Tourist Stuff

Up until this point I had planned the whole trip from day to day for the last 7 weeks, but since arriving in Cape Town for 10 days I had not planned an itinerary, something that really I should have done when there is so much to see and do. So after a couple of days of relaxing around the pool I decided that it was time to head into Cape Town. My first job was to pick up my metal panniers that I had sent to the freight company from Bloemfontein, 2 weeks ago. The panniers were extra weight that I had not wanted to carry when riding off road but they contained clothes and other items that I would need during my time in Cape Town. Fortunately the freight company was located close to the Waterfront, a shopping and resteraunt area build around a marina with plenty to see and do for the tourist. This place is similar to Port Solent in the UK but on a much bigger scale and extremely busy.

I found a restaurant for a coffee, ideally placed to watch the world go by. The spot had a view of Table Mountain in the background.

It was even busy on the water. Whilst having my cofffee 2 tugs manoeuvred a large ship in the marina for repairs. The skill of the tug drivers was incredible to move such a large vessel in a relatively small area. Needless to say it drew a large crowd watching this take place.

At the other side of the marina there was also a lot of activity as 8 professional sailing teams had just come back from racing. Each yacht seemed to have their own rib accompanying them transporting the spare sails.

It was obviously a big sailing event as the TV crew were filming an interview with the winning boats skipper.

After walking around the Waterfront for a couple of hours on a day where the temperature was above 30 degrees it was time to go back to the house and jump back in the pool.

The next day my plan was to visit the Cape of Good Hope, the most south westerly tip of Africa.

The route took me past a Township which seemed to stretch for miles over the sand dunes. All the houses were made of corrugated iron and wood and whilst I stopped to take the photo the smell that came from this area was not exactly pleasant.

The first main town I arrived at along my coastal route was called Muizenburg. This was clearly a surfing destination and a great place to stop for a coffee.

Whilst in Muizenburgh I realised that the equivalent of the London to Brighton bicycle race was taking place and the roads in and around this town were closed until later in the day which meant I couldn't continue to the Cape of Good Hope until after 12.30pm.

Eventually I reached the entrance to the Cape Of Good Hope and had to join a long queue. From the point I took this photo it still took 25 mins to get through, so I was glad I was on a motorbike and was able to push to the front of the queue.

I headed to Cape Point first of all, unfortunately with all the other tourists. It was extremely busy but the views were worth the effort.

At the end of Cape Point is a random road sign......It’s only 12,541 km’s to New York!!

When walking back down from Cape Point to my bike I came across these 2 and had to take a photo...Mum giving her son a hug.

To get down to the Cape of Good Hope from Cape Point is about a 2 mile trip. Alternatively I could have walked down the cliff path to it, but although it was cloudy, it was still 26 degrees and I was wearing my motorcycle gear.

Arriving at the Cape of Good Hope meant that I was actually standing at the most south westerly point of the African continent....with a lot of other tourists!

Other than that there was not much else to see.

After a couple of hours I decided to head back to the house taking a slightly different route back to the house at Somerset West. I took the west coast route up through Scarborough stoping along the way to watch a kite surfer mastering the extremely windy conditions.

My route took me via Ocean view and then over the mountains on the M64 back to Muizenburg. Again the twisting mountain roads and amazing scenery made the ride most enjoyable even though the strong winds made riding a motorbike a little challenging.

I passed through Muizenburg and along the coast towards the Township situated on and around the sand dunes that I had passed earlier in the day. I could see smoke and something going on ahead until I reached a police roadblock. Apparently the locals were rioting up ahead and had blocked the main road.

The police were directing all the traffic through the side roads and around the commotion but the diversion took me straight through the centre of the Township. I have to say that I did not feel particularly safe at this point as the traffic was moving slowly and there were a lot of locals walking around who did not exactly look very friendly. I pushed to the front of the diverted traffic as quickly as possible and exited the Township, pronto. When I rejoined the main road I looked back along the closed off section to see the road on fire and covered with large rocks. I moved on quickly.

I was relieved to finally get get back to the house. The trip made me realise how quickly the situation can change in South Africa, from having a great day riding along to suddenly being faced with something that could potentially have been quite dangerous.

I think tomorrow I will avoid passing the Townships!