Republic of SOUTH AFRICA 4th Day:- Cape Town - March,25th,2019

Republic of SOUTH AFRICA     

4th Day:- Cape Town - 25.03.2019

City Tours by Walking

There was strong wind during the night. When I woke up morning I saw heavily shaking trees outside. The wind was very strong. The people said that this is something normal for Cape Town. After the breakfast in our Hotel Lady Hamilton, around 08.00 o’clock, we had been declared that the boat tour and the visit to the Robben Island had cancelled.

We made an alternative plan for today. It was around 10.00 when we left the Hotel and walked to the direction of the Company’s Garden. We walked downwards on the Plein Street and saw the Jewish Museum and SA National Art Gallery from outside. Then we entered the Company’s Garden. It is like a Botanic Park for today. There are various trees and plants. The oldest tree of this area is also to see in a protected enclosure and support. The sky is partially cloudy but the wind is still effective. There are squirrels running in the garden.

Walk in the Company's Garden.

Open market

Starting with 1650 ‘ies the Dutch-Indian Company came here and started with agricultural production. They had used to produce food (vegetable, fruit and similar stuff) for those who were sailing between India and Europe. Cape Town had been accepted as the midpoint of this spice route and the company served for food logistics to the ships.

At 11:00 o’clock we came to the meeting point with the Green Umbrella Tour group.

Green Umbrella is the name of the organization which make walking tours in the city.

We participated at the “Historical City Tour”. Our guide took us through the streets and we saw Houses of Parliament, Grand Parade Square, Town Hall, Castle of Good Hope (from far away) and Green Market Square etc.

Open markets in the Green Market

Open  market

Centre of the Cape Town es established at the Green Market Square

House of Parliament

Town Hall

Town Hall at the side of the Grande Parade Square

As we finished at the Green Market Square we went to the Tiger’s Milk Restaurant. We had finished our lunch and then we walked to the meeting point of Green Umbrella.

At 14:00 there was another Walking Tour: Apartheid Tour. Our same guide took us this time to the street Buitenkant which was formerly the border line of the city. Here from starts the District Six. In the Apartheid time the entrance to the city was restricted and this was one of the bordering lines. We walked to the Slave Lodge. Slave Lodge had been used during the slave trading time and slaves from different parts of the world had been brought to this lodge. Then we walked through the Company’s Garden to Apartheid High Court. There, we saw symbolically two benches. One for the white people the other one for Non-White people. 

Previously Slave Lodge, now Cultural History Museum

Previously Slave Lodge

As we finished the walking tour we decided to walk to Castle of Good Hope. We went there and saw inside of the castle. The castle was first built between 1652 and 1653 out of clay. Starting with 1665 the castle had been built again out of stone. After spending almost 45 minutes here we went out and started to walk to our Hotel.

Entrance to the castle of Good Hope

Swimming Pool, Inside of the Castle of Good Hope

Outer yard of the Castle

 We took a rest in the room and then we decided to go to an Italian restaurant in Waterkant.

We called an UBER taxi and this one took us to the restaurant Osteria Tarantino. They were overbooked and we couldn’t find table. The gentle guy suggested us another Italian restaurant Al Forno which is very close. Al Forno is a nice Italian restaurant and the owner is Italian. The guy (around 65) was also there sitting with his friends.

After we finished our meal we walked back to our Hotel. We always used the busy streets and spent almost 50 minutes for walking. It was good time for being at our Hotel. Next morning we had our scheduled flight early in the morning to Johannesburg.

Republic of SOUTH AFRICA 3rd Day:- Cape Town - March,24,2019 Hout Bay, Cape Point

Republic of SOUTH AFRICA     

3rd Day:- Cape Town - 24.03.2019

Hout Bay, Simons Town, Cape Point

After the breakfast in our Hotel Lady Hamilton, around 09.00 o’clock, our bus ‘Mega Coach’ took us to coastal road on the West of the Cape Town. We drove through Bantry Bay and then reached to the Camps Bay. It was around 10.00. Our bus stopped in a parking lot and we gave a short break for taking pictures.

Camps Bay, South Africa

Camps Bay is the beach where the Portuguese discovery ships came and established their first camp in the last decade of 15^th century. The pioneers to discover this part of the world where Barthelme Diaz and Vasquez de Gama on behalf of the Portuguese king.

Their goal was to turn around South Africa to the East where the spice was coming from.

After half an hour we continued our trip on route M6 which is the so-called Victoria Drive to the direction Hout Bay. The scenic road Victoria is connecting Hout Bay to the Cape Town Since we were heading to the South, the blue and endless ocean was on our right hand side. The sky was partially cloudy but the sun was promisingly shining.

We arrived at Hout Bay around 11:00 o’clock.This is a small fisherman’s’ town. Our bus came to park. We walked in the Mariner’s Wharf. There were a couple of seals around. Small ethnic groups were making music and children were dancing for the tourists.

I bought a coffee. Then we waited for our scheduled boat trip. Our boat took us to a small

rocky island just 2-3 miles away from the coast. There are colony of seals on and around the small island. Our boat approached to the island and we took pictures.

Then we sailed back to the Mariner’s Wharf.

