The Magnificent Cape of Good Hope

male ostrich with 2 chicks

A driving trip to the tip of the Cape of Good Hope is a wonderful way to spend the day.  This peninsula is very rugged, filled with flowers in the spring, and home to eland, ostriches and smaller animals.  The tip of the peninsula is a wildlife preserve with ostriches, antelope and small animals.

On our way to the point, we stopped to watch a male and female ostrich with their 2 chicks, probably only a few days old.  The chicks pretty much fend for themselves, but the parents at least were there looking like they might chase you off if you got too close.  The adults are stately and ungainly all at once while the chicks are adorable.

Cape peninsula

tip of the Cape of Good Hope

At the farthest end of the peninsula, we climbed a path to a lighthouse to get incredible views back up the coastline.  Large breakers were crashing on the rocks, throwing up spray.  You can walk about another ½ mile along the cliffs to a smaller lighthouse which is still working and peer over the final tip of land to the surf below.  All along the path there are protea in full bloom, daisies, and beautiful flowering bushes I can’t identify.

A large eland, the largest of the antelopes, grazed in a small opening in the bush near the Point.  We watched him and he ignored us, so we were able to get some good photos of this stunning animal.

A drive along the peninsula to the Cape can be an all day journey, crisscrossing the mountains that are the spine of the peninsula.  The bays, large and small, are surrounded by the rocky ridges and peaks that continue to Table Mountain in Cape Town. 

eland

Houts Bay, over the mountains from Cape Town

We ended by stopping at Boulders Beach to see the African penguins that populate the southern coastline.  Some were still very young, in their brown feathers that protect them for about 9 to 12 months, but don’t allow them to go into the water.  They are completely dependent on their parents to care for them.  But, the parents go out to sea to find fish, leaving the young ones in some peril.  We watched one adult herd a squawking baby into a little hole in the sand and peck it viciously, why I don’t know.  Obviously, it was an unprotected baby awaiting its parents return. 

penguin babies