My Favourite Sunset

I have decided that my favourite sunsets are the African ones.

Sunset at Camps Bay | Photo credit: Juxxtapose

Africans seem big on sunsets. I say this because (1) there’s always a sunset cruise or a walk to see the sunset, (2) there were many people watching the sunset together with us at the Camps Bay beach (even a film crew), and (3) our local tour guide in Cape Town was obsessed with taking photos of sunsets in his own country.

Sunset at Knysna (Western Head) | Photo credit: Juxxtapose

It’s not hard to understand why. Not when every time we saw a sunset in Africa, it looked like a different one. Sometimes the sun went hiding behind a never-ending horizon, while sometimes it slip below the silhouette of trees. Sometimes it was dressed in fiery reds and oranges, while sometimes it adorned gentle purples and pinks.

Just fiery red ball | Photo credit: Juxxtapose

In some instances, one cannot help but think of the red sunset in The Lion King:

Fiery red sunset (tree included) | Credits: Disney’s The Lion King

I think it’s time to up my photography game. Maybe then, I will be able to capture the sunsets as stunningly as they are in real life. And also, perhaps it’ll look more like the animated version.

Sunset on a cruise along Chobe River | Photo credit: Juxxtapose

Sunset back at Chobe Safari Lodge | Photo credit: Juxxtapose

Watching the sun go down in Africa always marked the end of yet another amazing day and held the promise of another after a good night’s rest. It’s always about the feels, isn’t it?

Setting sun at Okavango Delta | Photo credit: Juxxtapose

What the Cape teaches you about Life

It’s really something when you see places you’ve only read of in books in real life. The Cape of Good Hope is one such place for me.

There is a common misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern-most tip of Africa. I was one of those with this misconception. In fact, I didn’t even know that Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope were two different places. While the Cape of Good Hope is at the most south-western edge of Africa, Cape Point is the point that is at the very tip of Cape Peninsula, and at the opening to False Bay.

Looking out to the Cape of Good Hope from Cape Point | Photo credit: Juxxtapose

False Bay was so named because it stretches so far inland that it fools sailors into thinking they have arrived at the western coast of the African continent. We drove along the coast of False Bay, past Muizenberg and Simon’s Town, on the way to Cape Peninsula. It was like driving through the perfect coastal vacation.

Rugged shores at the Cape of Good Hope | Photo credit: Juxxtapose

One of my favourite photos of that day out is definitely this one above. This was taken behind the ever so ‘famous’ signboards bearing the latitude, longitude and name – Cape of Good Hope. The number of tourists scrambling for a photo at the signboard was insane to say the least (though not as crazy as the ones at the Wall Street bull). Don’t they know that this photo of unspoilt beauty is that one they should be rushing for?

The winds were pretty strong here so we made sure to balance on these uneven rocks well before even entertaining thoughts of taking pictures. But our balancing act was definitely more than worthwhile. We took our time breathing in the fresh air blowing from (probably) Antarctica, mesmerised by the jagged edges created by the rocks, undisturbed by the crowds, before making our way back to the frantic tourists, still trying to get their individual shots with the man-made signboard.

Is this how we are in our daily lives – too busy with what we think is important, or what everyone else says is important, to notice the truly valuable and beautiful things in our lives?

Table Mountain – Feeling on top of the world

On the very day we set foot on African soil for the first time, we took a trip up Table Mountain. Arguably the most iconic landmark in Cape Town, we were all psyched up and ready to go despite having just endured a total of 12 hours in the skies. But first, a quick note on how impressed I was with the cable cars that brought non-hikers up Table Mountain.

Best cable car in the world | Photo credit: Juxxtapose

It looks totally ordinary on the outside, but once the inside, it is anything but. As you enter, you will notice the cable car operator stationed in a booth in the middle of the circular shape of the car. All around that booth, you will observe a donut-shaped platform that covers the standing space in the cable car. This platform rotates slowly as the cable car ascends (or descends) enabling a 360 degree view regardless of where you’re standing in the car. For most other cable cars, the hubs and I get into a discussion of where we would ideally like to sit/stand while we are queuing. Most of the time, it would be front, back, left, or right depending of what we determined the ‘best’ view was. But for this cable car ride, there was no need for such a discussion. Just make a beeline to the peripheral edge of the ‘donut’, and even if you don’t find yourself in front of a window, you will enjoy the views from not just one, but all the windows in the duration of the ride. After we left, I dubbed it the best cable car in the world. I mean, why do people even build square/rectangular cable cars? Or worse, round cable cars that do not have a rotating platform? If any of you travel bugs know of similar cable cars elsewhere that rotate, please tell me, I would love to know where.

The view of Lion’s Head and Signal Hill from Table Mountain | Photo credit: Juxxtapose

When we got to the top, we were so excited that we just followed the mass of the people along the man-made pathways, peeking over the edge constantly at the great views of Lion’s Head, Signal Hill, Camps Bay (where we stayed that night), and the rest of the city. But soon we realised that Table Mountain was actually more accurately ‘Table Mountain National Park’, and was much larger than we had expected it to be. We walked along the paths some more until what I think was the middle of the entire park area (in reality, I think it is entirely possible that we merely scrapped the surface of the whole place), and decided that it was time to go onto unpaved tracks so that we could cut across to see the views from the other side of Table Mountain.

Feeling on top of the world, balancing on the rocks at the edge of the mountain | Photo credit: Juxxtapose

Now off the paved pathways, we felt more adventurous, hopping from rock to rock and pushing through long grass. We were rewarded with more stunning views on the other side, and equally stunning photographs. While we were walking, the low-lying clouds started rolling in, giving the impression that we were much higher than we actually were. Another thing that was icing to the cake was spotting these little creatures.

Dassie sighting | Photo credit: Juxxtapose

I believe they are called Dassies, and they are absolutely adorable. It struck me that they look like a rounder and more compact version of my favourite animal in Australia – Quokkas. Digging up an old photo of it made me realise that it has been 5 long years since I first (and last) saw them.

A quokka on Rottnest Island in 2010 | Photo credit: Juxxtapose

It’s finally happening!

Beautiful Cape Town | Photo credit: blog.needsupply.com

My African Adventure begins in 12 days!!

And now that it’s just barely 2 weeks away, I’m starting to realise that is real and not just plans laid out on paper. I’ve been dreaming of visiting Africa for ages now, and we started planning for this trip early the year. It was all emails and google spreadsheets, tabulating the budget, finding the best connections, reading up on places and activities… and then suddenly realisation sets in – we’re going to Africa! I am beyond excited, and thinking about it makes me feel like my heart is going to explode from my chest!

We’ll be landing in Cape Town for starters and exploring the famous scenic Garden Route, then heading to safaris in Zimbabwe and Botswana, with a short stay at the Victoria Falls in between. After that, an overnight at Joburg before flying home.

I’m so thankful we managed to include almost everything we wanted to see given our limited time and budget. Opportunities to travel don’t come easily and this may well be our only trip to Africa ever.

As usual, being a born-worrier, I’m nervous about how the trip will go, knowing that even the best-laid plans are subjected to circumstances. But I know, for sure, that we are definitely going to have the time of our lives!