Dear Sophia,
This morning we got up early and went to the top of Table Mountain. The table is named this because from the the City of Cape Town the top looks perfectly flat. Let me tell you, it is not flat when you are hiking across it. It is actually very rock and hilly. We drive to the middle of the mountain in a van and then take a cable car to the top. Each of the 4 cables that move the car weighs over 18 tons! The cables were as thick as your Dad's arm. The floor of the cable car rotates 360 degrees so everyone in the car gets a good view of both the city and the mountain. It was quite fascinating to watch.
At the top we had beautiful views of the city below and the rest of the 12 Apostles. Table Mountain is part of the 12 Apostles mountain chain. We saw some the soccer stadium where the regional semi-finals of the 2010 world cup was held and also Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in jail. Also we got right up close with nature. There were lots of Honeybush plants which is where the Honeybush tea we like comes from. Also I saw three kinds of geckos but only got pictures of two, green and black. We also saw a lot of furry rodents called Rock Dassies. These little creatures look like plump rabbits without ears - incredibly, their closest living relative is the elephant! Notice the teeth in the pictures. There were several school groups on filed trips at the site with us.
Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in jail. Also we got right up close with nature. There were lots of Honeybush plants which is where the Honeybush tea we like comes from. Also I saw three kinds of geckos but only got pictures of two, green and black. We also saw a lot of furry rodents called Rock Dassies. These little creatures look like plump rabbits without ears - incredibly, their closest living relative is the elephant! Notice the teeth in the pictures. There were several school groups on filed trips at the site with us.
In the afternoon we drove about an hour outside of the city to the wine region. We passed several areas of tin shacks where the poor black people live. These are called townships and now most people living in them are from other African countries and they’ve come to Cape Town for access to schools and jobs. During apartheid this is where the black people were forced to live. These areas don’t really have electricity or running water and many flood during the winter. The kids don’t really have a place to play so they were playing soccer, with a ball made of plastic bags, right on the side of the freeway.
Finally we arrived in Stellenbosch to go to the vineyards. We stopped at the Lanzerac vineyard which dates back to the late 1878. After sampling several types of wine Auntie and I decided that we loved a type named Pinotage that is only grown is South Africa. I bought a few bottles to bring home. We learned on our tour that all of the grape vines in South Africa are grafted on root stock from California because a bug killed all of the native grapes off. This town has a large college and a lot of pretty, Dutch styled buildings from the late 1800’s. On the way out of town we passed a zebra farm and also places where whiskey is made. We meet a girl from St. Louis Park and her family while at the vineyard.
Right now there is a forest fire on one of the mountains. I you can see the smoke at sunset in the picture below.
Dad is snoring so I think I'll turn in and join him.
Love,
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