Our final day held few plans except for the golfers, who had an early morning tee time. It was a day to relax and do whatever we hadn’t had time for on previous days. With 8 adults, there were many ideas of what to do. Normally, this isn’t a big deal, but there were only 2 sets of keys (and 2 sets of automatically locking gates to pass through to get to and from the house). Additionally, almost everyone in the group didn’t enable international cellular service because of the extra cost. So we could only text to communicate if we were somewhere with wi-fi, which was spotty and often weak. Plans had to be made carefully, and that was a challenge.
The day started with an unscheduled power outage. We were told this could happen sometimes, but with the golf clubs stored in the garage, which could only be accessed via the funicular or electric garage door, power was needed to access them. So after waiting as long as possible, David and David Luke had to cancel their tee time. Turns out, the individual house power ran out and the system just needed to be reset. Wish we had known that a lot sooner!
We all went out in intervals for some coffee and food, and Kendall and I walked to our pedicure appointment we had made a few days earlier. Even in the upscale area where we stayed, the pedicures were a good price for us as Americans. They did a phenomenal job with a long leg and foot massage too.
We eventually decided to drive the whole group into the V&A waterfront again, where we wanted to check about getting tickets for a sunset champagne catamaran cruise, then split off into separate groups. We were able to bargain a price that was 1/3 off the published asking price (Hannah had found better prices online, plus we were a large group, so that gave us some confidence in bargaining). David and I then went to the covered market that sells locally crafted goods where I found some pressed wildflower earrings I liked as a souvenir. They had a block of the compressed wildflowers to demonstrate how they make them. I appreciated the ingenuity as much as the design.
From there, Heather, David, and I drove out to Stellenbosch to visit the Kanonkop winery that a Swiss couple with whom David and David Luke had played golf recommended. The Swiss couple, who visits Cape Town regularly, assured us Kanonkop made excellent cabernet, which is our favorite grape. We did a tasting of 7 different wines, which is their standard tasting for only 70 rand. That fee is even waived if you purchase wine. We had been helped by a young man originally from California, who was friendly, upbeat, and very happy to give all kinds of information about their grapes, philosophy of wine-making, and sales and history. We made some purchases and Heather and I had a few more sips from our favorite wine until it was time to head back to the V&A Waterfront to grab a meal before our cruise.
Meanwhile, all the others had taken an Uber ride from the waterfront to the Iziko museum. They enjoyed a few hours there, ate some dinner across the street, and met us at the catamaran on the waterfront.
The catamaran cruise made our last evening special. We had been swimming or surfing in the ocean at the beach, on the mountains, hiking through meadows, in a jeep for our safari, in caves, and on golf courses, but not yet out on the ocean in a boat! The views back toward Cape Town, Table Mountain and along the coastline were stunning, especially as the sun set after such a perfectly clear day. Additionally, we were able to get up close to some harbor seals and watch many dolphins playing in the water all around us.
We returned to our rental home content, but sad, knowing we had to pack since this was our last night.
Insights in Travel Blog 