Week 203: Spring Break!

It’s finally Spring Break from school! It’s been a long winter, and we are so ready for spring and a break from school and work.

We departed Saturday morning for our trip to Capetown, South Africa! Our flight was leaving from Zürich, so we made the two-hour drive south, stopping to drop the dogs off at their kennel on the way.

We arrived early and had plenty of time to do some plane spotting from the rooftop terrace of Zürich Airport before boarding our flight.

After a six-hour flight, we made a short connection in Doha, Qatar.

As we were boarding our next flight, we noticed what looked like a lot of DHL employees boarding the plane. I saw the word ‘Stormers’ on one of their jackets, and a quick Google search revealed it was Capetown’s rugby team, the DHL Stormers. This is the equivalent of the Washington Commanders boarding your flight back in DC; they are a big deal! I can’t believe they rode back in economy with us! The team was telling passengers around them that they were returning from two weeks of games in Cardiff and Belfast.

Once everyone was loaded, it was another 10-hour flight to Capetown. We arrived around 11 a.m. on Sunday, collected our bags, and headed directly to our hotel. From our hotel, we had a fantastic view of Table Mountain.

We took a quick nap and then headed to the V&A Waterfront to catch the ferry to Robben Island. We were really interested in seeing where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years. Unfortunately, when we arrived, we found the ferry had been canceled due to high winds. So, we rescheduled for Wednesday and then walked around the waterfront.

The V&A Waterfront is a huge pedestrian zone around Capetown’s harbor, filled with restaurants and shops. It seems to be where everyone in Capetown hangs out, and it was packed every time we visited.

After our walk, we returned to the hotel, took showers, and then took a nap before returning to the waterfront for dinner. By coincidence, our neighbors from Germany were also in Capetown and had a schedule change that allowed us to cross paths. We made a dinner reservation and had a fantastic meal at La Parada. We had tapas, sushi, steaks, and desserts. It was one of the best meals we’ve had. Everything was so delicious, and not only that, it was so reasonably priced; it was such a surprise!

We slept so soundly Sunday night after the long journey and got to sleep in a little on Monday. After breakfast at the hotel, our shuttle picked us up, which would take us to the Aquila Reserve for a safari. It was a two-hour drive, and we arrived just as lunch was being served. We enjoyed the buffet and then lounged by the pool until it was time for our evening game drive. Early mornings and evenings are the best times to view animals who are feeding, so the hotel timed our drives around those times.

We loaded up in our safari trucks and headed onto the 10,000-acre reserve for the two-hour trip.

We had the most amazing experience and saw giraffes, elephants, rhinos, lions, cape buffalos, zebras, and ostriches. It’s unusual to see so many animals on the first drive, but we were so happy to have seen almost everything except the hippos!

Towards the end of the drive, we gathered with the other safari trucks on the plain for a drinks break, during which everyone had champagne and toasted the safari. Following the sundowners, we drove back to the hotel, seeing several of the animals for a second time.

We enjoyed the buffet dinner and desserts, followed by a campfire with marshmallows. Once it was fully dark, we did a guided star-gazing session with an astronomer. The skies were dark, and we could see many stars and the Milky Way galaxy.

We were up early again the next morning for the day’s activities. Brooklyn and I went on a horseback safari, while Matt and Ryan went on a second-game drive.

They saw so many animals again, including the hippos, out of the water.

Brooklyn and I saw elephants from a distance, but besides that, saw nothing from the horseback ride. Regardless, it was still such a peaceful morning and we really enjoyed the ride through the beautiful morning scenery.

When we arrived back at the hotel, we were greeted with hot coffee and tea and then headed for the breakfast buffet. The hotel had a huge spa and lots of activities, but we passed the day alternating between the pool and napping, broken up by a buffet lunch in between. It was great!

In the late afternoon, we gathered again for another evening game drive. We didn’t see as much as we did the first night, but Brooklyn and I got to see the hippos out of the water, which was the only animal we were missing. Again, we had a champagne break towards the end of the drive and another buffet dinner, campfire, and stargazing to cap the evening.

The following morning, we had one more game drive before breakfast and checking out of the hotel. We saw all of the animals one more time; we were so lucky! We passed the time until it was time to head back to Capetown with mini golf and giant chess.

