Well rested after the day of wedding celebration, we're heading g down to the V&A waterfront today, for a bit more sightseeing and exploration of Cape Town lifestyle. On the way, we take Chapman's Peak Drive, a fairly petrifying mountain road carved into the cliff edge. There are rockfall shelters along part of the road to prevent bits of cliff falling on top of the vehicles below.
Once we're safely around the mountain, we head through the city streets towards the Waterfront, where we park in a multi story car park, the first time on this trip that we've really been anywhere that feels like inner city civilisation. Wandering down to the waterfront, we take a moment to pose for some pictures in front of the giant frame, with Table mountain as an impressive backdrop.
We continue our leisurely stroll past many curio shops, down to the harbour front, where we see the boatyard, the tour boats leaving for trips to Robben Island and some cape fur seals swimming in the water. We cross the swing bridge to a platform where the seals are basking in the sun. It smells quite putrid down here, presumably down to these large sea mammals' love of rotting fish. Leaving the area quite briskly, we continue on past the iconic Victorian gothic style clock tower to explore the rest of the waterfront.
We take a look at some more trinkets and head to the Cape Town Fish Market for lunch. We share 2 delicious seafood planks between the 4 of us to start, with a selection of samosas, king prawns and calamari on a wooden board accompanied by tasty dipping sauces. Next up I opt for a Big Bay sushi platter, which is quite small, but very fresh, and just the right amount to fill me up without sitting heavily for the afternoon. I sample another pleasant South African wine with my meal (I forget which it was!), before we finish up and head back along the waterfront to the Aquarium. We enter into the predator exhibit, with amphitheatre style seating looking into a huge tank filled with fish, shark, rays and turtles. It's currently feeding time, and we can see the staff in scuba gear amongst the sea life with their box of feed for the creatures circling them. We stay and watch for a little while, catching the end of the talk about the exhibit and its inhabitants, then continue on to explore the rest of the aquarium.
There is an assortment of exotic species to discover, each in their assorted tanks to represent their native environments. The beautiful but extremely poisonous scorpion fish with its array of spines floats serenely in the water safely behind a glass screen. My favourite new discovery is probably the cow fish, with its characteristic 'horns', bright yellow colouring and unusual shape.
Next up there's a large tank with an assortment of amazingly patterned but frankly terrifying looking eels, and further along, a tank with a hollow centre accessible through a hole at floor level which allows visitors a 360 view of hundreds of beautiful little clown fish.
Along the way, there are giant crabs, starfish and tiny seahorses, before we pass some more sharks slowly drifting through their dark watery home and exit into the Penguin River exhibit.
Out here the penguins include the characteristic crested rockhopper, with its distinctive yellow feathers and noisy cry.
We head back inside and wander around the Ocean Basket Kelp Forest exhibit, peering in at the fishes and sea plants that are kept here. Trying to get a good picture of a black and white striped zebra bream proves pretty tricky, as they seem to swim away as soon as I think I've got a good shot. We make our way to the exit and leave the aquarium, heading back to the waterfront to grab an evening coffee.
It's another stop at Mugg & Bean, where we order enormous slabs of cake and watch the sun set beind the spectacular silhouette of Table Mountain.
The evening's relaxed activity is a braai at the house where the groom's brother is staying, which consists of more meat, some beers and family time. We head back to the cottages and settle in for the night after another great day exploring South Africa's southernmost city.
No comments:
Post a Comment