Cape Point Drive

After our accomplishing moment, we hiked back to our car. The weather was getting pretty hot at this point but we loved it. The entire workweek was rainy, windy, and cold so this was a well needed change on such an ideal day. We wanted to drive to this beach we saw from Cape Point. When we arrived there, the dreaded baboons greeted us. We were scared to get out of the car since they can hop in the car and steal all you have. Some guy with a bat was chasing them away so they eventually left the area. However they came back not too much long after this time with the whole damn family. We couldn’t even go down to the beach we wanted to go on because they were blocking the pathway. The baboons started hopping on some cars and the little ones found some fun out of a surfboard that was on top of a car. They played see-saw and jumped on one side to bounce the other side up. These people tried to get into their car but the baboons quickly came to the driver side and swiped their hands from the handle and tried to open it. Luckily it was still locked. It was amazing how quick and agile these baboons are. They are also not afraid to come near people (obviously). Finally the hero with the cut off jean shorts came around the corner and scared them off with his bat. The baboons just transferred onto another car and the head honcho baboon was eyeing us. I took one step towards the car and it lunged on top of my car and tried to open the car door. It eyed me the entire time and followed my every move. I tried using my car alarm but it didn’t even make him flinch. Finally, the cut off jean hero came to save the day again and made some gorilla noise with the bat in his hand and scared the entire family off in time for us to hop in the car and take off. So, my advice to people visiting Cape Point, the baboons are REAL.
We left the reserve laughing in complete shock that a baboon family almost shanked us. We continued to drive, now on the Atlantic side. We heard about this “local” beach called Noordhoek. We had lunch there and then headed to the beach. The beach was very nice, and seemed pretty untouched, and the sand was white and soft. We saw this cool picture opportunity on top of these rocks that were accessible when the tide receded. Eventually, we all made it on there and began taking some pictures and were waiting to hop on the next rock. Sad thing is that the tide never receded again. We started noticing our pathway of opportunity was never reappearing. The water level on the rock started to rise and it became very apparent that we were getting trapped. Waves started crashing into the rocks and the situation became scary for sometime. Nobody touches the Atlantic side, the water is ice cold even in the summer. Somehow, we managed to maneuver our way to the beach with minimal damage.
The sun was setting and we needed to get to Chapman’s Peak before sundown. We saw a sign for a winery and decided to pull in and grab a bottle of wine (with some free tasters of course : ) ). We continued with wine bottle in hand and made our way to the peak. This part of the drive is rated the most scenic drive in the world, and they were not exaggerating. We were so close to the cliffs and there were so many bays with waves crashing into them. Eventually, we saw the touristy sign for Chapman’s Peak. Eh why not, we pulled off. There were some seating built into the peak with people starting to file in. We sat along the railing when suddenly this girl with robin hood green felt shoes hopped over the railing and scaled down the mountain. She disappeared for a while and reappeared. I asked if she is staying down there for sunset and she just waved me down. We followed her down and when we got to her she whispered “Cape Town secret, don’t tell anyone”. She pointed behind her and we saw this inlet in the mountain that looked like a cave. It was the coolest thing I have ever seen. It was a perfect spot for the sunset, away from the crowds, and unobstructed views of the bay. The sun began to set and we popped open the bottle of the wine and enjoyed all the pretty colors. It was one of the prettiest sights I’ve ever seen. A lot of the time I was thinking how awesome would it be to bring all my friends to see this (one in particular : ) ). The sun disappeared as quickly as the wine did and then it was time to go. It was the perfect ending to such a perfect day. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that day. It was a true T.I.A. moment.