Cape Town, South Africa
I’ve been to 28 countries in my life, but the beauty of South Africa will forever hold a special place in my heart and soul. I can still see the vibrant colors and breathtaking scenery at every turn; feel the warmth of the blazing sunshine on my skin; hear the endearing laughs of the many kind people we met on this trip. Cape Town has the kind of beauty that you dream of seeing - and when you actually see it, it leaves you breathless. I was nostalgic for South Africa before I had even left the country. It was the best two weeks of my life! Check out our travel vlog here.
But what I love most about traveling is that it always teaches me something. In particular, this trip to the other side of the planet taught me how lucky I am to be with the kindest, most generous person I know. I always knew that my fiance had a big heart, but when I see his kindness in action every single day, with complete strangers, I realize just how lucky I am to be with someone like him. He’s the type to strike up conversation and make the other person feel like they’re his best friend by the end of it. He knows how to make people laugh; how to make people feel special. He brightened so many people’s days on this trip through his kind words and generous heart. His authentic kindness is so inspiring to me and one of the things I love most about him.
I was also reminded of how grateful I am for the beauty of this earth. Whether standing on the top of a mountain or being a few feet away from wild animals, I learned that this earth and its creatures are simply beautiful. It was very humbling to be reminded of how small we are compared to the grandeur of mother nature. This trip gave me such good perspective - that the small stuff really is “small stuff” and that basking in nature’s beauty is the most healing thing you can do for your soul.
I hope that I never forget the feeling of the shocking cold of the Atlantic ocean on my toes; the laugh-til-we-cry moments we shared in the hot tub at our hotel; the feel of the warm sun on my skin as we hiked up mountains; the humility I felt when overlooking the vast ocean. These are the moments I never want to forget; the moments that, when you add them all up, equaled the trip of a lifetime.
ROBBEN ISLAND
One of the first things we did was visit Robben Island, a true bucket list item. Words can’t really describe the feeling of going to a place like that. We took a ferry across the ocean to get there, and we had an incredible tour given by an ex-political prisoner who had spent 7 years as inmate there decades ago. Hearing his story and his experience living on the island and what it was like during apartheid was indescribable. Seeing Nelson Mandela’s prison cell, where he lived for 18 years, along with the lime quarry where he was sent to work each day, was also an experience beyond words. It was a complete mix of emotions, not only of profound sadness but also of incredible awe and humility.
TABLE MOUNTAIN
One of my favorite parts of Cape Town is Table Mountain (it’s in the background of nearly every photo) and it never fails to take your breath away. Fun fact: when the clouds cover the top of the mountain, people refer to it as the “tablecloth”. We took the cable car up to the top of the mountain where views were absolutely breathtaking. The cable car was open air and rotated around the entire time so you got a great 360 degree view. The top of the mountain itself is huge and totally flat - we spent a few hours up there just walking around, exploring and taking in the stunning scenery. It was also deafeningly silent at the top — so quiet and peaceful. Such an amazing experience that I’ll never forget!
CAMPS BAY, HOUT BAY & CLIFTON BEACH
We spent a ton of time at the beaches in Cape Town given a) it was summer and b) the beaches are stunning! Note: the ocean is absolutely freezing - I was able to get to my knees before sprinting away. It feels like needles on your skin! Other than that, we had our first glimpse of Camps Bay on our way to the Cape of Good Hope, and we went back the next day for a beach day. We also stopped at Hout Bay which was more of a fishing town/beach, full of boats and a pretty big outdoor market. On Christmas Eve, we spent the day at Clifton Beach, which was our favorite beach. There are 4 sub-beaches that make up Clifton, so we went to Clifton 4th beach which was mostly full of families. It was a beautiful, hot day, and we spent the afternoon reading, walking along the beach, and soaking up the sun. No better way to spend the holiday!
CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, BOULDER BEACH & SIMON’S TOWN
Cape of Good Hope has always been on my bucket list, and it did not disappoint. We did a full day tour around the entire Cape Peninsula, stopping at a few beaches before going to the Cape of Good Hope, Boulder Beach, and having lunch in Simon’s Town. We had the best tour guide and the coolest little tour crew! We all had an absolute blast together. The Cape of Good Hope exceeded my expectations - the water was so incredibly blue. We hiked up to the lighthouse and at the top it felt like we were in the clouds. Later on, we went to see all the adorable penguins at Boulder Beach! There were so many of them and they were totally just chillin’ on the beach. We had lunch at a delicious restaurant in Simon’s Town, which is a cute little town where they’ve filmed a few movies actually (can’t remember which ones). It was truly the most remarkable day!
