South Africa🇿🇦 Week 1

08.01.26

Today we are heading to South Africa for 6.5 weeks.

Carlo drives us to the airport in Cologne, and our flight to Munich starts almost on time.

We were informed that the flight is overbooked and that we could fly tomorrow for €600 compensation per person. We would have done that, but unfortunately tomorrow is also overbooked, so after de-icing the plane, we depart to Capetown with a 1-hour delay.

The table on the plane is faulty, the seat cannot be adjusted, but after several reset attempts, the seat works and there is duct tape for the table.

The night was good, and we land in Capetown around 8 AM local time.

Since we booked a hotel in Capetown for the first night and can only check in at 2 PM, we first stop by our favorite winery, Spier, for a welcome drink.

After checking in at the old Foundery in Capetown, we take a stroll to the Waterfront and have something to eat and drink while enjoying the ever-fascinating cloud play at Table Mountain.

Tonight, we are going to bed early.

After a fantastic breakfast

we drive towards Simon's Town to our accommodation for the next 5 weeks. Since we are a bit early, we make a quick detour to Kommetjie.

A really cute place with a dreamy beach and great atmosphere. After coffee at the village café, we head to our accommodation.

The accommodation looks better than in the photos, and Neville and Isaac welcome us.

So first we unpack, and then go shopping for the essentials.

In the evening, we put some things on the grill and enjoy the view from the terrace.

A bushfire is getting closer, and it smells quite burnt. At this time of year, there are fires everywhere around here.

The first sunrise from bed, and the weather is delightful with a little less wind than yesterday.

We are heading back to Kommetjie today and taking a beach walk along the turquoise sea. It’s beautiful here.

A few more purchases, a short stroll by the sea, and the day is already over.

For me, the work week starts today, and for Jürgen, it’s vacation.

That means I will work after sports and breakfast. Thank goodness the connection seems to be stable, and I can work well in my workplace. 😬

Neville has set up a workspace for me with a view of the sea.

In the evening, we go to Simonstown to see what the town has to offer.

The shops somehow all close at 5 PM, making it rather quiet.

The formerly independent town was named after the Cape Governor Simon van der Stel, who recognized in 1687 that False Bay could be an ideal anchorage for the Dutch fleet during the winter months.

Even the Dutch have worked remotely😂

Water's Edge Beach is the first and fantastic beach we visit.

There’s also plenty of sun in the evening, which we don’t have in our apartment at that time.

Here we see dassies, a type of rock hyrax also known as hyrax.

Our first evening round on the golf course in Simonstown.

It is the oldest course in South Africa, and unfortunately looks like it due to the heat.

The view is fantastic, and we are alone on the course, which is good since the holes crisscross each other.

Still, it was fun, and since it only costs a reasonable €16 for 2 people for 9 holes, we will do it again.

Finally Friday and we are free, and we drive north to Blouberg and Durbanville.

The beach in Blouberg has a unique view of Table Mountain, but it is very, very windy here.

Therefore, it’s full of kiters. The coastline is not very pretty due to many high-rises, but if you live there, you have the best view ever.

Next, we head to Melkbosstrand. Named after the euphorbia plants (Euphorbiaceae) that grow on the dunes and secrete a milky, latex-like substance, the town is commonly just called Melkbos. The city and its seven-kilometer long white sandy beach lie on the Atlantic coast, east of Blouberg Mountain.

It’s also very windy here.

We continue inland to the Durbanville Hills.

A winery with a view over Capetown. It’s very nice here, and we enjoy a drink under the olive trees.

Then we head back to Simon's Town.

Tonight we want to visit the Golf Country Club; there is live music and unfortunately bad food.

The music is great, people are dancing, and the evening is very fun.

Everything starts very early here, and in the evening it also ends early.

On Saturday, we drive to the Cape Point Vineyards, a winery with a view of the long beach of Noordhoek.

Every Thursday, there’s a food market that we want to check out next week.

In the afternoon, we finally walk to see my friends, the penguins.

We walk about 2.5 km over the golf course. So cute and unfortunately endangered.

The African penguin (Spheniscus demersus) belongs to the namesake genus within the family of penguins (Spheniscidae). They are the only penguins currently living in the wild in Africa and are endangered.[1]