Only one day sailing between Namibia and Cape Town....

CAPE TOWN- Wednesday, Feb 18th

Unfortunately it was extremely foggy when we pulled into Capetown, but soon after the fog lifted we were treated to just how beautiful the port city is. The wharf is right near downtown and sits in between the famous Table Mountain and Signal Hill. I was actually on port duty for the first time Wednesday, so I just stayed close and walked around the mall (right near the port), had some of Melissa's famous hot chocolate, and went for a scenic 5 mile warm up run along the coast. The coast reminded me a little bit of La Jolla. I was initially planning on squeezing in a Table Mountain hike w/ some LLC's, but a huge cloud rolled in over the mountain, so we settled for some drinks and appetizers by the waterfront =) I did however catch a spectacular sunset over the 2010 World Cup soccer stadium.

KAGGA KAMMA Lodge- South African Mountains, Thursday-Saturday

This was my second SAS trip, and I honestly had no idea what I was signing up for. They needed a trip leader, and I saw it included some hiking in the mountains, so I went for it. The three days at Kagga Kamma turned out to be a really nice getaway from the ship and the city. The group was relatively small with about 19 students who ended up being a lot of fun.

We drove about four hours into and up the gorgeous mountains of South Africa. Overall, what made Kagga Kamma for me, was the surrounding natural beauty of the mountains and open African skies. Well known for it's unique rock formations and 6,000 year old rock and cave paintings, the private reserve offered a unique setting of African landscape and beauty. Perhaps the icing on the cake was after sundown where we were treated to an amazing view of the stars and galaxies. The lodge had an observation area and telescope on top of a large rock formation/mountain.

In addition to the surroundings, the ammenities of the lodge were fantastic. The lodge I stayed in was quite luxurious and the food was very good. I did a bit of hiking in the three days through the desert bush, rock formations, and small canyons. We saw a little bit of wildlife on the hikes, but more during the sundowner and morning game drives in the land cruisers, which was a lot of fun (felt like a safari). We saw some bontebok, zebera, ostridges, wildebeasts, and springboks during the drives. During our hikes, we saw some Klipspringers (antelope), Dassies, and a bunch of lizards. Both nights we ended the day with dinner around a extravagant campfire and some star gazing on the observation hill. Our last night there, we played some mafia around the campfire, which was a lot of fun especially because we had Dave our guide join us. I put myself out there and moderated w/ my fake south african accent even with Dave present, he loved it...i think.

The last night I opted out of the sundowner drive and caught an absolutely beautiful sunset. Me and a couple other students climbed to the observation hill and caught some hot photos. It was very peaceful to be up there as the orange, pink and purple skies illuminated the natural beauty of the mountains and the reserve. The next morning was perhaps even more memorable for me. I woke up at 6am, climbed the hill, and sat atop a rock formation to watch the sun come up over the mountains.

On our way back to Capetown, we stopped by the well known Spier winery in Stellenbosh. They also happened to have a cheetah preservation project there and a huge harvest festival going on. We ate lunch there, did some wine tasting, and headed back to the ship.

SIMON'S TOWN, Sunday Febrary 22nd

On Saturday a group of ten of us (7 students and 3 faculty/staff) cut across town and stayed the night in Simon's Town to run an early morning half marathon. It was the 42nd Powerade Peninsula Marathon along the beautiful coasts of the cape. The run was a lot of fun (despite it being VERY hilly) and a number of us finished under 2 hours. I roomed with Jody the business professor and PCA church dude, which was a good bonding experience for us as well as the rest of the students. The course was absolutely beautiful as it wrapped along the coast and slowly up a small mountain. While the large hill kicked many of our asses (up and down), the view on the way down was breathtaking and helped us remember how unique the run was.

Many of the students and Americans in general seem to really love South Africa. I had to question whether or not it was because it felt so much like the States. It seemed very comfortable, which is why I'm glad I had the chance to get out and see some of the surrounding area. Overall, i really enjoyed my time in South Africa and like many ports so far, only wet my appetite for more time to explore. We're now leaving Africa and about to embark on a VERY different continent with much to learn about.

btw1...i didn't have room to talk about not visiting a township (khayelitsha)
btw2...a township would have been a real glimpse into post apartheid S. Africa
btw3...i gotta come back here (table mtn, townships & safari)...World Cup 2010?