We loved our stay at the Aquila Game Reserve. The hotel is situated in a vast reserve used for the conservation of almost extinct species. Several of the animals are also rescued from illegal game hunting facilities. While yes, the animals are not free to leave, they are on a piece of land so big, I’m sure they rarely see the edges. The reserve also employs a sizeable anti-poaching force to protect the animals from poachers. I didn’t think poaching could be such a massive problem in modern times, but it is. Several Eastern Asian countries strongly believe in the false curative properties of rhino horns (which are just made of the same material as your fingernails), so there is a high price for anyone who can secure one. Removing a rhino horn causes the animal to bleed out, so they are usually killed in the process. The fences at the reserve are more practical at keeping poachers out than keeping the animals in.

In addition to seeing so many animals and learning so much about them, the staff was so kind and caring! Several of the truck drivers cried when talking about poaching and the loss of animals; everyone is exceptionally conservation-minded. The activities like the campfire and stargazing were so mindful, and the chance to relax and do nothing during the day felt so luxurious. The food was good, and the staff took such good care of the guests. We were sad to leave! Eventually, we had to, though.

We had rebooked our ferry to Robben Island for the afternoon we returned to Capetown, but unfortunately, it was canceled again due to the high winds on the bay. We pivoted, and instead, when we arrived back in Capetown, we dropped our stuff back at the hotel and jumped straight into a taxi headed for Table Mountain.

As we drove there, our cab driver asked if we had confirmed the cable car was open. I quickly checked it from the car and saw that it was indeed closed due to high winds. Our driver was so kind and suggested we divert to Signal Hill to take in the views of the city, ocean, and Table Mountain.

We enjoyed beautiful views of Capetown, the Atlantic Ocean, and Table Mountain from the top of Signal Hill.

Several wildfires were burning in the valley below, and we were surprised by the amount of smoke. It completely coated the horizon, and the smell of smoke was strong. The winds were also so high that we could definitely tell why the Table Mountain Cable Car had been closed.

When we had seen everything from the top of Signal Hill, our taxi driver took us back down to the Waterfront. Ryan had picked a restaurant for dinner, the Capetown Fish Market. We all had a HUGE, delicious dinner of many courses of fish, shrimp, sushi, and king crab legs. Ryan even ordered the “Executive Boil Platter,” which is designed for two people to share, and it came with potatoes, corn, rice, crab legs, mussels, clams, and shrimp. In addition, he ordered a sushi roll and two starters. It took three servers to deliver his food, and several stopped to check his progress during the meal. He received many praises when he finally finished it all. Not only did Ryan have a huge meal, but we all did, and it was terrific, yet we still paid less than $100 for our meal. Amazing!

Thursday was our earliest day, and we woke up at 4 a.m.! This was the day we were doing a shark dive, and we needed to catch the early morning tides from Gaansbai, about a two-and-a-half-hour ride south. We napped in the car and arrived in time for a beautiful sunrise over the bay.

It was cold and so windy! They provided us with orange all-weather jackets, gave us the safety briefing, and we loaded up onto the boat. They warned us that the trip out would be really rough due to the high winds. Since there was no dock at Gaansbai, a tractor backed the boat on its trailer into the water, and the captain took us out into the bay. As there was no dock or harbor, our boat had to crest the huge incoming ocean waves. It was pretty scary, but the captain did a great job making it as smooth as possible. We did have one scary moment when some kelp got caught in the motors and they died while we were trying to get through the waves. The crew rushed to clear it before the boat was pushed into the rocks along the beach.

Finally, we were out in open water! We put on wetsuits and waited our turn to climb into the cage buoyed to the boat’s side. There were many sharks that day, and soon, it was our turn. We jumped in; it was freezing! But we quickly got used to it, thanks to our wetsuits. The crew threw lots of chum into the water, and we saw several sharks as they swam around us. The shark cage had special internal handrails and footrails where our limbs were protected from the sharks, and it was a full-time job to make sure we didn’t rest our hands and feet on the outer bars.

