Cape Town, South Africa

March 17-20 2026

Cape Town was the end point for my epic voyage in East Antarctica that started a month ago in Hobart, Tasmania. I had a few days before I needed to start the next leg of this grand, round-the-world adventure in North Africa, and Cape Town is a great place to spend a few days.

2026 03 17 - Cape Of Good Hope - Boulders Beach

I disembarked Le Commandant Charcot after breakfast and checked into the hotel downtown. I decided to try and arrange to go to see the penguins at Boulders Beach, and the hotel was able to hook me up with a driver. We met up at about noon or so and headed out.   The plan was to go to the Cape Of Good Hope, then to the African penguins. We saw lots of wildlife along the way including baboons. Despite some marine fog, we had some pretty great views of the Atlantic coastline as we continued south. We stopped at the Cape Point lighthouse and walked all the way up to the top for some photos and eve ran into Daniel the science officer from the Charcot.   From there we backtracked a bit, then drove towards the actual cape itself, but not before stopping to photograph some ostriches that were right along the ocean, snacking on some vegetation. It was amazing (and we ran into Daniel again). At the Cape Of Good Hope sign, we stopped for some photos.   We drove along a good section of False Bay, famous for its great white sharks, then stopped at Boulders Beach. Along the boardwalk to get to the penguins there were quite a few hyrax that had zero fear of humans. They look like rodents, but are more closely related to elephants (don't believe me? Look it up). We didn't have much time left by the time we actually got to the penguins so we had to be quick. These African penguins are small and cute, not making much noise at all. They were on the rocks, on the sand and in the water. Some were clearly pretty young as well.

2026 03 18 - Safari

I met up with a driver in the morning and drove for about 2 hours out to the Aquila game reserve. The drive there was gorgeous, passing so many huge mountains and vineyards. I knew there was a chance of storms today and could see the clouds percolating up already. When we arrived, we had a drink and some lunch, then hopped onto the safari truck.   Right away there was a pond with at least 1 hippo, but we didn't get far after that before the rain began, heavy at times, including quite a bit of thunder & lightning. We continued on and it did actually clear up for a while. We spotted zebras, buffalo, wildebeest, white rhinos, eland, ostriches, elephants and more. In the lion area there was a big male with 3 females lounging by the side of the track.   The weather started to look bad again, and at a rest point, the skies opened up again and it started to hail. We basically headed straight back to the park entrance from there. Of course, on the way back to Cape Town, it cleared up again and the weather turned nice.

2026 03 19 - Table Mountain

Today, Cape Town's famous Table Mountain was unfortunately completely shrouded in cloud. The cable car ride was quick, only a few minutes, and I'm sure the view would be nice on a clear day. At the top, the fog was so think, you couldn't see much at all.   Eventually I found the rappelling team and got ready to head down the mountain. Once geared up with helmets and a harness, it was time to make the treacherous climb down to the rope anchor area. The fog remained thick as I looked over the edge into the foggy abyss.   Once roped up, it was time for a few quick photos, then down the 120-meter cliff. About halfway down there was a “surprise”... a sharp overhang. Once over that, it was pretty much hanging in the open air for the rest of the drop. Once off the rope, it was a strenuous climb back up to the top through the fog & mist. The landscapes there were amazing, with odd rock formations that faded into the murky distance. Once back at the top, it was back onto the cable car to head back down to the bottom. From there it was a quick Uber ride back to the hotel.   In the afternoon I went for a walk along St George’s Mall street and ended up at a botanical garden type called The Company’s Garden. There were all sorts of exotic plants and trees… And some of the most tame squirrels I've ever seen. A couple of them were bold enough to climb right up my pant leg. I even spotted not one, but THREE albino squirrels.

2026 03 20 - Departing Cape Town

It was a great, but brief stay in South Africa. I most certainly need to come back and explore more of the country, but for now, the next leg of this adventure awaits. It was time to pack up and head off to the airport with the mission to make it to Nouakchott, Mauritania. Not an easy task with connecting flights through Frankfurt and Algiers along the way.

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