After our 18 day road trip of South Africa we were happy to be back in Cape Town for one final week of exploring and relaxing. We started off with a morning excursion to Muizenberg beach. We did the St. James to Muizenberg Coastal Walk which was nice, but the day was also horrendously windy. We were sometimes pelted by sand so hard it felt like knives. There were many sections of beach with colorful beach huts for changing in, and foam from the waves. Nick and I had a fika at a cafe in St. James before making our way back to the car.

After Duiker Island we drove up Chapmans Peak drive which is a scenic drive along a cliff with views of the harbor. It was a toll road, but well worth it for the views. Along the drive we spotted a beach that looked wide and with white sand. We made our way there after the scenic drive and learned it was Noordhoek beach. Nick and I walked this beach for awhile, watching horse riders and locals playing with their dogs. It was stunning and we couldn’t believe it wasn’t busier. After a sushi lunch we drove to Maidens Cove Tidal pool. We walked around there, swam at another spot, and laid on Camps Bay beach before heading home.

Another day we drove to Boulder Beach to see the colony of African penguins that live there. There were so many penguins. Some of them were sitting on eggs, babies, and others were waddling around the beach. The boardwalk also had many rock dassies which are adorable little animals we saw in Namibia. For lunch we ate at one of the best burger places I’ve ever been to called Peckish Penguin. They had marula slushies which is the berry used to make Amarula Cream Liqueur. Everything there was so delicious.

Next we drove to Cape of Good Hope which is the most south western point in continental Africa. This had the most crowds we had seen in all of our time in South Africa. Luckily Nick and I did not feel the need to get our photo at the sign, because it had a massive line. Instead we opted to do the Cape of Good Hope walk which was from one parking lot to the Cape Point Light House. It was a nice short hike with some board walk, stairs, and a view of a Dias Beach.

Nick and I continued our streak of good luck and were able to get permits for the Steenbras River Gorge Crystal Pools hike. These are available in November to reserve and there was only one day left when I inquired about them. This was another easy hike through some boulders, crossing zig zag over a river. The trail ends at five different natural pools with waterfalls as their inputs. The water was refreshing but not too cold, perfect for swimming. We enjoyed having the second pool to ourselves for a long time. Later we spent time at the fifth pool, which was also nice. The trail was somewhat difficult to navigate because the boulders all look the same. Someone told us that the trail was closed for 2 years due to flooding so we wonder if that was why. We had lunch at Ooskus Fisheries before heading home. This was the best fish and chips Nick’s ever had. We got fried hake, fried calamari, fries, and fish cakes. Everything was incredible, even their tartar sauce.

Our last full day in Cape Town we did a 2 hour kayak tour. We saw penguins and dolphins in the ocean with a backdrop of Table Mountain. For lunch Nick, Michelle, and I went to the Oranjezicht City Farm food market. This place was crowded but the food was incredible. We had pork belly burgers, beef burgers, bao buns with pork belly, bao buns with shrimp, ice cream, lattes, and juices. It was a wonderful way to end our time in an amazing city.