EXPLORING THE SOUTHERN TIP

We started our day at the vibrant and colourful area of Bo-Kaap, a former township above the city centre.  It has a fascinating history....can't remember it but feel free to google, cause it's fascinating. Many of the residents are descendants of slaves from Malaysia, Indonesia and various African countries, who were imported to the Cape of Good Hope by the Dutch during the 16th and 17th centuries. There was a 10k run going on, but we somehow managed not to trip anyone as we crossed back and forth, exploring the beautiful area, with its narrow cobblestone streets and homes in every colour imaginable. The pride the residents take in their homes is obvious.

Check out the protection in front of the garden, Ouch!

Next we headed to Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens. Wow, amazing!! It was started in 1913, and covers 528 hectares on the eastern slope of Table Mountain.

Statue of Nelson Mandela, who planted a tree here.

We drove on to Cape of Good Hope, and even though we felt we were on top of the world, we were actually at the very bottom of Africa.

On to Cape Point for lunch, a ride up the funicular to view the old lighthouse...

And the new lighthouse....

It was very windy up there, and we all had new hairdos by the time we got back down.

Next stop, Boulder Beach

We had been looking forward to this all day.....we weren't disappointed.

There is a boardwalk for tourists to walk along, so the Penguins aren't disturbed.

This is a breeding box, so the Penguins can lay there eggs in it and they will be protected from the gulls. There are two eggs in this one.

Some are still moulting and look like they have fur collars.

Interesting story.. A number of years ago, there was a bad oil spill here, and all the penguins had to be rescued. They were captured and bathed to remove the oil. The process to clean them however, removes their natural oil, and they are no longer waterproof. The volunteers waited until the penguins had recovered and were healthy enough to be returned to the water. Only problem was the oil in the ocean had not been cleaned up yet and was going to take some time. Someone came up with a solution. They put a GPS tracker on 3 of the penguins so they could keep tabs on them, then trucked them 700km up the coast and released them into the ocean. Within 3 months, the 3 Penguins with the trackers were back at Boulder beach, along with almost all the others.....happy ending.

We ended our day with an amazing gelato from this very happy young man. 

Had ginger gelato for the first time, it was excellent! Stay tuned....