South
Africa - Day 5
Monday 26th January 2026
Participants: Kev & Tam
We're up at the godforsaken time of 3.15 am. It's strange driving through a mostly empty Cape Town to Signal Hill and the car park at the start of the Lions Head trail. We booked a tour through Getmyguide (it's advised to have a guide for the hike) and we're met by Idrees who will be guiding us through the hike along with the 6 other people on the tour, all young Americans.
We set off on an uphill gravel track with the occasional stop for Idress to tell us a little about the things we're looking at. The lights across the city are amazing.
The second part of the hike is on a stepped track and is a bit rougher.
The third part is the steepest and involves clambering over boulders and climbing up ladders and staples attached to the cliff face. It's quite tough going at times and takes a couple of hours. You do need to be reasonably fit and have the right footwear. I'm so glad we did this while we still can.
Eventually we reach the top and spend around 45 minutes watching the sun slowly rise. An amazing spectacle. We also watch the low level cloud pouring over the top of Table Mountain.
This is our guide Idrees.
On the trek
back down Idress stops in a number of places to tell us about the
flora and fauna and some of the history of South Africa. He shows
us one plant and tells us not to touch it as it excretes a liquid
that attaches to your skin. When sunlight hits it it causes
painful blisters to erupt. Glad I didn't touch that one
accidentally on the way up then.
We're back to the bottom of the mountain at 8.30 am, it's around
4 hours in total. It's one of those things that you do in life
that will stay with you forever.
From this angle it's hard to see how you can get to the top.
Drive back to the hotel to shower and have breakfast. It seems strange as we've already been up for nearly 6 hours. Breakfast is included and is very good indeed. I have granola and fruit followed by eggs benedict. The room you eat in is light and airy and the ladies serving us are once again efficient and friendly, asking us what we're doing today and suggesting various things.
This is the room we have breakfast in.
At 9.45 am we jump in the car and start out for the day. Our plan is to drive down the west coast and then back up the east to see as much as we possibly can. The first thing on our list is to pass along Chapman's Peak Drive. It's a coastal toll road and costs about £3. The views are wonderful and there are multiple places to stop and get out to enjoy the scenery.
I don't think I've ever been anywhere in the world where you find such huge beaches that are nearly completely deserted.
On down to the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point. We get a bit of a shock when we find out it costs around £50 for the 2 of us to enter with the car. It's one of the few things we have found in South Africa that costs more than you'd expect. I suppose you can't complain as it's a huge park to maintain as it's a 13km drive to Cape Point where we park up to visit the famous lighthouse. There's a funicular railway to take you up to it at £5 each, but it's fun and saves a lengthy uphill walk. We've done our walking for the day thank you. From the lighthouse you can see up and down the coast and the waves are pretty big and it's a lovely summer day, lord knows what it's like in the middle of a storm. There's just beautiful scenery everywhere.
We get the funicular back down and get an iced lolly before returning to the car where we drive along the road to the Cape of Good Hope. As we approach the Cape there are a few cars that have stopped and we find out why as we get close, there's an ostrich stood in the middle of the road.
The Cape is well worth seeing with a spectacular coastline and the obligatory photo by the sign.
Back on the road we pass the ostrich again as he's still stood in the same place. We've also seen lots of signs telling you not to feed the baboons, but we haven't seen one until we come across a big old boy just strolling casually along the road.
Not the best photo but he certainly seemed happy just wandering along the roadside completely unperturbed by the traffic.
We have quite a
long drive back as we take the scenic east coast before cutting
back across to go through Camps Bay, Clifton and Sea Point. We
arrive back at the hotel at 3.30 pm. It's been a long day, but
truly rewarding, we've squeezed so much in.
We decide that if we stop and relax we may not start again, so
it's straight into the shower and out again by 5.00 pm. An Uber
to the V&A costs £3 and we have a drink outside Ginja, an
Old Fashioned for me and a Cosmo for Tam. On to Den Anker for
dinner. We haven't booked so have a table inside, but that's
probably just as well as the sun is setting and it's getting
quite breezy. We share mussels to start with a glass of Pinot
Noir. I have Norwegian Salmon for my main course along with a
Chardonnay. The bill with tip is 1650 Rand - about £75. When you
think this includes a starter, 2 main couses and 4 glasses of
wine (which come in carafes and so are 250 ml each) this gives a
good indication of the cost of things in Cape Town.
This youth group were performing.
We're both
pretty tired, but walk past a Scottish bar next to an Irish bar.
Don't ask me why, but we choose a last drink this evening in the
Scottish bar. I have a lager and Tam must be quite squiffy as she
chooses a cocktail with Red Bull in it. Another indication is
that she also seems transfixed by the TV showing Mixed Martial
Arts
An Uber back to the Zest Boutique Hotel and we're in bed at 10.00
pm.