With the Moms

After traveling for months and missing our friends and family from home it was awesome that our moms both came to Cape Town, South Africa to see us and explore the area.

South Africa is in rather stark contrast to the countries we had been traveling through in Africa. The cities are large and modern, the roads are smooth and new, it almost felt like being back home. However South Africa is not without issues. As we mentioned in the last post when we arrived in Johannesburg security was a concern for homeowners and safety was an issue walking the streets. Cape Town is considered safer, but we were still advised to be careful and not walk in certain areas after dark. Something Abby and I had seen throughout our travels, but was startling to our moms (and still to us) were the large shack settlements on the outskirts of the cities. The conclusion I have come to through my travels is not that we do not have people as poor in America, but that we provide most people with housing and a few of the necessities they need to survive. So instead of people building a shack we build an apartment complex for them. I think the core problems are still everywhere you go, but even with some of the issues there are still so many wonderful people to meet and amazing places to see.

One thing we couldn´t miss while visiting South Africa were the wineries. We spent a day exploring the wine region of Stellenbosch, particularly enjoying the Pinotage, a cross between Pinot noir and Cinsaut and a signature wine of South Africa.







Even though Cape Town is not known for its game drives we found a small private game reserve so the moms could get a taste for an African safari. While the animals were fenced in and their diet partially subsidized it was a more natural environment than a zoo and assumingly more enjoyable for the animals.







The lions were kept seperate from the herbivores, with hopes to have them all together in the future. It was amazing how close we got.





There was also a seperate area for the leopards.



With sparkling wine this safari was a little different than Abby and my previous experiences, but was a great way to wind down our African adventure.





One thing there is no shortage of in Cape Town and the southern coast is amazing views. From the top of Table Mountain to the V&A waterfront there is so much to see.





A short drive from Cape Town is Boulders, a National Park know for its flightless bird, which are found all along the shores. Formerly the Jackass penguin and now the African penguin these little birds were facinating to watch.













At the end of the Cape Peninsula is the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point.







Heading back up the west coast of the peninsula we stopped in Hout Bay for some delicious calamari and of course wine.



All around Cape Town we had amazing views, mouth watering food and delicious wine. It was definitely a highlight and even more so since we got to share it with our moms.