Blog Post

If you missed, Day 1 of our trip, you can catch up here.

Breakfast

Day 2 was a Saturday and we started the day with breakfast at the Oranjezicht City Farmers Market just 5 minutes from our apartment.

My sister-in-law and the fitter members of her family joined us as they had just done the nearby 5k Greenpoint Park Run which starts at 8 am each Saturday. (This is free to enter and if you enjoy running, you should do it!)

There is a large variety of breakfast foods and drinks to choose from. Wander around and select your favorite and it will be cooked while you watch. We opted for crepes and coffee and freshly-squeezed juice. Afterward, we browsed the food stalls and the girls bought themselves macaroons.

Hout Bay

From there we drove around the coast to Hout Bay. Be sure to look out for the houses with funicular lifts on the left side of the road. There are quite a few you can spot easily. The houses are built right into the side of the mountain and the stairs up to them are very steep, which is why many have electronic means to get up!

Beverley, a longtime friend, met us at Hout Bay Harborto join us for the day. She found us shopping at the outdoor stalls. Don’t accept the price given. They will always drop if you haggle. And if you feel they aren’t coming down enough in price, start walking away! The girls bought a number of gifts to take home.

While we were shopping, Piers was playing with his drone.

Just before we left we were very fortunate to be entertained by Cape Minstrels, known locally as Kaapse Klopse. Their colorful clothing and lively music are always a crowd pleaser.

Chapman’s Peak Drive

Chapmen’s Peak Drive is possibly one of the most beautiful drives in the world. The 9km of coastline you travel along is stunning! It is a toll road but well worth the money (R42 for a car).

We stopped for lunch at Thorfynns Restaurant at the Monkey Valley Resort in Noordhoek. It was a little too chilly to sit outside so we missed out on the sea view, but the interior was cozy and the food was good.

Penguin Colony at Boulders Beach

Visiting the African penguin colony was one of my favorite things to do when we lived in Cape Town. And it didn’t disappoint again. It costs R35 for adults and R10 for children under the age of 12. From the entrance you walk down a path to the beach. You will see penguins in the bushes as you walk, and possibly dassies (rock hyraxes) too. (We had one sit on a branch right next to the path – and one of the girls didn’t notice until she was a few feet away – the poor dassie was subjected to an earsplitting shriek and it scampered across the path away from us)

You can’t get on to the beach – you watch the penguins from a raised boardwalk overlooking the beach. They are so comical and it is great seeing them in their natural habitat and not in an aquarium.

From there we made our way back through Simonstown and stopped at Fish Hoek for ice creams bought at a store just off the beach. Then we drove to Constantia Village for coffee at Tasha’s Coffee Shop

Supper

We finished the day with supper at my brother’s house. He “braaied” (barbequed) chicken kebabs and ostrich steaks. Do be sure to try ostrich!. Similar to beef – but better! And healthier. Dessert was Malva Pudding. So good!! It’s a baked cake-type dessert with a syrup poured over it. You will find it on many menus. Be sure to try that too.

Continue reading about our trip with Day 3.