Robben Island / Cape Town

This is the cell where Nelson Mandela was arrested in. The Tour was guided by an ex-prisoner, who was telling about his story in prison. 

                Vivian, Me & Anja

International BRAAI Day

On September 24th you'll find a South African Public Holiday in your calender,

which is called "Heritage Day" but better known as "The International BRAAI Day"

(BRAAI = BBQ)

How ever, regarding to wikipedia I found the following explanation for this particular holiday:

Heritage Day (Afrikaans: Erfenisdag) is a South African public holiday celebrated on 24 September. On this day, South Africans across the spectrum are encouraged to celebrate their culture and the diversity of their beliefs and traditions, in the wider context of a nation that belongs to all its people.

Anyhow, I admire the Idea of an international BRAAI Day, it is awesome!

So we organized a BBQ-Grill, Meat etc. and had a great BRAAI on the balcony of Kathrin's fellow exchange students, inside their residence. 

Finally Cape Town...

Sunday 20th September: After a 6 hour BazBus ride I finally got to Cape Town  ...

The Backpackers "Penthouse on Long" is really great! You've got a self-catering Kitchen, rooftop bar, TV Lounge... Check it out yourself, for me it's the best Hostel along the Garden Route.

So, I got to see Sam, Chris & Alex again... and we all celebrated Sam's 22nd Birthday on the rooftop terrace at the Bar :-)

I also met Anna Lena & Kathrin, two fellow students from Dortmund who are studying at our partner university (CPUT) here in Cape Town. 

They showed to me the whole city and during our walk we found a familiar place:

Delicious Käsespätzle and Schnitzel...

After walking by the Stadium, along the Waterfront we stopped by at the huge Shopping Centre:

If you like german pretzels and stuff, check out Royal Bavarian Bakery ;-)

Mossel Baai or Mossel Bay

In Mossel Baai (Afrikaans) there you'll find the Santos Express Lodge, which was recommended by a fellow student, that's why I decided to stay in Mossel Bay (English) for a bit longer.

The old Train is located directly near the Santos Beach.

During my stay in Mossel Bay I visited the Díaz Museum (where I took the photos above). There you will learn a lot of history about the early shipmen and be able to go on the Bartolomeu Dias Boat. But Most interestingly is the Old Post Tree...

       Post Office Tree & Shoe-Postbox

If you spend some time at the beach you might be able to spot some wales...

Along the cliffs is a great hiking trail, it takes you 13,5km Up and Down into the next town, just follow the bird...

Finally, next stop will be: Cape Town!

Road Trip to Cape Town #5

Correct, the photo above belongs to an Elephant... We stopped at a lodge / private Game Reserve to ride some elephants!

It was incredible... I could Tell you all the Information the guide has told us during the elephant-ride, but you could also read an Encyclopedia or go to a Zoo, but believe me you won't have that much fun!

After our stop we kept driving along the beautiful Garden Route near the Coast... until we arrived in Mossel Bay. 

The Mossel Bay Backpackers is worth a stay, really nice and cozy, with a pool, Soccer Table, Bar ... Adventure Centre!

Now, what I havn't told you, we've been practicing some Basic Strategies for Black Jack throughout the whole Road Trip in the Car, every now and then... What else have you got to do during a long ride, why not studying some probabilities! ;)

Finally, after Dinner we could try our luck!

3km away there is a Casino and guess who doubled the bet: Sam!

Road Trip to Cape Town #4

         Next Overnight stop: Knysna

Knysna is well known for it's oysters... 

If you like them and want to taste wild oyster, then is Knysna definately the best place to eat them. 

We went on an educational oyster-boat-tour, rather by accident, but it was quite interessting. 

Don't miss the View Points up the Hill and a Breakfast Place directly at the water with an outlook to the gap where the Open Water pushes in and out. 

Here some impressions:

                  Knysna-Lagoon

              Lazy Seal greeting us

Road Trip to Cape Town #3

Leaving Addo towards Jeffrey's Bay, the most popular Surfer-Town with a gorgeous Beach and Surfer-Outlets. 

So, after some photoshootings with Christina along the beach we split up to go shopping... These days you like that the Exchange Rate is working well for us. 

Next Stop: Monkeyland

But we didn't get there that easily...

We tried to drive through a well recommended Pass in a nature valley,

but after a while driving the Road suddenly disappeared...

 

So we had to take the "boring" Highway until we approached our next intermediate stop: 

We've spend a few hours inside the Monkeyland, where we took a guided Tour.

Before we left to go further south towards Knysna we checked out the Birdspark which is right next to the Monkeyland.