The Vibrant Migrants: November 2019

October marked five months in Zimbabwe, and I was starting to get antsy for a change of scenery. As my birthday was also in October, we decided to observe the occasion by taking a week off and heading to Cape Town, South Africa. A direct flight from Harare to Cape Town on RwandaAir had us in a whole new world in under four hours. Cheap (and amazing!) food and wine! Well paved roads! We celebrated both with equal enthusiasm.

Heading out for a boat tour of the waterfront, with obligatory sparkling in hand.

A lovely way to see the Cape Town waterfront.

We didn't just drink wine - we also drank fancy coffee!

A stroll through the colorful Bo Kaap neighborhood

We started with a few nights in Cape Town itself, and fully immersed ourselves in all possible tourist activities. A few loops on the Cape Wheel (think London Eye… but on the Cape Town waterfront)? Check. A boat tour of Cape Town harbor? Yep. A walking tour of some of the historic neighborhoods? Done. A hike through Kirstenbosch botanic gardens and up (and then back down) Table Mountain? You bet. (Although that last one almost killed me. The Table Mountain hike took about four hours and was almost exclusively steps… and a few ladders. I felt every bit of my 29+20 years for the next several days.)

The skywalk trail in Kirstenbosch botanic garden.

View from (almost) the top of Table Mountain.

Even with all of those things checked off the list, there was a ton that we didn’t get to do – Robben Island, museums, and so many great restaurants left unvisited (for a reason… Alas, I brought a stomach bug from Zim with me to Cape Town so wasn’t able to enjoy solid food for a few days.) Cape Town is absolutely beautiful with the ocean surrounded by mountains. With so much still to do, and with such a gorgeous backdrop, I know we will be back.

Hard to beat the views along the Cape Peninsula.

We managed the first few days in Cape Town without a car and just used Uber (Uber! Another source of excitement!) to get around the city. But for our last day in Cape Town (and our onward journey from there), we rented a car and drove down the Cape Peninsula to Cape Point. It was a gorgeous drive and the weather could not have been more spectacular. Oh, and did I mention there are penguins on the Cape Peninsula? That was a major highlight.

Good advice.

Watch out! They are (apparently) vicious!

One of these things is not like the others...

Pretty sure this was one of the nicest days at Cape Point ever.

The Cape Point Lighthouse, and some helpful directions.

The road along the Cape Peninsula was a Big Sur-esque model of engineering.

From Cape Town, we headed inland to the western cape wine country. We spent a couple nights in a town called Tulbagh and then headed to another town called Franschhoek for a few nights… and sampled lots of the local wines in both spots. The valleys were beautiful! Steep mountains, green valleys, vineyards, birds. The wineries were pretty spectacular too - posh architecture and expansive views of the valleys. And the wine was delicious - and cheap too! I mean, we were doing serious research so we would know what wines to buy if we ever see them for sale in Zim. (Even though most places we asked said they did not export to Zimbabwe... because nothing exports to Zim.) Perhaps our steadfast research will benefit you. If you ever see Glenwood, Boschendal, Le Lude, or Haute Cabriere labels, give them a shot. (We actually found some of that last one on the shelves of the embassy commissary. Score!)