sights on a painted wooden bowl. After I watched people from my group try their best at a few stands, I picked the furthest stand down the road. I inadvertently got it down to a price that I liked (40rand, or about $4US) and so now I have a painted wooden bowl.

After leaving Hout’s Bay, we headed to the Cape of Good Hope. It’s the most southwestern point of Africa. There’s a path over from there to Cape Point that we decided to walk. It’s not too bad of a walk, but the first portion was a bit steep and I have the feeling my legs will be sore tomorrow.

We saw some sweet critters on the hike, though! Some guys on the trail said they were called “rock rabbits,” and they pretty much looked like prairie dog-guinea pig hybrids. We saw a ton, and consequently I have tons of pictures of them.

We also FINALLY saw a baboon! A bunch, actually, but two on the trail. There was one that was on the trail where Anna, Heather, Kate, Kristina, Jeff and I were walking. Jeff thought we should just leave the path, but as soon as we left the trail the baboon did, too. Then as we continued on there was another sitting right next to the path. After we finished the walk we had lunch at a little restaurant at the end of the trail. While we were there, there were several baboons in the parking lot and going into the trash. I’ve been waiting to see baboons, so I’m glad. I hear we should see even more on holiday.

We rushed through lunch so that we could make it to Simon’s Town before the penguin park closed. Boulder Beach has tons of penguins. We went into the park where they had man-made nests set up, and boardwalks that you could follow to look at all the penguins. I took sooooo many pictures (~250 this weekend in all). Then we walked further along to a little stretch of beach where you can swim with the penguins. Yes, I swam with penguins. Kind of. I mean, I waded around and climbed on some rocks by the penguins. But it’s basically the same thing. We did so much cool stuff today, I’m really excited for the next few weeks!