Our turn was over soon enough, and we climbed out to warm up. While the next group was taking their turn, Brooklyn’s seasickness started to get the best of her, and she needed to hug the side of the boat. The number of sharks started to die down as some sting rays, which are their predators, started coming around. With the wind and swells getting larger, our group passed on our second turn in the cage.

When we arrived back in Gansbai, we were served a delicious lasagna lunch, and the guides gave a small presentation on the sharks we saw and their environment. Again, everyone was so conservation-minded. Due to warming ocean waters, orca whales have moved into what is called the “Great White Alley.” These are the great white sharks’ only natural predators; thus, they haven’t seen any Great Whites this year. The sharks we saw were lemon sharks.

It was a two-hour ride back to Capetown. We quickly showered at the hotel and then headed back to Table Mountain. It was finally open again, but with long lines for the cable car that takes you to the top. We decided the fast pass was worth the money, skipped the line, and were straight at the top.

Once we were at the top, we did a one-mile circular hike, which allowed us to see the views in all directions. To the west, we could see the Atlantic Ocean to the east, False Bay, and into the south, the Cape of Good Hope. Cape Town surrounded the northern end of the mountain. It was a pretty warm day, so we stopped for ice cream after our hike and headed back down.

But then it was time for dinner, and we decided to go back to the Cape Town fish market again because the night before had been so good. We all switched up our dishes and had a chance to try things we hadn’t had the night before. It was so good!

On our last full day in Capetown, we left the hotel just after breakfast, picked up a rental car, and drove south on the Cape.

Our first stop was Boulder’s Beach, where there is an endangered African Penguin Colony. The colony is protected and provides a safe environment for the penguins to breed in an attempt to grow their numbers.

We walked the many boardwalks with the reserve. The penguins are in a nesting stage, and we saw many fuzzy baby penguins being kept warm by their parents.

Our next stop was the Cape of Good Hope. The Cape is actually within Table Mountain National Park, which is a massive piece of land south of Capetown and was too huge to explore within one day.

Our first stop in the park was the Cape itself, named by explorers who renewed their hope for their voyages once they had passed this point on their way from Europe to Asia. It was so windy, and the wind was cold despite it being a warm day, as the air was blown right up from Antarctica.

Our second stop was Flatboom Beach, a popular surfing spot. The beach was beautiful, with its white dunes and clear blue water. We watched some surfers and saw some wild ostriches on the beach as well.

We made one final stop in the park at the Eastern viewpoint where we could see across False Bay.

We were on our way back to Capetown when we were notified that our trip to Robben Island had been canceled again. It just wasn’t meant to be on this trip!

When we got back to Capetown, we went back to the Waterfront so we could eat at Nando’s Chicken instead. Nando’s is a South African fast food chain that uses a combination of South African and Portuguese spices. The chain is popular in most English-speaking countries now, including the UK, and the kids love it. We were all excited for our late lunch. Afterwards, we returned the rental car and headed back to the hotel for a nap.

For our last dinner, we took the shuttle back down to the Waterfront and had a second dinner at La Parada, where we had dinner the first night.

Our last day in Capetown was Saturday. As so many people told me before we left, the time was too short!

There were so many things we didn’t get to do. But I would definitely come back again to finish up our to-do list. The people are so, so kind. I know I say that a lot, but really, the South African people are a step above. They just always have a smile on their face and are always so kind, saying ‘good morning’ and ‘good afternoon’ to everyone. The food was also SO GOOD! I guess since Capetown is at the crossroads of so many trade routes and so international, there are many foreign influences on food. Honestly, I had sushi every night as it was the best I’d ever had. The steaks were also so flavorful and tender. I’m not a foodie by any stretch, but it’s easy for me to say this is the best I’ve eaten, ever. And the prices were so low! We all ate like kings for less than $100 at every meal, including capital. It was a food mecca.

We had a late breakfast and left for the airport in mid-morning. We boarded at 1 p.m. for the 10-hour flight to Doha and then the 6-hour flight to Zurich. Thankfully, we landed at 7 a.m., made the two-hour drive back to Stuttgart, and were home by 10 a.m. I was so grateful to have almost the whole day to wash laundry, nap, and prep for the school and work week ahead. We feel ready to jump back into the routine!