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South Africa, Cape Town

Arriving in Cape Town, South Africa, December 5, 2022, from Namibia after 3 days at sea. This is the last port in our trip from Lisbon, Portugal to Cape Town. Table Top Mountain in the distance with the clouds about it make it striking welcoming photo. Table Top Mountain in the distance with the clouds about it make it striking welcoming photo. The lower flat hill to the right is signal hill where we have a sunset party this evening. To the right of this is Lions Head.

Cape Town is South Africa's oldest city. It serves as the country's legislative capital, being the seat of the South African Parliament. It is the country's second-largest city, after Johannesburg, and the largest in the Western Cape. The city is part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality.

Lions Head

Central Business District. Also known as CBD.

Cape Town Stadium or DHL. Home of the 2010 FIFA World Soccer Cup Championship.

Table Mountain was declared a national monument. In the mid 1960s, the Cape Town City Council declared nature reserves on Table Mountain, Lion's Head, Signal Hill,

Tug boat coming out to escort us into port.

Looking to the south and some of the residential areas.

Close up of the Central Business District.

I had to prove I was back again for the 4th visit to Cape Town.

DHL arena area

Approaching the docking area in the harbor. We will spend one more night on the ship before disembarking on the next day.

Approaching the docking area in the harbor. We will spend one more night on the ship before disembarking the following day.

Docked looking down at the cruise Terminal where we will clear immigration in a short while.

Area around the port

Soon after landing we drove up to Signal hill for a "Sundowner Party on Signal Hill" from the ship of wine and hors d' oeuvres. What a setting for sure. With Table Top Mountain behind us and the city below as the sun is setting. What a great end to a fantastic trip.

The Table Mountain Aerial Cable way is a cable car transportation system offering visitors a five-minute ride to the top of Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa. It is one of Cape Town's most popular tourist attractions. The upper cable station is on the westernmost end of the Table Mountain plateau, at an elevation of 3,501 feet. The upper cable station offers views over Cape Town, Table Bay and Robben Island to the north, and the Atlantic seaboard to the west and south.

Overlooking the city

Overlooking the Central Business District

Our ship in the bottom foreground

Others enjoying the view from Signal Hill overlooking the city below and the ocean in the distance.

Robben Island where Mandela was imprisoned. Political activist and lawyer 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. He was later awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and was elected in 1994 as President of South Africa, becoming the country's first black president and serving one term from 1994–1999. It takes its name from the Dutch word for seals, robben.

Closer look at the Cape Town Stadium or DHL Stadium

Looking down into the harbor and famous Swinging Bridge in the center right of the photo. It is next to the African Trading Port, the square white building in the center of the photo.

People sitting on the green plastic covering waiting for the sunset on Signal Hill. Also during the day they have hang gliders take off from there and land on the grassy areas below near the beach. What a kick that must be.

Great place for a picnic and a sunset. There is only so much room too as it drops off substantially at the end of the hill.

View of the sunset in Camps Bay

Another view of Lions Head with residential neighborhoods below and the ocean at Sea Point.

Lions Head again with a little different view.

Like any big town in general don’t walk around anywhere at night, especially alone. Other than walking between restaurants and bars in busy areas, it is much safer to take a taxi after dark because that is when you are more likely to be a target of pickpockets. The areas which are safe to explore by foot at night include; the V&A Waterfront, Camps Bay, Somerset Road in Sea Point and Kloof Street. The outlaying Townships can lead to problems and should be avoided.

Sunset over the hills we have been earlier this evening.

The pool area all alone at last.

The harbor as the sun is setting.

The ship and the Harbor area

My all time favorite place to visit in the harbor and in the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront Harbor area is The African Trading Port. This is my 4th time to visit here.

This is the exterior of the building in the Harbor next to the swinging bridge. I had pointed it out earlier in a photo from Signal Hill. I was told that the building originally was the old Port Captains Building.

The African Trading Port offers a wide variety of some of the finest examples of African art around. Works of art from many different African countries and cultures are on display here.

AfricanTrading Port has been housed in their current location in the Old Port Captain’s Building at Cape Town’s Waterfront since 2001. Over the last few decades, much time has been devoted to sourcing art from successive generations of African artists. A wide array of objects of art including sculpture, artifacts, ceramics, pottery, bronze-ware and glassware. Although the collection focuses on the work of recognized artists, display space is also devoted to some of the younger, emerging artists from the African continent.

The main floor has a number of more "tourist items". My suggestions is to go up the stairs in the entrance and see this incredible collection of art from all over Africa. Everything is fore sale and can be shipped anywhere in the world. I never tire of going from floor to floor.

On the 4th floor they have recently put together a museum of many types of African artifacts. It is open to the public and well worth the time to visit along with the other floors.

More photos of the museum floor.

The following photos I am not going to describe what you see. It is amazing what they have assembled for sale and for viewing. I will let you enjoy what you are seeing.

The Victoria & Albert Waterfront is an iconic mixed-use destination located in the oldest working harbor in the Southern Hemisphere. With Table Mountain as its backdrop, the neighborhood sits within the beautiful city of Cape Town, welcoming millions of people from all over the continent and the rest of the world. The swinging bridge is in the back ground of this photo.

A great place to stop for lunch or just walking around.

There is something for everyone at the harbor with great restaurants, retail shopping, history, hotels, beautiful boats, excursions from harbor and much more.

Perfect location to have your photo taken

Beautiful Harbor. Lots going on constantly.

A charter leaving the dock area.

This has been an incredible 30 days starting in Lisbon, Portugal. Then boarding the Regent ship Seven Seas Voyager and exploring the stops along the way to Portimao, Portugal, The Canary Islands, Tenerife, Cape Verde Islands, Gambia, Ghana, Togo, Sao Tome and Principe, Namibia and ending in Cape Town, South Africa.

This has been incredible adventure .. 3 years in waiting for it to finally happen after Covid shut it down. I have meet some incredible people on land, in the port cities visited and on the ship during voyage. I have always believed in the words....FRIENDSHIP MOVES THE WORLD. It definitely happened during this 30 day adventure. I hope you have enjoyed this adventure too through photos and words. JIM SCHRODER

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