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Fri Jan 12 2018: Baboozled in the Cape Peninsula

It's late morning when we decide to pack up from our first successful night camping. We're feeling pretty happy and confident with our setup, and now we're gearing up for a short day of riding around the Cape Peninsula.


Another beautiful day of riding day ahead of us

It's not super-horrible living during a drought if you're a motorcyclist. Part of me feels bad that the region hasn't had rain in months, but after literally *YEARS* of riding beneath rain clouds, it's a guilty pleasure to have such a string of unbroken good weather ahead of us.


Riding further south beneath blue cloudless skies into Cape Peninsula

Really? I don't believe you.

Lining up to get into Table Mountain Park

Table Mountain National Park was set up to preserve the natural environment of the Cape Peninsula, especially the very rare and diverse vegetation known as fynbos which can only be found in this region.


Proof that I also ride a motorcycle

*sigh* the new moto... I'm happier with the aftermarket seat I installed before we left Cape Town. I feel I can do some real distance on the bike now. Wind noise is still a problem with the aftermarket windshield, but since we're just trundling around the Peninsula at low-ish speeds, it's not too much of an issue right now. Bars still feel too close together, turning is a chore on this bike.

Shoulda gotten a R1200GS...


As we ride into the park, out of the corner of our eyes, we catch a glimpse of a dog dashing out onto the road

That's one funny-looking dog!

Chacma Baboons AKA Cape Baboons

Roughly 500 baboons live in the park. These guys were all over the road, jumping on cars and begging for grub from the tourists. We were warned not to feed them, otherwise they'll become too used to being around human beings. Then they'll turn overly aggressive in their search for food.

I was a bit nervous trying to remember if I left any bananas in my tankbag...


Speaking of food, in the distance, we see some eland grazing

Neda is very excited! This is the primary reason why we came to Africa, to view animals that we don't normally see back in North America.


Haha, an ostrich! It's like we're on a mini-safari on two wheels

Although we've seen ostriches in farms and zoos all over the world, these are only found natively in the wild in Africa

The Cape of Good Hope terminates at Cape Point, the most south-western point of the African continent. Of course, there's a little viewing area here

We climb off the bikes, don our little safari hats (gotta look the part!) and walk up to the viewpoint

Lighthouse at the top of the viewpoint

There's also a signpost here that shows the distance to several cities which we're visited on our motorcycles :)

Looking down at the coast from Cape Point, high winds keeps blowing my hat off

We wanted to get a picture of our bikes in front of the sign that says "Most South-Western Point in the African Continent"

The line-up for the picture was too long, so we got impatient and I snapped a quick pic from the saddle and we just left. I'm sure there are more interesting things to take pictures of than a sign...


A bit further on, we stop to walk along the rocky shoreline. Taking in the view of the Atlantic Ocean

Back on the bikes!

So, I've noticed a funny thing that's been happening lately. Whenever we walk back to our motorcycles, Neda automatically tries to get on my F700GS, before realizing her mistake and then walking back to her F650GS.

I asked her why she keeps doing that. She said it's because for so long, she's been riding the flashy yellow bike and I've been on the boring blue and silver bike. Now that I've got the eye-catchingly sexay red temptress, she instinctively thinks that's her ride.

Nope. *I'M* the pretty one now, Neda!


The waves pound the west coast of Cape Peninsula, throwing up mist in the air. This area is aptly named Misty Cliffs.

The interior road winds up through the hills heading back towards Fish Hoek

Shanty town tucked far away from the surf shops, marinas and fancy restaurants of the coastal towns

I'm still floored by the disparity of living conditions between rich and poor in South Africa. This is literally less than 5 kms from where we were staying last night.


Tossing our bikes left and right through the very twisty and scenic Chapman's Peak Drive

Everyone we've talked to recommended that we take our bikes through Chapman's Peak. This is *the* destination road around Cape Town. Even our non-motorcycle ex-pat friends told us it was a great drive. It didn't disappoint, as we look over the shoreline of Hout Bay on our left, and dramatic cliffs loom large to our right.


Looking over Hout Bay from Chapman Peak's Drive, the peak in the distance is called The Sentinel
Everybody's out enjoying the roads! Dodging cyclists on Chapman's Peak

Temi and Brian PMed us to let us know that a package from the US came in the mail for us. Fortunately we've been riding around just outside of Cape Town, so we head back into the city.


At long last!

Finally! We've been waiting for these PacSafe Steel Mesh Nets for almost two months now. We couldn't find them anywhere in South Africa. And they arrived just in the nick of time, as this was our last planned day in the Cape Town area!

Like all things imported, the shipping & duty on these security nets more than doubled the price that they cost back in North America. I debated about picking these up in Canada before we left, but they are super-heavy, so I thought I'd buy them when we reached South Africa. That was an expensive error.

Ever since all our stuff got stolen in Croatia, we've grown very wary about security. More so now that we're in Africa, not because we think that theft is more prevalent here than in other places, but because if something does get taken off our motorcycles, it'll be that much more difficult to replace once we're out of the big cities and away from a developed country like South Africa.

We arrived to Gardens and picked up our loot. Temi and Brian are so generous, not only did they put us up for the night in their guest bedroom, but they also offered to store all of our empty suitcases at their place while we are out touring Africa. Such good friends!

Now that we've got all our stuff, we're heading out of Cape Town for real tomorrow. For REAL!

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