First Stop in SA…Hout Bay

After our long travel day we arrived at new home in Hout Bay, SA. We had planned to stay here for about ten days to recover from the trip and start to explore the culture and scenery of South Africa. my first impressions of this continent was like “why do they have fenced in communities” and “wow, this place is beautiful.” Over the next couple of day we got settled into our new home which was in a fenced in community. We met some other kids in the neighborhood and played outside with them. We went to a market with live music, local crafters and lots of food vendors. The food was very good, I got a panini and of course so did Liv.

We also climbed Chapman’s peak which is on a beautiful road which follows the coast line. About halfway along the coast road there is a pull off with a sign labeled Chapman’s Peak, we got out and started the climb. We underestimated the length of the climb, it was about as long as deer leap but really steep. We made it to the top in about 45 minutes. The view was amazing because it had a 360 degree view of the mountain range and blue waters below.

Also in our first few days in South Africa we drove beyond the trail head of Chapman’s peak down to a small touristy spot called Simons Town. Where there is a colony of penguins. Like what? Penguins? It’s like 80 degrees out. We hiked down to a small beach and it was packed with families building sand castles. So we continued on down the coast line until we saw some movement in the bushes, penguin? No. It was a ground hog type being supposedly in the elephant family. Which is weird because it was like a hundredth of the size of an elephant. We continued on, our first penguin siting was about five minutes later. We came across a penguin about two feet tall, black and white, laying on the ground. Once we saw one we started to notice more but reached a barrier that protected their breading grounds. We found out after that there was a second path to the “viewing” site, there about 100 or more penguins on this other protect beach.

One of the other things we did in Hout Bay was take an Airbnb experience, which was unfortunately a walking tour. We met a guide at a fish and chips restaurant close to our place that led us through a local township. I don’t like walking tours. Not because they are boring and the facts are useless, but because you have to stand there and walk while you’re listening to the facts. We have done four walking tours in all our travels. I did not enjoy any of them, even though I did get some facts out of the experience. Our guide brought us through the local township describing how they live their lives different from what we are used to. They live in very small shacks and shanties made of corrugated metal. And their staircases are made of sand-filled tires. Some families owned cinder block houses but this was rare. The guy we walked around with knew most everyone we came across. He showed us his house which was doubling as an arcade that a bunch of kids and teens were hanging out at. They were off from school for the week we were there. The games we old arcade machines, with pac man and a driving one being the hits amongst the kids. There was even one that you could win money on. He walked us back to our car and we headed out for smash burgers. This tour gave me an idea of how other people live in the world. We live a safe, comfortable life.