So, this is where I'm staying right now, the Sunflower Stop Backpacker's in Cape Town. It's a pretty nice place, hot showers, communal kitchen, a pool and a bar. There's quite a few people here, some that stay a really long time and have become almost like a university dorm group of friends, and others that only stay a few days like myself. Notice the spikes on the fence and the barbed wire? Apparently it's a requirement for insurance reasons. Throughout the entire city all the stores, office buildings, condos and hotels are surrounded with razor wire, security gates and cameras.
I've been very tempted to do all the package tours and adventure tourism activites that Cape Town has to offer, but I've finally realized that I'm here for a different reason than most of the other backpacking adrenaline junkies. You can go sky diving, repel down the side of Table Mountain or down various water falls, go cliff jumping, sand boarding (wakeboarding on sand dunes), cage diving with great white sharks, and the list goes on and on. They offer all inclusive pub crawl drinking nights, BBQ parties (called Braai), and the atmosphere is almost like New Orleans at Marti Gras or a Florida beach on spring break. Sure I'd love to go rock climbing and sky diving, but I don't like the idea of doing it as an all inclusive tourist package. These things are also super expensive so that's another deterrant. Instead I've opted to do things on my own as much as possible.
So, a couple days ago I hiked up Table Mountain by myself. Well, not totally alone, about half way up I caught up to two girls who are flight attendants for British Airways. One from Ireland and one from Holland, so I joined them the rest of the way up. They were happy to have a male with them, and I was happy to have people to talk to and take my picture, plus they say it's not safe to hike alone, due to wildlife and the risk of falling.
Anyway, the scenery was mind blowing, and it was cool meeting new people. The girls ended up giving me a ride back to the hostel in their rental car after we took the cable car back down the mountain. We stayed at the top and watched the sunset over the ocean and then got to see all the city lights and the full moon shining over Cape Town on the ride down. What an amazing experience.
So, this is where I'm staying right now, the Sunflower Stop Backpacker's in Cape Town. It's a pretty nice place, hot showers, communal kitchen, a pool and a bar. There's quite a few people here, some that stay a really long time and have become almost like a university dorm group of friends, and others that only stay a few days like myself. Notice the spikes on the fence and the barbed wire? Apparently it's a requirement for insurance reasons. Throughout the entire city all the stores, office buildings, condos and hotels are surrounded with razor wire, security gates and cameras.
I've been very tempted to do all the package tours and adventure tourism activites that Cape Town has to offer, but I've finally realized that I'm here for a different reason than most of the other backpacking adrenaline junkies. You can go sky diving, repel down the side of Table Mountain or down various water falls, go cliff jumping, sand boarding (wakeboarding on sand dunes), cage diving with great white sharks, and the list goes on and on. They offer all inclusive pub crawl drinking nights, BBQ parties (called Braai), and the atmosphere is almost like New Orleans at Marti Gras or a Florida beach on spring break. Sure I'd love to go rock climbing and sky diving, but I don't like the idea of doing it as an all inclusive tourist package. These things are also super expensive so that's another deterrant. Instead I've opted to do things on my own as much as possible.
So, a couple days ago I hiked up Table Mountain by myself. Well, not totally alone, about half way up I caught up to two girls who are flight attendants for British Airways. One from Ireland and one from Holland, so I joined them the rest of the way up. They were happy to have a male with them, and I was happy to have people to talk to and take my picture, plus they say it's not safe to hike alone, due to wildlife and the risk of falling.
Anyway, the scenery was mind blowing, and it was cool meeting new people. The girls ended up giving me a ride back to the hostel in their rental car after we took the cable car back down the mountain. We stayed at the top and watched the sunset over the ocean and then got to see all the city lights and the full moon shining over Cape Town on the ride down. What an amazing experience.
2 comments:
Ben,
Those photos are absolutely gorgeous! I especially love the way you framed the one with all the mist or smoke.
Oh table mountain! So amazing. Do you know hat your stories are making me plan my next trip back as we speak! Keep the blogs and the pics coming. I look forward to reading and seeing them!! Happy travels.
Krista
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