Here we go……Africa Intro.

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton

Our plans for Day 2 in Cape Town had to remain flexible, and were totally dependent on weather as we hoped to hike to the top of Table Mountain. Winds like we experienced on Day 1, rain, or the cloudy shroud that often envelopes the mountain, would cause us to move on to plan B, but either way, our driver Frank was picking us up early, and as it turned out, the weather was great, and the mountain was perfectly clear a the top.

Frank drove us to the base of the Platteklip Gorge Trail, passing along the way a huge lineup of people waiting to get on the cable car to the top……..pussies……..and he estimated the wait from the back of the line to be about two hours. We planned to take the ride back down to save some time as we hope to get out to wine country in the afternoon. So off we went…….Jutta the gazelle leading the way, and Hugh the burro bringing up the rear. It became clear very quickly that this would be a challenging hike…….up, up, and more up…….and all of it over these large rocks. The only relief was during minor switchbacks then it was back to climbing. Our water supply was dwindling and we were barely half way up. Finding shade to escape the sun for a break became harder the higher we went, but in the end it was suck it up time, and we made it to the top no problem, but completely out of water and very thirsty. 600 meters of elevation in the books. We drank a gallon of water, toured the top, snapped a wad of pictures, then got in line for the ride down…….only a 20 minute wait, so not that bad.

everything you wanted to know about Platteklip Gorge except that it is a killer

that is our destination…..see the cable car reaching the top?

some folks decide to climb up and repell down

the Bungalow from yesterday is down there in that bay

main part of town

that is the start of our trail down there……devils peak in the distance

we came up the gorge just beyond those cable car riding pussies in the distance

Frank was ready and waiting, so we set out immediately for Stellenbosch and the wine country. First on the agenda was a tasting at Spier Winery organized by Frank…….very nice wine, but after the hike and with no food in the tank we were half smashed in no time. We lunched in Stellenbosch, walked the town…….very nice…..and then asked Frank to take us down the road to Franschhoek, a smaller town, but still all about wine, art, and food…….very cool. On the way we stopped at Graff Winery/hotel/restaurant………amazing art and sculptures…….word is the owner made a killing in mining/diamonds, and this is his pet project. Jutta had booked dinner at a farm/winery/restaurant out in the country…….Babel Restaurant at Babylensteren Winery…….fantastic………much of the menu is grown on the property or a least locally sourced.

By the time we made it back to Cape Town, there was just enough time for a quick White Russian, then off to bed after a great day.

my grandfather used to drive one of these in Scotland when I was 5-8 years old…..Morris Minor 1000……it had the illuminated arms that popped out the side when you put your turning indicator on……….all other pictures above are from Spier and Graff Wineries………amazing sculpture at Graff…….good vino at Spier