Epic Round The World Trip Adventures! Stunning Photos & Articles - A fascinating gap year travel journal covering every stop of their journey.

Capetown - South Africa
Round The World Trip Journal

Text By Jo & Photos By Mike

(6th - 10th Jan 2007) Capetown
We spent an awesome 10 days in Cape Town trying to cram in as much sightseeing as possible. We first stayed in a small guest house called Surf the Cape in a residential area of Table View which was ideally located about a 20 min drive from the city itself. The weather was hot and sunny with a welcome wind - plenty of windsurfers and kite surfers about. After 3 days here we moved into Steve and Lisa's apartment at Dolphin Beach - one of the few places that has direct beach frontage and the most amazing view of Table Mountain from all the windows! We only managed to meet up with them once which was a shame but we really appreciated the apartment - thanks guys! The mountain is prominent wherever you are in the area - a great landmark and very impressive. We went up it by cable car and walked around the top enjoying the most fantastic views of the city and surrounding areas. We spent a lot of time at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront - a redeveloped dock area with a huge shopping mall and loads of restaurants - but what kept drawing us back time after time were the seals! We were amazed to see them swimming in the docks but it was even better watching them cavorting and play fighting on the pontoons. Went down to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope and looked back at the oceans on either side - the Atlantic to the West and the Indian to the East. Also sampled the local wines at the Spier vineyard at Stellenbosch - we only had five tastes but it seemed to go to our heads - perhaps that's why you should spit it out instead of swallowing!

(11th - 14th Jan 2007) Capetown
We went to Boulder Beach to see wild penguins mating and nesting eggs on the beach. We went at the end of the day and were lucky to have the place virtually to ourselves. We were even more honoured when a couple appeared on the boardwalk in front of us. They stood romantically holding flippers and posed while we took photos of us with them. Driving home that day we saw a group of wild baboons ripping a parked car apart - they were swinging off the windscreen wipers and whipping back the aerial! Caused a bit of a traffic jam as everybody wanted to stop and take a photo. We saw loads of ostriches and rheas on a trip up north to Langebaan and even spotted a giraffe up on a hill - Jo was so excited she yelled "look at the zebra!" - easily confused! Went to Stellenbosch to sample the delights of the famous wine region and passed a game reserve where we did actually spot a zebra so she now knows what one looks like now!

Highlights of our round the world trip:

Stop 1 - Capetown---> The City | Simonstown Penguins | Table Mountain Cable Car | The Waterfront Seals | Windsurf Action.
Stop 2 - West Australia---> Perth City | Perth Zoo | Cohunu Animal Park | Rottnest Island | Rockingham Penguins | Yanchep Park Koalas | Cervantes Pinnacles | Geraldton Windsurfing | Kalbarri Gorge | The Pink Lake | Coronation Beach Windsurfing | Gero Road to Cervantes | Carnarvon Jetty & Quobba Snorkel | Denham Lagoon | Monkey Mia Dolphins | Coral Bay Termite Hills | Coral Bay Quad Biking The Dunes | Exmouth Kangaroos | Mandurah Canals | Margaret River | Margaret River Wine Tour | Margs Windsurfing | Bunbury Windsurf | Bussleton Pier | Towns near Bussleton | Augusta Nature | Pemberton Camping | Pemberton Tall Trees | Cape D'Entrecasteaux | Walpole Tall Trees.
Stop 3 - East Australia---> Cairns Sky Rail Cable Car Over The Rainforest | Mossman Gorge | Cape Tribulation Rainforest | Port Douglas | Daintree Crocodiles | Captain Cook Highway | Beaches Near Cairns | Atherton Tablelands Fig Trees | Bowen Beaches | Airlie Beach | Whitsunday Islands Boat Tour | Great Barrier Reef Snorkel | Whitsunday Snorkelling | Town of 1770 History | Fraser Island Beach Driving | Tin Can Bay Dolphins | Noosa River | Australia Zoo Wombats | Sunshine Coast | Nanango Bush | Gold Coast Beaches | Byron Bay Beaches | Woolgoolga Beaches | Coffs Harbour | Port Macquarie Cafes | Forster Pelicans | Great Lakes | Nelson Bay Dolphins | Sydney By Day | Sydney By Night | Sydney's Manly Beach.
Stop 4 - New Zealand---> Auckland Revolving Restaurant | Rotorua Volcanic National Park | Lake Taupo & Waitomo Glow Worms.
Stop 5 - French Polynesia---> Tahiti Island Waterfalls | Moorea Island Water Bungalows | Moorea Shark Feeding | Bora Bora Island Buggying.
Stop 6 - Hawaii, Maui---> Maui Snorkel Videos | Maui Snorkel Photography | Maui Windsurfing | Maui East Coast Hana Highway | Maui North Beaches 1 | Maui North Beaches 2 | Maui West Coast Surfing | Maui South West Lava Fields | Haleakala Volcano.
Stop 7 - Hawaii, Oahu---> Kailua Beaches | Round Oahu Island Drive | Honolulu Pearl Harbour | Oahu Snorkel Videos.
Stop 8 - West USA---> Los Angeles City Tour | Venice Beach | Long Beach | Queen Mary Tour | San Onofre Surfing | Route 66 Drive | Las Vegas Casinos | Grand Canyon.
Stop 9 - East USA---> Miami Beach Art Deco.
Stop 10 - UK, HOME---> Back To Heathrow, Bringing To A Close Our Amazing Round The World Trip.