Sunday 20^th July, 2014…..in Cape Town so exploring the area and surrounds…first drove out around the wealthy suburbs where the houses are built above the sea and all their car parking is on the house roof tops as the roof tops are at road level……an absolute cliff top road that reminded us of the Amalfi Coast and oh the cyclists on this treacherous piece of road for biking!!  The mountain range they call the 12 Apostles but there were many more mountains than 12…we stopped at a view point, Maidens Cove, to take pictures as impossible out the window from our moving truck ...then again it was like the Thames Coast Road as there were no houses but a narrow windy road along the coast…..then we came to Llandudno Beach then Hout Bay where we made a stop again…..Hout Bay wanted to be a republic but the government wouldn’t allow it but they still have signs showing Republic of Hout Bay…we explored the Mariners Wharf there…lots of old fishing boats tied up and again an interesting area…then onto the Chapman’s Peak scenic drive and again more ocean views and granite mountains, again like the Amalfi Coast and still the cyclists…..the Chapman’s Peak scenic drive route was built by the Italian prisoners of war….the scenic route ends at Noordhoek……then on to False Bay which had the original port of Cape Town, then it was an English Naval Base and today it is the SA Naval Base…..then on to Simon’s Town which has some Dutch and English Architecture…..then on to Boulders where we went to see the SA penguins…Boulders is a national park between Simon’s Town and Cape Point……the penguins were so cute….from just 2 breeding pairs in 1982 the penguin colony has grown to about 2,200 in recent years….then we went on to Cape Point and walked to the Light house…quite a climb but worth the effort and then we walked from Cape Point to the Cape of Good Hope…..getting there was fine but coming down we lost the track at one point and had to go back and it was slippery boulders on parts of the track, not to mention the wooden steps……the steps would never be allowed in NZ…they really were lethal but we made it down and we wouldn’t have missed the experience even if our knees were complaining bitterly……then we came back to Simon’s Town for lunch…it was lunch at 4 pm and we were all pretty buggered….then we went down to the Waterfront area in Cape Town…very much like the Viaduct in Auckland but the waterfront area here also has the biggest mall in SA…..a great spot and so much to do and see and so we all opted to stay there until 7 pm and have dinner whilst we were there and then head back to our accommodation….lovely restaurants and lots of people but Sunday night, we guess one had to expect that….and so good to see black and whites enjoying this place……and so it was a long day…..M & F