Africa, part 3

Our tour next took us to Cape Point on the southwest tip of Africa. We took a tram car to the Cape of Good Hope, where our group photo was taken. We had never travelled with Collette Tours before and one of the good things about them was the small size of our group, only 15.  On other tours that we had taken like Tauck, Vantage and Viking, there are usually around 38.

My sister is at the far left in the turquoise jacket and I'm in the middle in white. It's hard to believe that it was cool enough for a light weight down jacket because later in the trip, when we were on safaris they were having an unusual heat wave and it was way over 100.  I don't do well with hot.  And I learned a new term from Thabie....she said it was cookin' hot.

The scenery looking down was spectacular.

We also visited Bouder Beach to see the adorable penguins.  The African penguins are quite small, just about two feet high.  They were so amusing, as penguins tend to be with their waddling walk.  We were not allowed on the beach where thy lived, but viewed them from a boardwalk which afforded us very close up views.  There were a LOT of penguins, I only show a very few here.



We also traveled to the charming village of Stellenbosch and visited a local winery for a tasting and a delicious lunch outside on the patio.  South Africa is known for its wines, especially white wines and we enjoyed them throughout the trip.

Our very delicious lunch served on a board with many jars of treats, one board to each guest.  The biggest jar held a yummy beet and green salad with goat cheese and the smaller jars held various jars of humus, liver pate, tarts and such with cheese and meats and a wonderful sourdough bread to pass.  I thought it was a unique way to serve.

I loved seeing the wildflowers.  The King Protea is their national flower and many varieties of Protea grew all along the road side.  What might cost as much as twelve or more dollars apiece here in the US were free for the picking.

Pincushion Protea, the most common found in the area we were traveling.

Huge shrubs grew all along the roadside.

We also made a short visit to the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens . The setting was incredible with  the mountains in the background,

This is the King Protea, the national flower. You can see how large it is by the arm holding it steady.

Please come back for what you really want to see.....the animals!