If you are just joining the adventure, we are exploring the wonders of South Africa with Adventures by Disney and we invite you to catch up on all you have missed here.
Day 2 — AKA First Views With The Sun Up
Waking up (way too early) for an amazing breakfast at The Table Bay Hotel also gave us the chance to see what the cloud of darkness was hiding last night when we arrived.
As we started to head out for the morning, our amazing Adventure By Disney guides Craig and Kira did a last-minute weather check and quickly shuffled our day. So instead of going to Table Mountain and most likely not seeing anything due to low clouds, we headed first to one of the places that I looked forward to seeing the most on this trip.
Explore the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point Nature Reserve
If any readers have taken other tours of places in the past, you know that the coach rides to different locations can be a bit dull with the guides pretty much just reciting the same things you can get from any guidebook…but not an AbD tour! As we traveled to the Cape, not only did we have our guide Craig giving us history but also sharing personal stories of his life growing up in Cape Town, we had Joe Rohde and Dr. Mark Penning chiming in with stories about their times here and how it all ties back to Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Dr. Mark Penning
As we drove into Cape Point Nature Reserve, one of the first animals spotted were some of the local troublemakers, the baboons. As we stopped and backed up to take a look, that lead right into Mark telling his adventures fending baboons in the past.
Moving into the actual Cape of Good Hope, we had plenty of time to explore and Joe also started showing some of his sketching skills as we basked in the beauty of the most southwestern point of Africa.
Once we were done with our time at the Cape of Good Hope, it was time to head to the oldest lighthouse in Africa for some stunning views. Of course, along the way, we had some incredible sights from the coach, including some wildlife that most visitors to the Kilimanjaro Safari at Disney’s Animal Kingdom are very familiar with.
As I said this is the oldest lighthouse in Africa, built in 1860. Of course, it has been shut down for many years due to the high elevation. Even though it is closed, the location provides some of the most fantastic views of where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet.
Meeting the African Penguins of Boulders Beach
With the Cape of Good Hope behind us, it was off to lunch before meeting the stars of the day, the Jackass Penguins (due to the sound they make sounding much like that of a jackass) or as they are known now, the African Penguins.
Seeing penguins in the wild was cool enough but to see them out and active in 70-degree weather was the strangest thing. After spending some quality time with these birds, it was our time to soar like a bird up to the top of Table Mountain.
Table Mountain Aerial Cableway and Nature Walk
Table Mountain is a flat top mountain with an elevation of 3,558ft. It serves as the landmark over Cape Town. The Twelve Apostles Mountain Range forms the back of Table Mountain, where “you’ll find one of the most scenic stretches of coast in the world.” I could have spent hours hiking and exploring but above all else standing and watching the Hyraxes that live in the rocks of the area, kind of reminded me of the Porgs.
Before heading off to dinner at Gold Restaurant (you have to look this one up on your own), we stopped at one of the local beaches to get a better view of Table Mountain.
That wraps up day 2, well over 16 hours of exploring the Cape and all the beauty that is to behold on this area, tomorrow we are off to Wine Country!