Hout Bay, Mariner's Wharf

Open Souvenier Shops, Hout Bay

Dancing children at the Hout Bay

Marina at the Hout Bay

Just before boarding for the seals

Seal colony living on a rocky island

Seal Colony

We seated in our bus and we started to drive. Leaving Hout Bay, at a view point we stopped only to take few pictures. We continued on the Chapman’s Peak Drive. This is a panoramic road which is good for passengers but not for the drivers. The road is with many curves and getting narrow from time to time. The elevation of the road is changing between 60 and 120 meters from sea level. According to the existing rules it is a one direction route is for big buses. It is a dangerous road section but most scenic as well.

Chapman 's Peak Drive (foto taken from The Vibe Guest Studios' page)

We came to the Simons Town which is on False Bay side. Our bus drove us further down. We passed at the side of the naval base of Republic South Africa.The symbol of this naval base has used to be a Golden Retriever. It was a devoted and sympathetic dog of the base in the past.

Further down we came to a place where a big Penguin Colony is leaving. We were at the East coast of the peninsula. We walked on the sandy beach to the penguins. They were bordered by the wooden hand trails all along the walking deck. We took a lot of pictures and while walking back to the bus I bought delicious ice cream from one of the nice looking ice cream corner.

Penguin Colony in Simons Town, South Africa

A penguin warming the egg.

We arrived at the pre-booked restaurant at the sea side. They served us with sea food, fish and green salad. I took also a cold South African beer. After the lunch we continued our road on M4 to the Cape Point. When we came to the Cape Point the weather changed badly and a thick fog was around. We bought the tickets for the funicular which takes the people to the light house which is located at approx. 180 meter from sea level. It is a huge and powerful light house visible from 100 miles. We took a few pictures and then came down with the funicular. There is a souvenir shop at the lower funicular station and I bought a key ring with Cape Point symbol as a gift to my son. One of the interesting thing and danger was about baboons leaving there everywhere. These animals are eating any food that the visitors have in their pockets or in their bags. Be careful against baboons in the parking lot and on the hill up to the light house as well. They are suddenly stealing the bags and sometimes attacking people for getting the food stuff.

Light House of Cape Point

After that our bus took us down to the place “Cape of Good Hope.”

There is a symbolic wooden sign showing the geographical location at the coast looking to the West. It is a place to remember by photographs. After having some pictures we continued on our bus back to Cape Town. It was a trip back to our Hotel of about 1 ½ hours. It was approx. 18:30 when we came back to our Hotel.

I didn’t fixed the reason exactly but my stomach was hurting me when we were back. The fish or one of the food products on the lunch could be spoilt. I spent the night at the Hotel.

Republic of SOUTH AFRICA-1st Day:-March,22nd,2019

Republic of SOUTH AFRICA     

1st Day & Night :-from Istanbul to Cape Town

21.03.2019 & 22.03.2019                                                                         

We took the flight of Qatar Airways from Istanbul to Cape Town via Doha. Our plane took off at 19:40 from Ataturk Airport. I am together with Mehlika and we landed at Doha Airport around 24:00. Doha Airport, named Hamad Int’l Airport, is a new and modern building and very luxuries. Our connection flight was on 01:45. It took around 10 hours to Cape Town. There is no time difference between Istanbul and Doha whereas the time difference between South Africa is 1 hour. Even it is a long distance flight there is no jet lack problem on this trip.

It was next day approx. 11:00 o’clock when we arrived at Cape Town. There is no visa requirement for Turkish Citizens. We took the tour bus “Mega Coach” from the Cape Town Airport and it took us to the down town. We approached to the city from Southeast using the route M3. The Table Mountain was the most peculiar visual effect when we came closer to the down town.

Table Mountain and Trasnportation to the top

We got out as the bus came to the “BO KAAP”. This part of the city is populated originally by the Islamic people who had been deported from Fareast countries like Indonesia, Malesia. There are a few colorful houses on the main street of Bo Kaap. These had been used to be houses of Islamic people in the old times.

We continued with our bus through the city Cape Town. We saw the Parliament House and the Castle of Good Hope. Then we stopped in the Grand Parade Square where there is the Town Hall. This place and this building is outrageous.

After Mandela had been released from the prison on 11^th, February, 1990, several hours later, Nelson Mandela made his first speech on the balcony of Cape Town's City Hall.

There is now 1:1 size statue of Mandela on the balcony.

Town Hall of Cape Town

Balcony of the Town Hall with the statue of Mandela

Our bus took us to the Company’s Garden, which is nowadays a green park in the middle of the town. In the old times, late in 17^th century the Dutch-Indian Company came here and established a real big garden to produce agricultural products like vegetable, fruit etc.

The garden is today rather smaller but there are big trees and green habitation where the people may enjoy the nature in close surrounding.

We had been driven through the main streets in the town and then we arrived at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. We left the bus here and walked into the Waterfront Mall. We went to the Greek Restaurant on the second floor having a view over the harbor. The weather was fine and sunny. 

After the lunch we continued on the bus to our Hotel Lady Hamilton. We moved to our room and we took a rest until 19:00 o’clock. After that we called a UBER taxi and we went to the Waterfront. That place is full of people. The restaurants and bars are looking nice in the night. We took a ride on the wheel. There is a nice view over the harbor. As we finished our ride on the wheel we took place in the restaurant just adjacent to us. It is a kind of “Biergarten” (beer garden) and there is a small orchestra playing and singing. We took Savanah dry (a kind of beer with ginger soda with 3% alc.) and Weizenbeer. I ordered also a classic hamburger. We spent more or less 2-3 hours in the Waterfront and then took a UBER taxi and drove back to our Hotel Lady Hamilton. UBER is safe for the in-city transportation.