On the 12th of December we flew down to Cape Town for the long weekend which included the South African public holiday on the 16th. On Saturday we visited the botanical gardens and the Victoria and Albert Waterfront. We ate a light dinner with Kaluha Don Perdos at the Amigos restaurant high up near Kloofneck. On Sunday we ventured out and undertook to climb Table Mountain. We got different estimates how long it would take us to walk up. They ranged from 2.5 to 3.5 hours. In fact it took us a lot longer but we had a long chat with a local guide and there was the excitement about the "aggressive bird". As we were walking up, two tall slim German lads from Hamburg came our way. They asked us if this was the only way up. We learned that they had turned back because a huge bird was blocking their way. Each time they tried to walk past it, it would threaten to attack them! Intrigued we went to investigate and found a tiny owl which might have fallen out of it's nest on the overhanging rock above. It was distressed and didn't appreciate us but simply made clicking sounds. We (and the Germans) got past it with no further hassle. To speed them on their way I told them about the snake I had seen on the way up and they bolted!
The comfortable way up and down Table Mountain
Finally made it to the top of Table Mountain!
Sandra atop Table Mountain in front of a Protea plant
As it was quite late when we got to the top of the mountain we decided to take the Swiss cable car down. We were down in time for a superb sunset on Signal Hill. Later we had a very nice Sushi dinner in Green Point.
Sunset at Signal Hill, Cape Town
On the Monday we went out to Paarl and the wine growing regions behind Cape Town. Our first stop was at Vendome Wineries where the young winemaker himself let us taste his produce. Our next stop was to Laborie in the village of Paarl itself which makes nice wines but also has a first class terrace restaurant where we ate a superbly spiced Maroccan Chicken Salad. Rushing towards Worcester and Robertson we managed to just catch the Winemaker at the Nuy wineries where Sandra stocked up on a box of their tasty Chant de Nuy white wine.
The winemaker at Vendôome wineries, Paarl
Lunch at Laborie estates in Paarl
On Tuesday we went to Llundudno beach to take in the Sun and watch the surfers gliding on the waves before heading to the airport for our flight back to Johannesburg