Day 15

Day 15  - Last in South Africa - An Extra Day in Cape Town (Fri. 22 Nov.)

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This is an extra day in Cape Town, without motorbike, before we fly home tomorrow night. We have breakfast at the Portswood and it's good, as usual. This morning we've arranged a trip up to the top of Table Mountain, so after breakfast we take a couple of cabs up to the cable car station. As we've per-booked our cable car tickets we go straight to the queue to go up, and it's not many minutes before we're all in the gondola, rising up the mountain. It takes about 60 at a time, and while it travels up it gradually rotates, so everybody gets a chance to see the whole view whilst ascending and descending. It only takes 5 minutes and we're at the top and getting out.
Now it's about 10:30, the weather is perfect, high viability and not windy. Nice n warm. Four of our group have per-arranged to do an abseil down the side of the mountain, the first of them is scheduled for 11:00. They make contact with the organisers and I wait and watch while the people before them go over. As a spectator you can't see much though. You see them ready to go, and then as they step backwards they disappear from view and you see no more of them doing it. There's no other vantage point from the top , to be able to see.
The idea is that they abseil down 112m and then walk/climb back up to the top, ready to descent to the bottom in the cable car. I don't think it was made too clear to them quite how tough the walk/climb would be! Eventually they all make it back up and meet us where we're waiting outside the café. That's me , I'm more a café person than an abseil person I think.
Whilst all this abseiling is going on, Mrs. K and I have a good look around the top of Table mountain, and the fabulous views that it commands over Cape Town and surrounding areas. Yesterdays Signal Hill was good, at 350m, today's Table Mountain is 1085m, so considerably higher. We have a good lunch in the restaurant there, and buy some gifts in the souvenir shop there.
When we decide to move on we descent in the cable car and then hail a cab to take us back to the Portswood. On the way though we decide a change of plan, on passing a large musical instrument shop, we stop the cab, and end our ride there. This is at Marshalls Music on Buitengracht street. Nice shop but they don't have what I want (which is a ksink-ksink). Kinda helpful bloke suggested to walk a couple of blocks down towards Green market and we may find some around there. Why not? So off we go. I wish I'd brought my C.T. flexi-map with me. Eventually we find Green market, a square containing a large open air market and surrounded by restaurants and coffee shops. I methodically explore the market but no joy - can't find any ksink-ksink. Plenty of drums , but I don't want drums, I got plenty of those. Oh well, time for a double espresso methinks. Mrs. K has a milkshake and after sitting there a while people watching, we decide to walk on, looking out for a taxi. Before we spot a taxi , for hire, so jump in as he takes us back to the Portswood. A most interesting day so far.
There's a couple of hours spare now so we go down by the pool , lay on the sun loungers, and order some tea. I take a splash in the pool. Most refreshing.
The plan for tonight, our last dinner in South Africa, is to meet up with Mike, and also Mrs. Mike, and go for a meal somewhere on the V&A Waterfront. But we haven't booked anywhere. We meet up in the hotel bar, rather, outside by the pool for a few drinks and then leave the hotel and take the short walk over to the V&A. By now a restaurant has been booked and we get seated on one of there large outdoor tables, but there are patio heaters. So that’s good. We order. Service is friendly enough but not particularly efficient (I mean its slow). By the time the main course arrives its past 10pm and my appetites gone, which is a shame because the food is really good. I ordered a skewer of different game steaks and it came not on a skewer but on a short sword! The steaks were lovely - but I just couldn't eat them all. Never mind.
Back at the hotel after the meal, for a nightcap or few, before retiring for the night. Goof night.

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