2026 Cape Town, South Africa, Part 2: City ... Island ... Penguin Colony

July 15: City Walking Tour.

We didn't realize how tired we were from the shark cage diving the day before but we both ended up sleeping nearly eleven hours. Today we had a walking tour scheduled for the afternoon.  We walked from the hotel to the meeting point.  It was a drizzly day.  We ate at a great brunch place called Egghead before meeting with our guide.

The colorful Bo-Kaap neighborhood.

The gentleman who was supposed to be our guide was sick so he sent us Teresa.  She was a character.  She took us on a meandering walk past museums, historical buildings, parks, and districts like colorful Bo-Kaap.  Teresa was more of a friend showing off her hometown than a tour guide which suited us just fine.  She adjusted the route, avoiding places we'd visited on our free day, and added things we asked about.

The tour ended at the Victoria & Alfred (V&A) Waterfront, an upscale shopping and eating area which we would visit multiple times during our stay.  V&A was also where the ferry we would take to Robben Island would leave.  We visited a three story souvenir shop and had lunch in a restaurant while watching dancers in a little square.

We decided to walk back to the hotel which turned out to be a little too much for us after walking all afternoon.  I'm not sure how far we walked but I would guess around 8 miles (12.9 km) total.

July 16: Robben Island and Table Mountain.

Today we took an Uber – they were dirt cheap in Cape Town – back to the V&A and took a ferry to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned.  While he was imprisoned for a total of twenty-seven years, he spent eighteen of those years on Robben Island.

We disembarked the ferry on the island and got on busses that would take us around the island showing the various prisons on the island and talking about the various people who were imprisoned here.

Nelson Mandela's cell.

The final stop was the prison where Mandela had been held.  Here we were led by a former prisoner who explained about the conditions and the experiences of the prisoners.  He was an interesting man.

After returning on the ferry to V&A, we took an Uber to Table Mountain.

The rotating tram to Table Mountain.

Table mountain overlooks all of Cape Town.  While you can hike up to the top, we decided to take the tram.  The tram is one of three in the world that rotate as they move along the cable.  This allows the riders a complete 360° view during the ascent and descent.  We ate lunch and did some shopping at the top before taking in the beautiful views of Cape Town.  This day turned out to have the best weather of all our days in Cape Town so we were lucky.

A panorama of Cape Town from Table Mountain.

July 17: Cape of Good Hope and Penguins.

Our original itinerary had us going to Zimbabwe and taking a helicopter flight over Victoria Falls but, before we even left the States, we realized we didn't have any way to get to Zimbabwe and the tour was canceled.  Instead, the Wife booked a coastal tour.

One of the coastal overlooks on a hazy day.

The coastal tour picked us up at our hotel and took us along the coast visiting different parts of Cape Town along the coast.  We stopped at viewpoints to see the rough, boulder strewn coast along the Atlantic Ocean.

Some of the seals from Seal Island.

We got out of a van and got on a boat tour that took us out to Seal Island.  Someone onboard had a drone that probably got some incredible footage.

A female ostrich.

Back on land we did some shopping while we waited to join another van with more people which took us to an Ostrich farm before ending near the Cape of Good Hope.  We ate lunch here.

A baboon that passed me on the trail.

After lunch we had three options: A funicular up to a lighthouse, a short uphill hike to the lighthouse, or a roughly forty-five minutes hike down to the Cape of Good Hope.  The wife, a fan of funiculars chose the funicular ride.  The rest of the group, myself included, decided on the longer hike to the Cape of Good Hope.  Unfortunately, due to electrical fluctuations, the funicular closed right as the Wife was approaching the ticket booth window.

On the trail down to the Cape of Good Hope.

I didn't know this as I was already hiking down.  Along the way I was passed by three baboons that didn't seem to care about me ... one passing within six inches (15 cm) of me.  The hike was mostly downhill giving spectacular views of the rocky cliffs and a secluded beach.  Near the end the hike went up a little to a viewpoint above the cape.  The trail down from the viewpoint to the beach parking area was a bit treacherous – I wish I'd had my trekking poles.

African Penguins at Boulders Beach.

The bus picked up everyone at the bottom and we drove to Boulders Beach to see a penguin colony.  We had time to visit the African penguins.

After a brief delay when one of our bus mates went missing, we returned to our hotel.

Photos can be seen in my 2026-07 Cape Town South Africa Google Photos album.