Apologies for the lack of updates, but between safari and Mount Kilimanjaro, we’ve had no internet service for 10 days. We’re back now though, and going to add a post a day for the next week. Also, we added a subscribe link at the bottom of each post, which will send an email update every time a new post is added.

On our last full day in Cape Town, which I’d rank as my favorite city so far, we decided to make the long drive to the Cape of Good Hope.

For those that don’t know, the Cape of Good Hope is quite literally the end of the world (well, not literally, but close enough). Discovered in 1488 by Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias, the Cape of Good Hope is the southern-most tip of Africa (again, basically the southern-most tip). It connects the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and was monumental in helping establish trade routes and connecting the East and West.

It's a two hour drive from Cape Town to Cape Point, and along the way there are countless beach towns, animal hideaways, and vista points. The only rule is...watch out for the Baboons!!

The landscape was shockingly similar to the Pacific Coast Highway drive in California.

We stopped for lunch in Kalk Bay, and ate at the famous Olympia Cafe. Very cool spot.

After lunch, we sped down to Boulders Beach, and hung out with a bunch of penguins.

Terrorist Penguin sneaking back into his bunker...

I wasn't joking, watch out for the Baboons! Every mile or so, there were signs about the Baboons. And every time I started laughing about how funny those signs were, the locals would calmly ask me to stop laughing, and then spit out a few stories about Baboons chasing and biting people. Crazy Baboons!

"Don't trust the cute baboons.  They are dangerous animals!" — "Don't trust the cute baboons. They are dangerous animals!"

After food and animals, we arrived at the Cape Point - Table Mountain National Park.

We made our way up to the original Cape Point lighthouse, which was stupidly placed at 287m above sea level, and thus too far into the clouds/mist for boats to see the signal. After many boats crashed in the early 20th century, they made a lower lighthouse.

After checking out the lighthouse, we decided to make the 45 minute hike to the Cape of Good Hope. Five minutes into the thick brush, we turned a corner into a clearing, and both gasped. We were staring face-to-face with a Giant Eland. It might as well have been a mythical creature because I had never seen anything like it. It was huge, almost 2,000 lbs, and Michelle and I both stood there frozen for a few minutes before it walked off.

After a beautiful walk, we found ourselves at the End of the World. It was surreal. Open ocean. Lush, sculpted mountain edges. We took a few photos, and then just marveled at the wonder of it all. It was one of those rare times when everything comes together, and for an instant, a flash, we were flooded with the beauty of it all.

Leaning Forward at the End of the World.JPG

Nothing to do with our trip, but a perfect picture of backpack sweat...

After hurrying back to the car, we made the two hour drive back to Cape Town along the majestic M6 highway, as the sun set softly over the Atlantic Ocean. Great day!