The final day of our trip was New Year's Eve day. We flew home on a red-eye via London. Only Pete was even awake at the start of 2020. I'd say we ended 2019 on a very high, high! We had the entire day before our 8pm flight, and good thing as we still had a lot we wanted to see on the Cape Peninsula. We learned our lesson from the previous day and got a very early start on the day to beat the crowds at Boulders Beach and the National Park. We were packed for our trip home (after securely stashing the 13 bottles of wine) and out the door by 8am!
No crowds whatsoever at Boulder's Beach so we got to enjoy our time watching the penguins. The best was seeing them swimming and then come waddling out onto the beach. I had thought that we could go on the beach with the penguins to swim, but maybe that was in a different location.
From Boulder's beach, we continued our drive down the Cape to The Cape of Good Hope National Park. We flew by the part where we were stopped in traffic the day before and just had to wait 10 minutes or so to pay our (steep! 60 euro) entrance into the park. We didn't really know what there was to do in the park besides drive to the end and see the lighthouse so I was happy when they gave us a brochure with our tickets, which had a map and highlights listed.
There are baboon warning signs all throughout False Bay and the Cape, telling of their dangers and to stay away, especially if you had food on you. Still, we were dying to see them, danger and all. As we drove through the National Park, we saw these fellows on the side of the road, likely eating the flowers of the memorial site. They are some cheeky monkeys!
Later down the road, a mom with her baby on her back just popped out of the bush and onto the road! Very exciting to watch her amble past our car and be reunited with the daddy, stopping traffic. Poor Maeve couldn't see them from her car seat! We've since shown her the photos and video though.
We were able to park close to the bottom of the lighthouse and again no lines as we bought tickets to ride the Funicular, named the Flying Dutchman, up to the top. There was still a good distance to cover by stairs so we still got our work out in carrying the kids up!
The beach down below was stunning and you could do a 90 minute round trip hike to the far end (the Cape of Good Hope) along the cliff above the beach. Not in the cards for this trip, but we did drive around to the see the Cape from the other side.
 |
| Lighthouse from 1859. It was easy to imagine all of the explores rounding this Cape on their way to the New World. |
 |
| Far from any home! |
 |
| Still very windy! |
 |
| Cape point at the far end |
The drives through the park were spectacular.
Best done at a slow pace as you watch out for baboons and leopard tortoises!
The brochure mentioned the tidal pools at Buffels Bay so that was our other destination for the morning in the park. Some brave women went swimming in wet suits. Maeve just played in the sand while Jude and Pete went to explore the tidal pools. When they got back, Jude wanted to show me these red sea slugs that they found. As we were wandering through the pools, a huge (2 foot) red object caught our eye as it darted through a tidal pool and under a rock- an octopus! So cool!
 |
| All of these colors were amazing |
 |
| Busy morning! |
Had to end our trip at a winery, Cape Point Vineyards. One I read about once we arrived and acted quickly to secure a picnic reservation. We had such a beautiful day for it! I only regret that we couldn't be there for sunset as the sunsets over the water way down below. (We did have a gorgeous sunset from the airplane windows at take off though- that perfect kind with the layers of color that go on forever on the horizon above the clouds). This was probably my favorite picnic in terms of the food served and the rose slushies that they served (smallest size was a 10 euro pitcher- I ended the trip with a bang!). We all had fun playing games under the umbrella and taking in the views.
 |
| Ocean views, playground, vineyard, mountains, sun. What more do you need?! |
 |
| A final windy family selfie |
And then it was time to say goodbye to South Africa. They say that you leave Africa with a piece of it in your heart and I would definitely agree. The time spent as a family, exploring and having fun will always stay with me. And we'll never forget our encounters with all of the magnificent wild life. We certainly hope to return one day!
6 continents down, 1 to go!