KIRSTENBOSCH GARDENS
The last stop on our Cape of Good Hope Tour was at the Kirstenbosch Gardens which again exceeded my expectations. I have never seen a place with so much greenery and perfect mountains and trees! We spent a few hours walking through the gardens and taking in all the stunning scenery. We also got to go across their new tree bridge, which was very high up in the trees. I absolutely loved it.
LION’S HEAD
We were so excited to hike to the top of Lion’s Head, which is right near Table Mountain and is again in the background of basically every photo. It was a pretty warm morning, and the first part of the hike was so easy compared to what came later, which was a lot of adrenaline and me repeating to myself “don’t look down”. The trail got really narrow, required us to climb a ladder, use chains, and at one point literally climb rocks vertically up on our hands and feet. We got about 95% of the way to the top (and I was pretty scared to look down at that point, hence no photos from the very top) because one misstep and you can fly off the mountain! Towards the top there were quite a bit of hikers, and people had to climb one by one up and down the rock. We decided to turn back since the wait was really long and the more we waited, the more scared I got! It was such a fun hike and the best way to spend the morning. We got aerial views of all the beaches we had already visited and of the whole city too. So spectacular!
OLD BISCUIT MILL MARKET & ORANJEZICHT CITY FARM MARKET
One of the best things about Cape Town is all of the delicious, healthy food options they have. We were in heaven! On Saturday we went to The Old Biscuit Mill which was in an area called Woodstock, and it was teeming with food stalls! We were so overwhelmed. We did like 3 laps around the whole market just getting a lay of the land and seeing our options. Derek had the “best pizza of his life” and some chicken wings, while I got the most delicious avocado toast and some spring rolls. On Sunday we went to a different market and we were obsessed with it - they had literally everything you could imagine. We tried a lot of different things (food in Cape Town is very cheap) but my favorite was a vegan vegetable bao. If only we had markets like these at home!
AQUILA SAFARI
On Christmas day, we went on a safari at Aquila Reserve, which is about 2 hours outside of Cape Town - past a ton of vineyards and gargantuan mountains. The safari was one of those experiences that you’ll never forget. The animals were SO CLOSE to us, and they were BEAUTIFUL! Of the “Big 5” (which is what Africans refer to as black rhino, lion, leopard, african buffalo, and african elephant) we saw all except the leopard! My favorite were the elephants, which walked over to us and came SO close to our van. It literally felt like were on the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland. We were out in the middle of nowhere in Africa and it was just so neat. So excited to say that I’ve gone on a safari in Africa!
V&A WATERFRONT & BO-KAAP
Last but not least, I can’t forget to mention the V&A Waterfront, which is where we went every single day (it was right by our hotel). It was by far our go-to place for food, to walk around, and just explore. It is a very touristy, lively area right on the water, and has a ferris wheel, huge mall with two movie theatres, a cool market, and tons and tons of shops and restaurants. They even had a huge bookstore that we visited multiple times, where I read a book cover to cover in the store (that has also been on my bucket list). We were obsessed with this little healthy smoothie/salad place called Kauai, where I got avocado toast for $2 pretty much every single day and where we consumed about 500 smoothies. We also rented bikes one day and rode along the whole waterfront - it was so fun! And of course, we visited Bo-Kaap, a little Muslim neighborhood with brightly colored houses which was so unique.
TRAVELING TO & FROM SOUTH AFRICA: PIT STOP IN MUNICH, GERMANY
I must mention that S. Africa is VERY FAR AWAY FROM CALIFORNIA and getting there and coming back was… grueling, to say the least. Going there was absolutely crazy: we flew 11 hrs to Munich (overnight), had a short 1.5 hour layover, and then hopped on another 11 hr overnight flight to Cape Town (basically went directly south of Europe and flew over the entire African continent to get to the very tip on the very bottom). We were both starving zombies when we got there at 8am Monday morning, after having been sitting on a plane for 22 hrs. We ate lunch at the hotel buffet at 9:30 am (lol), went to the waterfront for a bit, and then fell asleep by 4pm lol. Coming back was slightly better - we had a 21 hr layover in Munich, so we stayed the night near the airport and walked around Freising (which ironically was also FREEZING). It was quite the trek to get to Cape Town and back, but so worth it. And now we feel like any flight is a piece of cake! :)
