Cape Town, South Africa April 4-9 2026
Saturday April 4th
Our trip to Skukuza airport ended just the way it started. Just as we were getting close to the airport a troop of baboons were walking on the road. You never known what you are going to see here. Our flight to Cape Town was about 2.5 hours. I had scheduled a shuttle to meet us at the airport and take us to our Airbnb, Casa Estiva. Our host Eric met us when we arrived. It is even more incredible than what the description and pictures showed. The area, Camps Bay, was also a very pleasant surprise. It’s got a total Southern California beach vibe.
After getting settled, we walked down along the beach front, enjoying the people sitting at the restaurant tables outside, the street vendors selling unique African themed souvenirs, and just the hustle and bustle on the streets. We ate dinner at a place called Paranga by Kove Collection. There is a Gelato Mania right next door, but we were all pretty full, and tired, so we decided to go there another day.
Sunday April 5th
I think everyone slept really well after our journey yesterday. We took our time preparing breakfast, and getting ready. Marshsl burned his first try at cooking eggs. He isn't used to stainless steel pans, and the eggs burned to the pan. His next try was much more successful.
We called an Uber to take us to Oranjezicht farm market. The Ubers here are really very inexpensive. The market is only open on Sundays and Wednesdays. This happened to be Easter Sunday, so it was extremely busy. To call it a market is underestimating it. There are so many types of vendor stall. Restaurants, clothing, hand made souvenirs, dog items, food vendors selling smoothies, bitbong, fudge in so many flavors, and on and on. The food selection covered every cuisine you could think of.
Our next stop was the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. What a beautiful oasis in the middle of Cape Town. There are so many species of native plants and trees. We enjoyed a visit to the current exhibit, a showing of bonsai trees. The time and the patience it takes to prune these miniature trees is incredible.
Monday April 6th
Elyse & Marshal headed out to Muizenberg to meet up with Mary Gaither’s relatives. The rest of us headed down an area called Bo Kapp (above the Cape). Bo-Kaap is a vibrant, historically significant neighborhood in Cape Town, South Africa, famous for its brightly colored, brightly painted homes, cobbled streets, and strong Cape Malay culture. Located at the foot of Signal Hill, it is a key site for Muslim heritage in the city, boasting numerous mosques and traditional food. We visited the museum there, which highlights the accomplishments of the Muslim community. Our next stop was the V&A Waterfront. Evan was on the hunt for a needle to pump up Jude’s soccer ball. We quickly found it in the enclosed mall. Jess and the kids went shopping, while Evan and I hung out at the giant video screen outside, watching a futbol match. Blaine spotted a smoothie stand, and we got a couple of drinks. We got to see a man performing that was really double jointed. He twisted himself into a pretzel, while standing on some metal cans.
We were hungry so we headed to Mojo Market for lunch. This market has many different food vendors. We all got the food we wanted from the different vendors and then sat and enjoyed some mid-afternoon music from a gentleman called Amper Engels. Back to the house to let the kids enjoy an afternoon swim. Elyse and Marshal returned from Muizenberg, and we got ready to head to the Codfather restaurant for some delicious fresh seafood. Codfather is a really unique experience. After we were seated, our waiter explained that he would accompany us to a glass case that housed all varieties of seafood. We got to pick out what we wanted, and they would prepare it for us.
Tuesday April 7th
Today we are all heading back to the V& A Waterfront to catch a boat to Robben Island. Robben Island is in Table Bay and takes its name from the Dutch word for seals. Since the end of the 17th century, Robben Island has been used for the incarceration of chiefly political prisoners. Nelson Mandela was imprisoned on the island for 18 of the 27 years of his imprisonment before the fall of apartheid and introduction of full, multi-racial democracy in South Africa. It was actually a pretty sobering experience.
It was time for some refreshing swimming at the tidepool at Camps Bay. Evan, Jude and Marshal all went to the outer part of the tidepool., where the adults encouraged Jude to dive in and swim to shore. It was a bit of a struggle for Jude to make it, but he did. I was sitting on shore, thinking, why didn’t one of them swim in with Jude? Are they trying to drown my grandson?
Since Elyse & Marshal had not been with us the day before, we decided to take them to Mojo Market for dinner. There was a jazz trio playing that night.
Wednesday April 8th
Happy Birthday Evan! Evan, Jess and Elyse woke up early to hike to the top of Table Mountain. Marshal and I got the kids fed, dressed and took an Uber to the cable car to meet them at the top. We had just gotten to the restaurant at the top, when lo and behold, the three of them appeared out of nowhere at our table. Talk about timing! We spent some time walking on top, taking pictures and enjoying the incredible view of Cape Town, the ocean, and the coastline. You can see for miles up there. Another Uber down the mountain and we got ready to head to lunch at Harbor House. Big mistake. The food took forever. Apparently, the kitchen had problems preparing the hot food? Not sure what that meant. On the walk back to our Airbnb, I bought 2 beaded elephant figures from the street vendors to display by Jeri’s ashes in my living room. After lunch we sang happy birthday to Evan and enjoyed blueberry pie and ice cream at the house. Elyse and Marshal finished packing and they took an Uber to the airport to begin their long flight home.
Thursday April 9th
I had arranged a bag pickup yesterday and the driver arrived at 9 o’clock to pick up our bags. Wer are to meet him at the airport at 4:30 to pick them up. I’m flying home today and Evan and Jess are spending a couple of days on the coast in a town called Hermanus. First though, we headed to Boulders beach in Simon’s Town to see some penguins. We had to park quite a ways away from the parking lot, as it was a zoo. We walked down past the parking lot and got in line to buy tickets. After about a half hour, we were told that line was only for beach access. We had to walk about half a mile down this wooden pathway to purchase tickets for the penguins, The line there was huge as well. We didn’t have time to stand in the line, as I had a meeting with the Executive Director of Global Sojourns Giving Circle, Tara Casey at 2 o’clock. but we did see some penguins on the walk down the wooden pathway.
Tara lives in Muizenberg, which coincidentally is where Marshal and Elyse had gone the other day to visit the Gaither’s relatives. I met Tara at the Folk Cafe in St James. Evan, Jess and the kids were across the street having pizza, so I met Tara by myself initially, and they all joined us after finishing their lunch. She is a very interesting person. I was impressed with her accomplishments and was oddly attracted to her. To be 20 years younger!! We started back to the airport where we met the bag drop driver, gathered all of the bags, and I headed into the terminal to begin my long journey home.
