Winds and Waves: South Africa

Cape Town from Table Mountain

Our South Africa trip started with a nine-hour long Emirates flight that took us from Dubai to Cape Town, not that I am complaining ( that flight was quite entertaining with their movies and games ). We landed in Cape Town, and the first thing that hit our eyes was Table Mountain, towering above the rest of the city, almost as though speaking to the winds and clouds in the sky. We drove to our hotel, which was a little off the rocky beach ( the beaches are certainly not very good, but then again there is lots of other fun stuff to do there ). Watching the birds eat strewn seaweeds of the small patches of sand, locked between a maze of boulders washed by angry blue waters, every morning was the most refreshing experience anyone can ever have. 

Cape Point

On our first day, we hit to road south, to the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point. The former was a huge grassy beach-like swatch of land covered with seaweed upto the last inch. There is a signboard there informing tourists that that was the Cape of Good Hope, the rest is left to imagination; how did sailors disembark here, what did they feel; everything dreamt of like in a fairytale. Cape point, was a narrow, rocky mountain that rose like a cliff from the depths of the ocean. This south western tip of the country is closer to Antarctica than it it is to most other cities in the world. On our way back we also stopped at Boulder Beach, where we saw Jackass Penguins ( they are called thus because of the braying noises they make ). 

Jackass Penguins

The next day, we toured Cape Town, going up Table Mountain by cable car, visiting the waterfront/marina and spending the evening at the Stellenbosch botanical gardens. The top of the table mountain, was breathtaking, literally and figuratively. The air tends to get very rare on top, and you end up taking huge gasps of air every time you try to breathe in. 

Me on an ostrich

The next day, we began our road trip to a golf resort around a half day's drive away. We ended up taking one whole day to complete the journey thank to the many distractions on the way, like the ostrich farm, where we rode ostriches ( Oh an interesting to note; ostrich eggs are exceptionally sturdy, all of us took turns standing on one, and there was no effect on the eggs ). We also visited Cape Agulhas, the point where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Indian Ocean; it is a magical site for on one side you can see the calm waters of the Indian Ocean, and on the other side, the stormy waves of the Atlantic.

A vulture at sunset at the Kruger National Park

We spent the night at the resort, and flew to Johannesburg the next day. From there we drove to the Kruger National Park. We read the Park in the evening and took to the night safari that day; we ended up seeing some hippos and some hyenas, but none of the main attractions, much to our disappointment. We still had the the next day, and so we took the early morning safari the following day. We ended up seeing a rhino, a chase between Zebras and African wild dogs, an endangered species. We also managed to see some wildebeest. At the end of the day, we were all satisfied with the wildlife we had seen. 

Blyde River Canyon

On our way back to Johannesburg, we stopped at the Blyde River Canyon, the third largest river canyon system in the world. The red cliffs dotted by green shrubbery through which the blue river entwines, makes for an unforgettable sight. In Johannesburg, we visited Sun City, where we were actually taken into one of the gold mines that is not used presently. We also visited Soweto, the epicentre of the Anti-Apartheid Movement. We visited Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu's houses ( this is the closest distance between the residences of two Nobel Prize winners in the world ). 
We also visited Pretoria, to see the parliament. We then returned to India, carrying memories we would always cherish.