Table Mountain, Winery Tour, and the Beaches!

All three events were done while I was in Cape Town.

Table Mountain overlooks all of Cape Town. I remember it being one of the first things that I saw when we entered Cape Town in our van. I could see it almost everywhere I went in Cape Town. The sight on top of the mountain is magnificent. Unfortunately, I can tell you nothing about the flora/fauna and that sort of thing but I can share the sights with you =]

We also went on a Winery Tour in Cape Town. We visited 5 wineries in the Southern Cape. All of them had wine tasting, and the last one included cheese tasting with the wine tasting. I’m not a big fan of wine but I went on the tour for the experience and in hopes of finding a wine or two that I might like. Now, you’re not supposed to drink all the wine since this is a 9 am to 5 pm tour…but since it is a group of college students in South Africa, we drank all of it. The result was 20 stumbling students who had a fantastic day but passed out by 5 pm. Also, since I couldn’t find a wine that I liked after visiting 5 wineries, I have decided that wine just isn’t for me. Here are some pictures =]

Finally, I had to share the pictures of some of the beaches with you. I have to warn you though: while the ocean looks warm and inviting, it is absolutely frigid! I jumped in for a few minutes before I came running back out!

The tallest person on the trip and the shortest person on the trip

Chethana in the Jungles of Africa!

Chethana in the Jungles of Africa!

I went to Addo and Scotia on a very packed Saturday in April. Addo is a national sanctuary famous for its elephants while Scotia is a much smaller private reserve. Both parks are beautiful areas with abundant wildlife. As a tourist, Scotia was more exciting: since it was smaller, you could much easier view all the animals and get up close to them. However, if I was an animal, Addo would be paradise: it encompasses 445 thousand acres of lush greenery and abundant water sources. It is also heavily protected against possible poaching and other illegal activities. It was an extremely exciting day- from 8 in the morning until 10 at night. Here are some pictures! (*Side note: My battery was dying so some friends gave me pictures as well...ergo the different lighting, dates etc)

Here's an elephant grazing in the Savannah. Unfortunately, while Addo is famous for its elephants, most of the elephants were too far away for my camera zoom to capture. But here's two pictures =]

Zebras' frolicking in the grass

Fierce lions

Warthogs, Kudu & Deer

A Giraffe whom I wish would give me just a few inches

And finally, a loving Rhino couple

Hope you enjoyed the Jungle! =]

Cape of Good Hope, Penguins, & Knysna

Cape Point, Penguins, & Knysna

This is mostly a picture post. Last post for today as my battery is almost dead. I will put up three more posts tomorrow! People have been asking for more pictures so I'm putting up a lot more! 

We went to the Southern-most tip of Africa: the Cape Point. In addition, this area is also where the Indian Ocean and Atlantic Ocean meet. We drove up on the mountains for about an hour to get there. After we got to the official area, we got out and had a half hour walk up to the scenic view. It was absolutely stunning! Below are some pictures of what I saw. The experience is a little surreal. I couldn’t believe that I was at such a beautiful place. It reminded me how privileged I am to be able to travel and have these experiences.

We also went to a Penguin colony briefly. I saw lots of penguins! Unfortunately for me and fortunately for the penguins, visitors aren’t allowed to go past the fence and into the beach where the penguins are.

After the Cape Town trip, we had a two night stay in a beautiful little sea city called Knysna. We went canoeing and there were some gorgeous sights. I have never been canoeing before so I am very glad that I went with my friend Andrew (he's an expert and has gone on a 35 day trip to the Arctic)- another group tipped into the cold water but thankfully my first canoeing experience didn't involve a swim! We went picture crazy in the area! =]